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Fuss Free Funerals, Melbourne’s Cheapest Cremations
The Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust are holding historical night tours at the Melbourne General Cemetery over the months of October to December 2016. Being a non for profit organisation these tours are a great way for the trust to raise must needed funds to maintain the cemetery. At $25 per adult what a great way to learn about the history of our great town and have a great night out doing something totally different. The tours kick off at around 730pm, whereupon their experienced guides will ‘introduce’ you to Melbourne General Cemetery’s who’s who, while giving you fascinating insights into one of Australia’s most historically significant cemeteries. Tours will depart from the Gate Lodge on College Crescent on the following dates: Friday 7 October 2016 - 7.30pm Friday 21 October 2016 - 7.30pm Friday 11 November 2016 - 8.00pm Friday 25 November 2016 - 8.00pm Friday 9 December 2016 - 8.00pm Cost: Adult $25, Concession $20 and Family (2 Adults, up to 3 children under 16) $80. Call (03) 8558 8210 or email celestina.sagazio@smct.org.au Fuss Free Funerals, Melbourne's Cheapest Direct Cremations 24/7 0411 160 299 http://www.fussfreefunerals.com.au Fuss Free Funerals, Melbourne’s cheapest cremations.
National Police Remembrance Day Each year in September, Springvale Botanical Cemetery hosts the official close of National Police Remembrance Day. The annual service for Police Remembrance Day will be held on Thursday 29 September at Springvale Botanical Cemetery. The service will be held at the Police Memorial within the cemetery at 4pm. The service provides an opportunity for serving and retired police members, along with their families and the public to honour the memory of officers who have given their lives while serving the community. All are welcome at this moving ceremony. https://smct.org.au/events-calendar-smct/ Springvale Botanical Cemetery - Police Memorial (Melways 591 K6) Contact Us 24/7 0411 160 299 http://www.fussfreefunerals.com.au Fuss Free Funerals -Melbourne
Tips To Save of Funeral Costs Tip No 1 When planning a funeral, cost doesn’t necessarily equate to quality. For example, many of the large corporate funeral homes have expensive advertising costs. A great many staff, a fleet of hearses and mourning cars, as well as chapels scattered throughout Victoria. This all comes at a cost, and guess who pays for it? You. On average the large funeral companies will charge you around 50% more than the smaller family owned and operated businesses. Interestingly, while the independent funeral homes are cheaper, the service they provide surpasses that of the large companies. How can this be? Well it makes sense, the independent family owned and operated businesses don’t have a fleet of hearses and mourning cars, they don’t spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising, they don’t have chapels scattered throughout the suburbs. This accounts for the reduced fee? The next tip will discuss how the smaller independent funeral homes level of service surpasses that of the larger funeral homes. For more information on how to have an affordable professional and dignified service please visit our website where all our fixed price packages can be viewed or pick up the phone and call Carol, the owner of the company. 24/7 0411 160 299 Do you care where your loved one is cremated?
If you don’t care where your loved one is cremated, then this post is probably not for you; and that’s fine. But if you do, how do feel about your loved one being transported like freight, interstate! Well you may be interested to know that a number of Victoria’s largest funeral companies while charging around 300% more than the smaller boutique companies like ours, will store, and freight your loved one interstate to increase their bottom line by around $200. Well, while we undercut these large international subsidiaries by around 300%, and still provide a more personalised service, we refuse to compromise on the respect of those in our care. We only cremate in local cemeteries! The funeral industry is probably the last bastion of where good old fashioned, genuine service can compete both morally and financially with the large corporations. Fuss Free Funerals is Melbourne's most affordable direct or no service cremation funeral service provider.
What is a direct cremation? What is a no service cremation? Well they are of course one and the same. Essentially what is involved is the funeral home picking up the person who has passed, having them cremated and returning the ashes to them. No service, no viewing, no hearse, no flowers and so on and so forth. A direct or no service cremation in Melbourne is the most affordable funeral available. People my say that a direct or no service cremation is Melbourne’s cheapest funeral. While we agree that a no service cremation or direct cremation is Melbourne’s most affordable funeral option, the service is for pragmatic people, for people who simply cannot or do not want to justify the exorbitant cost of a traditional funeral. You may wonder why people use our services, as opposed to a more traditional funeral. We have found that not everyone wants to go to the somewhat elaborate measures of a traditional funeral. Indeed, many of the families who have used our services advised they did so because they felt there were other more appropriate ways to celebrate the life of their loved one. Alternatively, many people cannot afford or justify the exorbitant costs of a traditional funeral. Our Direct Cremations are around 70% more affordable compared to our competitors; particularly when you include the additional costs they don't always tell you about up front. Our all inclusive, no more to pay packages, include the following: All Mortuary Fees. This includes absolutely everything such as dressing and preparing your loved one for the cremation. For instance, some people like to have their loved one dressed in a favourite football jumper or have makeup applied etc. Again, you would be surprised how these additional fees can significantly increase how much you're ultimately charged by other companies.. Death Certificate. We advise Births Deaths and Marriages of the passing of your loved one and apply and pay for the Death Certificate on your behalf. Often you will need this official document to finalise your loved ones affairs, inclusive of accessing their finances. Most other companies will charge for these other administrative tasks. Coffin. It's not an expensive one, but it is made in Australia. We can provide more expensive coffins if you would prefer, but naturally there will be some additional costs. Transportation to the Crematorium. We will even arrange to do this at a time the suits you. For instance, many families like to say a prayer or light a candle at the appointed hour; and we won't charge any extra for this small inconvenience. We have known some companies charge as much as $500 for this service. Crematorium / Cemetery fees. Regardless of the Funeral Director you employ to conduct your service, get a guarantee from them that these fess are included. All Service Fees. This is often a hidden cost that again can result in a quoted price increasing significantly. So, to arrange a funeral, free from fuss, simply pickup the phone and call. Contact Us 24/7 0411 160 299 http://www.fussfreefunerals.com.au http://www.fussfreefunerals.com.au
0411 160 299 Fuss Free Funerals is proud to report that the Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust and Café Vita et flores won Gold as first time exhibitors and entrants to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show SMCT’s stunning display was developed by renowned floral consultant Michael Strownix, of Where the Grass is Green. Mr Strownix worked with SMCT’s lead florist of Café Vita et flores, along with their horticulture and planning teams. The display design is reported as being symbolic of the essence of the eight cemetery and memorial park locations for which SMCT is responsible, including the stunning botanical gardens of Springvale Botanical Cemetery and the Australian native landscapes of Bunurong Memorial Park in Dandenong South. The flowers in the display were sourced from SMCT’s key suppliers to Café Vita et flores, the onsite florist at Springvale Botanical Cemetery and Bunurong Memorial Park. The bark and sticks used for the central giant oval display reflect SMCT’s corporate logo, and have fallen from the huge trees at Springvale Botanical Cemetery. Throughout the Show, SMCT representatives were at the exhibit to explain the concept and further our ongoing dialogue with the community. The SMCT exhibit will be on display at Bunurong Memorial Park in April. For more information, click the following link for Bunurong Memorial Park http://bmp.smct.org.au/ How to Save on funerals, Melbourne 2016
Most Australian funerals now cost between $5,000 and $10,000; with some funeral companies charging as much as $15,000 to $20,000. Further, as our population of cashed up baby boomers age funeral prices will be driven up even further. It’s not unreasonable to predict that within a few years the average funeral will cost as much as $15,000. Fortunately, with a little planning you can realistically cut out-of-pocket funeral expenses by as much as 75%. This means you could save between $4,000 and $7,000 when planning a funeral service. Unfortunately, most people have no idea what funeral goods and services are required, nor do they know what those goods and services should cost. So they end up buying whatever the Funeral Director recommends. Funeral Directors know this, so they simply don’t tell families about less expensive options. While there isn’t anything wrong with running a profitable business, many funeral homes achieve their above-average profits by misleading weary and grieving consumers, and when it comes to funerals, it is easy to mislead consumers. Until recently most funeral planning information came directly from funeral directors. This meant the only information available to families was what they were told by the very people trying to sell them something. But here is some good news, the Internet is making it possible for families to research funeral prices with objective, accurate information that can help them make affordable funeral and cremation arrangements. There are several things you can do that will help you plan a more affordable funeral or cremation service. Here are some basic strategies: Research on the internet before picking up the phone. If a business doesn’t have prices and packages on their website, ignore them and find one that does. Compare and contrast prices and the associated packages. See what’s included and most importantly what’s not included. If something is not included, it’s not an oversight, you will be charged for it. It is not unusual for a business to advertise a very cheap package that turns out to be a very expensive one when the additional costs are included in the final invoice. These additional costs often include: Picking up the deceased, particularly if it’s after hours. Some companies will add as much as $695. Flowers, a coffin looks pretty sad without a floral arrangement. Don’t be surprised if this increases your bill by as much as $500. An oversized coffin, these can add as much as $1000 to your bill. And you would be surprised how may people these days need an oversized one, its not just weight but also height that has to be considered. Picking up the ashes. Do you really want to enter the bowels of the cemetery, stand out the counter while staff sort through ashes, and sign for your loved ones remains like you would at a checkout counter. Receiving your loved ones ashes is a confronting experience, and if you’ve held a lovely service where you really celebrated your loved ones life don’t taint that memory by picking up the ashes yourself, get the Funeral Director to do it, and they should include it in the price. Embalm; you don’t need to have your loved one embalmed. You only need to have someone embalmed if they are being repatriated overseas. Some companies embalm every deceased, after all they have to pay for their mortuary staff somehow; so expect your bill to increase by around $1000. Mortuary fees, ensure these are all inclusive. If you want your loved one dressed and all mortuary fees are not included don’t be surprised if the bill goes up by another $500, if not more. Service fees, ensure the quote includes all service fees, such as administration costs, photocopying etc etc. Now the Don’ts Don’t be afraid to negotiate Don’t be rushed, you have weeks if need be so take your time, take care of yourself and your friends and family Don’t be afraid to ask questions In conclusion, there is nothing wrong with being pragmatic. http://www.fussfreefunerals.com.au 24/7 assistance 0411 160 299 In 2016 the overwhelming majority of funerals in Victoria will be conducted in public cemeteries. And why not, these state of the art facilities are centrally located in most major suburb hubs, they are staffed by professional highly trained staff, have ample parking, are able to provide affordable onsite catering and should be more affordable for families.
Another aspect of funeral service fees where some Funeral Directors will take advantage of families is providing a DVD recording of the service. If your service is being conducted in a public cemetery chapel, for example at Springvale Cemetery, every service is recorded by the cemetery staff and a copy is given to the Funeral Director at the end of the service. The service doesn’t incur any additional fees, rather it is inclusive in the cost of hiring the chapel. In our case we simply pass this directly to the family and naturally don’t charge them anything, but some businesses will take the DVD back to their offices, place a sticker on it, put it in a case and increase your bill by at least $250, some as much as $500. So if you’re having a service in a public cemetery check with the Fune have already been charged. ral Director if the service is being reordered by cemetery staff, if so ask to be handed it directly, and politely remind them that this service is built in the chapel hire fee that you Contact Us 24/7 assistance 0411 160 299 http://www.fussfreefunerals.com.au If you don’t care where your loved one is cremated, then this post is probably not for you; and that’s fine. But if you do, how do feel about your loved one being transported like freight, interstate!
Well you may be interested to know that a number of Victoria’s largest funeral companies while charging around 300% more than the smaller boutique companies like ours, will store, and freight your loved one interstate to increase their bottom line by around $200. Well, while we undercut these large international subsidiaries by around 300%, and still provide a more personalised service, we refuse to compromise on the respect of those in our care. We only cremate in local cemeteries! The funeral industry is probably the last bastion of where good old fashioned, genuine service can compete both morally and financially with the large corporations. Contact Us 24/7 0411 160 299 http://www.fussfreefunerals.com.au Fuss Free Funerals 0411 160 299 http://www.fussfreefunerals.com Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust, Night Tours The historic and iconic Melbourne General Cemetery is the final resting place of many notable Victorians. These include Australia’s longest serving Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, famous author Marcus Clarke, legendary billiards player Walter Lindrum, the famous Princess Theatre ghost Federici and the memorial to ill-fated explorers, Burke and Wills. During their night tours, experienced guides will ‘introduce’ you to Melbourne General Cemetery’s who’s who, while giving you fascinating insights into one of Australia’s most historically significant cemeteries. Tours are usually conducted throughout the year year: Friday nights (except Winter) Midsummer (late February), Full Moon (April/May) and Halloween (31 October). Cost: Adult $25, Concession $20 and Family (2 Adults, up to 3 children under 16) $80. Tours are also arranged by appointment at other times (in these instances, minimum numbers apply). All tour proceeds are used restoration projects. For more information or to book a tour online, please click on the Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust website link and follow the prompts. Alternatively, call the team at Fuss Free Funerals and we can provide you with their contact information. https://smct.org.au Show less |
