how often does the federal reserve change interest rates?

Answer 1

Carrie had a nice stab at it, but it's not quite right.

The Fed has eight scheduled FOMC meetings during the year to discuss the Federal discount rate. On average, there is a meeting about every six weeks - not every month. They hold additional meetings as necessary (e.g. post-9/11). They don't announce on the first Wednesday. They announce whenever they meet, usually on the second day if it is a two-day meeting. For example, this upcoming FOMC meeting is on January 30th and 31st. As such, the announcement will probably be on the 31st. The minutes are released three weeks later.

Answer 2

They meet once a month to review whether the economy needs to be slowed down or sped up and then on the first Wednesday of the month announce if the rates will rise or fall or stay the same.