Not to go too deep into the woods, but there are ways to get free monthly (or periodic) FICO's from each of the credit bureaus. For instance, you can get a free Equifax FICO score by joining Digital Credit Union and opening a checking account/savings account. You can get an Experian based FICO from PSECU credit union (and AMEX too now I think). And Transunion FICO scores are available from Walmart, Barclays and Discover as mentioned. The FICO models used probably vary, but at least you can track your score to see any significant changes in direction.