With the cost of living crisis affecting more and more people, we are often asked how do you arrange a cheap funeral? As a rule, funerals are not cheap. Planning a funeral for your family member, friend or person may leave you wondering where the funds will come from, particularly if they died suddenly or unexpectedly and provisions for such an expense had not been put in place.
When considering how to arrange a cheap funeral, there are a couple of options available in order to keep the costs down. Firstly you could arrange a DIY funeral, however this means you’ll be responsible for organising all aspects of the funeral yourself, without the assistance of funeral professionals.
Certain parts of the arrangements will be fairly straightforward such as organising the flowers and having orders of services printed, but there are the formalities and practical aspects that will not be so straightforward.
There are various forms that need completing, particularly for cremation, and signatures required. Once you have dealt with all the relevant paperwork, where would you store your loved one’s body and how would you transport their body to the crematorium or cemetery on the day of the funeral?
You will need to purchase a suitable coffin for cremation or if it is to be a burial you may wish to wrap your family member, friend or person in a shroud or their clothes. It is important to check with the cemetery or burial ground as to what their requirements are.
The crematorium can offer guidance about a suitable coffin and personal items that can be put inside. Coffins must be compliant with Government regulations on emissions and the crematorium may ask that coffins be accredited by the Funeral Furnishing Manufacturers’ Association or other authority. If you are looking to purchase a coffin yourself, there are a number of different options online, but it is important to check the crematorium, cemetery or burial grounds requirements first.
All living things start to decompose when they die, we are no different. If you do decide to keep the body of your family member, friend or person at home you will need to keep them and the room they are in cool. Hire a portable air conditioning unit and use ice or dry ice on the body. You can also cover them in a light sheet or wrap them in a shroud.
On the day of the funeral you can use a van or an estate car to carry them to the crematorium, cemetery or burial ground.
A funeral whereby family and friends deal with every aspect of the funeral can help in coming to terms with the death, and is how it was done centuries ago.
Despite the cost saving, arranging a DIY funeral can be a difficult process, you are grieving and could do without the added stress of taking on full responsibility of arranging the funeral.
You may wish to consider letting us take on some of the arrangements, collection and storage of the body, and liaising with third parties on your behalf to ensure all paperwork was completed, crematorium or burial ground booked, and all signatures were in place. We would only charge for our time, ensuring costs are kept to a minimum. Give us a call if this is an option you would like to discuss.
There is the option of a direct cremation or burial, a direct cremation or burial is when there is no funeral service, no ceremony performed beforehand, and there are no attendees.
After their death, we collect your family member, friend or person and take them into our care at our funeral home. They are placed into a very simple, plain coffin and taken to the appointed crematorium to be cremated. We provide a simple, plain coffin and they are taken straight to the appointed crematorium to be cremated or burial ground to be buried. There is no opportunity for you to see them in the chapel of rest and you are not able to choose the date of cremation or burial and there is no hearse or any type of service. This type of funeral is certainly not for anyone, they are simply, to put it bluntly, a disposal of a body.
Following the cremation, the cremated remains, or ashes are returned to you. There would be no hearse or limousines and no formal service. This type of funeral isn’t for everyone and many people want the opportunity to say a proper goodbye.
There are ways in which we can keep costs to a minimum while giving your loved one a funeral ceremony that they deserve and you need. If you are looking to arrange a cheap funeral, give us and we can work out a bespoke funeral to suit your budget.