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.
If you need money in a hurry, you can get cash through your credit card or a payday loan. It’s quick and convenient, but don’t be fooled. It can be…
The answer to the question posed here — Should I pay my credit card bill early? — is frustratingly vague: It depends. Whether it’s wiser to pay early or wait…
Military members and veterans often struggle to make ends meet. That leads to bad credit scores, which makes them prime targets for predatory lenders. The base pay for new military…
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,…
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday ended a prolonged debate in Congress with an overwhelming 392-31 vote supporting the Senate’s plan to rework student loan interest rates. The Bipartisan…
When I was growing up, I thought starting out with limited means made you an ideal candidate for becoming frugal. It turns out the exact opposite is true, at least…
I took my wife out for dinner at a local burger joint last night and was a little annoyed on the drive home as I contemplated the bill: $10.81. I…
The U.S. Senate late Wednesday reached another deal to reset student loan interest rates, but it is unclear when that proposal will reach the floor for a vote. Interest rates…
As we approach July 4, the 237th anniversary of our nation’s independence, it’s also worth noting that our country is in its fourth year of a sluggish recovery from the…
The American Dream is the ideal where parents work hard so they can own a home, send their kids to college and watch them grow up into happy and fiscally…
One of the ways in which debt-relief companies serve their clients is by negotiating debt settlement agreements with creditors with the goal of reducing the amount of money owed. When done…
The bull run on Wall Street and a continued surge in home prices pushed consumer confidence to its highest level in almost six years. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer…
Is the bank that issued your credit card dunning you for money it says you owe it? It’s possible. There’s nothing wrong with them trying to get it, as long…
The snapshot of the U.S. economy in the first week of May looks unusually promising. Almost every arrow economists want pointing up – home sales, auto sales, stock market –…
After years of focusing on paying down debt, American consumers have started opening their wallets to spend again. Both moves helped the economy. Consumers paid down debt, especially mortgage and…
Recent studies delivered another round of warning shots that the U.S. economy is losing a spark from one of its most potent sources – college graduates – because of problems…
The registration of 125 “charitable” websites within an hour of the explosions at the Boston Marathon on April 15 brings light to the issue of charity scams. In what is…
Last week, President Obama submitted to Congress his version of a federal budget for the 2014 fiscal year. And soon, like the half-dozen other budget proposals that have been introduced by,…
American consumers are a step slow in accepting the news that the U.S. economy really is on the mend. Consumer confidence and retail spending dipped in March, while the rest…
April 15 has passed and you know what that means: Somewhere around 140 million taxpayers are hoping they don’t get audited. Not because they cheated, but because they have no…
College seniors typically pay a visit to their academic advisers in the final weeks before graduation to make sure they have enough credits to get out. They might be better…
Tax Day is upon us once again. This year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expects to receive 250 million tax returns and $2 trillion in revenue. And regardless of all…
There’s no debt in baseball. The season just started and no matter where you look, the sport is gushing money like a BP oil well. Consider these figures: $14.2 billion:…
Andrew Katzman recognizes that his story – debt collector ends up paying a bill – is one of life’s ultimate ironies. “It is incredible irony, almost a paradox, isn’t it?”…