Consumers may be seeing green shoots, but it’s not all clear just yet.

While they feel better about the economy and their personal finances, according to Discover’s Spending Monitor Index for March, and consumer confidence is at its highest point in six months, the purchases are not all frivolous.

Some “52 percent plan to spend more on household expenses, including gasoline and groceries,” the study reported. Although the index still includes pessimistic consumers, their numbers have been going down for several months.

So if consumers are using credit cards to supplement weekly purchases of gas and groceries, that might explain why half the respondents don’t see the glass as half full.

“Just 50 percent of consumers view the economy as poor, which is the lowest figure since April 2009,” according to the index.

Yes, the majority of respondents continue to be pessimistic about the economy. But Discover said the number of skeptics is declining. In January, only 30 percent said the economy was turning around. In February, the number rose to 32 percent, and last month it was 35 percent.

Regarding their own finances, the majority of Discover Monitor respondents remain pessimistic, but those numbers also are slowly getting better. In January, 23 percent said their finances were improving. In February, that increased to 24 percent, and last month it was 25 percent, Discover officials said.

The Conference Board, a global research firm tracking how consumers and businesses look at the economy, was in accord with the Discover Monitor. It has been reporting improvement over the last few months. For example, its consumer confidence index has gone up from 64 to 70.2 since December.

“[Consumers] are more likely to buy a new car, groceries and appliances, including electronic tools,” Ken Goldstein, an economist with the Conference Board, says. “People are lining up to buy iPads and iPods.”