Convenient procedures, products and services are those intended to increase ease in accessibility, save resources (such as time, effort and energy) and decrease frustration. A modern convenience is a labor-saving device, service or substance which make a task easier or more efficient than a traditional method. Convenience is a relative concept, and depends on context. For example, automobiles were once considered a convenience, yet today are regarded as a normal part of life. Because differences in lifestyles around the world, the term is a relative term based upon the conveniences previously available to a person or group. For instance, an American definition of 'modern convenience' is likely different from that of an individual living in a developing country. Most of the time, the term 'modern convenience' is used to express personal lifestyle and home life. Examples Service conveniences are those that save shoppers time or effort, and includes variables such as credit availability and extended store hours. Service convenience pertains to the facilitation of selling both goods and services, and combinations of the two. Convenience goods are widely distributed products that "require minimal time and physical and mental effort to purchase." Ready meals and convenience cooking spare the consumer effort in preparation of a meal while providing high levels of energy and pronounced, if mostly artificial, flavour. Filling stations sell items that have nothing to do with refuelling a motor vehicle, (e.g. milk, newspapers, cigarettes) but purchasing at that location can save the consumer time compared to making a separate journey to a supermarket. Conveniences such as direct deposit can save companies and consumers money, though this may or may not be passed along to the consumer. Some conveniences can become nuisances when they break down or don't function correctly. It costs time and money to fix items of convenience when they break down, and may cause much greater costs if something else that depends on them cannot take place. History Late 20th century Household In 1911, architect and author Louis. H. Gibson defined modern conveniences as "those arrangements and appliances which make it possible for people to live comfort ably in a larger house, without seriously increasing the cares which they had in a smaller one". The supposition is that at that time if a family lived in a smaller home, they would have less furniture, appliances and other goods to take care of, and as a result the