Skip to content IntroductionThe cost of living has been on a steep rise longer than we care to remember. The necessities of life are now priced at the luxuries of life a few years ago. As someone who only studied Economics and Accounting in high school, I have no idea what is really …
IntroductionArranging even the simplest funeral has a degree of stress for families. So there is no avoiding the stress. But there are ways to ensure that it doesn’t make a tough time more difficult. Stress is in all aspects of life and having ways that help will make a huge …
IntroductionDying young is one of the greatest dilemmas and heartbreaks in life. A person with their whole life before them comes to a sudden end. There are no easy answers, because this is never easy to face. This week I was involved in the funeral of an 18-year-old who died …
IntroductionLast week, I spoke about an email I received concerning Funeral Homes offering their places as a location for people choosing to legally end their lives. The email said that the Ministry of Health had attended a FDANZ gathering to raise this as a possibility worth exploring. Although the email …
IntroductionI want to make it clear that I am unsure if this is true. However, it is reportedly happening overseas. I received an email over the weekend stating that at a recent Funeral Directors Association of NZ (FDANZ) event, there was a representative from the Ministry of Health suggesting that …
IntroductionIt was about a month ago when I discovered someone had accessed my Facebook ads account. Fortunately, they didn’t get into my Facebook proper. HOWEVER, what they did do was advertise their products using my account and my credit card that was connected to that account. Getting locked out of …
Personal Memorials Over the past few weeks we’ve been able to design and create some very personal urns for families. This week our family didn’t want an urn, but we discover something that they really liked. The person who passed away loved Pukekos. So I suggested we make an engraving …
Introduction What happens when a person is taken to the crematorium? Well… we kinda know what happens…. kinda. It’s one of those things in life people really don’t think about until they do. And when they do, they realise that maybe they should know more. When a loved one is …
Why would families choose SDF? IntroductionWhy is it that people continue to choose and recommend SDF? We’re small, very basic, limited services, no flash buildings and if people come to our place more than likely they will be barked at from behind a fence (by the dogs, not me). For …
The Cost of Dying IntroductionAs with everything today, the cost of dying is also increasing. That final journey can be tough on those left behind – not just emotionally and personally, but also financially. How is a Funeral costed?I got this from Consumer 23 September 2023. It gave a rundown …
Low-Cost Funerals Is there such a thing? IntroYou may not have noticed that today many funeral homes now promote affordable and straightforward funeral options. It wasn’t that long ago that price or simplicity wasn’t a factor for a funeral home. There was a certain way to do a “proper” funeral …
Five Things That Makes Us Different From Other Funeral Homes? Not Better / Not Worse – Different The Last One in our series #5 5-Star Reviews The BackgroundLike all industries there are good and bad operators. Doesn’t matter where you look – builders, teachers, police, salespeople, lawyers, doctors, church ministers …
Five Things That Make Us Different From Other Funeral Homes Not Better / Not Worse – Different #4 Dignity Without Expense /Competent and Caring Yes, I have sneakily doubled up on #4 with two aspects that make us different from other funeral homes. Not better, not worse – just a …
Five Things That Make Us Different From Other Funeral Homes Not Better / Not Worse – Different #3 Easiest Arrangements The BackgroundThe second thing, besides funerals being expensive, was the process of arranging a funeral. My impression was that it involved lots of questions needing answers, decisions to be made …
Five Things That Makes Us Different From Other Funeral Homes Not Better / Not Worse – Different #2 We Only Have Low Prices The BackgroundFrom day one I decided to have only low prices. This was one of two foundation stones that SDF was based on. The other one I …
Five Things That Makes Us Different From Other Funeral Homes? Not Better / Not Worse – Different The first thing to say is that this list isn’t about what makes us better or “them” worse. It is about the differences between us. Obviously we are not your usual funeral home. …
Pre-Paying Funeralsis it worthwhile? There are times when people ask me about pre-paying for a funeral – usually their own. The main reasons are that they think it will help their family after they have gone. Their family isn’t left with an expensive bill and they want to make their …
What Happens When You Phone a Funeral Home? Phoning a funeral home is not a common activity for most people. For most people they may never phone them. So it would be fair to say people may be unsure of what to expect. When you phone, hopefully you get to …
The Changing Face of Funerals Almost every week, people talk to me about the kind of funeral they would like to have. It is one of those subjects that does seem strange to talk about, but in another way, it is very natural. What people most often want to talk …
I haven’t watch TV news all year and guess what….. Something changed with TV news. I remember Dougal Stevenson, Richard Long, Philip Sherry, Judy Bailey very clearly. And do you know what I miss most about them – they read the news. Now I know there is more than that …
DIY Funerals – What you need to know. Please do not read this if you are sensitive about this subject. There may be comments or insights that may offend. Reader discretion is advised. They DIY funeral is something some people consider seriously. The main reason tends to be money. Will …
What happens to a body after it dies? This isn’t so much about the spiritual after life beliefs people have. It is a very simple guide that i hope gives a little insight.. Like many people, I didn’t know too much about the process a body goes through after death. …
A short SDF series onWhat do you do when…. 5. Family Members Don’t Get On? How to survive family relationships when dealing with death. So there is a death in the family, but some family members aren’t talking to each other. Tricky !! More than tricky, it can be …
A short SDF series onWhat do you do when…. 4. when you need to organise a funeral? So someone has died and you are the person who is responsible for sorting everything out. Where do you start? What do you do? When people contact me for funeral services, they often …
A short SDF series #3 What do you do when…. when you want a funeral without the huge expense? There are many options for families needing to have a funeral. In many cases, the expense is dramatically reduced with minimal input from funeral homes. An example is having a private …
A short SDF series on What do you do when…. 2. when you are facing death? Seven steps to help you when are facing death. So you have been given the news that there is no cure? That your death is inevitable. How will you cope? How do you prepare? How …
A short SDF series on What do you do when…. 1. What do you do when you feel you just can’t cope. Understanding the emotions surrounding death and dying. So it feels like you can’t cope dealing with the death of someone. Your life feels like it is spinning out …
How Involved Should You Get Helping With Your Loved One Who Just Died? That title ↑ seemed to go on forever. Hopefully what follows explains it all. How involved should you be with a funeral? Not the funeral service as such, but more with the person who has died. In …
The other day, a person came to discuss funeral options. After an unpleasant experience last year when her brother passed away, she didn’t want to go through that again and was investigating other options. So, what happened with her? In brief, it was the usual suspects she experienced. The price …
Do you have to do everything a person requests for their funeral? Sometimes when a person dies, they have a list of everything they want to happen for the funeral. It could be as comprehensive as the type of flowers, music, people talking at it, and so on. These …
Why is it Good to Talk about our Mortality? If you didn’t realise – January has almost come and gone. I remember when I was a boy January school holidays going on forever. You didn’t worry about school starting. That was ages away. Finally when school did start, the year …
20 things Funeral Homesdon’t want you to know 15 things was a very popular post. So it is well worth taking another look and even adding a few more to the list… Don’t pay in advance for a funeral – especially if you think it will make things easier. If …
What exactly is a Direct Cremations? The Direct Cremation has become a more popular option over the years. For some it is simply a financial reason to avoid the expense of the usual funeral service. Other people just don’t want the fuss and bother of a funeral service. There are …
Overcoming the Fear of Funerals The other day, I was arranging a funeral with a family for their husband, father, and grandfather. Like many families, a funeral was not something they knew much about organizing. So, I could have easily led them down a path to doing a funeral that …
I reserve the right to do more – without increasing costs One of the best things about being your own boss is being able to make decisions without needing to ask or justify it to others. Because the buck stops with me, I can do what I like. This is …
Caring for the Decease It is important that families feel confident leaving their loved one in my care. On my website there is a page dedicated to explaining how we care for the deceased. Even though the person has died, they are still your loved one and should be treated …
Choosing the right Funeral Home – for you Organising a funeral isn’t something people do on a regular basis. So it’s little wonder that you may feel a little nervous and uncertain. Even a simple funeral is a significant event. So how do you choose the right funeral home for …
What kind of funeral would you like? I know some people love imagining what their funeral might be. It isn’t so much about the dying as it is about the event. They write down in detail what they want and imagine the response of the people there. It’s almost like …
The Good Life Only the more mature reader will remember the British TV show, The Good Life. This was a show about a couple, surname Good, who decided to live off the grid in their suburban house, much to the annoyance of their upper-class neighbours. They quit their 9 to …
Is big business taking over the funeral industry? Most of the major funeral homes in New Zealand are now owned by two major players – InvoCare and Propel. These huge Australian companies are buying all the funeral homes they can get, and today there are very few independent large funeral …
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