Here’s an educational and amusing animation on “The Business of Death.” It covers funeral costs, cremation, resource usage, and creative options.
While it was created in 2007, much of the information is still pretty much up to date. They list a traditional funeral at $6,500, not including the cemetery plot and the services to open and close the grave. One amazing figure: Japanese funerals cost an average of $40,000 – and 98% of Japanese are cremated!
The cremation rate in the U.S., however, has shot up dramatically. In 2007, the U.S. cremation rate was 32%. This was about the time the economy tanked. As of 2011, the Cremation Association of North America reported the average cremation rate in the U.S. is now 41% of the population.
Check out this video from Good Magazine:
