Dear Creditnet: The issuer of my primary credit card just sent me notice saying they're raising the rate on my existing balance to 30 percent. My account is already into the thousands and I can barely make payments as it is! I have been a little late in the past, for which I will now be massively penalized. Is there anything I can do? Any recourse?

At its most basic level, economics is really the science of trying to explain and predict human nature. Everything we do throughout a day, every decision we make, is based on supply, demand and price.

Even things we do that seemingly have nothing to do with money can be boiled down to these principles. Where you sit at lunch, the friends you choose and even whom you married can be explained through economic terms. (A word of advice—don’t tell your spouse you married him/her because of supply, demand and price. Trust me, that conversation doesn’t go over well.)

I checked out FreeCreditReport.com today because I was interested to see what changes have been made in light of the new rules that take effect this week.

As you might recall, new regulations that were part of the CARD Act of 2009 require free credit report advertisers to clearly state that there's only one authorized place to get a truly free credit report—AnnualCreditReport.com. The deadline to make this change for online advertisers is April 2nd, while the same requirement for TV and radio ads doesn't take effect until September.

Photo by Art Poskanzer Higher interest rates for new credit card offers have become the norm in recent months. Credit issuers that quickly jumped on the rate-jacking wagon last year have blamed the increases on tighter regulations set forth by the CARD Act, difficult economic conditions, and increased risk in consumer credit markets.