What households should know after latest rate rise

We were told rates would be going down. Now another rise is looking possible, a crushing blow for millions of households. It's not OK. It's actually not OK. Families are struggling. We work as hard as we can and it's a real tough time. Fiona Nikias has three kids living at home and grandkids too. Another rate hike could be the final blow for the family budget. It actually makes me quite angry. But yeah, it is what it is. And, you know, we wish it would stop, but, you know, everyday people don't have control of that. She may not be spending big right now, but others are. Yesterday's high inflation figures put the Reserve Bank under pressure to lift the cash rate once again. Hoped it might be at the peak. If we do revert back to rate hikes, it will be a kick in the guts for borrowers across the country who are already struggling to make ends meet. The advice is to haggle with your bank or refinance now. If a family with a $700,000 mortgage switched from a standard rate of 6 1/2 percent to the lowest rate available right now, it's 5.75%, then they'd save around $323 a month. Over two years, that's well over $9000. If you can even knock just .5 off your current mortgage rate, that will inject real, lasting relief into your budget. That could make the difference between you surviving the next couple of potential rate hikes and falling short on your mortgage. And all of a sudden it's not so crazy to be thinking about fixing at least part of the mortgage that would protect against another interest rate rise. And right now, the lowest 12 month fixed rate is 5.74%. Borrowers are being told to move quickly. There's only so much we can handle. Chris Kohler, 9 News.