Advertorial

Funeral. Mortgage. Bills. Here's the Real Total For Australians.

Two weeks after her husband died, Michelle sat at the kitchen table in Baulkham Hills surrounded by paperwork she never expected to deal with. She was 43. He was 45. Two kids. 9 and 6.

The funeral director's invoice was on top. Underneath it, the mortgage statement. Then the electricity bill. The car payment. A letter from the solicitor about probate.

She assumed there would be help. Everyone does.

The funeral: $11,039

The average Australian funeral now costs around $11,039. Even cremations cost an estimated $8,045⁴. Someone has to pay, and it's often due within days.

What the government often provides: $0

Most Australians assume there's a guaranteed funeral grant or death benefit. There isn't.

Centrelink's bereavement payment is only available if both partners were already receiving income support like JobSeeker or the Age Pension, for at least 12 months prior. For a typical working family? The government provides nothing.

The estate costs: $3,240

Solicitor's fees for probate run $2,200 to $5,500 for a straightforward estate on average⁵. Complex estates can add thousands more. Outstanding credit card balances don't disappear. Car loan payments don't pause.

The mortgage: $4,180 per month

The average Australian mortgage repayment is $4,180 a month⁶. That payment was due last month. It's due this month. It'll be due next month.

The bank doesn't reduce the mortgage because someone died. The full amount is owed, every month, from a household that just lost half its income.

The cost of living: $5,663 per month

Beyond the mortgage, the average Australian family of four spends approximately $5,663 a month on groceries, utilities, transport, school costs, insurance⁷.

Combined with mortgage repayments, a typical household needs roughly $9,843 a month. Now remove one income from that equation.

The total

Funeral: $11,039. Estate and legal costs: $3,240. First year of mortgage: $50,160. First year of household expenses: $67,956.

First-year total: approximately $132,395

And that's year one. The mortgage doesn't stop after 12 months. Neither do the groceries or the school fees. Over five years, the ongoing costs could exceed $660,000.

How much of that does the government cover for a typical working family? Zero.

Superannuation death benefits may cover the first year of expenses, but what happens after that?

The safety net many Australians assume exists could have a gap measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Life insurance could help fill this gap. A single policy could cover the funeral, pay the mortgage, handle the bills, and give a family time to grieve without financial collapse. You could even choose to leave them up to $2,000,000¹.

For many Australians, closing a gap measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars could cost as little as a coffee or two a week*.

That’s where Saving Sidekick can help.

If you:

…you can see what you could qualify for in just a few minutes.

Select Your Age:

Common questions

"I assumed the government helped with funeral costs."

Many Australians do. But Centrelink's bereavement payment requires both partners to have been on income support for at least 12 months. For working families, the contribution is zero. That's the gap that life insurance could help to fill.

"Surely my super covers this?"

Default super cover is typically $100,000-$200,000. Against a potential first-year gap of $132,395 and ongoing costs that compound every month, that could disappear within two years.

"I can't afford another monthly bill."

$500,000 in cover can start from as low as $8.16 per week*. Compare that to the $9,300 monthly gap your family would face. Cover limits apply, depending on age, and premium is subject to underwriting.

"What's the catch?"

Checking your options is free. No obligation. If it's not right for you, that's the end of it.

Two versions of what happens next

In one version, Michelle didn't know about the gap. The funeral went on a credit card. The bills stacked up within months. The house went on the market within a year.

In the other, her husband spent a few minutes on the phone six months earlier. The policy covered the funeral, years of mortgage payments, and the bills while she worked out next steps. She still lost the person she loved. But she didn't lose her home.

Select Your Age:

This is a paid advertisement, not a news article or consumer protection notice. 

*$8.16 per week is based on a 30 year old female non-smoker and $500,000 cover. Cover limits apply, depending on age, and premium is subject to underwriting.

⁴ According to information from Australian Seniors Cost of Death 2.0 Report https://www.seniors.com.au/documents/australian-seniors-series-cost-of-death-report-2023-whitepaper.pdf

⁵ Data pulled from https://www.pt.qld.gov.au/wills-powers-of-attorney-estates/deceased-estates/deceased-estate-administration-fees and

https://perthprobatelawyer.com/how-much-does-a-probate-lawyer-cost-in-australia/

⁶ According to https://www.money.com.au/home-loans/research-insights/home-loan-statistics which sourced their information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics

⁷ According to https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Australia

Advertorial

A $9,843 Monthly Gap Your Family Could Face

Last Tuesday night, a dad in Blacktown sat at the kitchen table after the kids went to bed. He wasn't doing anything unusual, just staring at the credit card statement, the mortgage app, and the school fees reminder all open on his phone at once.

Then his wife mentioned that a bloke from her office had died over the weekend. Forty-three years old. Two kids under ten. Seemed perfectly healthy.

He put the phone down. And for the first time, he did a calculation he'd been avoiding for years.

Try it yourself.

Add up what your household actually costs each month.

Mortgage or rent. For the average Australian family, that's around $4,180 a month⁴. Maybe more if you're in Sydney or Melbourne. Groceries. Utilities. Car payments. School fees. Insurance premiums. Phone. Internet. The streaming subscriptions you forgot you had.

For many Australian families with kids and a mortgage, that number lands somewhere around $9,843 a month⁵.

Now remove your income.

What the government often provides: $0

If your partner dies and you weren't already on Centrelink, there is no automatic survivor's payment.

The gap between what your family spends and what they'd receive from the government, that's the number. For most families, that $9,843 number is there every single month. Not for a few weeks. For decades.

Sit with that number for a moment. Because your family would have to.

Here's something most working parents never think about: your income is your family's most valuable asset. Worth more than your house, your car, and your super combined.

Economists call it "human capital" which is the total of everything you'll earn.

And almost nobody insures it.

Life insurance isn't a product you buy because you think something will happen. It's an income replacement tool. It exists to help fill the exact gap you calculated above, so your partner isn't forced to choose between the mortgage and the school fees while they're still trying to get through the week.

That’s where Saving Sidekick can help

If you:

…you could qualify for up to $2,000,000¹ in cover. $500,000 in cover can even cost as little as $8.16 per week*.

That's likely less than some of the monthly subscriptions you just added up. And it could replace potentially decades of income.

Here's how it works:

You get to speak to a real human that’s there to help. Not some AI machine where you can’t get any real answers.

Checking your options is completely free, it only takes a few minutes, and there is no obligation to proceed with anything if you don’t like your options.

Select your age:

Common questions

"I already have some cover through my super, isn't that enough?"

It might cover part of the gap. But default super cover is often capped well below what your family could actually need. It's worth checking your real number, but the gap over a five year period could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"I'm not sure I can afford it right now."

$500,000 in cover can cost as little as $8.16 per week*. Most families spend much more than that on things they don’t need or even care about. And every year you wait, the cost goes up, because premiums are based on your age when you start.

"What if I get rejected?"

Most Australians in reasonable health qualify without a medical exam. There are even options available for many people with health conditions such as diabetes.

"This feels overwhelming, I don't know where to start."

That's exactly why you are provided with a real person to talk to. Their job is to help you work out the right cover amount and walk you through everything in just a few minutes. If you’re not understanding any piece, they are there to help make sure you are clear.

"What's the catch?"

There isn't one. Checking your options is free. If you decide it's not right for you, that's the end of it. No pressure. No fuss.

Select your age:

This is a paid advertisement, not a news article or consumer protection notice. 

*$8.16 per week is based on a 30 year old female non-smoker and $500,000 cover. Cover limits apply, depending on age, and premium is subject to underwriting.

⁴ According to https://www.money.com.au/home-loans/research-insights/home-loan-statistics which sourced their information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics

⁵ According to the average mortgage cost pulled from money.com.au the average household costs pulled from https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Australia excluding mortgage or rent