How to plan your funeral

According to a recent survey (Sunlife Cost of Dying Report 2022), the cost of the average funeral in the UK is £4,056 with 32 per cent of people getting into debt by borrowing money on credit cards or taking out loans to cover funeral expenses, and 1 in 6 families who organised a funeral said it caused them notable financial difficulty.

Coping with grief is challenging enough without the worry of debt, and that’s why Fosters Funeral Directors is encouraging more families to make their wishes known and to explore the option of pre-paid funeral plans.

In years gone by, a funeral service was typically a religious experience with mourners dressed in black and people on the street stopping to bow their heads in respect as the funeral cortege drove by on its final journey, but today there are so many other ways to celebrate a life. Options range from non-attended direct cremation to eco-friendly funerals and there’s even personalised transport like a horse and carriage or motorbike hearse.

Interestingly the survey found a 4 per cent increase in the number of direct cremations which could be a result of recent restrictions, or it could reflect a changing attitude to funeral preferences. A relatively new concept, a direct cremation has no service, and no mourners present and is the simplest and least expensive of send-offs.

Stevie Mackie, area manager at Fosters Funeral Directors said: “I’d say that personal preferences and price are factors for many people who buy a pre-paid funeral plan.

“One gentleman told me the reason he was buying a direct cremation plan was because he hated the formality of funerals and had always found them stressful. When his time came, he wanted ‘zero fuss’ and preferred that his family collect his ashes and go hillwalking to scatter them at his favourite spot, then head to the pub for a meal instead.”

Stevie added: “Another lady bought a direct cremation plan because she had spent years paying off her parents funeral expenses and said she’d rather her family spent their money on a holiday or helping the grandkids get a start in life.”

For many, the feeling of being able to arrange the funeral and put the worries to the back of your mind offers relief.