Planning a funeral for a loved one is an honor, but it can also drain the bank account if the proper plans aren't put into place. Here is what you can do to keep funeral and memorial costs down:

Combine the Funeral and Memorial Service

If you're like most people, you're planning to host both a funeral and memorial service for your loved one. The funeral service allows those who want to to honor your loved one while their body is present, while the memorial service enables people to honor a loved one without the body present and usually after it's been buried. Some may choose one service over the other, while some might want to attend both services.

One of the easiest ways to save some money on the funeral you're planning is to combine the funeral and memorial services so they're located in the same facility. Most funeral homes and churches will allow you to rent a space in their facilities for both services, so you can set up the funeral services area in the front of the room and create a memorial get-together space in the back of the room. This will save you the cost of having to rent a space in two different locations.

Rent Most of the Decorations

Instead of investing money on bought decorations for the funeral and memorial service, consider renting what you can before you start shopping. You can rent everything you need to decorate the funeral and memorial space aside from balloons and flowers. Even the silverware can be rented so you don't have to buy paper products or bring dishes from home only to wash later. You should be able to rent chairs and tables from the facility where you'll be hosting the funeral and memorial services in, and the rest of the décor can be rented from a local party shop.

Plan a Potluck System

Memorials are typically a time when people get together to share food and stories about a loved one who has recently passed. So an effective way to cut some costs for the funeral and memorial services you're planning is to create and manage a potluck system for the memorial part of the event. Make a list of dishes and desserts you'd like to see presented at the memorial, then ask each guest to sign up for the dishes they want to bring. This will allow everyone to bring something tasty to share without ending up with several of the same dishes or desserts on the table.  

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