What does a home really cost?

Part of the inspiration of the tiny home movement is saying goodbye to insane mortgages.

Psychologists have identified that we humans are good at comparing similar items - like one car versus another - but much less good at comparing between items from different categories.

This house auction satirical ad points out the things we sacrifice to be an owner of a home.

I think it could go further. Many people spend years, or decades, in jobs they hate - just to afford a house they can call their own. I guess that's fine if you value the house more than those lost years. But if that's not the case, are we better off having smaller homes? Or renting? Or both?

Part of what I'm doing is discerning what I value in life, and working out how to make a life that reflects that. I reckon that's part of the key to happiness - lining up our values and our actions.

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How much super will we have?

Will we be OK in old age? How much will we have? One of the great things about living in Australia is superannuation. Our employers are required to pay into an investment account for our retirement. In recent times, my wife and I have been in several conversations with friends who are wondering (or worried) if their balance will be enough. That's what inspired this article. Great question It's a great question to ask, especially around the age of 35 to 40. At that point, old age is less of a distant abstract concept. It's becoming a medium-term reality. At 35 the number of years of living off super is possibly more than half of your remaining years. At 40 you may consider yourself about half way through your working life. Looking at your balance, it's easy to think that twice that balance may not be enough. Read on, because I have good news for you. It's better than you might think As I've mentioned in earlier posts, compound growth means the investment grows f

Shop less. Live more.

October is Buy Nothing New Month , and that's their slogan: Shop Less. Live More. This quote about consumption is doubly true. There's the hours we spend to earn the money to spend. Then there's the hours bustling around shopping centres and malls searching out the thing we want (or that advertising has told us we want). Of course there's also the issue of where we put all this stuff we buy. Do we just buy a bigger house (with a bigger mortgage) or do we put it in storage? "The Japanese may have tidiness but in America we have storage lockers - our only growth industry." - Marge Simpson . I found these stats about the US storage industry . I find it such a waste that after spending so much to buy all this stuff we then spend another $22 billion to store it. Shocking. Clearly we need to be less addicted to purchasing. Buy Nothing New Month is a great way to start. Are you with me?

Downsizing to save lives?

Downsizing can help others as much as yourself. Selling items is great, but donations can also have a huge impact. You've probably heard of Movember , the charitable movement that tackles men's health issues of cancer, mental health and suicide. Men around the country, and the world, grow a moustache for the month as a conversation starter about men's health and as a fundraiser for the issues. My mate Phil goes a bit further that most and hosts his own fund-raising cricket match. How Australian is that? I didn't play in the match, but did donate a new match ball I had sitting in a cupboard from my playing days. I could have sold it earlier, but I liked the fact that it would save Phil the full retail cost of a new ball. Cricket balls can be expensive ($25-$90) so the money saved means more funds raised for Movember. It's also good to see an item serving the purpose it was made for. In the same weekend, a lead singer bought my waistcoat for his performa

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