As everyone is saying, today's interest-rate rise was a big surprise: not that they've done it, but that they've done it now. Most commentators - myself included - have predicted that there would be a rise in the early part of the year; I was saying February or, at the outside, March. But January? No one foresaw that.

January is the worst month in the year for debt, for belt-tightening, for dealing with the financial, emotional and physical fall-out of the Christmas bingeing. It's quite a wake-up slap for anyone who is borrowing in any form to get this sudden rise in rates.

Having said that, I'm basically in favour of it. Something has to stop house prices rising as fast and as stupidly as they are. I assume that this was the main reason for it, although we won't really know the reasoning for two weeks when the minutes of the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) meeting are published. Personally, I think we, as a country, are still under a type of hypnotic spell that makes us think it is OK to borrow, borrow, borrow for anything. On the whole I am very much in favour of borrowing to invest in property but not at the volume we are doing now, not at the multiples of salary that are being offered and not as an alternative to easier investing like pensions and some stock market funds.

If it cools the housing market - or even creates a 'correction' (dip in value) - then I'll be rejoicing. I am already rejoicing for the millions of older people who live off their savings. They tend to be forgotten when interest rates move, but it really does make a material difference to their lives. As interest rates go up, so does their income...eventually. Yes, that's another thing. Let's see how long it takes for the banks to put their savings rates up...if they do it at all!