I wounder why we have paupers graves?
For hundreds of years the poor have been buried in graves that are outside the norm.
Funerals can go from a few thousands to many times that why?
For those like me who want no religion to be party why the high costs.
We surely need a cheap but honest national brand funeral service, hopefully A crematorium.

I sympathise completely Belly. 20 years ago costs were fiercely rising in city areas.

A family member had 3 deaths within the family two months apart. There were only two sons to share the full costs given no life insurance policies, all three had retired, no superannuation. I thought at the time they should bury them on their land to save the costs however the costs of coffins also came into consideration; caught there also.

Ten years reprieve and another two family members died: again no insurance, no assets, and no superannuation. Ditto as above. One of the family members had to lie in the morgue for an extended time unfortunately, as a result of the totally unexpected high costs and in the middle of labour work that could not be stopped.

Consequently, the funeral and wake were delayed a bit. These funeral costs amongst other life long battles just about took its toll. They never had time to grieve properly as their minds were worrying about how to pay for all the funerals at that time. During the 'reprieve' an Uncle's house burnt down, he lost his business from a crooked woman who took the lot, his little house, car [all]. [A woman from overseas on a long stay Visa] He died alone in his house as a bachelor, discovered 5 days later.

Belly, apparently only half of his bad luck, a few more major things happened to him not his fault at all.

Btw: my handbag and other mourners handbags and purses stolen out of the church yard at one of those funerals: thieves read about the funeral in the paper, noted the church venue, arrived and waited until the mourners entered the church, one must have distracted or watched the funeral organisers with the hearse, then ducked and weaved in between the vehicles to see if anyone in their distress had left vehicles unlocked. Dozens of belongings stolen that day 20 years ago.

A word of advice: ensure that everyone locks their vehicle on the day because this is quite a common occurrence now in cities.

Sounds like the cry of the many. And who makes the money off them?

Thats the moral question.

TTM...........Just a thought.

TTM.

Best thing, just contribute your body to science (organ donation given first priority of course), then funeral expenses are absolute zero!

Another good option it the Tibetan system of giving the body to the birds, but I don't think it's legal here.

I doubt it would be any use giving body's to be used that way if most did it over supply and back to our problem.
Current insurance drive will only put the price up as insurance pays not family.
Can we forever put land aside for burials? ok some reildgions say burial only but why every one?
I understand a body can be cremated for about $1500 but how can a pensioner be expected to pay that.
It may fall on me, as eldest and home owner to bury some of my family.
I see no reason why spending big on my death or any one Else is needed.
Right now in hundreds of homes pensioners and such are going without so they can put money away to be buried.

Another good option it the Tibetan system of giving the body to the birds, but I don't think it's legal here.
Yuyutsu,
I could easily become legal, just involve a few $'s. Just wait till the Government starts charging land rates for graves.

Yuyutsu: << Best thing, just contribute your body to science (organ donation given first priority of course), then funeral expenses are absolute zero! >>

My father died a couple of years back. He thought he'd donated his body to science (i.e. the medical school attached to the teaching hospital where he died), signed the appropriate forms etc, and so had made no arrangements for his funeral.

After his death, the university decided they only wanted some bits and pieces of him, so we were left to arrange the disposal of what was left. As it happened, I was the only one who had any money, so I ended up shelling out a couple of thousand dollars for the cheapest cremation possible.

While "leaving your body to science" sounds like a great idea, I'd recommend a thorough investigation of what that entails, so that your family isn't left with a large and unexpected bill at a difficult time.

I agree with Belly - the cost of dying in this society seems exorbitant. When I die I have no interest in what happens to my dead body. Why can't it simply be incinerated or turned into fertiliser?

Now that's a good idea CJ, & bodies make good fertiliser.

There was a great story, years ago, about fertilisers at Kew Gardens, UK.

Evidently they had a grape vine producing over a ton of grapes every year. Apparently the only thing they did for this grape was to bury a dead horse beside it every year.

I wonder who would eat the grapes, if people knew some of us were buried under them?

Sometimes I can't understand people.

We all know we're going to die, sooner
or later. Just as we know that Christmas
is on the 25th December every year.
We prepare for the one, so why not the other?

A pre-paid funeral plan (depending on what you want)
is available with most funeral directors. We
spend money on lots of other things that we
possibly could do without. However, why not ease the
worry for your family, and plan for your funeral
ahead of time?

I guess many don't do that because they don't want to
be confronted with their own mortality. Death is not
a subject that people want to talk about. But looking
for others to solve the problem is hiding your head
in the sand and not very responsibile.

"I guess many don't do that because they don't want to be confronted with their own mortality"

What mortality? only the body dies, and as far as I am concerned, once it no longer serves its purpose, it may just as well be chucked in the nearest rubbish bin.

Why pay for a product you do not require?

The funeral director is a private entrepreneur who is there to make money out of supplying a service. Of course he will advise all sorts of things to commemorate the dear departed. It is because we are not firm in our wishes that vulnerable relatives are taken advantage of by funeral directors after our death.

I would very much prefer to be cremated ASAP, no frills and no service. Those who care will find comfort in one another, so my desire is that they have a celebration of my life through a family get-together then or later, immediate family only. I don't need my ashes to go anywhere but into the nearest flower bed.

How to ensure that happens is the problem, but other than telling near and dear and leaving $$, what else can be done? The wishes of the living must take precedence over those of the dead and many people find solace in visiting the graves of lost relatives and friends.

CJ Morgan
"...My father died a couple of years back. He thought he'd donated his body to science ... and so had made no arrangements for his funeral.

After his death, the university decided they only wanted some bits and pieces of him, so we were left to arrange the disposal of what was left. "

OMG, I had no idea that they would pick&choose the bits that they wanted! Thanks for this info because I too, told my family that I want my body donated to science/donate organs.

Foxy,
I totally agree with you. One puts aside money for everything else but many avoid funeral arrangements.
My mother is healthy and only in her early 70s, but she organised everything very well including her euthanasia application in case she will need it. She also visited some nursing homes and put her name on the list at her preferred one, just in case she will need to go there. And she has a funeral plan (wants to be cremated). It really is peace of mind to know that when the time comes, we don't need to make choices for her and doubt whether we're doing the right thing by her.

As for disposal of my body, personally I don't care what happens to it, and I don't expect my children to want to visit a plot or grave. But, I still think a plan of some kind would give my family the option to use it if they need it.
Perhaps they will need it for closure or help them with the grieving process or something. I'd like to know that the option is there for them.

foxy even if EVERY ONE joined a funeral fund it would still cost too much.
The productivity commission gets involved in almost every thing why not this"?
And while I do not ask catholics to forgo their beliefs can we for ever put land aside for burials.
Should we?
And my reference to paupers graves is from real paupers for century's past who can never pay.
We love our loved ones, even in death and storys such as C J Morgans are not rare.
Recently heard of a coffin that cost $30.000 ok if you can afford to bury that much.
But why do we need to prove our love in time of death often even if we did not in life?
Death need not cost this much, no way my body will go to science now by the way, still if it did, we all gave no one would need them very soon as enough is enough.

Well we did not quite get it going, maybe I did not say it right.
My thoughts are these,at time of death we tend to find how very much we loved the lost one.
Sometimes frankly we find we love them more than we did in life.
Those who can find the money to bury them, maybe paying for a while for it.
Others no lessor persons may be in a paupers grave.
Why
Can we forever put land aside for burials.
And why not have a no brand crematorium?
It could be done even private enterprise could run it.
We often can not talk about death but one day we will have to get involved in how we dispose of body's.

Ah yes Belly, thanks for explaining.
There are more than 6 BILLION people right now, and within a century, all of us will have died.

It's a frightening thought that there would need to be a plot for each of those 6 billion corpses.

The number of corpses will increase every century.

Yes, Iam all for the harvest of useful body parts rather then dump the whole body into the ground than take up more land for plots. Science departments around the world can benefit greatly, not only for the human spare parts industry, which could generate great funding for science as a whole.
The human bio-surplus can be given back to our oceans ( fish-food ) or in ash form ( which will be the way for human grave-yards of the future )depending on the costs of the concerning dangers of humans bodies has on marine life. India ( still as far as I know ) currently use's one of the ( once upon a time greatest river system's in the world ) as a dumping ground as its funeral base, providing you can afford the wood to burn the corps properly.

Maybe its better to take your loved one's home in nice jar and place it over the fire-place with his your her's body part saved for you or family when one of your bits falls off or wear out. Maybe having a parts bank for you at a cost, just for this reason or just donate it all for the good of man-kind.

Someone the other day said, overpopulation will never be a problem!

Now Iam not so sure.

TTM

And for you religious people, you do say that your spirit leaves your body and goes to a better place ( where ever the hell that is ), so why not use whats left for someone that can benefit that perfected body you've looked after all these years? it only makes sence if you look at it that way.

Humans of the future will have to find better ways of utilizing the abundant good for our dearly departed used bodies in-stead of a sometimes perfectly good hole in the ground which serves no-one. A new industry concerning human waste or (dearly departed recycling) can employ more than just a few under-takers and CO.

And all those poor people waiting for a second-hand slightly used body part (that you can be proud of), knowing at least something of you will still be with the living, and who knows! for some people after the transplant, they say they can feel a something of your gift, which I guess is you, and even if its just an eye or two, You just might still be able to watch the footy. ( a shared entity. Ok! Thats a little off the deep end, but even if your just a kidney, your still in the land of the living.

No-one knows truly what happens after death, But you can help another's life.

And that's worth it.

TTM.

I agree, showing love for me after I am dead by wasting cash on my body is not on.
And it will be our actions and memorys we leave behind that matter.
I doubt however science can use the bodys of every one, not forever and execpt reluctantly but infairness catholics, maybe others can not burn.
I can and think a cheap way should be on hand, spend the saved cash on my garden .