I avoided a £5,000 funeral bill – one decision made all the difference | Personal Finance | Finance
I avoided a £5,000 funeral bill – one decision made all the difference (Image: Robert Wood)
A Devon man saved thousands of pounds after choosing a “direct” cremation for his late partner, as funeral costs across the UK continue to soar.
Robert Wood, 61, from Torquay, opted for a no-service cremation after his partner, Yvonne Buller, died from bowel cancer in August 2024. Instead of arranging a traditional attended funeral, he paid £1,950 for a direct cremation – less than half the national average cost of a standard funeral. Mr Wood told the Express: “We had talked about it before she became ill, she said, you’d better do it like this.” Mr Wood said the process was handled almost entirely online and by the hospice where Ms Buller died. Consent forms were completed digitally, and updates were sent by email. The cremation was carried out within around three weeks, with the ashes returned shortly afterwards.
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Robert said the decision allowed him to make the event “much more of celebration of life” (Image: Robert Wood)
Figures from SunLife’s latest Cost of Dying Report show the average price of an attended funeral rose 5.3% last year to £4,510 – the biggest annual increase in a decade.
Pure Cremation, a direct cremation service, carried out further research into prices across UK regions. In London, the average cost is even higher at £5,710, while burial funerals in the capital now average more than £9,000.
Despite cremations generally being cheaper than burials, the average cremation funeral still costs more than £4,200. Funeral directors’ fees alone can account for up to 60% of the total bill.
Mr Wood said avoiding these upfront costs gave him flexibility to organise a memorial on his own terms. Three months after the cremation, he held a “celebration of life” at a large pub attended by around 128 friends and family members.
He said: “She had friends across Europe, so it meant people could actually plan to come. It took the pressure off everyone. It made it a much better celebration of life rather than what you’d call a dismal funeral.”
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Guests contributed photos, music and memories, with many reflecting Ms Buller’s career with Formula One. Mr Wood also put money behind the bar for guests.
He added: “I had another relative who had a full funeral, and it cost thousands. You could do a lot more with that money.”
Industry figures say unclear pricing structures often leave grieving families vulnerable. Pure Cremation director Ian Atkinson said families regularly face unexpected charges hidden behind “price on request” listings and additional mileage fees.
He said: “There remains far too much ambiguity around what’s included, what isn’t, and what families actually end up paying.”
The financial pressure is increasingly pushing people into debt. SunLife data showed 12% of families now use crowdfunding to pay funeral bills, while 8% resort to loan sharks.
Direct Cremations, which remove the ceremony, hearse and cortege, now account for around one in five funerals in the UK and cost an average of £1,628.
Sixteen months on, Mr Wood remains confident in his decision. He said: “It’s just enabled more people to attend and everyone to be more carefree.”
SunLife chief executive Mark Screeton said: “Funerals are a deeply personal experience, but our research shows that the cost of saying goodbye continues to rise faster than some families can afford.
The average price of an attended UK funeral rose 5.3% last year to £4,510 (Image: Getty)
“We are seeing more people turning to simple attended funerals, a modern middle ground between traditional and direct options, allowing families to celebrate their loved one’s life without overspending.
“Having conversations about both what we want for our funerals and how they will be paid for can make a real difference, emotionally and financially.
“Planning ahead means families can create a meaningful farewell without unnecessary stress or cost at an already difficult time.”
Lindesay Mace, co-manager of funeral poverty charity Down to Earth, said: “The distress caused by struggling to pay for a funeral should not be underestimated.
“We see the devastating effects on people’s health and their ability to grieve on a daily basis at our Down to Earth funeral costs support service.
“This financial hardship is reflected in growing demand for help, with our helpline seeing a 20% year-on-year increase in people contacting us in 2024/25.
“The Government must act now to ensure the wellbeing of bereaved people facing unaffordable funeral costs.”
