The cost of living is on the news a lot and probably in the minds of many families in New Zealand and also overseas. The essentials at the supermarket, petrol and most things continue to rise and the government and Reserve Bank seem powerless to stop this trend.
And it feels like we have very little say in this roller-coaster ride. Just hang on and hope for the best. I’m sure the politicians will be making huge promises to ease our mind in a few months time.
Besides the cost of living there is the cost of dying. Death is a reality for all people. Every single person who was alive 150 years ago is now dead. In 150 years time the majority of us will probably be dead – unless some kind of scientific long-life break through happens. But I won’t hold your breath – because that would be the worst thing to do if you were wanting a longer life.
Most of us have seen the ads for funeral insurance. They are up there with the worst ads ever in my opinion. They worry people into thinking that they need lots of money for a funeral. They use the thought of you being a burden on your children as a motivator. And from what I hear most people are not better off using them. In some cases they have lost all the money they put into it.
There is a degree to which the cost of dying can be expensive. The funeral business has worked hard over many decades to suggest that having a “proper” funeral is the best way to go. And by “proper” they mean all the services they can encourage you to use – chapel, catering, coffin, flowers….. the list goes on and on.
I’ve heard them say that having this kind of funeral allows family to grieve much better than doing something on the “cheap”. But this is not the case. But if people do want this kind of funeral – there are many funeral homes more than happy to provide those services. Yet, there are good alternatives for families also.
With the economic uncertainty ahead there needs to be options for families – even for those with the money to do whatever they want. “Do not let the cost of saying goodbye add to your grief” is what SDF lives by. But this is far more than saving money. For some families it is the intimate and informal aspect they appreciate.
I will always try and do what the family want and if I can’t do it I will let them know right away. SDF has never been about making sales, but serving the community. It isn’t for everyone, but it was never intended to be that.
The cost of dying is a reality. But because people don’t organise funerals very often, they don’t know what is a good price or not. For those on low incomes WINZ has a funeral grant people could access. Here is the link WINZ Funeral Grant. This grant covers almost 90% of our direct cremation price and will take a good portion of the costs from the other funeral options we have.
Look at all the options and be careful of funeral homes saying one price and you ending up with another. For Simple Direct Funerals our mission is to provide low-cost funerals and just as importantly an easy process for families to manage.