Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae both report that mortgage interest rates edged a little higher this last week.  Also edging higher is Consumer Sentiment, rising by 0.4%.  Since the presidential election, the cost to borrow money and the mood of the shopper have both gone up. It seems to me that that relationship ought to move in inversely proportionate directions, but I am neither a mathematician nor a psychotherapist.  The folks at the University of Michigan who do conduct the studies show that consumers haven’t felt this giddy in over 13 years.  Investors haven’t been this excited in a long time either, which is what pushed the DOW to new record highs up above 20,000 this week.  If rates continue to increase as predicted, we’ll have on happy population before you know it.  Making footprints in the sand certainly wouldn’t hurt either!