by Tyson Ray | CFP®, CEPA®, CIMA® Founding Partner, CEO, Senior Wealth Advisor
Interest rates are back in the headlines.
This month, the Federal Reserve raised its target for the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point. That gives financial news outlets plenty to talk about. What will happen to markets? What about mortgage rates? Is this good for savers? Bad for borrowers?
Those are reasonable questions. But there’s a more useful place to start. Ask yourself what financial decisions you’re making right now, because a change in the interest rate can matter differently depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.
If you’re borrowing
This is probably where interest rates feel most tangible. Maybe you’re thinking about buying a home. You’re considering a renovation, or another large purchase. You’re wondering whether it makes sense to refinance existing debt. In those situations, the rate matters because it directly affects the cost of borrowing.
Mortgage rates have received plenty of attention lately. According to Freddie Mac’s mortgage rate data, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.95 percent as of September 17, 2026. Seeing a number near 7 percent may feel high, particularly if your point of comparison is the unusually low rates available several years ago.
However, the rate itself still doesn’t answer the bigger question of whether the decision makes sense within your financial plan. The cost of borrowing is one part of that answer. Your cash flow, timeline, available assets, and what you’re trying to accomplish are others.
If you have cash to put to work
There’s another side of the interest rate conversation that doesn’t always get as much attention. Higher rates can also create different opportunities for money you’re saving or investing. That can make this a good time to look at the jobs you’ve assigned to different parts of your wealth. Money you expect to need soon may have a very different purpose than money you’re investing for a goal that’s 10 or 20 years away.
Rather than asking whether today’s rate is “good,” we can ask better questions:
- What is this money for?
- When will you need it?
- How much liquidity do you need?
- What level of risk is appropriate for that goal?
Once we know those answers, we can evaluate the available choices in context.
If you’re invested for the long term
This is where it’s important not to let an interest rate announcement automatically become an investment decision. Rates can influence markets, bond prices, borrowing costs, and economic activity, but none of that necessarily means that your long-term investment strategy needs to change. If money is intended to support your retirement decades from now, a change in rates today carries a different significance than it would for money you’ve set aside for buying a home next year.
What to do next begins with your plan
Interest rates matter. We pay attention to them. We consider how changes may affect borrowing, saving, fixed-income investments, markets, and the other pieces of your financial life. We don’t make decisions simply because rates went up or down.
We start with what matters to you and what you’re trying to accomplish. Has anything changed in your life that should change the plan? Your financial plan can give us the context we need to help you make the right decision.
