Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a Nation

GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) of a nation is comprised of four primary components. These components; consumption, investment, government spending and net exports are the measure of the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in over a given period of time. This can be broken down in any time frame but is normally used quarterly and annually. The GDP can be calculated as; GDP (Y) = consumption (C) + investment (I) + government spending (G) + net exports (NX) or Y=C+I+G+NX. The key word here is finished goods and not all goods.
Consumption
Household consumption, one of the four components of calculating the GDP of a nation has a broad range of items included in it. With the exception of the cost of buying a used house, most all durable and nondurable goods are measured within this. Mankiw (2012) described consumption as spending by households on goods and services, with the exception of purchases of new housing (p.497). The money a family spends on goods and services include everything from haircuts to education. Durable goods would be vehicles for transportation and all of the items that one buys to furnish a home. Items big and small regardless of brand or cost are factored in this component. If one was to buy and new set of appliances for a kitchen and a broom to sweep the floor, they are both used in this calculation. This is now adding to the consumption figures in this calculation. If one was to save this money for a while longer it would make the overall GDP lower than if the items were purchased. Education is often thought of as an investment in ones future but it is considered consumption by means of an intangible service for calculating GDP.
Investment
Investment from ...

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...bsolute gauge of a nation’s standard of living but it is a valuable equation that is fact based and data driven. Understanding what the purchased goods and services mean for one’s nation can help him or her understand the economy better. To know that a purchase from abroad is not always seen as a bad thing can help an individual determine when and from where a purchase can be made and what affect it may have in the overall direction of the GDP.

References
Barro, R. J., & Redlick, C. J. (2011). Macroeconomic Effects From Government Purchases and Taxes*. Quarterly Journal Of Economics, 126(1), 51-102.
Mankiw, N. G. (2012). Principles of microeconomics. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Blodget, H. (2013). Business Insider. Here's Who To Blame For America's Lousy Economy... Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/why-economic-growth-is-so-slow-2013-7