But wait... there's less!

Who has ever had four saucepans cooking at once? So why do we have four hotplates on cooktops? Back in the day of all-in-one units, four hotplates were a nice fit on the top of the oven. These days the cooktop and ovens are usually separate but we've stuck with four hotplates. In many homes and apartments it's worth re-thinking. Is this is a wise use of bench space? Two-saucepan cooktops are making an appearance and freeing up some bench space in smaller kitchens. Aldi are taking it a step further with the Induction Cooking Plate . It's a stand-alone single-hotplate device that can be packed away when not in use. Aldi says it has 8 temperature settings, 5 preset cooking functions, a timer, touch controls and overheat protection. Could this be the future of smaller kitchens? Cost-savings in building. More bench space. Less energy consumption with the efficiency of induction cooking. Another great example of less is more. I don't mean this to be an ad, but...

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld says "all things exist in different stages of becoming garbage" and describes our home as a garbage-processing centre. Demotion "Objects start at the highest level - visible in the living area. From there it goes down to a closet, cupboard or drawer. That's why we have those - so we don't have to see all the huge mistakes we've made." The garage "No object has ever made it out of the garage and back into the house. The word garage seems to be a form of the word garbage." Paid storage "Now instead of free garbage, you pay rent to visit your garbage. It's like a prison visit when you go there." What if it all burnt down? Last week I mentioned Scott Pape's book ( The Barefoot Investor (2018 Update): The Only Money Guide You'll Ever Need ). He's a finance expert who lost everything in a bushfire. The insurance cheque was a chance to start over. It was also a chance to realise that much...

There are three things that happy people have. Is more money one of them? Nope. Once your basic needs are met, extra money doesn't really make you happier. The three things are purpose, relationships and financial control, says author Scott Pape. I've just finished his popular book The Barefoot Investor (2018 Update): The Only Money Guide You'll Ever Need . I expected mainly tips on saving, investing and the sharemarket. Those topics are covered, but a lot of his advice is 1. Don't buy so much stuff, 2. Buy the basic stuff not the flashy stuff, and 3. Don't get sucked in by advertising and salespeople. He says millionaires drive average cars. People with flashy cars are generally not doing as well. ("All show and no dough") Stop making the bankers rich Credit cards don't help you get ahead or buy more. In fact they lock us in to a lifetime of debt and often people pay more in interest than they spend on the purchases. This mean our pay packet d...