Funerals are never fun. They are emotionally draining and you are forced to endure the shock of knowing that your loved one will never be back in your life. In addition to the emotional devastation, you have to deal with the financial burdens of paying for someone to be buried. We all know that funerals are not free or cheap, and the last place you want to be cheap is when it comes to burying the person you love.

But there are ways you can keep the cost down. They say you can't take the money with you, but someone who doesn't plan for their death may be taking their relatives' money with them to the grave. Here are some ways that you can bury on a budget: giving relatives dignity without creating financial hardship.

There is a funeral cost calculator on FuneralswithLove.com that helps you to figure out how much your funeral might cost and whether or not you're going to be able to pay for it. Effectively, the cost estimator first determines your total resources from prepaid expenses, personal savings/investments, and death benefits. Once you know what is available to you, you have to determine how much you want to spend. Some of us want to go out in style and some of us figure that since we're dead, our relatives should be the ones having all the fun.

There are three categories of funeral costs: funeral expenses, burial expenses and miscellaneous expenses. Funeral expenses are the costs related to the casket and services provided by the funeral home. Burial expenses derive from the cost of the burial plot or tools for cremation. Cremation is typically cheaper than burial, since you save on the cost of the casket, embalming and burial plot. Miscellaneous expenses might involve flowers, performances or other things you do to spice up your funeral (if there ever were such a thing). You might also consider the cost of any events that occur after the funeral, such as catered food, etc.

In addition to the typical costs of holding a funeral, you may run into serious legal issues. Christopher Chestnut, a leading attorney specializing in mortuary law, states that, "Mortuary law issues typically arise when the funeral, the preparation of the deceased's body, or some form of financial dispute comes from a client's dealings with the funeral home or crematory."

So, in addition to the emotional stress of losing a loved one, you may run into problems with shady funeral homes. For example, there is a well-known case of Burr Oak Cemetery, where burial plots were being resold after bodies were dug up and dumped in an abandoned lot. If you run into problems during the funeral of a loved one, there are attorneys who specialize in making everything right. Unfortunately, death is one time when families are more likely to be involved in legal wrangling. It's actually kind of sad.

Here are some quick tips on saving on the cost of your funeral:

1) Shop around for options. The most popular funeral home in your community may not always be the best.
2) Consider a closed casket. Open casket funerals require embalming. This is an expense that you don't want to worry about.
3) Make sure you have life insurance. Don't let your loved one suffer financially in addition to the emotional pain they are already experiencing.
4) Consider cremation. This can save you money on the cost of a burial plot and casket.
5) Plan ahead. Make sure that your will specifies how you want to be buried, so that an overzealous relative doesn't blow all the insurance money "doing it big" at your service.

Remember that when you die, you are getting the easy way out. Your loved ones are the ones who will be given the job of living. Make it easy for them by planning ahead and being intelligent. It will be worthwhile.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.