Dying on the Cheap

Consumers have become much more savvy nowadays. The internet has opened up a whole new world of international bargains, factory direct prices, and auctions of all sorts of things. Why not make dying just as cheap a process?!

It can seem a bit morbid to pre-plan or pre-pay your funeral. It is an unfortunate fact of life that everybody will die, and it is natural that nobody wants to think about it. However, those that do think about it make things both much easier, and much cheaper, for the people they leave behind.

Funerals can start as low as $2,000, and run into the tens of thousands of dollars as more elaborate monuments etc are built. It’s been estimated that the average funeral costs between $4,000 and $7,000. This isn’t the sort of money that most people have lying around, especially not to use for such a sad event. There are actually quite a few ways to protect yourself from that cost, however … and none of them involve bonfires, trips on ships, or cardboard boxes!

Pre-payment of funerals
Pre-paying your funeral means that the cost of it is protected from inflation. If your Mum and Dad had pre-paid your funeral at the time of your birth (although I don’t know of anyone who could handle that mentally!), you could have saved a huge percentage of your funeral costs. As it is, make do with what you have and pay for it now. Sometimes pre-paid funeral products are cheaper than after-the-fact ones, as the funeral company will have more time to invest the money and see it increase.

Another advantage of pre-paying your funeral is that haggling with the director is not out of the question! Your family and friends certainly won’t want to, after you’ve died. You, however, could get a certain perverse pleasure from it .

Paying More Doesn’t Make It Better
Funeral expenses can vary wildly, according to factors that you might not give two hoots about. If you take your time looking into this, rather than expecting your family to do all this research in three days after you die, you can determine something much more suitable.

The age of the hearse could make a big impact – will your loved one care about being carried around in a noughties model car as opposed to a classic? The coffin range makes a difference – but you will only be burying it anyway. The location of the offices makes a big difference to a funeral company’s overheads, and therefore prices. Will it really matter if you go west side for the funeral arrangements (not necessarily the funeral), or east side? And do you care if the director offers the option to come to your home or not?
These options can make a big difference to price, but don’t always make a big difference to your satisfaction with a funeral.

Coffin Choice
Of course, it doesn’t make much sense spending thousands on something which will (hopefully) never be seen again. There is a company called LifeArt who make cardboard coffins that meet all OH&S requirements for funeral homes, and it is possible to make a coffin yourself, as long as it meets OH&S requirements. Check with your funeral home about these – it could not only save you money, but be a lovely personal touch.

Government Assistance
If you are in a low income category, check with Centrelink whether you are eligible for assistance with the cost of a funeral.

Private Health Insurance
Check whether your private health insurance puts money towards funeral costs. If it doesn’t, you could consider shopping around for one which does.

Funeral Insurance
The only reason this one is so far down the list is that it can be quite expensive. Depending on your age and lifestyle, you could be paying between $4 and $10 a week for funeral cover at current rates. This sounds like a good deal at first – after all, if you die next week, you could be getting $5,000 worth of benefits for only $10. Bargain!!

If you do the maths, you’ll realise that the law of averages says that your funeral insurance company will probably be the one to get a bargain. If you are eligible for a $4 plan, you’ll need to die within around 20 years for your funeral cover to be worth having, for a $4,000 lower-end-of-average funeral. If you have to go on a higher plan, because of ill health, age or smoking status, you may have to die within as little as 8 years to make your cover worth it.

Add the fact that many people let their funeral cover lapse after several years of paying a bill, without dying, and it becomes less and less cost effective. However, it can definitely provide peace of mind, and if you would prefer to pay a smaller cost each week, but perhaps a larger cost overall, it is a worthwhile idea.

Helpful Links for Further Reading
Funeral Services
CentreLink: Dying at Home
Who pays the funeral costs when there’s a will?