The recent CARD Act includes provisions to protect consumers, and one of the more important measures is the restriction of credit card lending on college campuses.In the past, credit card companies marketed their cards to students who didn't fully grasp the concept of credit scores and the way they could affect everything from mortgages to car loans. This led to many youngsters racking up debt before they were even out of school, something the government looked to curtail through the legislation.

Now that the law is in effect, credit card companies have had to change their strategy on campus. They now have to report any agreement with schools and can't use things like free gifts to entice students. That's led to a 17 percent drop-off in students signing up for cards.

Consumers who signed up for a credit card when they were young may not have gotten into the best spending habits right off the bat, which could lead to bad credit. A good way to combat this is to open up a car loan and begin making the payments in full each month. Once your credit score has rebounded, you should be able to use auto loan refinancing in order to take advantage of the lower interest rates that you will qualify for.