Funeral costs 15 February 2016 at 11:39PM in Over 50s MoneySaving 41 replies 23.1K views

Mee

Hi Guys,

I thought some of you might be interested in Hunter Davies' article in The Sunday Times Money section - partial online access

pollypenny

Mee wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I thought some of you might be interested in Hunter Davies' article in The Sunday Times Money section - partial online access

I would be interested in a summary of the article, Mee.

I loved Margaret Forster's writing.

Kernow666

could always go for a paupers funeral something that is on the increase although the majority are just trying it on

Mojisola

cloudydays wrote: »

Not in my experience. I had to pay the funeral director from my own savings before the funeral went ahead. My mother had her will at the bank where her accounts were held and the bank stalled releasing the funds for me to be able to pay the funeral directors.

I can understand the bank not releasing the money to you but if the FD sends the invoice to the bank, they will pay it direct to them.

Mee

Kernow666 wrote: »

could always go for a paupers funeral something that is on the increase although the majority are just trying it on

Evidence?
IMHO it is a more complex affair. See the following article which is probably where some here may have got their 3K average figure:
'Paupers' funerals' cost councils £1.7m



Note the number of households with no savings shows no signs of falling. The Money Charity:

Our Money Statistics show that around 9.24m (35%) households have no savings; while a further 3.43m (13%) have under £1,500. That’s half the country only one financial shock away from a crisis!

Mee

pollypenny wrote: »

I would be interested in a summary of the article, Mee.

I loved Margaret Forster's writing.

Will try to obtain a copy or summary, but it may not be a for a few days...

pearl123

iris wrote: »

The following is a link for a 'direct funeral' - perhaps this is what Pearl123 is talking about?



https://www.purecremation.co.uk/?gclid=CMCLyvG3l8sCFYIK0wodSNcGGQ

Thank you Iris for providing an example.
Yes, it certainly is possible to have a direct funeral for around £1000.



http://www.funerals-on-a-budget.co.uk/

https://www.purecremation.co.uk/?gclid=CMCLyvG3l8sCFYIK0wodSNcGGQ


http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jun/28/funeral-die-low-cost-options - I am aware the Guardian item was written in 2014, but think it is still interesting.

Mee

pollypenny wrote: »

I would be interested in a summary of the article, Mee.

I loved Margaret Forster's writing.

Here are some key sections of the article as it relates to this topic - do see full article (accessible via most public libraries) for a sense of his love for MF and his prose:

....

My wife, Margaret, died on February 8 this year after 55 years of marriage. She would have preferred an equally humble funeral -- ....the minimum of fuss and definitely no wake.

I went into Leverton & Sons, our local undertaker in Kentish Town, north London, whose plush limos -- the registration numbers begin with LEV -- have been easing their way up Highgate West Hill for as long as we have lived here, driving me mad when I get stuck behind them.

I never knew the company was so venerable, dating back to 1789. They have six offices in the London area and have helped the departures of some very famous people, including Diana, Princess of Wales, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
....
Someone has to look after the body, get it buried or cremated, and arrange lots of things that the ordinary person does not realise must be done.

You might not be surprised to learn that I was determined to have the cheapest, simplest package. So I looked online and saw the average funeral expenditure these days is Pounds 3,700, according to the insurer Royal London.

In Belfast, the average person can get away with about Pounds 3,000, while in Beckenham, south London -- the most expensive place -- they pay more than Pounds 7,000 for a burial. The cost of a funeral these days is clearly becoming more expensive than a half-decent second-hand car.

I sat in Leverton's looking at the price lists. There was a huge variety of coffins, ranging from Pounds 1,825 for something called "American" to Pounds 395 for a plain unvarnished coffin called -- rather inappropriately -- "Eton". Guess which I picked. I did think about a horse-drawn hearse with a team of four plumed horses that would impress the neighbours. A snip at Pounds 1,800, and perfect if you happen to be an East End gangster.

In the end, I opted for what they describe as their "Direct Cremation Option" at Pounds 1,900, payable in advance. Good job I had my Visa card on me. This covers all basic costs and disbursements, such as a simple coffin and the crematorium fees, but does not include limos for the mourners or a cleric to officiate.

I have always hated it at funerals when the person in charge has clearly never met the deceased and is working from notes shoved in their hands at the last minute. They do give the service a suitable solemn setting, but as neither my wife nor I have been to church since we were teenagers, it did not seem necessary.

I decided to lead the service myself -- with the help of my dear children. Two of them spoke, plus one of my granddaughters, aged 16, all giving their memories of Margaret.

She would have been proud of them. All that money spent on their education was not wasted. (Comprehensives are not cheap these days.) We printed the programme for the service ourselves after my daughter-in-law designed it. And we did have a wake in the end. It seemed pretty miserable to just end by standing around afterwards on a cold February morning at Golders Green cre-matorium, although it is fascinating to read the plaques to people who have been cremated there, such as Sigmund Freud, Marc Bolan, Joyce Grenfell, Ivor Novello and George Bernard Shaw.

So we decided to invite all 40 mourners back to our house for Tea and Buns. That was the wording in the programme. We did, of course, have loads of food and drinks, which my children paid for and arranged beautifully.

Only one thing went wrong in our homemade service. I had given the undertaker three songs I wanted played and he said he would get them on a CD.

My wife was totally unmusical, so this was our own self-indulgence. When she went on Desert Island Discs in 1994, it was explained that she had to pick eight records. She told the presenter at the time, Sue Lawley. "Music is nothing to me. Music is a blank page for me." So I picked some nice Beatles songs for her at the funeral, including And I Love Her.
.....

....

Overall, the total expense of the funeral came to just the Pounds 1,900, as we had no caterers, no minister, no printers. A bargain, really. I like to think I have managed to bring down the national average -- and secured a donation to a wonderful charity.

? To make a contribution to Marie Curie, go to mariecurie.org.uk/donate.
...

Credit: Hunter Davies

pollypenny

Oh, thanks, Mee. A superb article from one excellent writer about another, with his love clear.

I would want something equally simple. OH insists that he wants to be buried, though, with a religious funeral. That would add to my distress.

hcb42

I have had to cremate both parents and my youngest sister, and all were around £2.2-2.5K, including some simple pub food offering for a smallish (40-50) no of diners and a couple of cars, a notice in the paper and simple flowers

Mum had took out these basic over 50 life insurance policies for her and Dad, but I expect she paid more for them, than the sum insured (£2.0-2,5K from memory, but with no specified funeral arrangement, just a cash value)