The Daily Money: Here's why your credit card balance is about to get even higher

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Happy Tuesday and happy Teacher Appreciation Day, Daily Money readers.  Jayme Deerwester here with a list of freebies and discounts for educators from McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, Johnny Rockets and other chains.

How the latest interest rate hike will affect mortgages, loans

After raising its key short-term interest rate from near zero by a quarter percentage point in March, the Fed on Wednesday is set to push it up another half point, its largest bump in 22 years. The move will drive rates higher on everything from credit cards to mortgages.

“It means your debt is going to get a lot more expensive in a hurry,” says Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at Lending Tree. And that’s just the beginning.

Goldman Sachs predicts the central bank will approve another half-point hike in June before downshifting to quarter-point increases the rest of the year. That would amount to a total of 2.25 percentage points in rate hikes this year, the most since 1994, and leaving the benchmark rate at a range of 2.25% to 2.5% by the end of 2022.

Wednesday’s rate hike will have the biggest impact on credit cards, adjustable-rate mortgages and home equity lines of credit. All are directly affected by Fed moves.

“It’s really the cumulative effects of all these increases” that will pinch borrowers, Schulz says.

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Taxpayers 'at their wit's end' with IRS refund tool

The big question many taxpayers are asking now is: "Where's my refund?"

You've got a shot at getting a straightforward answer via IRS.gov. But then again, maybe not. Many taxpayers – who can't get through the jammed phone lines at the Internal Revenue Service – are complaining that the "Where's My Refund?" online tool isn't helping them, either, according to critics.

The tool, though, has been unable to answer or provide useful information for taxpayers whose returns are caught up in processing delays, stressing out taxpayers who were counting on the money to pay for rent, car payments, groceries gas and other necessities.

"If they use the 'Where's My Refund?' or 'Where's My Amended Return?' tools, they get in essence, technologically, what would be a shrugged shoulder," U.S. Rep. Jody Hice said during a House Oversight and Reform subcommittee hearing on April 21. 

The Georgia Republican said his office has heard from taxpayers who are "absolutely at their wit's end. ...They've not gotten their tax refunds and they need that money." 

🎧 Mood music 🎧

In light of Spirit Airlines' decision to proceed with its marriage to Frontier, Shania Twain's "Dance With the One Who Brought You" seems appropriate. 

"Don't let the green grass fool you.  Don't let the moon get to you. Dance with the one that brought you and you can't go wrong."

LISTEN WHILE YOU WORK: You can hear just about every song quoted in the newsletter on the Daily Money Mood Music playlist on Spotify.