Findings – This paper provides new insights into consumer confidence, including, but not limited to: demonstrating the harsh realities of more people being in financial difficulty now than 18 months ago, and its impact on confidence; looking at which aspects of household expenditure and budgets have been hardest squeezed, and what that means for short- and medium-term futures; analysing the extent to which the generally lower level of available credit makes consumers more or less reliant on borrowing as a way of life, and the associated impact on confidence and decision making/financial planning prioritisation; exploring the real fears and concerns people have about their future finances; and exploring consumer financial hopes and aspirations in a post-recessionary climate.