The Federal Reserve Board, in charge of U.S. interest rates, will be meeting in June to decide if the economy has enough growth to warrant what could be their second interest rate increase in less than a year.

Now while in full disclosure, I do not think our economy is that strong, the experts at the Fed just released their May minutes, which many economists have interpreted as the Fed raising another .25 basis points by the middle of June.

Now, while today’s interest rates are nothing to brag about both in the banking and investing markets, let’s foresee what would happen if the “experts,” that you will now start to hear on the TV and radio, are correct.

If the Fed raises rates in June, the stock market will start to “cool down” from its blistering growth. The bond market will suddenly jolt, with value going down as interest rates creep up. The banks will start to promote their “higher” one percent, one year, certificates of deposits as a viable investment and consumers will slow their “furious” spending. By now, they’re having to deal with higher credit prices.

With the economy, now growing at a small 2.5 percent annual rate, five percent inflation, many Fed officials believe that our economy should take off

But let me quote a noted economist, Walter J. Williams, in the business section of The New York Post, when asked about the subject:

“Production contracted year-to-year in first-quarter 2016 for the second consecutive quarter. Since the creation of the Federal Reserve’s index of Industrial Production in 1919, that never has happened outside of a formal recession.”

So, be careful about saving and investing right now.  Mr. Williams, like myself, also believes many other factors are still strangling our economy, including high tax rates. In essence,  you could be saving in the third quarter of 2016 to lose it in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Anthony Rivieccio is founder and CEO of The Financial Advisors Group, celebrating its 20th year as a fee-only financial planning firm specializing in solving financial problems. Mr. Rivieccio, a recognized financial expert since 1986, has been featured by many national and local media including: Klipingers Personal Finance, The New York Post, News12 The Bronx, Bloomberg News Radio, Bronxnet, Norwood News, The West Side Manhattan Gazette, Labor Press Magazine, Financial Planning Magazine, 1010 WINS radio, The Bronx News and The Bronx Chronicle.

For financial assistance or a free second look at your 2015 Tax Return, Mr. Rivieccio can be reached at (347) 575 5045.