4. Choose immediate burial or cremation.

A great way to lower funeral expenses would be to opt for immediate cremation or burial. If you decide to go with immediate burial, then the costs of embalming (which vary anywhere between $600 and $1,500) are cut from the total.

And no matter which choice you make, if you go with the immediate option, you will not have to pay the costs for the venues and facilities when it comes to viewing.

Another good thing to keep in mind that would also lower your funeral expenses would be to ask the funeral home about their basic funeral package: most of the time it comes without any viewing and, despite not including the casket, it could fall somewhere around $2,300.

It is still quite a sizeable sum, but in the long run, it would be lower than the averages we discussed before. Yet, keep in mind that this option could end up creating heated discussions among family members.

There are a lot of funeral services and burial ceremonies around the world, including green burials. If you are interested in knowing more about what a green burial entails, this book on the matter is a great read!