Finder Consumer Positivity Index
Tracking how Australian consumers feel about the economy and their financial lives.
Key takeaways
- Finder’s positivity index fell by 10.3% in March 2026 to 109.49 points.
- The decrease in the index was mainly due to Savings and general economic sentiment
sentiment. Australians expecting a recession in the next 12 months increased by 6%. At the same time, confidence declined across key areas, with sentiment around salary and continued employment both falling by 10%, while optimism around the ability to afford a home dropped by 16%. Sentiment around monthly living expenses also declined by 13%, and overall happiness fell by 6%.
Savings weakened. Average monthly savings fell by 4%, while cash savings declined by 10%.
Financial stress increased this month, rising by 5%.
Housing sentiment declined this month. The share of Australians who say it is a good time to buy property was unchanged, while the proportion struggling to meet home loan repayments rose by 3%, and those struggling to pay rent increased by 2%.
The share of Australians who said they could not manage their budget without a credit card rose by 4%, while use of buy now, pay later services declined by 9%.
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:
- General economic sentiment (65%)
- Housing (15%)
- Savings (10%)
- Credit card usage (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.
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