From Holden Lewis @www.bankrate.com:
“The Federal Reserve raised a key short-term interest rate today, reassuring investors that major combat operations against inflation are not over.
The Fed’s Open Market Committee increased the target for the federal funds rate a quarter point, to 2.5 percent. The prime rate will rise to 5.5 percent. Consumer loans based on the prime rate—variable-rate credit cards and home equity lines of credit, for the most part—can be expected to rise in the coming days and weeks.
Short-term rates have gone up 1.5 percentage points since the end of June. In that time, the Fed’s rate-setting committee has met six times, and each time it raised the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point. In today’s after-meeting statement, the committee hinted that more rate increases are in store.”
What does this mean to you in a nutshell?
- Credit Cards:
Credit cards with variable rates will raise their rates.
Note: Folks with credit problems will be seeing higher interest rates! - Money market mutual funds:
Yields will increase. - Money market accounts:
Banks may reward depositors...but don’t count on it. - Certificates of deposit:
Yields on CDs may vary depending on the length of maturity - Auto loans:
Not affected - Home equity lines of credit:
A modest increase in the early years of a HELOC - Home equity loans:
Long term rates will not be affected - Adjustable-rate mortgages:
Interest payments could definitely increase - Fixed-rate mortgages:
Tied to long term rates, should not be affected
source: http://www.bankrate.com/nltrack/news/fed/how-soon.asp
January 2008
November 2007
October 2007
November 2006
October 2006
April 2005
February 2005
Read More... News and Advice
Innovis: The "New" Credit Reporting Agency by arin721
Sample Letters - Quick Links by arin721
Resources for Identity Theft - Quick Links by arin721
Resources for Credit Repair and Credit Scores - Quick Links by arin721
Credit Scores - Quick Links by arin721
You know you’re in trouble when you turn on the cold water faucet and what comes out is hot water for the first three or four minutes. Its supposed to be 102F here today. That’s pretty hot. And I have two cats. Complete with fur. How do they stay cool in the summer? We always hear how someone left a dog in a car and they had a heat stroke but what about our cats?
What do beans and left over salad have in common? Both can be tossed into a burrito for a cheap, filling meal.
Plasma donation. I does it.
Saving money as a single can be difficult. You’d think it wouldn’t be, since there is only one of you, but cooking for one can be more expensive and time intensive. And when you’re busy and tired you don’t want to spare that extra time. You end up living on prepared foods and take out. After all, who wants to cook for one? So how to save money in the biggest money waster: food?
There’s snow on the mountain tops where I live already. Its getting too cold to wear sandals and I need a sweater. The dark will soon do me in. Its winter and these are all normal things, and for me and many people like me, so is the depression that will set in soon. The winter blues.
Read More...


