What one point costs your household
Interest rates do not move on one loan at a time. Enter what you owe to see what a rate rise costs across all of it — and what the same rise costs the federal budget.
at 6.95%
at 7.14%
at 20.94%
1.00% more on everything costs your household $2,430 a year — 2.9% of income before tax.
| Rate rise | Per month | Per year | Share of income |
|---|---|---|---|
| +0.5 points | $100.34 | $1,204 | 1.4% |
| +1 point | $202.48 | $2,430 | 2.9% |
| +2 points | $411.81 | $4,942 | 5.8% |
| +3 points | $627.23 | $7,527 | 8.9% |
A fixed-rate mortgage does not change when rates move: its line shows what the same balance would cost on a new loan, which is what matters when you move house or refinance. The card line is immediate, because card rates follow the prime rate.
Educational estimate, not financial advice. Everything is calculated in your browser — nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
How this calculator works
The mortgage and car loan lines compare the monthly payment on the balance you still owe at the current rate and at the higher one, over the years you have left. That is the cost of taking the same debt at the new rate; a fixed rate you already hold does not change.
The card line is interest only, at rate ÷ 12 on the balance, because a revolving balance reprices with the prime rate within a billing cycle. The federal line is the rate change applied to the whole public debt, an upper bound that is only reached after every maturing security has been refinanced.
Common questions
What does a 1% rise in interest rates cost a household?
On the example here — a $280,000 mortgage, a $21,000 car loan and a $6,000 card balance — $2,430 a year, or $202.48 a month. Most of that only arrives when the mortgage or the car loan is taken out or refinanced; the card part arrives within a billing cycle.
Does a rate rise change my existing fixed-rate mortgage?
No. A fixed rate is fixed for the life of the loan. The mortgage line shows what the same balance would cost on a new loan, which is what you face when you move house, refinance, or when an adjustable rate resets.
What does the same point cost the federal government?
About $400.9 billion a year, once all $40.09 trillion of debt has been refinanced at the higher rate. That takes years, because the debt matures in stages — but it is the reason the interest bill, $970.4 billion in fiscal year 2025, keeps climbing after rates have already stopped rising.
Why do all these rates move together?
They are all priced off the same base: the Fed’s policy rate for short-term borrowing and the Treasury yield curve for long-term. A lender adds a margin for risk and costs on top. When the base moves, mortgages, car loans and card rates move with it, on different timetables.
Sources
- Mortgage rateFreddie Mac — Primary Mortgage Market Survey®September 17, 2026
- Car loan and credit card ratesFederal Reserve Board — G.19 Consumer Credit2026Q2
- Total public debt and net interestUS Treasury — Debt to the Penny and Monthly Treasury StatementSeptember 17, 2026
All figures are fetched from the publishers above when this site is built; your browser does not contact them. This site is independent and is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by the Federal Reserve System, any Federal Reserve Bank or any government agency. Nothing here is financial advice.