3 tips to manage interest rate hikes

WDIO

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Consumer experts are giving advice after the Federal Reserved increased interest rates Wednesday.

As previously reported, the rate increased by 0.75% Wednesday, after two, separate increases of the same percentage earlier this summer.

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Joe Artim, the director of the Financial Markets Program at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, spoke with affiliate WDIO-TV Wednesday about how consumers can best manage their finances with the increase and gave the following three tips:

  1. Pay off or pay down the debt you have with the highest interest rate
  2. Manage your purchasing on a card so you can pay it off on a month-to-month basis
  3. Seek advice – don’t be afraid to talk about your situation with a local banker and see what your options are

“The price increases that we’re seeing in the economy across the entire landscape are much higher and stronger than what the Federal Reserve Bank deems acceptable,” said Artim. “So what they’re trying to do is use interest rates as a tool to slow consumption.”

Reports say the Fed indicates the rate to be a full percentage point higher by year’s end than it did three months ago.

FILE - This Aug. 11, 2019 file photo shows Visa credit cards in New Orleans. Credit limits aren’t always there when you need them. With a potential recession looming, it’s important to understand how issuers treat credit limits in an unstable economy. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Multiple countries, including Switzerland, England, Norway, Sweden and the Phillippines, have increased their rates as well.