Affordable Costs
Click Here for WINZ Grant and Air NZ compassionate fares at bottom of this page
Affordable Funerals
Funerals can be expensive. Costs can quickly rise before you know it. Even when families specifically want a low-cost funeral, they can be shocked with the final invoice.
Simple Direct Funerals believes an affordable funeral doesn’t mean an inferior funeral. There are many positive options you can still without accumulating excessive expense.
I began SDF because I saw that other funeral homes were over-charging for their services. From the very beginning we had clearly advertised and fixed prices. So families knew exactly what they would be paying – so surprises. These prices are all inclusive to cover everything the family needed.
There is a sense of taking advantage of families when they are grieving and vulnerable. And we wanted to offer a clear alternative.
Scroll down to see all my costs for a cremation or burial, plus the other expenses that may occur. They are clearly shown, and there is no way to increase these prices.
Below is also links to WINZ, ACC, and Air NZ that may provide financial assistance.
No Compromise to Service
Our competitive funerals are not at the expense of service. Going the extra mile to help families is not a problem. Our goal is to ensure you are reassured and happy with our service.
Families can still have a farewell that is very dignified and meaningful without it needing to be expensive. There are many options available that I would be more than happy to discuss with you.
Remember a funeral does not need to be expensive to be meaningful.
* Low cost funeral companies
Memorial Services
A popular option many families are choosing is to have the cremation soon after death and then a gathering or memorial service at a later date.
Besides definite financial savings, there can be other worthwhile benefits with this option. Click here to read more about Memorial Services.
A Simple Direct Cremation
– $2,576
Private Cremation
with Chapel Service
– $3,151
(GST included)
The additional services and costs - if required.
For a cremation a doctor needs to view the person and write a medical certificate. Sometimes there is no fee for this if the death has occurred in the hospital for instance. In the past the GP has had to send out an invoice directly to the family. However this fee might be added to the invoice on their behalf. The fee does vary with different doctors and medical centres.
You may wish to keep your loved one at home before the cremation or burial. This is no problem at all, and I am happy to cater to needs and wishes. It is generally possible to keep your loved one at home for 1 or 2 nights. The details of this can be discussed at the time. As there is some logistics to this, the price for this is up to $250.00. Please contact me to discuss your wishes.
It is critical to remove pacemakers prior to cremation. If a doctor has not removed a pacemaker, I need to employ a qualified person for the procedure prior to cremation.
I do not charge for placing any newspaper notices. I simply pass on what the newspaper charges for the notices. The cost varies depending on the newspaper and the length of the notices.
Mileage costs may need to be added if travelling out of the district. There is no extra charge to Motueka. This can be discussed with you at the time – so no surprises.
I don’t usually have viewings after collecting the person. However I do not stop family from seeing their loved one at my place if they wish. The room I use is primarily for holding the person until the cremation or burial – not viewing as such.
There are NO ADDITIONAL CHARGES for calls after-hours, on the weekends or on public holidays.
A DIY Funeral
Are you thinking about doing the funeral yourself?
On special occasions I can assist families who wish to do most of the funeral themself. In the past funeral homes have not encourage this as it is business they don’t get. However I believe that if this is what families truly want I will help.
However what you quickly realise is that even a simple funeral has a degree of complication. This is mainly because people don’t organise funerals often. Even knowing where to start can be difficult.
There is the logistics of collecting, transporting and keeping the body until the funeral. So I can help with some of the “behind scenes” aspects, including the paperwork.
The concept is that the family looks after the person and transporting the person. They would contact crematorium to book cremation or council for a burial.
I can help them with the paperwork, provide a coffin (if needed) and organise the Death Certificate. This is very hands on for them and hands off for me. The price for this depends on each family. The cost would be between $500 to $1500.
This service ensures that all legalities are covered and helping with the process. The family would visit my office in Richmond to organise and complete all the funeral preparations they need. Also I am there as a backup if needed.
This is definitely not for everyone and the best thing to do would be to have a chat with me first.
Funeral Grants
WINZ Funeral Grant
You may be eligible for assistance from WINZ to cover funeral costs. This is usually for people who are on a government benefit. You can apply for the grant by contacting WINZ directly. A WINZ grant will over over 90% of our Direct Cremation.
Click here for the WINZ website.
ACC Funeral Grant
ACC can help towards the costs of the burial or cremation and related ceremonies due to an accidental death. This funeral grant can be paid for both New Zealanders and overseas visitors to New Zealand.
Click here for ACC Funeral Grant
If finances are still a concern for you please do contact me as I can discuss payment options that may help. My aim is to help people through this difficult time – not just with great service, but understanding financial pressures also.
Compassionate Fares
Air New Zealand offers compassionate fares for unexpected deaths. It is definitely worth looking into if you want to lessen costs if you are flying in.
Pre Planning
Pre planning funerals is an option that I offer. The difference I have is that my services are very straight forward for families to deal with. Unlike other funeral homes there is not a long list of the paperwork needed to be filled out.
I often have individuals phone me very confused about the funeral process and what they need to do. After a few minutes of chatting the person has a clear understanding of how I run my services. They often comment on how much at ease they feel knowing it wasn’t a daunting as they thought.
Often the cremation is a small family event, but we have had large services as well. Many families chose to have a bigger celebration of life or get together a week or so after the cremation.
Our aim is to help families work through this difficult time with care and support.
Pre Paying
I have been asked about pre-paying funerals. I do not provide this service. However I suggest that if families wish to put money aside, they simply create a new bank account and put money into that.
One of the real advantages of this is that it gives family complete control over their money and if their circumstances change and they want to go with another funeral company that can be done with no problems or additional cancelation costs at all.
There is a lot written about the unnecessary need to do this and the pit falls people fall in to. So do your research first.
Sometimes people have had unpleasant surprises when their pre-paid funeral ended up costing more than they thought or the type of funeral wasn’t what they thought.
With SDF you know exactly what you get and how much it will cost.