The cost of living crisis continues to put the squeeze on people's finances and Brits are tightening their belts in all sorts of different ways.
People are working out how to cut spending and shave money off their bills, while some households have been receiving payments from the government in an effort to alleviate the worst of the financial pressure.
In addition to cutting down on the day to day expenditure, big one-off payments are also something to be avoided if at all possible and it's leading people to avoid one very expensive thing pretty much everybody has at some point, a funeral.
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The day you die is one of the most expensive of your life, though depending on what money is left aside it might fall to a family member or friend to foot the funeral bill.
Some people leave money aside for their ceremony and others do not, but the day of burial itself is a very costly event.
According to the BBC the average funeral cost £4,056 in 2022, an expenditure that many households simply cannot afford during a cost of living crisis.
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With 34 percent of adults in the UK either having no savings or less than £1,000 in their account the idea of being able to fork over more than four times that amount for a funeral can be out of the question for some.
The Beeb says this is fuelling a rise in popularity for something called 'direct cremations', where the body is cremated without any sort of service and the ashes are then given to the family.
A direct cremation costs on average £1,647, a significant drop in cost compared to the typical funeral, and these now account for 18 percent of burials.
People can leave instructions for their funeral rites in their will and some are putting in instructions to their families letting them know what they wanted.
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However, the decision to opt out of a funeral has caused some family drama as the BBC tells a series of people's stories, including some where people are begged to reconsider as their family wants to give them a proper send-off.
When it comes to your funeral it may be your day but it's really for everybody else and some people wouldn't want to miss a chance to say goodbye to you in a way they feel is best.
Adding to that, if you're the sort of person who wants to put the 'fun' into 'funeral' then avoiding the big day is missing out on your chance to bow out with a bit of laughter.
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Some people have particular fun in designing certain aspects of their own funeral which they're sure will strike merriment among the mourners, as many want their funeral to be a day of celebrating their life rather than mourning their death.
One grandma even decided to have Ouija boards given out to people at her funeral along with the message to 'stay in touch'.
Then of course there's the impact people opting out of funerals is going to have on the cottage industry of 'funeral crashers', people who end up attending the services for complete strangers either through chance, design or unlikely invitation.
One woman who had attended more than 200 funerals had even reached the point where cemetery workers were contacting her if a ceremony was being held and nobody was available to attend.
Featured Image Credit: Homer Sykes / Anita Gellatly / Alamy Stock Photo