After the great recession economic researcher, Dr. Dan Geller, created the Money Anxiety Index to measure consumer spending and savings habits; he wanted to see whether certain consumer behaviors could be early indicators of a slowdown or recession; after analyzing 50 years of data Geller was also able to link upticks in the index to economic downturns about 12 months in advance; the index hit an its lowest point in November 2018 and is starting to rise again indicating that another downturn is approaching. Source.