Or you can just ask the folks at The Home Depot or Lowe's or at any number of regional home improvement outlets that have benefited from helping homeowners spend their money. And the spending is growing. The story of that growth blends, among other things, elements of myth, human nature, pride and sound financial reasoning. The myth, to which homeowners can attest, is that you can buy the home of your dreams on Sunny Street and live there content for the rest of your life. Seldom does it work out that way.
Dreams beget dreams and soon the homeowner is restless.
People like to keep up with the times, and in these times, houses are bigger and bigger. The typical new home of 1985 measured 1,785 square feet, but new homebuyers today seek more than 2,300 square feet. Keeping up with the Joneses, therefore, means a bigger house, but you've grown accustomed to the one you've been living in. You add a half bath and a home office, and you modernize the kitchen. It is easy to rationalize the expenditure.