7 ways financial reform will impact your life

Now that President Barack Obama has signed into law the biggest overhaul of the banking industry since the Great Depression, many Americans are wondering exactly how financial reform will impact them.

Officially called The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the far-reaching implications of the 2,300-page law will take many months, even years, to be fully felt. Moreover, since specific rules must still be written, observers fear that loopholes and carefully-worded fine print could muddy various elements of financial reform.

Despite these uncertainties, there are some clear ways that financial reform will impact you and your wallet. Here are seven of them: