"When you buy a house and take on a big mortgage debt, you tighten up all your spending and accounting." No, actually it's the exact opposite, both in the shor

"When you buy a house and take on a big mortgage debt, you tighten up all your spending and accounting." No, actually it's the exact opposite, both in the short term, and in the long term. Short-term vs. existing homeowners: http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?sectionID=734&genericContentID=106491&channelID=311 http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?sectionID=734&genericCo... Long-term vs. non home-owners: http://www.philadelphiafed.org/research-and-data/publications/business-review/2010/q3/brq310_benefits-and-costs-of-homeownership.pdf http://www.philadelphiafed.org/research-and-data/publication... More: http://econ.jhu.edu/people/ccarroll/papers/COS-WealthEffects-Literature/Papers/Engelhardt.pdf http://econ.jhu.edu/people/ccarroll/papers/COS-WealthEffects... There is a lot more info out there about this, but the economics of it are pretty simple. The fact that the author can't even get this right makes me question any other assertations made in the article.