The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point this month and officials signaled that another hike is possible later this year; now is the time to work on your credit.
Your credit score — a three-digit number between 300 and 850 — is a key player in determining how much it will cost you to borrow money. Typically, the higher your score, the lower your rate.
This is true no matter what the federal funds rate is, or the rate at which banks borrow and lend to each other overnight. While consumers don’t pay that rate directly, it trickles down to the Annual Percentage Rates (APR) you’ll see when borrowing money, from credit card accounts to auto loans and mortgages.
As the Federal Reserve raises the federal…