Listen
We all know about the cost of living, but what about the cost of dying?
It's something you may not want to think about, but it could pay to. Consumer NZ estimated the average price of a funeral was around $10,000.
But a growing number of people are discovering that it's possible to do it yourself, without needing a funeral director.
Death can be an uncomfortable subject, but Deb King speaks about it as easily as if she was telling you what she had for lunch.
"I'm not afraid of dying ... I think talking about death and dying and that process and the ceremony behind it, the celebration of one's life. I think we need to do more."
At her home in Raglan, there are various DIY projects - the crown jewel being a flat-pack casket sitting in 4 separate pieces against the wall which she uses as shelving.
The coffin is decorated with maps of places she's been, photos of her as a youngster and some of her favourite artworks.
Her family and friends know how to put it together when she dies.
When asked if this was all a bit morbid, Deb laughed.
"No not all! Get it out of the closet," she said.
A no frills DIY casket would cost around $400-$500, she said, plus however much was spent painting or decorating it.
People often felt obliged to spend lots of money on funerals, even if they couldn't really afford it, Deb said.
"I think we ride a lot on guilt. I think as a society we don't talk about death and the dying process. And I think that has been exploited to some degree."
Coffin clubs
John Russell and Roger Gardner are part of a "coffin club" in Katikati, where they meet once a week to help build caskets for their members.
Roger said their aim was to help save people some money, while getting them involved in the process.
"What we try and do is get members that want a coffin to help with it. Obviously some people have got no idea about using tools, but they can use sandpaper, they can use a paintbrush and we go from there."
They had made all kinds of different coffins for their members, he said.
"One we made was like a snooker table, the chap was big snooker player. So we made a rectangular coffin, he got some green baize and his wife made the pockets and he ended up with a very nice looking snooker table."
People had many different reasons for joining.
"Some people, they join just to say they belong to the coffin club. It's a shock tactic. 'What are you interested in? Coffin club. What!?'"
Roger joked that people often thought it was coffee club, not a coffin club.
It took a while to get his family on board with his own homemade coffin, John said.
"When the grandchildren came around, I said I've got something to show you... they said 'what's that?' I said 'it's my coffin.'"
At first they were shocked, but over time they got used to it, John said.
It started conversations about death and dying in his family, he said.
Legal requirements
A casket of some sort is needed to transport the body, so it can't be seen by the public.
The coffin doesn't need to be lined, but the person moving the body is responsible for fluids that may escape, so it might be a good idea.
Arrangements need to be made before the body starts to decompose, which would mean keeping it cool if it wasn't being buried or cremated right away.
John and Roger also suggested using natural, untreated wood, as it was better for the environment.