Cremation is expected to soon be more popular than traditional full-body burial. People choose cremation for a number of reasons. Here are some of the reasons you may find cremation to be a good fit for you when doing your funeral pre-planning.

1. You have more options to control the overall funeral costs.

With a traditional full-body burial, there are some minimum costs that you can't avoid, such as:

• Purchase of a standard sized casket.
• Purchase of a standard sized cemetery plot.
• Purchase of a concrete vault (if required by the cemetery).

If you wish to have a viewing service with an open casket, you'll have the expense of the embalming and restoration.

With cremation, you have more options. You can have the bare minimum of costs, which would include:

• Have a direct cremation once you have passed away.
• Have your cremains returned to your family in a simple fiberboard box.
• Have your family scatter your cremains over a favorite location, removing the need for a casket or cemetery space.

But you can also choose to include a mixture of activities that affect the costs. For example, instead of a direct cremation, you can have your body embalmed for a viewing service, then have the cremation afterwards.

2. Cremation gives your family more time to make your final arrangements.

Once you are cremated, your family can take their time getting out the funeral announcements and contacting speakers and other people you wish to have participate in your funeral. With a full-body burial, the funeral home has limited time in which to do something with your body. Your family will only have a few days in which to fulfill your funeral pre-planning wishes.

3. You have some environmentally friendly options when using the cremation services of the funeral home.

For some people, the choice of cremation is because it can be more eco-friendly than the full-body burial route. For example:

• If you skip the viewing service, you won't need the harsh embalming chemicals.
• You don't need a full-sized casket of hardwood that isn't sustainable.
• You don't need space in the cemetery for your remains.

4. Cremation makes it easier for your family to get you back home.

If you should pass away when out of town, it can be difficult and expensive to get your body back home for the funeral. You can have your body cremated and shipped back to your family via a simple delivery service. This will be especially convenient for your family if your pass away when out of the country.

For more information, contact Holmes Funeral Home or a similar location.