Debt and the pandemic - increased or decreased?

[Miss Pepper]

@andi52 I'm well aware of it, but there's the option if there's nothing else. Unfortunately, as with many things unless there's money available compromises have to be made.

Direct cremations (I think that's what it's called), do budget funerals.

For those on benefits the DWP can help with a bit of money.

If there's a garden in your property or a friend's / relatives, well DIY but check current rules with the council and LL / HA if if in rentals.

Ask a funeral director what their cheapest one is, do that with others too. Don't use flower shops or if you do don't say it's for a funeral, better still buy a tree, plant or bush when money allows and use that as the memory. Don't hire cars to transport people. Don't do the wake / celebration of life after, or do it at home and ask people to bring something.

Things are so much different now compared to years ago, the internet allows go fund me, whip rounds and information at our fingertips to cut costs.

But most of all tell loved ones and friends now you don't want anything fancy, do it cheap or leave it to the council and don't get into debt as you won't care because you're dead.

 

[andipandi]

For those on benefits the DWP can help with a bit of money.

For those on qualifying benefits the DWP can help with a bit of money - a grand sum of umm, up to a grand. I'm outta here, have a good weekend.

 

[Miss Pepper]

For those on qualifying benefits the DWP can help with a bit of money - a grand sum of umm, up to a grand. I'm outta here, have a good weekend.

Yes, I know. My mom had to ask so my dad could get cremated many years ago.

Enjoy your weekend, looks like it'll be a nice one.

 

[Mr Ripple]

For those on qualifying benefits the DWP can help with a bit of money - a grand sum of umm, up to a grand. I'm outta here, have a good weekend.

You can get a no frills cremation round my way for £800 and they pick up and return the ashes in a brown paper bag.
You'll still have £200 notes left for some shineys.
Me ill be happy floating down the gangees as fish food

 

[crustyfolker]

There are public health funerals, if no one has the money to pay, details should be on local council websites or by searching online.

Donating bodies is straightforward, but at time of death the cadaver must meet requirements of the establishment it was left to, they also need space for it.

Remember a while back when i said about leaving something for your kids and you said no one should have the right to inheritence, this was my point as such. I think it is totally ignorant not to try and save towards a funeral, would you want the debt of someone elses death, would you want your kids to pay for your death, or do you not have kids which would make sense as to why you feel this way.
No one should have to pay to die, so all funerals should be free of charge, you can now get cremations which is probably what i would go for. I would be happy if the binmen just take my body away. Anything is better than leaving debt to my daughter. My other idea was to donate to science, with my medical history i could be a gold mine research wise.

 

[andipandi]

I think it is totally ignorant not to try and save towards a funeral

What bills and debts do people choose not to pay, so they can save for a funeral then, perhaps they should eat less, or eat less good food?

 

[Miss Pepper]

@crustyfolker if someone has the means to save a bit to pay for a funeral that's entirely up to them, if they don't then they can't. In that case tell friends and family sooner, say about the public health ones then they have the knowledge to push back and say no, I can't afford it. Empowering someone when there's no emotion and upset to deal with is a lot easier than when they're grieving. Even go as far as writing a 'read when dead' letter to say it again, it's following your wishes.

Free funerals still have to be paid for somehow, is it another tax? 1% on NI? Extra on the council tax? Increased VAT?

Then it's trying to accommodate religious beliefs, some can't be cremated (cheapest way), some require burial within the same religious plot. How about Mabel who dies, buried FOC, husband Fred dies 10 years later but family want them together, or near each other, being offered a space at a cemetery 20 miles away as that's all there is.

Logistically it would be a nightmare to do.

 

[eyeball kid]

You can get a no frills cremation round my way for £800 and they pick up and return the ashes in a brown paper bag.
You'll still have £200 notes left for some shineys.
Me ill be happy floating down the gangees as fish food

Yeah there's a company that certainly covers the South that does a basic funeral plan system. Think it's about a grand all in. Probably the way to go.

I know a lot of the people of my generation live with huge ongoing debts via store credit and credit cards. Quite a few I know of have decent jobs but are always technically on the bread line. Seemed to be the norm for a while.
my daughter has a more switched on mentality and hasn't taken on any debt except her mortgage (definitely not the safest debt at this time). Perhaps those financial management classes they introduced at school worked... I doubt it though, I suspect millions are in trouble.

 

[Mitz]

I think it's a debt too as it's money owed, but for some reason part of the population doesn't, nor do they see loans and credit cards as debt because payments are manageable each month.

Aye but it's surprising how quickly the manageable can become unmanageable. Ill health, redundancy, pandemics, can all throw a pretty large spanner in the works.

Even tho it's still officially debt, I suppose the one time I would personally accept the view that credit card balances are not debt in the strictest terms is if you actually have the amount spent as a fully disposable balance and the CC is only being used for the provided protections and not because of a need to buy with credit with affordable repayments. Then I could be swayed. But if your debt is fully called in unexpectedly and you don't have the means to clear it without resorting to other credit lines then IMHO that's as much of a debt as a debt can be.

IMHO.

 

[Miss Pepper]

@Mitz which is what I was saying. Originally, people were ticking along, have faced furlough, lost their jobs, had hours permanently cut, took payment holidays (some just because they were offered) and are now unable to get through a month.

Then there's the ones who were already struggling, suddenly faced with bigger outgoings, but insufficient money coming in to start with.

As one person / family clear debt, either in full, part, bankruptcy, IVA etc there's a queue waiting to fill that space due to a change in circumstances.

Forget the 'average income' as that's messed up due to high earners, but those on NMW or slightly over. It's not always that easy to walk into another job as there's 100's of people all chasing it, losing 10p an hour in a different job doesn't sound much, but it would be to a lot.

The next bit brings us into the realms of being financially neutral, where savings / assets are level with debt, or the the lucky ones have enough monetary assets to cover the debt and still retain some when it's paid off.