About Save Funeral Costs Consumer Advice
Table of contents
Funeral specialist for cheaper funerals
Save Funeral Costs™ (SFC) is a not-for-profit, independent online resource offering specialist funeral guidance and money-saving advice, all in one place to help you keep funeral costs down. It was founded by Steven W. Barratt in 2020. SFC provides guidance to individuals on lowering funeral expenses, primarily through low-cost undertakers. It aims to be a trusted voice for people seeking affordable funerals and other funeral-related information.
SFC also explains where to find where possible free financial help from the government, benevolent funds and charities. Bereavement support, advice on home and natural burials as well as where to locate lower-cost headstones, coffins, probate and will writing services are amongest the services and help listed.
The home page explains how SFC can help users find low-cost undertakers and access other money-saving information through drop-down menus and grid boxes. These menus are also conveniently available on every page for easy navigation.
The blog page has a comprehensive selection of posts which provide information and advice to help the reader on most funeral-related topics.
Free PDF resources
SFC provides two free PDF resources to further help a user access affordable options:
- How to Save on Funeral Costs
- Low-Cost Funeral Planning Guide
Non-profit & income
SFC mission
SFC exists to provide free, practical advice and resources to help people reduce funeral expenses and make informed choices at a difficult time. The purpose is to ensure that everyone can access clear, independent guidance without unnecessary financial burden.
Non-profit commitment
SFC is operated on a non-profit basis, all income is to:
- Cover essential running costs (such as hosting, maintenance and updates)
- Maintain and improve the quality of the information
- Support charitable causes
- Provide an income to the founder to maintain the website
Charity donations
SFC donates a percentage of its income from affiliate links and advertising to one or more charities:
- Elderly people
- Those receiving end-of-life care
- Individuals and families coping with bereavement and loss
How SFC earns income
SFC only generates income from:
- Affiliate links
- Pay-per-view advertising
- Pay-per-click advertising
If a user purchases a product or service through an affiliate link, this is at no extra cost to the user. Importantly, if a company offers the best product or service but has no affiliate scheme, SFC will still recommend and link to them. The priority is always to give users the best value and most appropriate choice.
Founder income
To keep this project active and sustainable, the founder will receive an income for work required to maintain the website. This ensures that the resource remains available and reliable for those who need it.
How SFC uses income
5% of SFC’s yearly income is donated to a charity or charities supporting the elderly, end-of-life care, and bereavement. Any surplus beyond running costs and founder income is reinvested into expanding and improving SFC.
Searches for cheaper funerals
Search terms such as, “cheaper funerals”, “how much does a funeral cost” and “funerals near me” are searched online terms, as many people struggle to finance a funeral. Whilst a lot of information is available, it can be confusing when searching from one source to another, as to who is low-cost. SFC aims to keep information together, and act as an accurate hub of support under one umbrella. Savings of around 50%† can be made from the information on the site.
Save Funeral Costs books
The ebook and paperback were published in 2020 by SW Barratt to assist the public in saving money on funeral costs. The book is written on the authors personal experience in arranging several family funerals. The goal of the book is to inform the reader of low-cost funeral directors and cost-saving funeral information.
The book provides resources to inform individuals about save funeral costs and saving significant money on funeral expenses. The ebook is available as a free download with advertising or paid without advertising as an ebook or printed.
In 2022, the second edition of the book was released, providing updated information and expanded resources for those looking to plan affordable funerals. The website also received an update to include more details on certain free financial assistance available from the government, charities, and other relevant services.
About Save Funeral Costs online
The book contents were used free of charge to initially populate the SFC website in 2021. The website’s home page introduces the reader to low-cost undertakers and other money-saving information via the video, drop-down menus and grid boxes.
Objective
There is a common misunderstanding that unless you spend a lot of money, you are not able to give the deceased a decent funeral. Therefore, cheaper funerals would be out of the question for most people. The SFC objective/vision is to explain that this is not the case, and aims to inform and educate the public with quality, independent funeral advice and list dignified like-for-like low-cost funeral alternatives.
Vision
To change the present set-up of the majority of most bereaved people from visiting their nearest undertaker to looking on SFC for low-cost funeral options which includes lower-cost:
- Undertakers
- Funeral plans
- Coffins
- Headstones
- Wakes
To simplify and provide clear guidance and informative support in one place to those in need or planning ahead. This includes financial help from the government, charities, benevolent funds and emotional support from charities.
Main content
SFC has several main areas that aim to assist the public in organising a cheaper funeral and additional support:
- What to do After a Funeral
- Help with Funeral Costs
- Benevolent Funds
- Support with Bereavement
- Death Certificates
- Disbursements
- Cremations & Burials
- Funeral Packages
- Funeral Plans
- Writing a Will
Steps 1-5 outline the main actions to be taken to reduce expenses:
- Step 1: Low-Cost Funerals
- Step 2: Funeral Service
- Step 3: Coffins Prices
- Step 4: Funeral Wake Ideas
- Step 5: Home & Natural Burial.
The Directory provides a comprehensive list of contact information for various funeral service providers and suppliers.
SFC is independent
SFC is not funded by sponsorship or subscription. SFC does not accept payments for any of the listed services.
Everything written on SFC is independent and free from outside influence. This is to help the user access low-cost information free of charge.
Who runs Save Funeral Costs?
SFC is run by Steven W Barratt who employs various freelancers to carry out technical tasks such as site maintenance, graphic design and dealing with software issues.
Ongoing updates
Save Funeral Costs has been designed to help the user with clear langauge. The site has undergone a series of updates since 2021, which involved the addition of weekly blog posts addressing different topics where readers may require advice. These blog posts are also featured on other popular social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Medium, Linkedin and Livejournal.
In 2022, the website also introduced an opt-in email sign-up feature to allow readers to receive weekly blog posts which provides additional information and support to those seeking advice on reducing funeral costs. Both the SFC eBook and printed book had additional content added in 2023 and 2024 to include more of the updated website content.
In November 2024 the free PDF download “Low-Cost Funeral Planning Guide” was added to further assist the user. In August 2025, SFC changed its operation to a non-profit organisation.
Free PDF downloads & logo
In 2022, SFC released a free downloadable PDF “How to Save on Funeral Costs,” – a quick reference guide that includes the primary points from the book and website which include the government Funeral Expenses Payment. The company logo was also registered in 2022. In late 2024 another free downloadable PDF “Low-Cost Funeral Planning Guide” was released.
Why Steven Barratt founded a funeral specialist consumer help centre
From Save Funeral Costs founder Steven Barratt
The main aim of SFC is to raise awareness that low-cost dignified funerals can easily be arranged, and for SFC to be an easy under one umbrella centre for all lower cost funeral help.
I started SFC after my half-brother suddenly died, and I had to arrange the funeral. I had arranged funerals before, and visited the same local undertaker which my family had used for years. However this time I was shocked at how costs had risen for a basic cremation with one hearse, a limousine and a basic coffin.
Luckily, the next day while I was sitting in the registry office waiting to register the death I was looking through a booklet supplied by the registry office on how to arrange a funeral. Near the back of the book I found an advert for a low-cost undertaker. I don’t normally pay much attention to adverts, but as I was looking to get the funeral quotation down in cost I decided to contact the undertaker.
Like most people I did not have thousands of pounds readily available to pay out for a funeral. I left the undertakers feeling stressed, and thinking surely there must a cheaper way of having a funeral. I shopped around other local undertakers but they were all within the same price bracket. Feeling fed up I resigned myself to having to pay this large undertaking fee.
When I telephoned the undertaker the owner said the cost would be roughly half of what I had been quoted a few days before. The owner also explained that she could offer a direct cremation for even less. At the time I had not heard of direct cremations as they had not been offered to me by the local undertakers I had visited.
As most people would be, I was wary of why this was such a massive money-saving for the same service. It sounded too good to be true. Yes, I would like to save money, but likewise did not want a poor quality cheap funeral. The answer was reassuringly simple; the company I telephoned were a low-cost independent undertaker.
I learned that low-cost undertakers also use the search term of “budget funerals” which are the same dignified cheaper funerals at a lower cost. The owner then explained why most undertakers are so expensive, and that funeral poverty is a big problem. This then inspired me to first write the book and then start the website to inform others of lower cost funeral services, and bereavement advice.
These are sometimes known as an online undertaker (if they don’t have a shop), and had lower overheads. Being independent they do not have to follow corporate rules, or answer to share holders, where a lot of decisions are based on money rather than offering the public a lower cost more personal service
The website has now grown into a unique specialist one stop shop for low-cost funeral advice and bereavement advice, helping many people access low-cost funeral related services, from low-cost undertakers to lower cost headstones, and everything in between.
Additional influence
SFC was additionally inspired by the 2018 Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) findings, which revealed that people were complaining about above-average inflation price rises and struggling to pay funeral bills, leading to debt. MP Frank Field welcomed the investigation and highlighted issues within the unregulated funeral industry. The CMA ordered undertakers and crematoriums to make their prices clear in 2021.
Down to Earth funeral advice operated by Quaker Social Action (QSA) were also inspirational as a helpful service. They also provided information for the CMA investigation. The SunLife Cost of Dying 2023 report also highlighted that approximately 1 in 5 families had difficulty paying for a funeral, with around 1 in 7 families falling into debt.
SW Barratt explains further
Since the first Save Funeral Costs book was published, I have made continual improvements to the website and book through constant research.
Most people have not heard of independent low-cost undertakers due to powerful marketing domination from the few large national companies. These smaller low-cost undertakers cannot compete with the large marketing budgets of these companies.
For example, a family business of J Smith & Son undertakers may have been in business for many years and then bought out by one of the large nationals but trade as J Smith & Son undertaker. Many people are often unaware that their local undertaker has been taken over until they receive correspondence for a funeral. As most people are aware, once a large company starts to take control of smaller independents, costs can increase.
Engaging with the site will help the reader learn more about Save Funeral Costs and the many impactful options.
For further helpful information covering different aspects of funerals from poems, flowers, bereavement gift ideas, what to wear at a funeral, low-cost headstones and much more, visit the Save Funeral Costs™ blog.
† Save around 50% based on Dignity Funerals Direct Cremation £1799 (May 2025). TDM Funeral Services Direct cremation £899 (May 2025). This is approximately 50% difference in funeral costs.
