The Federal Reserve makes its next interest-rate decision on September 16, and the financial effects can start showing up much faster than many people expect. But there is a catch: not every account responds to a Fed move at the same speed, and some barely care about the decision at all until months later.
That matters whether money sits in a savings account or a monthly payment sits on the household budget. A rate cut can make one account less rewarding almost immediately while leaving another rate untouched for quite a while. The same goes for rate increases, which can quickly make some borrowing more expensive while barely changing the price tag on a fixed-rate loan already in place.
