CNNMoney.com
Companies Economy International Corrections Pre-market Trading After-hours Trading Winners/Losers/Actives Bonds Currencies Commodities World Markets Money Magazine Real Estate Taxes Jobs Ask the Expert Money 101 Autos Mutual Funds The Help Desk Loan Center Best Places to Live Ask the Expert Ultimate Guide to Retirement Retirement Calculators Rules of Retirement Best Funds Best Places to Retire Fortune Brainstorm Tech Apple 2.0 Blog Big Tech Blog Sectors and Stocks Tech Talk Resource Guide Small Business Makeovers Questions & Answers Small Business Video 100 Best Places to Launch FSB 100 Fortune Small Business Fortune 500 Brainstorm Tech Investing Management C-Suite Rankings Main Create Portfolio Edit Portfolio Create Alerts Edit Alerts
Gerri Willis Commentary:
Top Tips by Gerri Willis Column archive

What a Fed rate cut could mean to you

The short answer: not much. But here are a few ways you can save some dollars.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Gerri Willis, CNN

home_rich_cover.03.jpg
For more information on managing your largest investment, check out Gerri Willis' "Home Rich," now in bookstores.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Federal Reserve will decide today whether to continue cutting interest rates. Here's how it will (or won't) affect your wallet.

1. Get the forecast

In fact, the Fed's rate cuts in January and March alone marked the most aggressive Fed intervention in a quarter-century. This would be the seventh rate cut if the Fed cuts today. Many economists think that after this cut, the Fed will take a break for the rest of this year, barring an economic disaster.

It's hoped that the Fed's rate cuts plus the stimulus package of tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses - will strengthen the economy.

2. Tame your expectations

Given all the turmoil in the credit industry, it's likely your interest rate is the same or perhaps even higher. Rates on the 30-year fixed mortgage continue to be low. Right now the rate is at 6.04%. The bright spot here will be for home equity lines of credit. Interest rates on HELOCS move in lockstep with Fed cuts.

3. Know your index

To find out what you might be on the hook for once your mortgage adjusts, go to your Adjustable Rate Rider. Here you'll find info on what index your mortgage is tied to. Then, look for the margin. Your new rate will be the sum of the margin plus the current index value. Make note of any caps on how much your rate can go up.

4. Shop Around

Treasurys have enjoyed an influx of cash from investors who want to park their money. Since lenders are wary about what's happening in the equity markets and inflation, they've pushed into treasuries. The Treasury rate isn't going up as high as the LIBOR index. To top of page

Gerri's Mailbox: Got questions about your money? We want to hear them! Send e-mails to toptips@cnn.com or click here - each week, we'll answer questions on CNN, Headline News and CNNMoney.com.
Features
Markets Last Change
Dow Jones 10,464.93 50.79 / 0.49%
Nasdaq 2,250.55 12.89 / 0.58%
S&P 500 1,118.50 4.45 / 0.40%
10-year Bond 96 29/32 Yield: 3.74%
U.S.Dollar 1 euro = $1.428 0.000
December 22, 2009 10:34 AM ET
CompanyPrice% Change
YRC Worldwide Inc 1.09 22.47%
UAL Corp 12.59 9.29%
US Airways Group Inc 5.01 8.91%
Commercial Metals Co 15.77 -8.15%
Dec 22 10:33am ET †
Meet the hardest working Santas This is no part-time gig for these St. Nicks. They've carved out a profession warming kids' hearts during the coldest time of year. More
An eyeblink glance at the economy Last quarter, the economy grew by the largest amount since the summer of 2007, but there are signs that things are still getting worse. More
Obama's Main Street favorites President Obama meets often with small business owners, peppering his speeches with their stories. We checked in with 6 entrepreneurs touted by the President to find out how they handle health care. More


© 2009 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Advertising Practices.
Copyright © 2009 BigCharts.com Inc. All rights reserved. Please see our Terms of Use.
MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc.
Intraday data provided by Interactive Data Real-Time Services and subject to the Terms of Use.
Intraday data is at least 20-minutes delayed. All times are ET.
Historical, current end-of-day data, and splits data provided by Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data.
Fundamental data provided by Morningstar, Inc..
SEC Filings data provided by Edgar Online Inc..
Earnings data provided by FactSet CallStreet, LLC.