Staff Writer
Bill Fay
Bill “No Pay” Fay has lived a meager financial existence his entire life. He started writing/bragging about it in 2012, helping birth Debt.org into existence as the site’s original “Frugal Man.” Prior to that, he spent more than 30 years covering the high finance world of college and professional sports for major publications, including the Associated Press, New York Times and Sports Illustrated. His interest in sports has waned some, but he is as passionate as ever about not reaching for his wallet.
You can have as many credit cards as you want. That doesn’t mean you should get as many as you want. What is the right number for you? That depends…
The average American has about four credit cards. If you’re an average American, you might want to get rid of at least one of them, thinking it will help you…
Few concepts are more rooted in the ideal of the American dream than owning and operating your own business. But making the dream a reality demands more than a great…
When the federal government shuts down, the first question millions of federal employees ask is: Who still has to work, and who gets paid? Shutdowns happen when Congress fails to…
Among the myriad wonders of medical care in the United States, medical debt stands stubbornly as the one incurable malady. And like any lingering condition, it can quietly weaken your…
A lot of people would rather inherit a doghouse than a timeshare. At least the doghouse won’t require a $1,000 annual maintenance fee. If someone dies and leaves you a…
If you can’t pay your credit card bills, you’re probably losing sleep. But there is at least one thing you don’t have to worry about – you can’t be thrown…
Bankruptcies are increasing in the U.S., which means financial dishonesty is also on the rise. The legal term is “fraud,” which is an all-purpose word for lying, cheating, or other…
Divorce does more than end a marital contract. It also severs most of the couple’s financial entanglements — most being the keyword. Debt is stubborn; as surely as it dogs…
Collections — the process of pressing a borrower to repay money owed to a business or organization — can present a thorny patch in the road to your financial goals.…
You’ve bought a house. You’ve locked down all the details, signed all the papers, and are set to make a monthly payment for at least 15 years. Then one month,…
Anyone new to bankruptcy can’t be blamed for thinking the whole process equals doom, gloom, and forfeiture. After all, filing bankruptcy is not going to look good on your resumé…
Credit card debt has skyrocketed to more than $1.1 trillion. So has looking for ways to avoid paying interest on that mountain of money. For millions of Americans, the search…
Borrowers who’ve gotten themselves tangled in a charge-off situation face difficult choices. Pay the debt in full? Try to settle for a lesser amount? Run away and hide? “The world…
For those seeking a fresh financial start, Chapter 7 bankruptcy has plenty of upsides. It’s the cleanest, most straightforward, least time-consuming, and least expensive of the various bankruptcy options. The…
When people get married, they often vow to take each other through thick and thin. Bankruptcy can get pretty thick for a husband and wife. Bankruptcy is when a person…
Growing older never was for the fainthearted, but it takes exceptional courage to navigate those Golden Years with dents on your credit report and a need for cash. Chins up,…
Choosing to declare personal bankruptcy can be among the most difficult decisions ever to confront an individual. Tougher still: Having to pick, under unmatched duress, which type of bankruptcy best…
There are plenty of reasons to consider making car loan payments with a credit card — everything from piling up rewards points or cash back, to scoring a bit of…
With President Biden declaring an end to pandemic emergency provisions effective May 11, and states and companies already having rescinded most of their debt collections suspensions, debt collectors are totally…
The phone rang at Michael Hufnagel’s desk nearly every day for three years. Hufnagel is an accountant for a production company in California and phone calls are part of doing…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent a jolt through the for-profit college industry this week when the federal agency sued ITT Educational Services Inc. for predatory lending practices, saying it…
For most men, the goal of Valentine’s Day has not changed since the holiday was more or less invented by the Romans a few thousand years ago. The Romans called…
I stumbled upon one of those online calculators the other day. It’s the one that shows you how well you’re budgeting money for retirement savings, and it returned some distressing…
There is a family that is famous all over America for maintaining the appearance of wealth for the benefit of others. You know them as the Joneses. They have the…
I took $20 the other night to the only restaurant I eat at – the one that gives half off everything on Tuesdays – and felt confident I had more…
Americans are taking out more loans than ever to pay for college and defaulting on them in record numbers. Politicians, most notably U.S. senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Jack Reed, D-R.I.…
Christmas, as you might imagine, is a tough holiday for people like me. The premise of the holiday is no longer about giving or even receiving. It’s about spending. We…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sounded the alarm about online loan services, filing a lawsuit against CashCall Inc., for collecting exorbitant amounts of money the bureau says consumers didn’t…
It’s hardly a surprise that loan consolidation is a popular option for people looking to lessen the burden of their student loan debt. Too many students today graduate with too…
Democrats finally scored a victory in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, joining Republicans to pass the Bipartisan Budget Act by a stunning margin of 332-94. The unanticipated truce…
The inevitable collision between year-end spending and budget restrictions is making this an uncomfortable holiday season for two vital groups in the American economy: Consumers and the federal government. American…
A new government report shows the U.S. Department of Education generated $41.3 billion from federal student loans in the 2013 fiscal year, making it the third most profitable industry in…
JPMorgan Chase Bank agreed to pay a $13 billion fine to the U.S. government for its role in the disastrous mortgage lending practices that landed more than 15 million American…
We don’t have ESPN at my house, which is a little like a minister saying he doesn’t have a Bible at home. I was a sports writer for 25 years…
The cloud of financial ruin threatening the U.S. and world economy floated away Wednesday, but it will be back. President Barack Obama and Congress made sure of that when they…
I have just discovered that I am part of America’s 1 percent. Not trying to brag too much here, but actually, I’m even more elite than that. I’m in the…
I have a vivid picture of my first night at college 40 years ago and I’m sure it doesn’t differ much from yours. When I walked into my dorm room…
I like surprises. Whether you’re aware of it or not, you do too, or at least your brain does. Neuroscientists from Emory University and Baylor University conducted research that proves…
Being a frugal family is a team sport. Everyone has to agree in practice, if not in principle, that saving money is a really good idea. The principle part is…