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Dollars & SensePractical advice on how to save money and keep your wits during a lousy economy
Recession-proof? Not funeral homes
By Cox Newspapers
April 13, 2009


The nation’s recession has forced people to change the way they live.

Now, it’s also changing the way they die.

When grieving families venture into Stormet Norem’s Boynton Beach, Fla., funeral home to plan a loved one’s farewell, he sees it in the small choices they make.

Since the Dow tumbled and layoffs mounted last year, relatives are leaning toward less-lavish flower arrangements.

Instead of two days of visitation for their dearly departed, some are going with one.

“They may cut out a limousine,” Norem said. “They’ll drive their own cars.”

He understands the choices. He’s watching his own money, too.

But all those cuts add up.

Norem’s funeral home, Boynton Memorial Chapel, handled about the same number of funerals in 2007 and 2008, “but the dollars are down,” Norem said.

The drop forced him to lay off a funeral director at the end of February, he said. He’s doing the extra work himself.

“I went through this in the early ’80s, right after I opened up, and I made it through then,” Norem said. “You just have to get mean and lean.”

Funeral homes across the country are doing the same, according to a new survey by the National Funeral Directors Association, based in Brookfield, Wis.

Fourteen percent of the funeral directors who responded said they have laid off employees as a result of the economic slump.

They reported that families are choosing less-expensive caskets, and that cremation is becoming an even more common -- and affordable -- alternative to burials.

Families also are asking to finance funeral costs more often, according to the survey.

At the same time, many funeral homes are seeing lagging returns on the trust funds they use for depositing prearranged funeral revenue.

People tend to think the funeral industry is recession-proof -- that the certainty of death ensures its eternal prosperity -- but that’s not the case, association spokeswoman Jessica Koth said.

“The vast majority of funeral homes are small, family-owned businesses that typically serve less than 150 families a year,” Koth said. “Just like any family-owned business, they are feeling the impact of the recession.”


http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/42917252.html