When it comes to funerals, people want the very best for their loved ones.

Local funeral home owners know there are a several options — from cremation to burial and with or without viewing and ceremony — so nearly everyone can afford the cost.

At Limestone Chapel Funeral Home in Athens, prices range from $1,600 for a basic cremation with no funeral or viewing to about $8,000 for a funeral with viewing, burial and vault, said co-owner and manager Kenny Blythe.

A funeral with burial ranges from $6,000 to $8,000 at Limestone Chapel. The cost varies depending on casket costs, whether a vault is required, and whether viewing is part of the service. That does not include the cost of a lot, headstone and obituary, he said.

Contrary to popular belief, neither state nor federal law requires an outer burial container or vault, though many cemeteries require them to prevent the ground from sinking above the casket, which makes grounds maintenance difficult.

Blythe said the cost of cremation at Limestone Chapel ranges from $1,600 to $5,000, depending on whether the person also wants a funeral, viewing and cremation.

“It simply depends on what you want to do,” Blythe said. “A lot of folks want the best but simply cannot afford the best.”

He said some people opt to have their loved one’s casket or ashes placed in a mausoleum, rather than below ground or dispersed.

At Spry Funeral Home in Athens, costs vary on average from $1,795 for a simple cremation with ashes returned in a plastic urn, to $8,500 for a casket, vault and funeral service, said owner and director Greg Spry. Again, this does not cover the cost of cemetery lot, headstone or marker or obituary. However, he said people sometimes spend much more.

“You can as much as you want on a traditional funeral but people are also doing a lot of other types of services now,” he said.

Spry said a lot of people pre-plan their funerals to ensure their final wishes are upheld and to prevent their loved ones from having to bear the cost. In recent years, however, people have even turned to online crowd-funding sites like Go Fund Me to try to offset final expenses.

Cremation

Cremation is becoming more popular mainly because it is cheaper, but that is not the only reason some choose it.

“Our research has shown that saving money is the prime reason for choosing cremation among the general population age 40 and older,” said Jessica Koth, public relations manager for the National Funeral Directors Association.

According to NFDA, the cost of cremation is the prime reason African Americans 40 and over choose this method. Among Hispanics in this age group, the prime reason for choosing cremation is convenience for the family. Family tradition was cited as the primary reason by only 2 percent of the general population age 40 and over but by 13 percent of Asian Americans.

NFDA does not offer a state-by-state breakdown of average funeral costs because it does not have enough respondents in each state to yield statistically accurate date, Koth said. However, it does offer regional breakdowns.

In NFDA’s “East, South, Central” region — which includes the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee — the average cost of a funeral with viewing and ceremony followed by burial is $6,921 without a vault and $8,319 with a vault.

The cost does not include cemetery plot, monument or marker, or obituary costs.

In the same region, the average cost of a funeral with viewing and ceremony followed by cremation is $5,973. The average cost of cremation with no viewing or ceremony is $1,995, according to NFDA.

What if you can’t afford a funeral?

The Funeral Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting a consumer’s right to choose a meaningful, dignified and affordable funeral, has suggestions on what to do if you can’t afford a typical funeral:

• Consider a home funeral, like people did in the past;

• Donate the body to a medical school;

• Consider anatomical donation organizations;

• Research indigent burial options;

• Don’t feel pressured to buy what you can’t afford.

Shop around

Experts suggest you shop around when trying to cover final expenses. Here is a list of funeral homes in Athens and Limestone County:

• Ardmore Funeral Home, 27186 E. Main St., Ardmore, 256-423-4100;

• Limestone Chapel Funeral Home, 322 U.S. 31, Athens, 256-232-2051;

• McConnell Funeral Home, 1200 E. Forrest St., Athens, 256-232-1515;

• Peoples Funeral Home, 12060 U.S. 31, Tanner, 256-232-1600;

• Royal Funeral Home, 718 Browns Ferry St., Athens, 256-232-4822;

• Spry Funeral Home, 804 U.S. 72 West, Athens, 256-232-2622.

Consumer rule

The Federal Trade Commission enforces what is called the funeral rule. It allows consumers to choose only those goods and services they want or need and to pay only for those they select, whether they are making arrangements when a death occurs or in advance.

The rule allows consumers to compare prices among funeral homes and to select the funeral arrangements they want at the funeral home they use.

The rule does not apply to third-party sellers, such as casket and monument dealers or to cemeteries that lack an on-site funeral home.