Raised interest rates lead to a higher cost of borrowing, leading to an increase in expenses for both credit cards and loans.

What’s next: Small changes in spending and budgeting can mitigate the effect of these increases. Here are a few things you can do to lessen the impact of the higher interest rates:

• Limit your spending so you have more money available to pay down your debt(s).
• Pay your debts with the highest interest rates down first, so you pay in the long term of that loan.
• Avoid having unnecessary debt with things you want and don’t need.
•  Consolidate your highest-interest debts into one loan with a lower interest rate.

You can search and apply for a consolidation loan using visiting  forbes.com.