My excitement, however, is tempered by a dilemma that I face with every paycheck. I must decide what to do with this income. Should I spend it? Should I save it? What if anything should I buy? How much if any should I save?

For the past several months, I've been drooling over a cherry cheesecake displayed in the window of Pastry Pat's Bakery Barn. Perhaps the time to make that purchase is now. Then again, I've been planning a trip to the HappyTime GalaWorld Amusement Park come next spring. Perhaps I should set aside a substantial portion of my paycheck to finance these festivities.

The more I ponder my predicament, the more possibilities I perceive. A multitude of products await to be purchased with the proceeds of my paycheck -- a piping hot pot of porridge, a pack of playing cards, a pair of purple pants. If only I could gain some insight into the proper course of action. Perhaps this lesson on Keynesian consumption will help.

• The first unit, Setting The Keynesian Stage, begins this lesson with a thought or two about the household sector, consumption expenditures, and their relation to Keynesian economics.
• In the second unit, Household Consumption, we get into the assorted details of consumption expenditures, including two critical Keynesian concepts, the marginal propensity to consume and the consumption line.
• Moving into the third unit, Saving A Little, we take a look at the relation between saving and consumption, with a keen eye on the marginal propensity to save and the saving line.
• The fourth unit, Consumption Determinants, analyzes assorted factors other than income that affect consumption and saving by the household sector.
• Our fifth unit, Wrapping Up, then puts the finishing touches on this lesson by exploring the role consumption plays in other key aspects of Keynesian economics and the macroeconomy, including aggregate expenditures, the multiplier, business cycles, and fiscal policy.

As you work through this lesson on Keynesian consumption be on the look out for these ten learning objectives:

1. Why and how consumption expenditures are the foundation upon which Keynesian economics is built.
2. The relation between household consumption expenditures, the circular flow, and aggregate expenditures.
3. How income is divided between consumption and saving according to the psychological law.
4. The two key measures of consumption used in Keynesian economics -- average propensity to consume and marginal propensity to consume.
5. The relation between saving and household income and how it is connected to the consumption-income relation.
6. The two key measures of saving used in Keynesian economics -- average propensity to save and marginal propensity to save.
7. How consumption determinants shift both the consumption and saving lines.
8. The importance of several key consumption determinants, including interest rates, consumer confidence, and taxes.
9. A preview of expenditures by the other three macroeconomic sectors that make up aggregate expenditures.
10. The key role that household consumption plays in the analysis of the multiplier, business cycles, and fiscal policy.