I was surprised how fast a credit score can change with adding accounts and paying down existing debt. 12 points sounds very doable.

I have been workin (3 hrs of meetings down) and made banana bread with pecans and snickerdoodles.

I was all jealous, but then I remembered I made deviled eggs with avocado, and some lemon-ricotta "cheesecake" stuff. And then I wasn't so jealous.

Sadly I'm still feeling all weird and anxious and exhausted at the same time. I blame work, which was infuriating on two different fronts, today.

I haven't been to a fast food restaurant since November, and also have not had a soft drink since November. With my typical work schedule this is a huge hurdle for me to overcome, but it's something that has needed to happen

That's really impressive, Drew! I have a really hard time with that myself when traveling--I don't have time for a sit-down restaurant but fast food is awful for me, but bringing something with is hard.

So, obviously, I re-sent it to him and said "Per journal policy, all queries must be answered or we will be unable to move forward with production on your article." My guess is he leaves at least half unanswered.

That would make me so glad I was working from home, because if I were in the same place as him I would be so tempted to thwap him upside the head.

WHAT THE HELL???? Furloughs for contract staff this month.

WTF? didn't you JUST start??

I would like a financial planner, but don't know what I want to plan FOR? I mean other than "I want to retire someday" and "I don't want to be homeless if I lose my job for a little while"?

People end up watching HGTV because there's fuckall else on tv, don't they.

And it's really easy to half-watch.

This is why I watch it. Though yes, the current "let's move to the Caribbean!" makes me want to hurt people. Why do they have all this money to spend and not need like, jobs?? Ugh.

Meanwhile, in house news, apparently I cannot refinance until I have the appraiser COME BACK to ensure I have...a carbon monoxide detector. SERIOUSLY?? They won't give me a loan until I have one, and need the appraiser to confirm it, and will charge me extra for him to do it?? Dude. Could you not have told me this sooner?? WTF?

Yep, in here for less than a month. Also, WTF???

Furloughs suck.

Yay, SuziQ!

Unfortunately, they're doing a marathon of "Rich white people move to Spanish-speaking places."

Oh, ugh. I much prefer the one with the woman who renovates run down houses in Minneapolis and Detroit.

People end up watching HGTV because there's fuckall else on tv, don't they.

That was my experience today, yes. And cute as Scott McGillivray is, people who can get a half million dollar home loan do not "need your help more than anyone," what they need is to lower their expectations to something they can reasonably pay for.

I was surprised how fast a credit score can change with adding accounts and paying down existing debt. 12 points sounds very doable.

Yes and no. While I'm paying down old debt, because it is being paid through an agency and not Capital One, it doesn't get reported as being paid regularly. Once it is paid off, it will show different on the report, but that is a few years off. Apparently paying my student loans don't count, which seems odd to me. I'll have to ask again about that. Those are the only things I can pay down.

Taking out a secured card will cause an initial hit against the score, but paying it, even a couple of cycles, will more than offset the hit apparently. She is talking to some of her credit recovery guys on the best way to do the secured card. I'm just still freaking that I am is better shape than I thought.

Oh, hey, Judge Judy.

That's really impressive, Drew! I have a really hard time with that myself when traveling--I don't have time for a sit-down restaurant but fast food is awful for me, but bringing something with is hard.

Yeah. The main thing for me is not worrying about it much beyond, "Don't drive through a place." I will run into Subway or something similar when I need to, but I really don't class a turkey sub anywhere near where I would grabbing a burger or going through Del Taco.

That's a reasonable line to try to draw. Impressive you've been able to stick to it!

Oh fuck, Plei. I know it's not your dream job or anything, but still!!

Suzi, good luck!!

The downside to free catered lunch at work every day is there is ALWAYS dessert available. There is also always salad, but the salad is sad and limp and the cookies are delicious.