Dr. Mike Walden, North Carolina Cooperative Extension economist in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State University, responds:

"Not necessarily, and I think this illustrates the difference between what economists call investment value and consumption value. Let's say that we're going to remodel our kitchen, which we actually did a couple of years ago. And let's say that we estimate that it's going to be a $50,000 job. Let's say that we also then consult with a real estate person and say, 'Are we going to get that back if we sell our house in a couple of years?' And the real estate person says, 'No, you're not going to get $50,000 back, maybe you'll get $40,000 back.' Well, does that mean we shouldn't do the remodel. Well, not necessarily. Obviously, we're getting $40,000 of the $50,000 back, so that's the investment value, but it may be that you and I are going to get such pleasure, such enjoyment out of that new kitchen over the next couple of years that it's worth $10,000 of what we would call consumption value to us. So that's the way people should look at these remodel projects and really any kind of monetary outlay. In some cases, you're going to use that money to gain more money in the future. That would be an investment. But in other cases, you're simply expending the money because you're getting pleasure. You're not seeing that pleasure in terms of dollars but in terms of psychic pleasure. That's consumption value, and that's certainly very valuable."