Mike MilliganFounder and CEO, 1.oak Financial · Founder and CEO, 1.oak Financial

The 3 Doors of High Interest Rates: Borrowing, Investing & Saving Explained

24 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief talk, Mike Milligan explains how rising interest rates affect three financial "doors": borrowing, investing, and saving. He notes that higher yields can create income opportunities but longer‑maturity bonds are more sensitive to rate changes, and even government‑backed securities like Treasuries can lose value if sold before maturity. He emphasizes that safety must be defined in terms of specific risks. Milligan advises viewers to assign a purpose and timing to their money before focusing on yield, asking "when do you need the money?" rather than just "what does it pay?"

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Higher yields can create income opportunities, but longer maturities generally carry greater sensitivity to changing rates than comparable shorter bonds. See, government backing, especially on Treasuries, does not guarantee the price you receive if you sell before maturity. So, safe needs a follow-up question: safe from what risk? Uh, those doors, the borrowing door, the investment door, and the saving door are something that are being really impacted right now because of the spike in rates. My recommendation, give your money a job before giving it a maturity date. Ask when you need the money, not just what it pays.