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Finder Consumer Positivity Index

Tracking how Australian consumers feel about the economy and their financial lives.

Saranga Sudarshan's headshot
Joshua Godfrey's headshot

By

Saranga Sudarshan

&

Joshua Godfrey

Edited by

Angus Kidman

Updated

Fact checked

Key takeaways

  • Finder's positivity index decreased by 2% in July 2024 to 94.0 points.
  • The decrease in positive economic outlook and housing sentiments were the main contributors to the decrease in the index.

The drop in the index was primarily due to a decline in individual economic optimism. The percentage of people feeling positive about their monthly cost of living fell by 10%. Confidence in affording a home also dropped by 5%, and there was a 2% decrease in those feeling optimistic about their salary.
Sentiment around housing dropped, with 21% more individuals struggling to pay their home loans. Additionally, the number of people who said they couldn’t manage their finances without a credit card rose by 3%.
Meanwhile, in the savings category, people's total savings increased by 4% and monthly savings contributions rose by 3%.
There's been an 8% increase in individuals planning a holiday within the next 12 months, as well as a 2% increase in the use of 'buy-now-pay-later' platforms over the last 6 months.

What is the Finder Positivity Index?

Finder's Positivity Index is a monthly measure of Australian consumer sentiment, and a useful way to gauge the financial health of Australian consumers at a glance. It provides a snapshot of how Australians feel about their current capacity to earn a decent income; to spend enough to maintain their standard of living; and to save for the future. The index also provides an insight into where the economy as a whole is going in the short term.

The index is collated from over 50,000 responses to Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker since May 2019. It is produced by analysing data collected across five broad categories:

  1. General economic sentiment (65%)
  2. Housing (15%)
  3. Savings (10%)
  4. Credit card usage (5%)
  5. Shopping behaviour (5%)

Each category is measured with survey responses on how Australians feel about a recession; their wages; wellbeing; their ability to pay for housing; their living costs; use of buy now pay later; and how much they save per month. The final index is a synthesis of these consumer perspectives into a single index to express current and near-term consumer sentiment. This synthesis involves creating separate indexes for each data point with a baseline of 50, then calculating a weighted sum as a final index.

Angus Kidman's headshot
To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Angus Kidman as part of our fact-checking process.
Saranga Sudarshan's headshot
Analyst

Saranga Sudarshan was an insights analyst at Finder. He has a PhD from the University of St Andrews in political philosophy. Previously he was a research analyst at Frost & Sullivan. Saranga loves cricket, sports analytics and the way data can provide novel insights. See full bio

Saranga's expertise
Saranga has written 24 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Data analysis
Joshua Godfrey's headshot
Co-written by

Insights analyst

Joshua Godfrey is an insights analyst for Finder. Josh examines the issues currently affecting Australians. He manages Finder's monthly Consumer Sentiment Tracker and quarterly reports. He has a Bachelor of Business and Diploma in Innovation from the University of Technology, Sydney where he studied finance and marketing. See full bio

Joshua's expertise
Joshua has written 21 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Data and analytics
  • Money trends
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