A Suze Orman exclusive

Okay, if Washington won't look out for you, let me offer up some ways to protect yourself.

• Take Responsibility. Look, as consumer-unfriendly as the new law is, the bottom line is that you, the consumer, are in complete control of avoiding any checking problems. The banks are just capitalizing on you being lazy or sloppy. That's gotta stop; the new law has effectively put some big penalties on consumers who try to cut corners.
  
  
• Use Online Bill Pay. The best way to make sure you don't bounce a check is to balance your checkbook. Using your bank's online bill pay is a great way to get the bank to do the balancing for you. Right on the computer screen you can see updated account balance info-so before you push the button to pay a bill you will know you have the money available to cover it.
  
  
• Know, Don't Guess. If for some reason you don't want to use online bill pay, you are never to write a check unless you are 100 percent certain you have money in the bank to cover it. Remember, the issue is not whether you deposited the money; that's irrelevant here. What you need to be sure of is that the deposit has cleared and the money is available for you to use. So keep your bank's toll-free customer service number handy; you can use the automated service to hear exactly how much money in your account is "available."
  
  
• Opt out of Courtesy Overdraft Coverage. Contact your bank and ask if you are enrolled in any automatic overdraft program. If you are, please opt out ASAP. And get the bank to send you written confirmation that you are not to be "covered" by this plan.
  
  
• Sign up for legit Overdraft Coverage. Ideally, you should have a strong enough grip on your finances that you never bounce a check. But I am going to be realistic and assume that for some of you money is so tight you sometimes do run into cash flow problems. If that's your M.O., then sign up for a regular overdraft plan where you pay an annual fee of about $20 to insure that if you don't have enough money in your checking account to cover a payment, your bank will automatically go fish the necessary funds out of your savings account.

Finally, you might also want to dash a quick note off to your Congressional delegation and tell them you are none too thrilled that in passing this pro-bank legislation they dropped the ball in protecting consumers. You can also sign this online petition sponsored by the non-profit Consumers Union, which asks for pro-consumer reforms of this new law.