万花筒 2009-03-23&03-24 经济不景气，葬礼贵到付不（在线收听）

We are all looking for ways to save a buck, whether it is at a grocery store, restaurants, or even on vacation. Our Fox Five’s Nadine Toren shows us another important money saver.

Losing a loved one is bad enough, so how do you emotionally and financially survive when funeral expenses start adding up?

"You do have families, yes, that are not able to afford as much as they used to." Keith Baumgardener works for Greenwood Memorial Park & Mortuary, a mountain view funeral home that’s been around for more than a hundred years. He says dealing with death in a down economy is tough, especially when the average funeral costs 5000 dollars and can reach up to 15,000 dollars.

"More and more the families that we serve are looking at ways that they can get a saving of some sort which might be changing the selection of flowers that they purchase, gaining an old … own an urn that’s a little less expensive , a casket, that type of thing."

Consider this, plan your loved one's funeral on a weekday. Baumgardener says it’ll save you at least a thousand dollars. Here's another thought when making arrangements. Hold a gravesite service rather than a traditional chapel service. He says that too can save you a thousand bucks.

"You will probably pay between four to five thousand dollars depending on what, depending on your options, what would you include or take out."

When it comes to cremation, "It's typically less expensive than a traditional casket type burial."

And Baumgardener says you have options when choosing your loved one's headstone. "Flat is gonna run you probably about six hundred dollars and upright marker could be anywhere from fifteen hundred to you know four or five thousand."

To get the best overall price, Baumgardener says do your research. "You can give stuff that is on the lower end, but it's not always gonna be what you think it is." Because anything that will help make coping a little easier is well worth it.

In Mountain View, Nadine Toren, Fox Five news.