The article looks at how wealth and capital gains affected household spending in the US from 1989 to 2004. By combining data from two surveys, the researchers found that owning a home had a bigger impact on spending than other types of wealth. Financial wealth didn't seem to affect spending much. The study suggests that when property prices were going up due to the housing bubble, people spent more because they thought the prices would keep rising. But by 2004, when they realized the prices might not stay high, they started saving more instead of spending.