DENVER -- It's a topic no one wants to talk about, but did you know you can save money on funeral expenses?

Let's be honest, when someone in your family passes away, the last thing you want to do is shop around for deals on a funeral. Most of us want to go to one place, write a check and get the funeral over with as fast as possible.

But let's talk about the ways you can save money now, so when tragedy strikes, you're ready.

1. If you can plan ahead with your parents, grandparents, even your spouse, you can pre-pay and pre-organize your funeral. After my mother died unexpectedly, my sister-in-law and I decided to pre-plan my ill Grandmother's funeral. It's a lot easier to talk about caskets, burial plots and ceremonies when you're not heartbroken and crying. It wasn't fun, but it was much easier. And when Grandma passed away, we walked into the funeral home knowing everything was paid for and organized, we just had to double check the details and set times and dates. Prices had gone up since we paid for the funeral, but because we had a "guarantee" price we had pre-paid, we only had to pay a slight difference in sales tax. One note, some funeral homes will guarantee the price of their services, but not the price of their merchandise, others will guarantee both.

2. Caskets. While most funeral homes sell caskets, did you know you can actually save money by buying your casket at a casket store? You can even buy them online from Walmart and Costco. (If those links don't work, just go to Walmart or Costco's Web sites and search caskets.)

Costco's Web site explains more about how it works. Mainly the Federal Trade Commission requires funeral homes to accept any casket purchased from an outside source. Costco offers standard shipping, which takes about three business days. They also have expedited delivery, meaning if you place your order by 2 p.m. EST, your casket will arrive by 5 p.m. your local time the following business day.

We found an inexpensive casket at a store for $795. The mortuary offered us the same casket for $1100. When we told the mortuary we had seen the exact same casket, in the exact same color for $795, the woman said "I'll be right back." Suddenly it was like buying a car. She came a few minutes later and said "we can match that price." One local mortuary told me they will match Denver prices, but not Internet prices.

3. Price lists. I had no idea, but all mortuaries are required by law to offer general price lists. You can walk in, ask for a price list and leave with it during regular hours. You can also ask for it by fax, e-mail or mail. That way you can compare like services. We found the difference in price can be thousands of dollars for the EXACT SAME SERVICES!

I asked David Campanella at Newcomer Funeral Home what advice he gives his own family for saving money on funerals.

"When comparing the cost of a funeral, whether it be burial or cremation, you need to itemize everything individually including services, merchandise and outside expenses. While the casket or other merchandise may be less expensive at one place, the services may be less expensive at another, you need to look at the full cost for comparisons".

Campanella also suggested not just getting costs over the phone or by website, but visiting the funeral homes to see if you feel comfortable there.

I agree, we've found a funeral home where we feel comfortable, not just for how they take care of us during the business transaction, but also the way they run the funeral service. We had our last family funeral in the funeral homes own chapel.

If you have a way to save on funerals or if you see a deal, e-mail me Debbie (Debbie@thedenverchannel.com).

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