Statistically, the majority of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck, with high credit debt. Over half of the population of Americans rely on money from the federal government for to cover basic survival needs. This includes financial assistance for low-income individuals and Americans with physical disabilities along with social security payments.

A survey conducted by the federal government concluded that roughly 40% of Americans were incapable of covering even a $400 emergency expense. These people may be employed, but do not have any savings in their bank accounts. There is a term for this group that refers to them as the “working poor.”

When you consider that the average cost of a traditional funeral is around $11,000, we can understand how the vast majority of Americans are left with no way to cover such a large, and typically, unexpected expense. Planning for such expenses when a person is older or has a terminal illness, makes a lot of sense. However, younger, healthy people who die in an accident generally do not spend time thinking about this. For most people, manifesting $11,000 over a few days to cover funeral costs is literally impossible. So what should be people do when they can't afford a traditional funeral?

One Answer, is to Consider a Low Cost Cremation

Many distraught Americans dealing with the unwelcome necessity to deal with the death of a loved one, will receive some reprieve in learning that the average cost of a cremation is as low as $1,100 (in some areas this may be higher up to $3,000). This is often within the limits of many people's credit card limits, or families can pool together or crowdfund this level of expense; however, it is a far cry from having to come up with $11,000. Many families choose affordable cremation because it is the more cost effective choice when compared to wasting so much money on an expensive traditional funeral.

The National Cremation Research Council has reported that the number of families who choose a simple cremation for their loved ones rose to over 40% from about 10% to 15% less than a decade ago.

Cremation Services

Choosing a direct cremation process is the most affordable and least expensive way to go. And just because a family makes the choice of having a cheap cremation, does not mean they cannot have a memorial ceremony or perform religious services to commemorate the life of the deceased. All major religions have officially supported cremation as a positive alternative to traditional casket burials.

Understanding Cremation Costs

The average cost of cremation includes these items:

• Pick up the body and transfer it directly to the crematorium, removing any funeral home expenses.
• Professional cremation services performed with dignity and respect.
• Delivery of the cremains to the recipient family in a basic container (sturdy cardboard box) or an optional decorative urn (additional expense).

Why should I choose cremation services near me?

Transporting a body is very laborious and expensive, and presents additional challenges if it needs to go across state lines. Therefore, it is important to work with a crematorium near you in your state. This will be easy to find if you use the locator on SimpleCremationUSA.com at https://www.simplecremationusa.com/locations to find a crematorium near you.

Another good reason to use direct cremation is if a person dies in a place that is a great distance from where they wish to be buried, as handling and shipping a human body is considerably costly. It can cost up to $6,000 just to bring a body back for burial. A better idea is to have the body cremated first and then the cremains can be shipped for a much lower cost.