(MONEY Magazine) – THIS MONTH: --Avoid money funds that slash your yield with greedy fees. --Grab the new higher returns on savings bonds.

For the first time since 1994, the Federal Reserve seems intent on pushing up short-term interest rates. MONEY's chief investment strategist Michael Sivy and other forecasters believe that the Federal Reserve Board may follow its late-March quarter-percentage-point hike in short-term rates with one or two more quarter-point boosts before year-end. That additional half-point increase would cost American consumers about $300 million all told. According to MONEY estimates, borrowers would pay $5.3 billion more as a result of higher rates on mortgages, home-equity lines and credit cards, while savers would collect an additional $5 billion on money-market funds, bank money-market accounts and short-term certificates of deposit.

So to come out a winner with rates rising, you have to make sure you're earning the fattest possible yields on your savings while limiting what you pay on loans. To help you do just that, here's our advice for snagging the top deals.

--Mortgages. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans tend to track 10-year Treasury bonds (because most homeowners move or refinance in 10 years or less). Since 10-year rates have already climbed in anticipation of further Fed moves, mortgage rates aren't likely to go much higher over the next few months. "Unless we have an unexpected inflation scare," says Mortgage Bankers Association chief economist David Lereah, "I would expect rates on 30-year loans to inch up only a tenth of a percentage point from 8.3% recently to 8.4% by late summer."

ARM rates, however, move in lockstep with short-term rates. So if your ARM will be reset over the next few months, brace yourself for a half-percentage-point increase--or even more if you grabbed a low teaser rate last year. A half-point increase would bump up the monthly payment on a $100,000 mortgage by about $34. Similarly, introductory rates on new one-year ARMs, recently 6.2%, figure to hit 6.7% by the fall.

If you're shopping for a mortgage now, experts say you're better off with a fixed-rate loan. Given the narrow spread between fixed loans and ARMs--barely two percentage points and shrinking--you're not getting a big enough break to justify the risk of higher ARM rates in the future.

--Home-equity lines of credit. Most home-equity rates are pegged to the average prime rate at the nation's big banks (currently 8.5%)--and banks tend to raise their prime rates in sync with Fed rate hikes. So HEL rates will probably jump by half a point over the next few months. Thanks to fierce competition among lenders, however, the average HEL rate is now 1.3 percentage points above the prime rate, vs. two points over prime two years ago, according to loan tracking firm HSH Associates. And even better deals are often available. "If you look hard, you should be able to find a line that will stay at the prime rate for the life of the loan," says HSH's Keith Gumbinger. "And some lenders will waive all closing costs and fees on the line as well."

--Credit cards. The majority of credit-card companies also peg their rates to the prime rate--and then add a hefty margin of up to eight percentage points. So rates on most plastic will rise by half a percentage point in the billing cycle following the Fed's action.

Bank Rate Monitor senior vice president Sara Campbell warns that with rates climbing, more banks may try to reel you in with ultralow introductory rates of 6% or less that soar to 17% or higher within a year. Rather than accepting such an offer, switch to a card with a low basic rate, such as those featured in the table at right below. Advises Campbell: "If you can get a card charging 4 1/2 percentage points or less over prime, grab it."

--Car loans. Auto-loan rates are expected to accelerate from 9% recently to about 9.2% in the months ahead. But by shopping around, you can often beat the average by half a percentage point or more. In the Chicago area, for example, the Harris Trust & Savings Bank offers a 48-month new-car loan at 8.3%, a half-percentage point lower than its competitors' rates. And credit unions typically charge a half to a percentage point less than banks.

--Certificates of deposit. Six-month CDs are the smart play now. They currently deliver an average of 4.87%, vs. only 5.81% for five-year CDs. "Locking up your money for another 4 1/2 years for such a small difference does not make sense," says Bank Rate Monitor's Campbell, "especially now that short-term rates are rising." Buy a six-month CD now, she notes, and you will likely be able to renew it at about 5.37% later this year.

--Money-market funds. Holding short-term debt maturing in 60 days or so, money funds (recent average yield: 5.06%) provide the surest way for your savings yields to keep pace with rising rates. To maximize your returns, look for funds paying above-average yields, such as those in the table at right. And be sure to avoid the 43% of money portfolios that levy marketing charges known as 12b-1 fees (see the story on page 45).