The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it will lower its benchmark rate by a quarter point, paving the way for relief from some of the high borrowing costs that have weighed on consumers.

The federal funds rate, which is set by the Federal Open Market Committee, is the interest rate at which banks borrow and lend to one another overnight. Although that's not the rate consumers pay, the central bank's moves still affect the borrowing and savings rates they see every day.

"The impact on household finances is likely to be mixed," said Brett House, economics professor at Columbia Business School.

"For households with variable-rate loans or other forms of credit obligations, they are going to see the interest rates on that borrowing come down, almost immediately," he said. But som

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