American consumers are nothing if not resilient. But with the final shopping weekend ahead of Christmas now upon us, the question remains just how much more is left in the tank. Consumers account for some two-thirds of the growth in the U.S. gross domestic product by buying goods and services and have largely been credited with holding up the U.S. economy for most of the decade. With spending predicted to slow to a crawl, many analysts believe the economy is on the verge of a menacing contraction. [...] Buy any one of these 10 now, then sit back and watch the economy roll: 1. A used house. No industry produces the ripple effects of housing, which by some estimates accounts for 15% of all domestic economic activity. Besides the real estate agents' commission there are mortgage fees and title charges and attorneys' costs -- not to mention money generated for everyone from the moving van driver to the carpet cleaner. At a median price of just about $206,000, houses are even on discount (about 6%) from a year ago. Worried about more price declines? Once folks start buying and supply equals demand, MarketWatch's chief economist Irwin Kellner said, housing prices will stabilize. 2. A newly constructed house. Better yet, convince 99 friends and family to get one too. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the estimated one-year impact of building 100 single-family homes in a typical U.S. metropolitan area is $16 million in local income and 284 jobs. They then drum up $3.2 million annually in local income and 63 jobs -- and there's no question the construction and building industries are hurting for jobs. An average new home will set you back about $218,000, about 13% less than a year ago. 3. A pickup truck. It's true you'll be using a good percentage of foreign substances to fuel it, but the domino-effect of building trucks and cars in the U.S. trails long and wide. Consider the Ford F-series trucks and in particular the F-150, the most ubiquitous on the road. Ranging in price from $15,000 to $30,000, about 90% of the truck's parts are manufactured in the U.S. and there are plenty of people employed to build engines, doors, fenders and rear-view mirrors. But more important, the entire machine is assembled in the U.S. The F-Series Super Duty, for example, has spawned an entire community around the 5,000 workers Ford employs at the assembly plant outside of Louisville, Ky., in the last 10 years alone, according to the company. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...92-FD10-48D0-A0B0-19693DD00A82}&dist=hplatest