Planning a Funeral/ Dealing With Loss

This is an invaluable site, answering probably every question you have about funerals and funeral services - including questions about finances.

Here is a funeral home finder. You can look by county or city to see what's in your area. It's also helpful to ask friends who have recently lost a loved one to tell you about the care they received - either good or not so good. 

Here are Funeral Directors' Associations sites for several states: Conneticut, New Jersey, and New York

You might not like the analogy, but it's a helpful one. Planning a funeral is like buying a new car - and this is important to remember. Mainly, you need to remember two things:

1. You need to be an informed consumer. (The sites above will prepare you.)
2. You need to shop around and compare prices.

There can be quite a difference - both in quality and in price. These two basic practices can save you thousands of dollars.

Resources for Those Who Grieve

• Where is God When It Hurts? - Philip Yancey  
• Facing the Death of Someone You Love - Elisabeth Elliot
• A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss - Gerald Sittzer
• Lament for a Son – Nicholas Wolterstoff
• How To Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies - Therese A. Rando
• Conquering the Mysteries and Lies of Grief - by Sherry Russell
• On Death and Dying - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
• Gone but Not Lost: Grieving the Death of a Child - David Wiersbe
• Water Bugs & Dragonflies: Explaining Death to Young Children - Gloria Ortiz
• Not By Accident: What I Learned from My Son's Untimely Death -  Isabel Fleece