Interest rate increases across board leave many investors very happy as they rake in some significant returns. As news of the increase filtered through the media, there were concerns that the average debt-burden - particularly in the home loan lending area- will even worsen. However, investors are in for some very attractive rates. For example, the National Savings & Investment index-linked certificates which offer tax-free inflation beating returns, is now offering the highest ever rates on one year fixed-rate bonds - more than 6%. This is the first time this is happening in a decade.

Give or take, a huge section of the population may not like a rise in interest rates, but higher rate taxpayers can now enjoy the equivalent of 9.25% per annum which is 4% more than normal savings accounts. For base rate taxpayers, this figure is around the 7% mark. Returns from fixed-rate bonds is also increasing. Birmingham Midshires, has now launched a one-year fixed rate bond which will pay 6.05% gross. This is better than some of the best margins offered on normal products which stands at around 5.6% on average and 5.9% at best. With additional interest rate hikesexpected this year, investors are bound to be laughing all the way to the bank, as there is likely to be more deals with 6% or more as rate of return. Keeping money in the bank, in tax-free, index-linked accounts means you can to save a certain fixed sum every year. Coming with the tax-free tag makes it a definite winner for any serious would-be saver.

Although, raising interest rates has advantages - such as curbing consumer spending - , it is more of bad news than positive news for the average credit consumer. Already, some retail shops have suffered over the Holiday period as the consumer reigned in due to higher bills and expenses overall. Bankruptcies have also increased as inflation rates combined with a variety of factors have forced small businesses out of the market. Business insolvency is dwarfed by the number of individual bankruptcies. Going broke can be very trying both for businesses and individuals. Even when the ordeal seems to be all over, a record of it is available on your credit history for seven years or more. This means that during this period, most major lenders will decline giving you any credit including car loans leaving you to the vagaries of loan sharks. Even low interest credit cards can prove elusive.

Should you find yourself in an impossible postion after a rate increase, an informative "do it yourself credit fix" plan can make all the differencemaking the circumstance much more bearable in the future. Repairing your credit, when rightly done, is not instant action, but rather a painstaking process. You could use legal services to do this on your behalf, however, it comes at a price and unless there are inaccuracies on your free credit report, it is debatable whether they can make a real difference. Credit history can be rebuilt slowly by doing small but meaningful things like paying your energy bills on time, honoring your credit card payments as soon as bill is received, making credit bureaus to report positive items on your credit report if some of your creditors do not report to them. Beware, this may come at a cost, but it may be well worth it.

All in all, rate rises affect people in two different ways. If you are a saver, you earn more money. If you are in debt, it's simply bad news.