The Australian consumer landscape looks pretty bleak entering the new year. January's mood data reveals households growing increasingly anxious about their finances—and there's good reason for that worry. The central bank is widely expected to push interest rates higher in the coming months, which will pile more pressure on mortgage holders and discretionary spending.

When household finances tighten across major economies, ripple effects tend to flow into risk asset markets. This kind of consumer anxiety, combined with tighter monetary policy, often reshapes investor appetite for growth and alternative assets. Worth keeping an eye on as economic cycles shift.