There are several new laws that are slowly taking shape for credit card use and bank account regulations. Believe it or not, the government is actually trying to help American consumers with personal finance issues.

Did you happen to experience a huge spike in your credit card rates for no apparent reason recently? I sure did. Some of my rates went up from 12% to 19% APR! The reason credit card companies did this was because they knew that these new laws were coming soon. They wanted to take advantage of every bit of control they had left and milk their clients as dry as possible before Big Brother came in and started cracking down.

Most of the laws are in favor of individual consumers and are important to note because of the benefits they can provide you. The laws will take affect at different times, so be sure to check your statements and notices that come in the mail this year very closely to see the changes. I just received a notice from my personal and business Chase Freedom card companies about some of these changes. To be honest, I was happy with what I read, but my rates are still as high as can be.

Here are a few of the new laws that I thought were worth taking a look at:

• Credit card companies will be required to give you 45 days notice if they are going to raise your rates and they must allow you the option to op-out of the rate increase.
• Credit card companies will be required to send bills at least 21 days prior to the due date.
• Credit card companies cannot charge you a fee for spending over your credit limit unless you allow them to do so (Oh, bummer! I have to opt-in to let you charge me money?...)
• Credit card companies cannot increase rates on outstanding balances (unless it's from an introductory rate and that was in the agreement).
• Credit card companies cannot increase your rates within the first year of issuing the card (unless it's from an special offer and the timeline is clearly stated).
• Credit card companies must bill on the same date every month.
• Banks that offer checking accounts will not be allowed to charge you an overdraft fee (which can often be around $35!). You will have to opt-in to let the overdraft happen or your card will simply be declined and no fee will be charged.

Again, check with your bank and card issuer to see when these changes will come into affect, but it should be sometime this year. Use these new laws to your advantage to start taking control of your finances and saving money by avoiding small fees and unnecessary interest.

Have you heard of any other laws that are going to go into affect this year regarding finances? Have you experienced any of these changes yet? Please share your thoughts below: