Sadly a friend passed away a few weeks ago, very young (40's) and he was the sort of person that lived week to week. His girlfriend was asking close friends to help with the payment of it (she was claiming it was going to be $11000 - funeral parlour only, nothing at cemetory, private cremation). I am unsure why she couldn't use his superfund, I am thinking she didnt have a death certificate but who knows).
So it got me thinking, how much do funerals cost - what is the cheapest you can get away with and is funeral insurance worth it?
What Is The Cost of a Funeral in WA
ELH05 on 03/08/2017 - 11:16
Comments
Wow that is super cheap - well done for organising that !!
Sounds like Funeral Parlors are making a huge markup !!
they are a business! Get quotes as morbid as it sounds to get an accurate benchmark.
There's lots of articles about supplying your own coffin, instead of buying one from the funeral home. The markup at the funeral home can be 100%
Perhaps she didn't even think about his super? You could suggest it to her.
You could also tell her to look around for quotes for the funeral service and coffin etc because $11k sounds like too much to you. Just tell her you have heard of people getting it done for less than half that and don't want to see her get preyed upon by unscrupulous businesses.I think that boat has sailed. OP is asking in hindsight.
If he died a few weeks ago then I would have thought funeral would already have happened, but OP said "claiming it was going to be 11k" in future tense which makes it sound like it hasn't happened yet.
Why is the girlfriend organising the funeral in the first place? where is his parents?
or siblings?
$11k seems about right.
It is insane how much we spend on dead people. When they probably should be just used as fertiliser or as a medical study materials.
A lot of people don't think about donating their body to medicine. Have you written it into your will and contacted the nearest medical university?
Here is an example for the process: http://www.aphb.uwa.edu.au/body-bequest/donors#donate
I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.
These articles look helpful for more information:
https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/life-events-and-you/life-event…
https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/life-events-and-you/over-55s/p…
I had to organise a funeral 2 years ago in QLD.
the person didn't want a formal church service, or viewing. she wanted to be cremated and have her ashes spread out on her family farm.
I organised a memorial service at my kids school chapel (their committee put together sandwiches and snacks, and people brought things).
The cost of the funeral director included-
cremation fees
cremation permit
minimal coffin
registration of death
Copy of Offical Death Certificate
transfer
return of Ashes
TOTAL INCL 10% GST $129O
This was a local independent funeral director.
Others were wanting to charge $8000 for the same service