pre-pay funerals

I don't believe in pre-pay funerals. I've told my family that I want no fuss and to make it as cheap as possible, with no minister who doesn't know me, warbling over how lovely I was! I don't see the point of giving money to companies now, so that they can use my money long (hopefully!!!) before I die.I'm needing to use my money now, not hand it over to some faceless greedy person who has discovered a market in grief and financial 'fears'. I know funerals have to cost something, and you don't get them for nothing, but the absolute minimum will do me just fine!!!!

I completely agree greenmossgiel! Cardboard coffin and get all the kids to draw on it would be just fine by me.

When arranging my husband's funeral I can remember thinking that the swanky metal coffin handles I was paying for, would probably be unscrewed before 'the cremation bit', then re-sold over and over again.

I'm not doing it either. His mother did it some years ago as she didnt want anyone to worry as she was selling up her little flat to pay for her care and she used some of the little left over to pay for a nice Co-op do. I'm not doing it as if there is £3K going spare in my house I'm off to the Caribbean with it. The kids can take the cost of the funeral out of the house when I go and like you all I dont want much spent- spend it on me now!!!! Just having a nice conservatory built to drink G & Ts in whilst reading a dirty book with a concert on the radio

Sounds good to me susiecb!!!!

If you have some money to spare why not put it into a savings account where it can gain interest for you and not someone else! Saving a little every week or month would soon mount up (providing you can trust yourself not to spend it!!).

Can't we have a quick funeral for this thread now?

My relations can feeed me to the vultures for all I care.

There's always donating your body to medical science - otherwise I agree with Baggy.

I've thought of that as well, sylvia2036. There's a real shortage of 'cadavers' (horrid word, but there it is) for use in medical research. Saves the cost of a funeral, too - just have a jolly good 'knees-up' instead!

I agree with all the others. My DH and I have life policies and that can pay for our funerals. Why give companies money years before you are going to need their services (I hope). Also make them as cheap as possible without actually being too mean if you know what I mean. (Does that make sense)

Yes, sylvia, I say about the vultures with the proviso that any 'useful bits' are used to help others. My nearest and dearest are aware of this.

I think it is more complicated than it first appears to donate your body to medical research. The problem with saying take the cost out of the value of your estate is that funeral expenses are up front and probate can take ages.

Prepayment funerals can be a good idea. Prepaying is often money-saving because you pay at today's rates. Obviously, savings depend on how long before the service needs to be provided – but we mostly don't know that. Certainly a big advantage of a funeral plan is that sons and daughters don't have to make decisions at a time of grief, as you will already have done it. I'm sure it's possible to arrange for a cardboard coffin and whatever sort of ceremony you consider appropriate. Cheap and cheerful strikes me as a good way and if I arrange matters myself, no one will be able to accuse my daughter of being a cheapskate or disrespectful. My mum and aunt took out plans at the same time and it made things much easier for me when it came to organising their farewells. As for a warbling minister you don't know – or, more importantly, who doesn't know you – what's wrong with family members saying something? I wrote and spoke the eulogies at said mother's and aunt's funerals. It's incredibly hard but everything I said came from the heart.

Having said all this, I haven't taken out a funeral plan but that is mainly because I am hoping to emigrate and so expect to die on the other side of the world. (I'm hoping to live there for a while first.) However, I am tempted to make a spoof eulogy recording as my one last joke on life.

The organ donor thingummy I filled in wasn't at all complicated. Done and dusted in a very short time. Online too, and then they sent a confirmation by post.

I told my family that I wanted to donate my body to a medical school but my son said he would oppose my wishes when the time came. I told him I wasn't fussy, he could have me stuffed an stand me in the corner with a lampshade on my head. I definitely wont be giving anybody my money in advance, we might get hit by a meteor.

I've known of a few people donating their bodies for medical research and I think it has to be done through the local medical school/teaching hospital. It seemed reasonably straightforward. Each time they had the support of family members so there was no question of opposing the idea. Not sure what the legal position would be. After some time, a service was arranged to which close members of the donors' families were invited.

If you get a funeral through the Co-op, can you use your loyalty card?

Death divi? Every little helps.
Oh no, that's Tesco.
Do Tesco do funerals. Double points?

Do you know both my parents were done by the Co-op and we didnt get any points but we did get £50 discount for being members. I must say they did it nicely

By the way have you seen the price of headstones - scandalous!

Never mind Co-op and Tesco, Boots should add funerals to their list of services and we would get 4 points for every pound spent. If we got the timing right we might hit a weekend with 10 points to the pound. Somehow my husband went shopping and managed to change my card into his name so he would benefit if I carked it

Not strictly to do with pre-payment funerals, but I wonder why they don't bury people upright and thus pack more into the same space (please excuse this somewhat unsubtle description). I can see that it would have been difficult in the past when you just had a couple of chaps with spades, but digging a deeper, narrower hole must surely be fairly straightforward with mechanical diggers these days.

When DH and I lived in Spain the process was to bury the urn into the wall and
go upwards a good space saving idea,the only problem for me was that I am
scared of heights and knowing my luck the next space available would be at the top of the wall!

absentgrana, it would be like all those little people that are carved on the great wall of China. Ranks of 'em, all in rows.