It might be best not to add the tombstone at once but instead only take care of the burial and wait until Kei puts away some money for the tombstone. In Poland, it is okay to keep a tomb as-is (cross + mound of earth, very common to plant something on it) until you are able to put a proper tombstone. My great-grandmother didn't have a tombstone for about 15 years after her death.

Also it's worth asking the stoneworker if they have some cracked/otherwise damaged stone to use, this can lower the cost quite a bit, too. My grandfather got a tombstone out of damaged black marble, it wasn't super expensive (as far as black marble goes) and looks damn awesome.

Lots of hugs for Kei <3

omg if you have any more info on how to handle this, please lmk, cuz obviously he's just kind of ....a wreck rn.

he said he had always seen such graves but never considered the logic behind them so this is a huge help!!!!

Okay, I asked my mother on some info, she organised funerals for my grandfather and my great-grandparents. I'm typing as she speaks, Polish terms in brackets in case I mistranslate anything.

1. An urn is a far cheaper option than a regular funeral.

2. It's even cheaper if there is no need to buy a place for it. Does Kei have any family tomb? (Either grandparent, some aunt or uncle, cousin, really anyone.) Then the funeral service just moves away the tombstone for a moment and buries the urn there.

3. Did Kei's father have insurance? Then there's burial allowance (zasiłek pogrzebowy), that's a couple thousand PLN!. Kei needs to contact, uh, that'd translate to something like "Bureau of Social Insurance"? (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych, ZUS) and apply for it. Then for any funeral service he needs to take an invoice on his name.

4. Usually the closest funeral company (zakład pogrzebowy) will be the cheapest. If there's no family tomb, probably the cheapest option is a name plate + a wooden cross.

5. If it's a Catholic funeral, Kei might try his luck talking to the priest and explaining he doesn't have much money. Some priests take less in such cases, but there's no rule for it really.

If either of you have any questions, feel free to ask in English or Polish.

My sincerest condolences to your friend. I'll be boosting the signal.