After January's slump, February brought a breath of fresh air with all five measures of the Index on the rise, lifting the overall score to a still chilly -20. The star of the show? Consumers' outlook on their personal finances for the coming year, which jumped a cheerful four points! Views on personal finances over the past 12 months also got a three-point boost, matching the uplift in opinions on the general economy over the same period.

But hold onto your hats – despite these sunny spells, the economic forecast remains stormy, with views on the economy still deep in the negative zone and lower than a year ago.

Join NIQ’s Neil Bellamy and the ever-curious Lucy Green as they dive into the digits, dissecting differences by age group and income level in their regular segment, Data Guru Corner.