Interment (burial rites)

[ninerbuff]

IMO one of the biggest financial mistakes anyone can make is interment.

Though it may vary slightly from one state to the next, the average cost of a funeral in the United States ranges from $12-15,000.

Read more: The Average Cost Of A Funeral In The United States
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives​

There are better things we can do with that money for ourselves and family, not to mention save money for the use of the land and/or cost for services for upkeep. If the thought that once the "soul, spirit, essence, etc." leaves the body the body is dead, then why bother to spend thousands of dollars to put it into the ground or crypt, and utilizing a space that could be used for a park or school? I've thought about it and many have said that it's a final "resting place". Resting place? Sorry but there is no rest there, it's just acreage of bones and decayed clothing. I would think that with the "soul, spirit, essence etc." gone, why pay homage to a lifeless corpse? My grandmother is interred in a city 45 min away from me. Do I have to go there to reminisce on our memories together? Having a gravestone doesn't make my memories more vivid or clear. I have a chain that she gave to me before she passed. If the grave was destroyed or even moved further away, I wouldn't even flinch because the chain would remind me more of her than a grave. If you had a choice what would be more important, a sentimental heirloom or gift, or the plot they were buried on?
Cremation to me is a much more affordable and sensible decision because if the dead want to kept around as a reminder of their "life", ashes in a urn on the mantle place or in the home doesn't really cost much. Even better IMO when the ashes are cast in the sea or ocean since our carbon life forms started off in nature.
Save the hard earned money and put it to more sensible use.

 

[MW0082]

IMO one of the biggest financial mistakes anyone can make is interment.

There are better things we can do with that money for ourselves and family, not to mention save money for the use of the land and/or cost for services for upkeep. If the thought that once the "soul, spirit, essence, etc." leaves the body the body is dead, then why bother to spend thousands of dollars to put it into the ground or crypt, and utilizing a space that could be used for a park or school? I've thought about it and many have said that it's a final "resting place". Resting place? Sorry but there is no rest there, it's just acreage of bones and decayed clothing. I would think that with the "soul, spirit, essence etc." gone, why pay homage to a lifeless corpse? My grandmother is interred in a city 45 min away from me. Do I have to go there to reminisce on our memories together? Having a gravestone doesn't make my memories more vivid or clear. I have a chain that she gave to me before she passed. If the grave was destroyed or even moved further away, I wouldn't even flinch because the chain would remind me more of her than a grave. If you had a choice what would be more important, a sentimental heirloom or gift, or the plot they were buried on?
Cremation to me is a much more affordable and sensible decision because if the dead want to kept around as a reminder of their "life", ashes in a urn on the mantle place or in the home doesn't really cost much. Even better IMO when the ashes are cast in the sea or ocean since our carbon life forms started off in nature.
Save the hard earned money and put it to more sensible use.

Agreed, when I die just throw my body in the ocean. I will be food, and it will be better than buried in the gorund....

 

[Meow Mix]

Soylent green, now that's where it's at.

 

[Zadok]

In my will I have designated that my body is to be donated to science – as a Christian it is my last gift I am able to extend to the possible benefit of mankind. I have designated that a few items (otherwise worthless but concerning this era) be sealed in a time causal with a stone marker.

Zadok

 

[painted wolf]

This is why I want a Green Burial. No muss, no fuss... no chemicals. Just me, a blanket, a simple box and nothing to prevent my body from returning to the Earth. A quiet spot in nature for my family to visit if they choose.
Green Burials,...Return Naturally

Thankfully there a couple of options for this in my state.

wa:do

 

[MW0082]

This is why I want a Green Burial. No muss, no fuss... no chemicals. Just me, a blanket, a simple box and nothing to prevent my body from returning to the Earth. A quiet spot in nature for my family to visit if they choose.
Green Burials,...Return Naturally

Thankfully there a couple of options for this in my state.

wa:do

That is very interesting, but I still want to be thrown in the ocean.....

 

[ninerbuff]

This is why I want a Green Burial. No muss, no fuss... no chemicals. Just me, a blanket, a simple box and nothing to prevent my body from returning to the Earth. A quiet spot in nature for my family to visit if they choose.
Green Burials,...Return Naturally

Thankfully there a couple of options for this in my state.

wa:do

But aren't these still "real estate" purchases? I will say that if the cost is under $1000 though, it is a much more affordable and simpler burial than the average.

 

[ninerbuff]

In my will I have designated that my body is to be donated to science – as a Christian it is my last gift I am able to extend to the possible benefit of mankind. I have designated that a few items (otherwise worthless but concerning this era) be sealed in a time causal with a stone marker.

Zadok

That's what I'm pretty much doing too. Except I have designated cremation and they can decide what to do with the ashes.

 

[painted wolf]

Not really ... in many of these places burial plots are designed to be reusable. Once a body is done rotting there is no reason not to reuse the spot.

It's really more of a disposal fee for potentially hazardous waste and preservation of natural green space.

wa:do

 

[croak]

BBC News - Urban biodiversity beyond the grave

A burial in the ground if I don't get eaten by a cat or shot by hunters.

Green Burials sound nice... probably the default for a raven, since cemeteries tend to be made for humans.

 

[Yoshieslunchbox]

If you had a choice what would be more important, a sentimental heirloom or gift, or the plot they were buried on?

I guess that's the dilemma; some people would choose the plot their loved ones were buried on. Society places meaning on burial locations, and so people tend to treat them with reverence. What I would like to know is if there are any atheists out there who find meaning in such things.

 

[ninerbuff]

I guess that's the dilemma; some people would choose the plot their loved ones were buried on. Society places meaning on burial locations, and so people tend to treat them with reverence. What I would like to know is if there are any atheists out there who find meaning in such things.

Most people think that being in a cemetery is still "creepy" because of all the remains being buried there. Many horror movies have been based on "living dead" zombies etc. I really think that's all they're good for......imagination. Really, can you think of people ever really having a happy celebration at a cemetery?
Also why all the reverence? If the "soul, spirit, essence, etc." is gone, then there is nothing. That's why it baffles me when people say, "I'm going to go visit......at the cemetery". Supposedly they aren't "there", so why make the trip? I don't think people really even think about it. It's just a rite that most people follow because that's what they've seen or been taught.

 

[Kathryn]

Burials and cemeteries are not for the dead, they're for the living.

I prefer to be cremated, and scattered in the Main River in Aschaffenburg, Germany. I have more than enough life insurance to pay for my entire extended family to take one helluva trip there, party as much as they want, and then stand on a medieval bridge and dump me over. That's my wish.

However, when I presented this to my family, they were horrified. They want me to be buried in our family's traditional cemetery, with a traditional headstone. I find that morbid, and a waste of money, but I'll be dead, what do I care?

In spite of their opinions, I've put my wishes in my will, with the caveat that they do with me what they want, and the final decision will be my husband's. Then I left them each a huge chunk of life insurance and property to make them feel better about things.

I also left instructions on a simple pine box, and state laws, including sources on how to minimize the cost of burial within state laws, and I stated clearly that I want them to provide a going away ceremony with as little cost as possible - and spend the money on a huge party in my memory! Even with the cost of a party, or a trip, I've got enough life insurance and property to give generously to charity, which I've also included in my will.

That's about all a person can do from the grave.

 

[Revoltingest]

I just don't want to be buried up-ended to be used as a bicycle stand.
Burn me, & send my ashes in unmarked envelopes to thousands of
government offices around the state. I hope to look a lot like anthrax.

 

[Atomist]

Burials and cemeteries are not for the dead, they're for the living.

exactly... that's why when I die I want my family to do whatever they want with my remains. They can eat me for all I care.

 

[ninerbuff]

Burials and cemeteries are not for the dead, they're for the living.

I prefer to be cremated, and scattered in the Main River in Aschaffenburg, Germany. I have more than enough life insurance to pay for my entire extended family to take one helluva trip there, party as much as they want, and then stand on a medieval bridge and dump me over. That's my wish.

However, when I presented this to my family, they were horrified. They want me to be buried in our family's traditional cemetery, with a traditional headstone. I find that morbid, and a waste of money, but I'll be dead, what do I care?

In spite of their opinions, I've put my wishes in my will, with the caveat that they do with me what they want, and the final decision will be my husband's. Then I left them each a huge chunk of life insurance and property to make them feel better about things.

I also left instructions on a simple pine box, and state laws, including sources on how to minimize the cost of burial within state laws, and I stated clearly that I want them to provide a going away ceremony with as little cost as possible - and spend the money on a huge party in my memory! Even with the cost of a party, or a trip, I've got enough life insurance and property to give generously to charity, which I've also included in my will.

That's about all a person can do from the grave.

Many people take out policies to help pay for the expense of funeral and burial expenses. Life insurance should be for the living and not the dead like you state.
A lot of people overpay based on the burial average cost and don't bat an eye because it is an expected expense. There should be more education on the options at hand so no one gets sucked in if there loved ones hadn't made any previous arrangements. It's easy to spend a bunch of money because the all they want at that point is a respectable service.

 

[Revoltingest]

exactly... that's why when I die I want my family to do whatever they want with my remains. They can eat me for all I care.

[youtube]EF6IShnqPY0[/youtube]
YouTube - Monty Python - The Undertaker sketch

 

[Atomist]

[youtube]EF6IShnqPY0[/youtube]
YouTube - Monty Python - The Undertaker sketch

Hmmm if only... ;-)

 

[ninerbuff]

So I'm watching I.D. (lots of crime solving stories) and after watching an episode, it reminded me of this thread.
So after 5 years, a missing females bones are discovered and the family cries "Now we can finally bring her home!", yet they had already made a memorial stone and grave for her.
Why do people act like the bones are still a person if the soul is no longer occupying it? The bones now are just ...........bones. Yes, part of a living being once, but after 5 years they're treated like a living thing.

 

[Noaidi]

I just want a cardboard coffin and a tree planted above me when I'm buried.
The cost and waste of resources in conventional burials is astounding.