Funerals

scooby088

I was wondering that if there is any need to use a undertaker for the funeral arrangements, I am only 36 and don't want any fuss with regards to a church service and all the hearses and limosines that go with arranged funerals. All i want is for my body to go right to the crematorium and ashes scattered.

I have spoken with my OH and she has no problems with my wishes, as both of us aren't religious and me being into money saving wants to know the best and most cost effective way of getting around the expense of undertakers.

Any thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Hermia

You don't have to have all the fancy stuff if you use an undertaker. When my dad died we just had a (non-religious) crematorium service, a basic coffin and a car to take the coffin. The undertakers didn't push us into having anything else. If you don't have an undertaker I wonder what happens re: transporting the body from the hospital/hospice etc. I assume you need some sort of special van. And would your family be comfortable handling the body etc?

Dontknowanymore

I would still have an undertaker, loosing a loved one is an awful time without having to try and organise things.
Without wishing to pry to much, are you expecting to die soon?
How about taking out funeral cover? my Mum did for my late Nan and they got just over £2.5k towards the cost of the funeral.

bryanb

At 36 it's usually a bit early to arrange a funeral for yourself. But of course it's good to let people know your wishes just in case.
If you live a normal length of life, procedures are likely to be a bit different when the time comes though.
Cheers, and hope you live a long and happy life.

mkaibear

scooby088 wrote: »

I was wondering that if there is any need to use a undertaker for the funeral arrangements, I am only 36 and don't want any fuss with regards to a church service and all the hearses and limosines that go with arranged funerals. All i want is for my body to go right to the crematorium and ashes scattered.

I have spoken with my OH and she has no problems with my wishes, as both of us aren't religious and me being into money saving wants to know the best and most cost effective way of getting around the expense of undertakers.

Any thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

My first thought would be this - funerals aren't for the departed, because, well, you've departed. They're for the people left behind, to provide closure, to provide a focus for grief and to provide some way of coming to terms with your loss. If your OH changes her mind and decides she wants a huge funeral with mourners and people throwing dirt then that's kind of up to her...

My second thought is this - no, there's no need to have an undertaker do all of that (but they do make it a lot easier, speaking as someone who's lost his brother (at age 23) and granddad (at age 93) in the last 4 years)

Have a word with the local crem - maybe try to find a local coffin-maker - do the running around to make it easier for your OH.

bryanb

Dontknowanymore wrote: »

How about taking out funeral cover? my Mum did for my late Nan and they got just over £2.5k towards the cost of the funeral.

The only plans I have seen would need about £2.6k premium to raise £2.5k for the funeral. Just savings plans without interest in my opinion.

2010

scooby088 wrote: »

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and me being into money saving wants to know the best and most cost effective way of getting around the expense of undertakers.

Any thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Leave your body to medical science is the most cost effective answer.
They may even pay YOU for it.

There used to be a couple of chaps in Edinburgh who specilised in it. :rotfl:

scooby088

I made my will a few years ago and it includes everything i have said about not wanting a funeral and that there will be no real human beneficiaries to my estate(but thats a different subject) I did say i wanted a few of my favourite tunes played. But in all essence i just want my ashes scattered and a memorial at the ashes scattering, maybe it's because i have a dislike for churches and anything religious, that has made my mind so set in stone.

But i will look into it a lot further, and thanks for the replies so far.

Dontknowanymore

bryanb wrote: »

The only plans I have seen would need about £2.6k premium to raise £2.5k for the funeral. Just savings plans without interest in my opinion.

I dunno, I never took it out, I was just throwing it out there.
Some people struggle to save so could be a better option for them.

Also you can organise your own funeral before you die, my Grandad has done this.

Dontknowanymore

scooby088 wrote: »

I made my will a few years ago and it includes everything i have said about not wanting a funeral and that there will be no real human beneficiaries to my estate(but thats a different subject) I did say i wanted a few of my favourite tunes played. But in all essence i just want my ashes scattered and a memorial at the ashes scattering, maybe it's because i have a dislike for churches and anything religious, that has made my mind so set in stone.

But i will look into it a lot further, and thanks for the replies so far.

You don't have to have a religeous service.
I agree with an earlier poster, YOU may not want a funeral, but you wont be here for it anyway, maybe your family at the time would want to do a service which does not have to be religeous.

Mojisola

bryanb wrote: »

The only plans I have seen would need about £2.6k premium to raise £2.5k for the funeral. Just savings plans without interest in my opinion.

The saving part comes from the way prices for funerals increase without you needing to pay more than the original plan.

My parents bought funeral plans some years ago and the price has gone up quite a lot since then but they will get their funerals for the price they paid into the plans.