Money & Finance #59: Credit, Money Management, and Saving

I read the article How Credit Scores Work and learned a couple of things. I did not know that FICO means the Fair Isaac Company that came up with this horrible scoring for our credit also I was not aware of the credit card policy of default. The latter gives credit card companies the ability to change your interest rates if you fall behind or default on any other credit that you have. They can instantly change your interest rate from any fixed account to the highest allowed by law. I did take the Credit Score Quiz and scored 100%. I do seem to have all the information I need to have a good credit report and score I just can't seem to do it.
I have on many occasions made a budget while it looks good on paper it seems impossible to do. Whenever I have my money portioned out something always seems to come up. If my life was free from unplanned events like car repairs, home appliances breaking down and doctor bills that are not covered by insurance I would be ok. I know that since we are now living on a fixed income it is imperative that we learn to live on a budget and I will keep trying until I get it right.
I did like being able to access the TCDRS site online. You can view your information as to how many years of service you have and the amount of money that you have in there whenever you want. It also explains different types of benefits like optional life insurance and death benefits. I did not know that if I die before I retire that my husband would be able to choose either monthly benefits that would include employer monies or a lump sum payment of money that I had deposited.