How Cheap can a Funeral Be !

whiteguineapig wrote:

when i mentioned this thread to my other half he brought up leaving a body to medical science. he seems to think this is free (if this is the case this could be where i'm bound if i pop off first) has anyone else ever heard of this as we have donor cards and i seem to think they might mention this and wonder if thats where he's got the idea

I believe medical science can be quite fussy about who they experiment on after the original owner no longer requires the outer shell.

I have probably read it in the paper or on the internet but I think you have to be below a certain age to qualify. No doubt someone knowledgable will be along shortly?

Judi wrote:

i have told him to tell them, that i dont want to be embalmed

:hello: Hiya Judi. I must say that though I never really fancied the whole embalming thing myself, I must say that I do think that there's a place for it in certain situations.

The person who's funeral I'm arranging is my Nan, she was found in less than pleasant circumstances by my mother. I was there immediately and have to say that the memories of what I saw are the most upsetting part of her death. Without going into detail, consider that eyes and mouths do not close of their own accord, also the pale look with blue lips is not becoming

Today I went to say goodbye to my Nan at the undertakers. She had been embalmed, had lovely natural make up on and looked like she was asleep. I cannot stress enough how different she looked from when she was found dead. I came away really happy, I have replaced the horrible mental picture of her with a nice one and it really was worth every penny.

I told them that she looked better now than she did when she was alive

So maybe the embalming isn't so much for the deceased, as for the family.

we're in the middle of arranging a simple funeral for OHs grandfather, which will be eld on friday.

even the most simple of proceedings has cost in the region of £2500-3000.

Earlier this year my mum was found dead. She had been there about 4-5 weeks and was badly decomposed. The family wanted a cardboard coffin - my sister is an artist and was going to paint it - and we had arranged this with the coffin company. At the last minute, speaking to the undertakers (who were awful and very judgemental over circumstances they had no insight into) they said the body was too smelly to go in a cardboard coffin as it would be offensive to those who had to deal with it. I think this was a money-making ploy as the body was in deep-freeze at the hospital until a couple of hours prior to the funeral and hadn't been to the chapel of rest at the funeral home at all. The coffin they supplied was bottom of the range and the most eco-friendly of the ones offered, we felt spending a fortune and depleting tree stocks was not the way to go for a cremation. The service was non-existant. The family all turned up and put a single rose each on the coffin then sat silently listening to mums favourite songs for about 10 mins. This cost £1500 with no cars, flowers, adverts, embalming, or dealing directly with the body in any way other than moving it from the flat to hospital and hospital to crem. The profit margins are obscene but I spoke to many good and ethical people at the time in the area of eco funerals and there are cheaper ways to do it if things go as plan without complications....
SAM xx

Me and my siblings are each putting a fiver per month into a funeral account for my mum. At the mo she is 62 so she has years left to live. Most funeral directors let you open an account with them to put money in when you want to, then when the dreaded time comes, you should have most or all of the costs paid for