This Week's Web Winners

Want to have a great funeral? Plan it and pay for it, or at least set aside the money -- long before your date with destiny. These sites offer guidelines and specific tips on knowing the costs.

FUNERAL RIGHTS -- The Federal Trade Commission provides consumers with this page titled, "Paying Final Respects: Your Rights When Buying Funeral Goods & Services." It outlines rights under the FTC-enforced Funeral Rule, which includes your right to itemized price lists from funeral homes and your right to use a cardboard or other "alternative container" for cremation. http://go.philly.com/funeral-1

FUNERAL FINANCING -- Shopping for a funeral may now could save you and your family thousands of dollars. Bankrate.com provides a quick outline on how to decide what you want, knowing your legal rights and figuring out how to pay. One suggestion: Put funeral money in a joint savings account. The site says funeral costs averaged $7,323 in 2006, and "deluxe" funerals topped $10,000.

CREMATION ASSOCIATION -- Cremation, which is now used about 25 percent of the time, is generally a less-expensive way to go and can cost as little as $800. At the site of the Cremation Association of North America, you can search for "death-care professionals in your area." By the way, the association has a link to the Transportation Security Administration's rules for taking cremated remains as carry-on baggage on an airline. They are allowed, but only if the X-ray machine can see inside the urn. www.cremationassociation.org

FUNERAL CONSUMERS -- The Funeral Consumers Alliance describes itself as the "Consumer Reports for the funeral business." Articles, such as "Caskets: Everything the Mortician Won't Tell You and Some Better Places to Shop," provide eye-opening reports on how the funeral industry operates. The same article provides links to providers of such items as low-cost plywood-and-pine casket kits, and biodegradable urns. www.funerals.org

-- REID KANALEY, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER