You can get help with your Funeral Cost Lowering your funeral cost is extremely important to lowering your Funeral Cost. Over the Years Your Funeral Guy, author blogger and funeral director has been featured in various News outlets.
Lower cost funeral guy in the New York Times
The Lower Cost Funeral Guy, R Brian Burkhardt has been featured in the New York Times The July 15th 2010 article is entitled:
This title is actually the theme of the funeral cost book Rest in Peace Insiders Tips to the Low Cost Less Stress Funeral.
The author of the NYT article refers to your funeral guy blogs and names R.Brian Burkhardt as saying one of the best ways to Save on a Funeral is to obtain your casket at a discount on the Internet. That very point is highlighted in Rest In Peace.
Funeral industry|Facebook Funeral Director| Funeral Blog by The Lower Cost Funeral Guy, Your Funeral Guy, Digital Funeral Director
Be sure to rest in peace at your lower cost funeral
Breaking News-According to the National Funeral Directors Association Casket Companies have raised prices recently. In most cases this eventually will mean that your funeral cost may/will rise.
Yes Folks are demanding the Lower Cost Funeral. If you choose a traditional funeral pressures are driving the price upwards.
The statement from the NFDA(National Funeral Directors Association) says
Jessica Koth, a spokeswoman for the National Funeral Directors Association, said the industry is not immune to the recession.
“We are finding from our funeral homes that they are feeling the pinch just as other everyday Americans are,” Koth said. Some casket manufacturers have increased fees and surcharges on what they sell to funeral homes, and many directors “have chosen to ride that out and not pass any of those extra expenses on to families,” Koth said.”
The statement many funeral directors ” have chosen to ride that out and not pass any of those extra expenses on to families” is quite a nothing statement. Common sense says many Funeral Directors have passed those funeral expenses on to the consumer already.
The consistent trend in this economy is that the public is demanding lower funeral costs and expenses.
From the Article:
Funeral services. The only sure thing in life is death and taxes, and people will continue to pay for burial or cremation. “There is a demand, but it may be at a lower price point,” Humphries said.
Preneed more often than not is a “bait” and switch situation. It really does not lower your funeral cost and does not help your Funeral Expenses. It raises them. Would’nt it be better to put the money in a bank account of your own rather than the funeral director’s? No Rest in Peace with Preneed in the funeral industry.
Recently a new group of preneed folks were hired in California.. Preneed sales people were hired out of Baskin Robbins. Snippet:
“that the lack of respect of the former Baskin Robbins management -what they believed were playful joking remarks to described their career switch as moving “from one freezer to another” which they all too often used to describe their career transition from ice cream freezers to the mortuary freezers.” This happened in Whittier, California.
In 2oo8 the lack of respect turned into huge financial deficits causing many traditional funeral funeral directors to raise their prices.
Simply put these Scandals put a squeeze on funeral profits:
In Illinpis there was the IFDA Preneed Trust Managment Debacle 40 Million.
In Missouti there was the National Prearranged Trust theft 300-500 Million. This affected many other States.
In Colorado there was the Neptune Society bait and switch preneed scandal of 2 million+.
Last but not Least Stewart Enterprises (2nd Largest Funeral Corporation) received a cease and desist order for lying to the Securities and Exchange 0n December 29th. Commission (SEC) about preneed.
Preneed Scandals Cost Funeral Homes money because they pickup the tab in the aftermath. In most cases the loss of these funds pressure funeral industry people to raise your fee. This raises the average cost of a funeral.
Merrill Lynch and (IFDA Preneed trust) purchase by Bank of America was finalized this past week.
It happened on December 5th 2008. What does this mean for Merrill Lynch?
We do not know yet.
What does this mean for the IFDA Preneed Trust?
We do not know yet.
What will the Bank of Americas do with these financial concerns?
We do not know yet.
Two Things we do know
1. The Illinois Funeral Directors Associationhas not commented about this yet.
2. When more information is available You will find it at this Funeral Directors Blog, along with all the Information on theIFDA Preneed Trust Mismanagement Scandal.
Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., now holds deposits of some $852 billion, or 11.9% of the US total of deposits.
So will the Bank of America keep the IFDA Preneed Trust?If they apply their 25 Billion dollar bailout to the Merrill Lynch’s IFDA Preneed Trust. Acquisition -the bailout occurred. If they apply the bailout to the IFDA the corruption of funeral directors got a bail out. Did you get one?
