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 6.7% in February 2025 to 110.92 points.
  • The drop in the index was mainly due to a decline in savings and the average amount saved during the month.

The index decline was primarily influenced by the savings category, with the average cash savings decreasing by 19% and the average amount saved during the month decreased by 13%.

In the Housing category, mortgage stress decreased by 5%, while rent payment stress rose by 7%.

In Australia's economic outlook, the number of people expecting a pay rise in the next 12 months has fallen by 14%, while those anticipating a recession has dropped by 11%. Confidence in the near future has also declined, with positivity about salary and job security down 4%, optimism about affording a home down 7%, and sentiment around monthly living costs down 2%.

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 is an experienced analyst specialising in consumer finance research, data analysis and market intelligence. Formerly a research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, he holds a PhD in political philosophy from the University of St Andrews, as well as a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Sydney. Saranga was an Analyst at Finder from 2022 to 2024. See full bio

Saranga's expertise
Saranga has written 21 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Data analysis
Joshua Godfrey's headshot
Co-written by

Insights Analyst

Joshua Godfrey is an Insights Analyst at Finder, specialising in data analysis and identifying emerging trends through the Consumer Sentiment Tracker, a monthly survey on Australians' financial attitudes. He has co-authored Finder’s 2023 Green Report and 2024 Wealth Building Report, which have been widely quoted in top media outlets like the AFR and news.com.au. With a Bachelor of Business in Finance and Marketing and a Diploma of Creative Intelligence from UTS, Josh is passionate about uncovering patterns in consumer sentiment and exploring how they influence the future of finance. See full bio

Joshua's expertise
Joshua has written 27 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Data and analytics
  • Money trends
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