Banks have never exactly been at the top of the list of things we love. They are more likely to occupy the same sort of place in our hearts as early mornings, parking tickets and hoovering. But in the last six months, a few months after we ploughed billions into the banking system, we seem to have become even more annoyed with our banks.

So what's going on, and what can we do about it?

Some of us have been feeling rather smug about Greece's debt crisis and slow descent into chaos. But you'd be well advised not to gloat too much.

Things here aren't much better. Up to 270,000 British civil servants have now gone on strike over redundancy pay, the biggest unrest since 1987 – and more action is planned in the run-up to the election.

The strike could be a sign of things to come if the cash-strapped government introduces swingeing cuts to plug the gaping black hole in the public finances.

Many people in debt are only claiming a third of the welfare benefits they are entitled to, according to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.

On average, a family on benefits missed out on £5,000 last year because they didn't claim everything they were entitled to. A whopping £16 billion of welfare benefits went unclaimed.

Consumer confidence is at its highest level for more than two years, and optimism about the future is higher than ever before, according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index from Nationwide building society.

The overall index rose six points to 80 last month, putting it at the highest level since January 2008.

Meanwhile, the Expectations Index, which measures consumers' optimism about the future, jumped to 115 points - the highest level since Nationwide began conducting the research in 2004.

And the brighter outlook painted by the figures, released today, has helped Sterling to strengthen too, gaining 0.3% against the US dollar in early trading.

We're all becoming much better at saving money. Our shopping is just as likely to be labeled 'value' or 'basics' as it is to be 'luxury' or 'finest'. We shop around and compare prices, haggle and wait for the sales. It's a whole new way of life for a generation for whom reaching into the wallet almost became a reflex action.

Even government and local government have been getting into the act. However, being branches of government it's safe to say they are fouling it up completely.

One shining example of Local Government ineptitude was Northampton County Council, which launched a campaign called You Choose, which used a bunch of consultants to launch a campaign to ask taxpayers to identify costs they could cut in order to shave £100 million off their spending by 2014.

And the cost of the campaign? £100,000.

So in an effort to save Northampton, and any other council planning a similar initiative from themselves, we have come up with five vital lessons they could learn from the rest of us...

Britain bounced back from recession more strongly than previously thought at the end of last year, leading experts to say that the recession is over properly - at least for now.

The economy grew by 0.3% in the final three months of last year, rather than 0.1% as previously estimated, according to revised figures from the Office for National Statistics. A small boost for Gordon Brown's government ahead of the election.

Does this mean we're out of the woods? No, unfortunately not. The spectre of a double-dip recession and potentially a sterling crisis still loom on the horizon.

RBS used to be a stalwart of the banking scene, a reasonably forgettable, but reliable bank, with some interesting savings offers. Now, after the last two years, it stands very little chance of ever being associated with anything other than failure. It has become a byword for botched bonuses and pensions packages, a record-setter for corporate losses, and a PR disaster of epic proportions.

As the banks geared up for a season of announcements what did we expect from RBS? How about a bucketload of losses and a scandalous bonus payment?

And RBS didn't disappoint. The announcements followed the pattern of failure we have come to expect. But is this it? Has it finally done enough to lose our business?

It looks like the housing market is running out of steam again, just a few months after things started to pick up. The reason? Would-be-buyers are still struggling to get mortgages.

Housing market expert Kate Barker, who sits on the Bank of England' monetary policy committee, has warned prices could dip again this year because of a lack of mortgage lending.

Even though the government has urged banks and building societies to make more and cheaper mortgages available, the situation hasn't got much better.

Santander offered a glimmer of hope yesterday, slashing the deposits required for first time buyers buying new-build properties. Those buying flats will be able to borrow 80% of the property value, and those buying flats will be able to borrow 90%. It's the first time the firm has offered 90% mortgages for two years.

However, this will suit just a small percentage of house buyers. The rest of us will continue to struggle.

One in 10 British adults is constantly overdrawn on his or her current account, according to shocking new statistics published today by price comparison website Moneysupermarket.

That means a jaw-dropping 5 million of us have failed to make it out of the red over the last 12 months, while well over a third of the adult population have used an overdraft facility at some point in the last year.

However, overdraft charges can be sky high, especially if you don't arrange the borrowing in advance with your bank.

So we have taken a look at the best and worst overdrafts to help you avoid paying over the odds when you go into the red on your current account.

Who can save us from our economic woes? Your guess is likely to be as good as anyone's. Economics are notoriously hard to predict or control, and while governments may tinker and interfere, there's every chance they will do as much harm as good.

However, a new survey has revealed we have lost any faith we may have had in the current regime being able to help us out of this particular hole, and are looking elsewhere for help.

A new Markit YouGov survey shows that many people believe the Tories would be the best party to improve their household finances...

However, even more - over one in three - aren't sure which party would be best for them, or believe none of the parties are any good.

"'It's the economy, stupid' continues to make sense almost 2 decades after the Clinton campaign coined the phrase," said Leon Gunning of YouGov.