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.
Debt trouble does not discriminate. It comes to every demographic. However, because of their service to the nation, military veterans often travel a financial path unique among Americans. The transition…
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…
A month after sequestration kicked in, the alarms sounded by President Obama – “It will cost us jobs and slow down our economy,” he said Feb. 5 – have not…
Looking for a job isn’t fun, even in the best of times. It’s a lot worse in the worst of times — times like these. While the national unemployment rate…
The hot topic in America is the issue of gay marriage, as the Supreme Court has been asked to rule on the Defense of Marriage Act and on California’s marriage…
Student loan debt could be the next economic bubble waiting to burst. Banks wrote off $3 billion in student loan debt the first two months of 2013, and an estimated…
There is encouraging news from the IRS this week: Statistically speaking, you likely are due a refund when you file a tax return. There is also discouraging news: That refund…
Before the ink dries, there will be at least six budget resolutions offered and voted on in the House of Representatives: The Paul Ryan budget, a budget crafted by moderate…
Bank of America has tossed a lifeline to American families drowning in credit card debt. BofA, the second-largest bank in the United States, is offering the “Better Balance Rewards” credit…
It’s not easy being a 20-something nowadays. Between landing a full-time job, paying back student loans and building credit, it’s hard to be financially stable. But are young adults solely…
If anyone in America still has faith in the quaint notion, enshrined in the Pledge of Allegiance, that we live in a country where there is “justice for all,” it…
Unemployment dropped in February to its lowest levels in four years, consumers spent money at the fastest rate in five months, and Wall Street set new records, all of which…
There are so many mixed signals coming from all sectors of the U.S. economy that you need a linguist to properly interpret the flow of information. Depending on where you…
If you are like every elected politician in Washington and have successfully ignored sequestration for the last 19 months, button up. The effects of the federal government’s disastrous financial policy…
Government services, teaching positions, research projects and hundreds of thousands of jobs are about to be cut in another self-inflicted crisis in Washington – The Great Sequester – and what…
There is no momentum in Congress for passing legislation to stop sequestration – the $85 billion mandatory budget reduction scheduled to take effect March 1 – but that hasn’t stopped…
The complete lack of effort by politicians in Washington to find a solution to sequestration is sure to have some effect on the U.S. economy, but it’s not being felt…
In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama proposed raising the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 an hour, a level where it has been stuck for…
President Obama and Congress are about to drag the country through another round of fiscal nonsense that likely will reinforce their reputations as indecisive politicians. The two sides are shadow-boxing…
America needs a reality check. At least, that’s what President Obama said in last night’s State of the Union address. While the president acknowledged the fact that the economy is…
Mistakes by credit reporting agencies could be costing American consumers thousands of dollars, according to a report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC found that 5 percent of…
In 1956, M. King Hubbert, a geoscientist working at the Shell research lab in Houston, presented a paper at a meeting of the American Petroleum Institute (API), predicting that oil…