Have your fingers unfurled from their tight grasp on those pennies you’ve been pinching? A new report seems to indicate as much, finding that we’re all plain sick of being stingy after years of recession scrimping and dollar-watching behavior. The research says we’re done avoiding restaurants, driving around used clunkers and staying put where we live.

The Los Angeles Times cites research group IBISWorld, which says that even though the economy isn’t particularly racing forward, the unemployment rate was dropped enough from 2009 to inspire us to spend again. We’ve also seen rises in consumer sentiment and disposable income in the five years since the recession hit. What better to do when you see the world as your oyster and have the money to burn like indulge in a night on the town instead of eating microwave popcorn for dinner yet again? Or hey, I hear some people eat cereal for multiple meals a day.

When we collectively started watching our wallets, it was the big items that were the first to take a financial hit. The new car industry, home builders and sit down restaurants all struggled while we were busy being frugal. That’s going to change soon, say researchers.

As revenue for new homes bounce back, so will other businesses like furniture and appliance makers. Meanwhile, 12.4 million new vehicles will be driven home by consumers this year as we turn in our old cars in favor of upgrades with less maintenance costs and restaurants will enjoy 2.7% annual growth on average through 2017, said IBISWorld.

These are all just forecasts and numbers, however. Which leads to the question that we’ve got to ask you, our real, living and breathing human readers:

Spending spree forecast for homes, cars and restaurant meals [L.A. Times]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.