Estimating the Financial Costs of Funeral Celebrations in Ghana: (A Case Study of Greater Accra, Central and Ashanti Regions)

Abstract

Funerals and burial practices are a universal human social experience, and every society has a unique pattern of dealing with the death of its members. In Ghana, it is noticed that Ghanaians revere the dead so much that funerals are at the heart of Ghanaians' social life. This study sought to estimate the cost of funeral celebrations on personal finances and on productivity through man-hour loss. Interviews and questionnaires were the basis for data collection. The results from the sample, using a purposive sampling technique indicated funeral attendees in Ghana often incur costs in the form of expenditure elements including, but not limited to transportation, the buying of funeral cloths and the expenditure at funeral ground. It also showed that families hosting a funeral incur high costs when organizing it. Data interpretation was done using Microsoft excel. It is recommended that funeral celebration days should be reduced to one day, especially Saturdays so that attendees can leave on Friday after work and return on Sunday. And that, families should reduce how much they spend on food and drink by organizing simple but befitting burials.