• The Federal Reserve finally cut interest rates this week.

• It comes after years of aggressive inflation fighting from the central bank.

• While it will take time to feel the impact of the cuts, lower rates will have benefits.

The time has finally come.

On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee announced its next move on interest rates: a 50-basis-point cut.

"The time has come for policy to adjust," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during his address at a gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, last month.

The inflation data from the consumer price index released last Wednesday was the last large piece of economic data to come out before the Fed meeting this week.

With August's core CPI coming in hotter than expected, it was looking likely that a 50-basis-point cut wouldn't happen. That's because a larger rate cut makes borrowing cheaper, which tends to drive up spending and fuel prices.

The job market also supported a rate cut this month — the unemployment rate ticked down in August but stayed above its recent lows, and hiring gains have cooled. Lower rates ease pressure on companies' bottom lines, freeing up hiring budgets.

Many economists hope that the long-sought-after soft landing, in which inflation is under control and a devastating recession is avoided, could be near.

"This rate cut is great news for middle-class families, not only does it underscore the Fed is convinced that inflation is coming under control, it signals the economy has recovered to a faster, sustainable growth trajectory and is ready for further investments in job creation," Michael Madowitz, the former director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, said in a statement.

It'll take time for the cuts to set in

Alena McTier, a Gen Zer, has been looking this summer to replace the car she purchased in 2017, but she's up against sticker shock. She said she couldn't wait for the Fed to announce rate cuts. She told Business Insider she was holding on to her car "until a solid decision is made" from the Federal Reserve on interest rates.

"When they are cut, I am going to actively explore the different rates that are available," McTier, who plans to buy a used vehicle, told BI last month.

It could take a while for McTier to see those lower rates. While some parts of the economy will be immediately affected, there will be a lag for relief in some sectors.

"Given the fact that monetary policy does take time to work its way through the system, it'll be the same to some degree with the rate reductions," Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst for Bankrate, told BI. He added that prime lending rates would likely be adjusted soon after the decision: "Banks adjust their prime lending rates, the rates reserved for their best customers, and those tend to then be reflected in credit-card rates immediately."