If you're a saver, a rate cut may not be an event to sing about, and could require immediate action. For borrowers, particularly the millions of homeowners facing a rate reset on their adjustable-rate mortgage, it could be very good news.

The moves consumers should make aren't necessarily obvious. While most observers talk about a potential Fed move as the first rate trim in four-plus years, that June 2003 event actually ended a string of 13 rate cuts. Since that time, there have been 17 rate hikes.

The current situation is more like that early 2000s rate-cutting run, which started in January 2001. While there is no guarantee of any cut in September -- let alone a raft of rate reductions over time -- it makes sense to prepare as if one is coming.

For savers, that means deciding whether it's time to lock in higher payouts available now; for borrowers, it means preparing to take advantage of what happens next.

Starting on the savings side -- because that is where failure to act could first prove costly -- the question is simple, namely whether it pays to lock in today's rates.

Most experts suggest thinking of your savings in two ways, the liquid assets that you need to keep on hand -- like an emergency fund, cash to pay living expenses, and possibly any big-ticket payments that are due in short order -- and the money you can set aside for intermediate investment terms running from six months to five years.

"What you don't want to do is to put cash you need into an account where you are locked in, because the penalties [for early withdrawal] will eat up whatever extra return you get by locking in now," says Lori Jomsky, senior vice president for deposit products at Informa Research Services, a rate-research firm. "As a consumer looking for savings products, look for savings or money-market products that have guarantees."

Most people might assume that means long-term CDs, where Informa shows the average three-year certificate of deposit paying 4.3%. But Jomsky suggested that savers might want to consider new "premium" money-market or high-end savings accounts offered by many online banks and, recently, mimicked by traditional savings institutions.

Look for "teaser rates," a term more closely tied to borrowing money, where the consumer is given a special rate bump for a short stretch of time. On savings products, the teaser period typically runs from four to 12 months.

"With the introductory and teaser rates on deposits, they will tell you what the rate will be after the lock-in period, and you need to know the different rules and restrictions, but you might be able to improve your short-term returns by moving from one [teaser] account to another," says Jomsky, who predicted that many banks will introduce new products before the Fed meeting, in an effort to keep the current gusher of consumer cash flowing. "Don't be afraid to go to your bank to see what they offer, because there are a lot of new deals out there. ... Just be careful of the rules."

On the longer-term side, some consumers may decide to lock in CD rates now for the next five years.

Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for BankRate.com, notes that savings rates on longer-term certificates of deposit haven't started heading south yet, but they will. BankRate.com pegs the average five-year CD rate at a shade under 5% and notes "there are a lot of people who would benefit from locking that rate in, especially if this cut is the first of several. ... And if you are going to lock in on a long-term CD, you definitely want to do it before rates move."

The situation is different for borrowers, where a rate cut most likely provides a reason to be patient and to improve your borrowing position in advance of any rate action.

The Fed funds rate affects mostly short-term interest rates. Mortgage rates are much more closely tied to 10-year Treasury yields, so there is no automatic connection and no guarantee that homeowners will be able to get a better mortgage deal. That said, Treasury rates have been coming down and there is a lot of speculation that trend will continue in light of any Fed action.

Says McBride: "The impact of an interest-rate cut to adjustable-rate mortgage borrowers is that your rate reset will be like getting hit with a left jab instead of a left hook. Your payment will still go up, but it won't hurt as badly as if rates hadn't decreased and you instead took the knock-out punch."

While moving from an adjustable deal to a fixed-rate mortgage may be the standard thinking, another way to avoid the knock-out punch in a declining rate environment is to refinance one adjustable-rate mortgage with another, effectively buying time by prolonging your low-rate period.

Jim Svinth, chief economist at LendingTree.com, says that the subprime lending crisis has actually helped good borrowers.

"If you're a quality borrower, you're kind of calling the shots right now," Svinth says. "If you have a FICO score above 700, if you are willing to put down 20% and you will document your income, then you have a lot of options,. If you are missing on one of those fronts, the job becomes a bit tougher, and if you expect rates to go down you might want to start getting things in order now so that you are better positioned when rates change."

Svinth notes that borrowers may not want to jump at the next good deal, knowing there are better options coming along in a falling-rate environment. He said that lenders are changing their standards in response to the headlines, which means that "the time to know what you are looking for and what you qualify for -- and what you could change to qualify for something better -- is now."