DW and I were looking at our credit scores on Credit Karma or Credit Sesame (no way I'm paying for curiosity information). Her score is up to "deity" level. Mine is still somewhat below "hero," probably in the "champion" range.

Basically, her score shot up by about 35 points to the "nowhere to go but down" range. Mine is still "very good," but there's a lot of both up and down potential. When we look at the basis behind the scores, we both score A in every category.

I'll never understand credit scores. Our credit has been married for over 6 years. Anything bad on mine from before should have fallen off.

Good thing we pretty much ignore these things. There's something about walking into a car dealership and saying, "We don't care about payments. All discussions will be referencing bottom-line, drive-out , we're-done-forever pricing. If you send me into the room with the lady who wants to sell me undercoating, pin striping, and extended warranties, I'll say 'yes' to everything she asks. Just be aware, though, that the number you and I come up with is the final answer, so you won't get another penny above that, no matter what you throw in for free."

We're currently saving to purchase our retirement home outright. I doubt I'll need a mortgage broker, and the title company will be someone I hire, not one hired by the bank or some other entity. I guess I've learned that doing things yourself saves money.

Still wish I knew why my credit score isn't moving at all. We pay our present mortgage on time every month.

Not that it took any real effort. I was in Saudi Arabia for 8 days. The day before I left, we put aside some food for DW, who never really makes much when I'm not home. This also meant no weekend date, either.

Of course, when I got back, I had gotten a rash on my wrists. Overnight, it spread to my arms, back, legs... basically everywhere but my face. That meant a trip to the doctor. The diagnosis is "contact dermatitis," which basically means I touched something that gave me a rash. I have no idea what I had touched.

Anyway, I now have four different pills and two tubes of cream I have to use. The cost? About a $15 co-pay, which I'm definitely not complaining about. I took all my pills and had a small snack for breakfast - I usually skip morning meals - but I'm not allowed coca-cola at all! I was down to about two cans per day (that's like a radical cutback, for me), but now I'm allowed nothing. We'll be shopping for that fruit-flavored water today sometime. At least "alcohol" was not denied me by the doctor, so I can still drink beer!

Going back to work today for a two-day workweek. Of course, not having had a day off for two previous weeks means that this isn't much of a bargain at all.