This is how a higher Fed rate could affect your finances

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Record low-interest mortgages are long gone. Credit card rates will likely rise. You’ll pay more for an auto loan. The unusually large three-quarter point hike in the Fed’s benchmark short-term rate is going to have a lot of impacts on Americans’ finances. The hope is that by making borrowing more expensive, the Fed will succeed in cooling demand for homes, cars and other goods and services and slow inflation.