NORFOLK, Va. — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates again. It's now up 3/4ths of a point for the second time this year.
This means it's now going to cost more to take out a mortgage, car or business loan.
Consumers and businesses then -- presumably -- borrow and spend less, which should cool the economy and slow inflation.
Local financial advisor Shandre Harasty told 13News Now that credit card balances are especially going to be affected by the rate hike.
"The thing about credit cards is, those interest rates are variable. When the feds increase interest rates, the interest rates on our credit cards also increase," she said.
"Now is really a time for people to look at consolidating those credit cards, maybe using a lower-interest home equity loan or personal loan to pay them off."
The rate hike means we'll also earn higher interest rates for our savings accounts, but we'll start spending less, so the price of our goods and services should hopefully go down.