Across the nation, Citibank credit card holders are receiving what pretty much amounts to a ransom note: We're going to raise your rates, says the letter, in so many words, but if you spend more money, we won't.

In more specific terms, customers are being asked to spend a minimum of $750 on their cards, and if they do, they can get a rebate for 50% to 100% of their interest rate for that given month.

I can't blame anyone for wanting to implode on the spot. After all, credit cards as a group used to encourage everyone to spend, until the recession came around, when the message seemed to be -- please don't spend, and if you spend, don't spend much. But now the credit cards are encouraging spending.

And if you don't, they'll raise your rates.

Madness.

But there's a reason behind it. Ben Woolsey, director of consumer research for CreditCards.com, told the Huffington Post that Citigroup, which is Citibank's parent company, by convincing people to spend more, will cause there to be more interchange fees -- those are the fees merchants have to pay every time a customer uses a credit or debit card. And so Citigroup will make more money through interchange fees, or through the higher interest rates.

Around my house, we don't make the decision to pile into the car and head over to our local Cineplex as easily as we once did. It costs a lot of money these days to see talking animals, wild things and giant meatballs falling from the sky -- and don't get me started on the popcorn.

Going to see the latest kid's film use to be a no-brainer and if the adults slept through it, well, it didn't really matter, but no more. When a family of four has to pay a total of $40.50 to see a "regular" movie, or $56.50 to see that movie in digital 3D, or splurges to see that same movie in digital 3D playing on the "giant" IMAX screen for a whopping $60.50, it suddenly becomes very important that everyone is at least mildly amused or entertained.

To buy tickets to all of the new movies coming out would cost literally hundreds of dollars, and if you throw in drinks and snacks -- there goes college. How to find one that's family-friendly and worth the expense?

Movie reviews for kids are not new, but they are getting increasingly relevant as families demand more of a sure-bet for their entertainment budget. It's impossible to promise that everyone will like a movie, but if you know who to listen to there will be more hits than misses.

Most of the websites are free, such as Kids-in-Mind., Commonsensemedia, Parentpreviews, and Moviemom.

Along with sandwiches and soda, you may one day be able to buy tickets to Lion King and Animal Kingdom while cruising 35,000 feet above ground. A New York Times story reported that the airline industry is tinkering with the idea of expanding retail offerings to boost revenue.

Leading the brigade is American Airlines, which sells Heathrow Express train tickets on its flights to London and allows passengers in-flight Internet access and a chance at splurging on products from the SkyMall -- the glossy brochure that sells everything from cabin bags to fancy pens and perfumes.

Many airlines around the world already sell a limited collection of products on board from SkyMall. The only glitch has been in the technology that would allow a purchase in real time. In the past, passengers had to wait until they reached their destination to place an order, but Canadian company GuestLogix solved that problem by coming up with a technology that allows on air sales with the help of a credit card reader and sales software.

Personally, I do like having that option of buying an extreme last minute gift for a forgotten relative while en route to that big family gathering in India. Apart from saving face, it also would help me kill some time on that 15-hour flight. But, would passengers who like catching up on precious sleep cringe at the option? Trying to fall asleep with flight attendants sashaying the aisles carrying products and swiping credit cards definitely won't be easy.

There have been a lot of reports about which group of people have been hit hardest by the recession. Men have definitely been hit disproportionately hard by job losses. In fact, men held 71.9% of the jobs lost since the recession began, hurt by mass layoffs in construction and manufacturing, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

I've even written about how more households are relying on female breadwinners after husbands were laid off.

But single women -- many of whom are mothers or caregivers -- who get laid off don't have a second income to rely on while they hunt for a new job.

In a fairly idiotic bit of tabloid-style hysteria, CNNMoney asks the question "Are you committing career suicide?" by taking a low-paying job because you can't find anything better.

According to staff writer Jessica Dickler, many laid-off workers are taking steep paycuts to make ends meet, often working at entry-level or menial jobs to put food on the table: "But a smaller paycheck could push you back a rung in the in salary ladder, and make it that much harder to get back to where you were."

What a difference a year makes. Or 34 years. Take your pick. Either way, it's a loss for Detroit and the surrounding area.

The Pontiac Silverdome was sold this week at auction for $583,000, or about 1% of the $55.7 million it took to build it in 1975, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

The sale was halted Wednesday when a judge ordered an injunction to stop it after a complaint was filed by developer H. Wallace Parker, who claims he had an agreement with the city to buy it, according to Crain's Detroit Business.

Who doesn't have an unmarried friend who lost the house, or at least their investment in the condo, when the relationship went sour?

The key question when buying property together, according to a new book -- "Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples" -- seems pretty simple: Does your legal relationship match your private agreement?

But who wants to have that conversation when you are newly in love, or at least new to nesting?

No one, the book's author admitted to WalletPop.

Time for Friday Freebies - my top five free things I've come across this week!

Snag a free issue of Get Married magazine, a new monthly for savvy brides. Expect tips on wedding trends, planning tools, and giveaways.

Get 50 free photos when you join CVS Photo, which is separate from its normal retail site. Signing up requires you to share your name, email and create a password for the site.

Black Friday freebie! Pick up a free reusable tote bag at Target starting a 4 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. Each store will only have 500 bags so they will run out quickly. You can also get a $10 gift card if you spend $100 or more on Black Friday, the mega shopping day that follows Thanksgiving and marks the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.

Download a free 24-page road trip activity booklet from RadRoadTrips.com to keep the kids entertained while you drive to Thanksgiving. Especially useful if your minivan does not have a DVD player the kids can zone out in front of.

Lastly, head over to Nordstrom and get a free sample of Lancome's Absolue Precious Cells SPF 15, courtesy of Vogue. Yes, please!

In this "Your Job Will Come" podcast, WalletPop's Aaron Crowe talks with Francis Larkin, a senior product manager at SimplyHIred.com, a job board Web site that helps people search for jobs, about how to spot fake job postings.

I wrote about the site in October, and was impressed by its various filters to help narrow job searches.

Among the tips that Larkin suggests for spotting fake postings on job boards are to not apply for jobs that require you to move money from one bank account to another, which is essentially money laundering, and looking for misspellings in a job post.

Earlier this month, Girls Gone Wild promoter Joe Francis plea-bargained his way out of a possible prison sentence for charges related to filing false tax returns. By pleading guilty to filing false tax returns and bribing Nevada jail workers, Mr. Francis was sentenced to time served and one year of probation, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Initially accused of taking $20 million in fraudulent tax deductions, Francis ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor, the newspaper reported.

"It took us seven months, but in the end we demonstrated that the felony tax charges never should have been brought in the first place," Brad Brian, Francis' lead trial attorney, said in a statement.

But now the IRS is back for more.