How to Lower the Cost of a Funeral in SG
It’s no secret that funerals in Singapore don’t come cheap. If not planned ahead properly, it can take a toll on your savings.
The good news is that funerals don’t need to cost an arm and a leg. In this handy guide, we’ll share with you some tips in keeping funeral costs in Singapore as low as possible.
Overview of Funeral Costs
There are different types of funeral homes in Singapore catering to different religions including Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, and Muslims.
That said, funeral costs will vary depending on several factors such as the length of the memorial service, religious rites, location of the funeral home, and other additional services.
Funeral homes in Singapore typically offer these services per package, which can be customised according to your needs.
To give you an idea, a three-day religious memorial service costs about $3,800 to $10,000 on average. Meanwhile, a three-day non-religious memorial service would range from $1,700 to $7,500.
Prices on the higher end already include a casket, hearse service, rental of a funeral home room or tables and chairs, flowers, religious items, and the service fee of funeral directors and staff.
Note that this price doesn’t include a columbarium niche if you opt for cremation. At the same time, it doesn’t include a cemetery plot if you’re planning to hold a burial.
Tip 1: Keep it Simple
To maintain low costs, the general rule of thumb is to organise a fairly simple funeral. There are different ways to do this.
For example, you can consider skipping the wake. It’s one of the biggest expenses that can eat up the majority of your budget.
Once you’ve taken care of the essential paperwork, you can start organising for the cremation process, which costs roughly about $100 to $400 on average. From there, you can start thinking about how you can memorialise your loved one.
You may hold a simple ceremony at home with your family and friends. Afterwhich, you can also choose to scatter your loved one’s ashes at sea or at the Garden of Peace.
Tip 2: Shop Around
Unfortunately, some funeral homes tend to overcharge customers. So even if a package looks attractive at first glance, we don’t recommend signing up right away.
If you’re planning a full-blown funeral, we highly recommend having at least three to five funeral service options/packages to choose from. Normally, you can find price estimates of various funeral service providers online.
Once you’ve come up with a few options, all that’s left to do is to give each one a call so you can have an actual quote.
Tip 3: Consider Pre-planning Your Funeral
Pre-planning allows you or your loved one to customise a funeral without the distress of making last-minute arrangements once it happens. If you’re in a good financial situation at the moment, consider paying for it in advance to “lock-in” today’s prices.
Funeral costs will continue to skyrocket each year, which can put a financial strain on you or your family when death happens unexpectedly.
In other words, there’s a very good chance that the prices you’re paying for today would be much less than it would be in the future.