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.

Man confused about his tax debt

#1 Tax Debt Advice – Payment Plans & Forgiveness Options

By Bill Fay | February 12, 2019

As calendar dates go, April 15 doesn’t exactly create the heart palpitations of December 25, February 14 or even the Fourth of July. However, you can’t deny that April 15…

Timeshares are a dicey option, but are they a good investment?

Timeshares: Are They a Good Investment?

By Bill Fay | February 12, 2019

  Be wary the next time you check into a resort and are offered a free gourmet dinner or a massage or Disney World tickets if you’ll just attend a…

Buying & Owning A Home Like A Pro

Buying and Owning a House

By Bill Fay | February 11, 2019

Buying a house is usually the largest purchase any of us will make. It rarely can be accomplished quickly and easily. And yet, as a country, we are always on…

Men talking about how to rebuild credit after a bankruptcy

How to Rebuild Your Credit Score After Filing for Bankruptcy

By Bill Fay | February 5, 2019

Personal bankruptcy is without a doubt a serious setback, but it can serve as a financial tool. It’s an opportunity to streamline your finances and rebuild credit, and more than…

Couple excited in home after fixing their bad credit

Personal Loans for Bad Credit

By Bill Fay | February 5, 2019

Disruptive events rarely wait until it’s convenient, and that’s doubly true for consumers whose credit scores have gone south. Nonetheless, there are moments when those with rocky credit histories absolutely…

Questions asked about Tax Consequences

Tax Consequences of Debt Relief Services

By Bill Fay | February 5, 2019

If you used debt relief options – specifically, debt settlement – to escape severe financial problems last year, you’re probably still celebrating your good fortune. Slow down. The IRS has…

Two wooden figures representing people with solution in between them presenting the idea of compromise

Offer in Compromise: How to Settle Your IRS Tax Debt

By Bill Fay | February 4, 2019

What is an Offer in Compromise? An “Offer in Compromise” is a little-known but remarkably effective way that thousands of people in trouble with the IRS routinely eliminate tens of…

Student Loan Refinance written on paper on top of desk

LendKey Review: What You Need to Know Before Refinancing Student Loans

By Bill Fay | January 23, 2019

LendKey, a relative newcomer to the field of student loan refinancing lenders, is a third-party online lending platform that connects clients to banks and credit unions offering loans. It promises…

Man avoiding taxes with tax loopholes - Illustration

Tax Loopholes & Credits to Reduce Your Bill

By Bill Fay | January 22, 2019

There’s an old accountant’s joke about the difference between a legitimate tax deduction and a loophole. A legit deduction is the item you’re claiming. A loophole is the item your…

Piggy bank and money on American flag

Key Figures Behind America’s Consumer Debt

By Bill Fay | January 17, 2019

Debt remains an enormous issue for Americans. The recession that struck 15 years ago threw millions out of work and destroyed nest eggs, and after a recovery had things looking…

Young women happy standing in front of a light blue background

Review Your Personal Loan Options

By Bill Fay | January 17, 2019

Choose Your Debt Amount Get Loan Quotes Today Free to use, no hidden fees Requesting rates can take just minutes and costs you nothing. More lenders, Best options Pick the…

Man working to improve his house with a cordless drill

Best Options for Home Improvement Loans

By Bill Fay | January 15, 2019

Outdated houses can be a pain to live in and difficult to sell, prompting U.S. homeowners to spend billions of dollars annually on renovations and improvements. The high cost of…

Money on a table with Student Debt written on a paper

Ways To Lower Your Student Loan Payment

By Bill Fay | January 15, 2019

Forget terrorism, climate change or a Jonas Brothers reunion tour. The biggest worry millions of young Americans have is student loan debt. Here is how bad the situation stands in…

Gavel and paperwork for Bankruptcy Means Test

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Means Test

By Bill Fay | January 9, 2019

When debt becomes completely unmanageable and nothing in the near term offers hope for a solution, people often mull over filing bankruptcy, the nuclear option for personal finance. Chapter 7,…

Student Loan Forgiveness

Should I Refinance My Student Loan? Pros and Cons

By Bill Fay | January 9, 2019

If you’ve never considered refinancing your student loans, that’s almost certainly not the fault of the financial services industry. Lending institutions seek borrowers with an aggressiveness that compares favorably with…

How to Pay Military Taxes While Deployed

Do Soldiers Pay Taxes?

By Bill Fay | January 9, 2019

Tax season among members of the military is much like tax season among civilians: stressful. Just like for civilians, members of the armed forces must pay federal taxes, wade through…

Man with no money because of compulsive spending

Debtors Anonymous

By Bill Fay | January 9, 2019

Debtors Anonymous is dedicated to helping people dig out of financial holes. These days, that requires a lot of shovels. Americans are on a spending binge, with household debt hitting…

File Tax Return with cup of coffee

What to Do If You Did Not File Taxes

By Bill Fay | January 3, 2019

With the possible exception of trips to the dentist, filing tax returns is one of the least favorite things American adults have to do on a regular basis. Ignoring that…

Interest Rate for HELOC - Small House sitting on top of cash

Best HELOC Options

By Bill Fay | January 3, 2019

If you have faithfully made monthly mortgage payments and (hopefully) seen the value of your home increase, you are building home equity, which can become a life raft for homeowners…

Student Loan Refinance written on paper on top of desk

Best Student Loan Refinance Lenders

By Bill Fay | January 2, 2019

If you’re sinking into deeper debt with student loans, the decision to refinance could help you erase the debt more rapidly, while saving lots of money in the process. With…

Chalkboard with guide on how to survive inflation

How to Survive Inflation

By Bill Fay | July 22, 2022

With a nod to Mark Twain, inflation has replaced the weather as the thing everyone talks about it, but nobody seems to do anything about it. Until now. Not that…

Employee resigning from his job

The Great Resignation: Why Is It Happening?

By Bill Fay | February 8, 2022

America has turned into a nation of quitters, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Spurred by the COVID pandemic, millions of people have joined “The Great Resignation” that’s happening…

Man handing refund of cash

How to Get a Refund on Your Student Loan Payments During COVID-19

By Bill Fay | May 3, 2021

The rules governing repayment of federal student loans contain so many nooks and crannies that it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you may have missed one created during the…

Envelope containing the third stimulus check

Third Stimulus Check

By Bill Fay | March 10, 2021

The average Joe – not Biden – figures to benefit most from passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Approximately 145 million Americans will receive a third round of…

$15 minimum wage

$15 Minimum Wage Increase: Will It Happen?

By Bill Fay | February 10, 2021

Biden wants the minimum wage – currently set at $7.25 an hour – to jump to $15 an hour by 2025. The increases would be phased in at approximately $1.75…

Joe Biden announces American Rescue Plan

Details on the American Rescue Plan

By Bill Fay | January 14, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden unveiled the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion war on the prolonged suffering of Americans hardest hit by coronavirus. Included in his proposal: a fresh round of…

Image of newspaper titled Covid-19 Relief Bill with ribbon attached

Covid-19 Relief Bill

By Bill Fay | December 30, 2020

The second COVID-19 relief bill is now law – all 3,126 pages of it. The people in Congress who passed it admit they don’t know what all is in it,…

Second stimulus check on top of the first stimulus check

Second Stimulus Check Update

By Bill Fay | December 29, 2020

If you haven’t looked at your bank account this week, now might be a splendid time. The long wait for a second stimulus check from the U.S. government finally is…

Calendar with dart on second stimulus date

When Will a Second Stimulus Check be Delivered?

By Bill Fay | December 23, 2020

A second stimulus check – the financial gift from the U.S. government to help consumers recover from the economic belt coronavirus gave the American economy – needs only a signature…

Google search bar with phrase student loan benefit

Google Is the Latest Company to Offer Student Loan Repayment Benefits

By Bill Fay | November 3, 2020

If the biggest employee benefit you receive is when your company bothers to fill the toilet paper rolls in the employee bathroom, you might not want to read this: Google…

Woman deciding whether or not to pay down student loans during COVID-19

Paying Down Student Loans Before the COVID Suspension Is Lifted

By Bill Fay | October 28, 2020

If you are paying on a federal student loan, you probably already know that the government CARES Act has provided benefits that suspends payment and interest requirements through May 1,…

Campaign buttons for Trump and Biden

Trump vs. Biden: How Their Plans for Student Loan Debt Compare

By Bill Fay | October 16, 2020

Americans with student loan debt have a $1.6 trillion question on their minds: What would President Trump or a President Biden do about all that money these 45 million borrowers…

Woman applying for a new credit card on her computer

Should I Apply for a New Credit Card During COVID?

By Bill Fay | September 24, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has created record unemployment, erased profit margins, closed businesses and wreaked havoc on almost every family’s money outlook. It has even affected America’s ultimate get-out-of-jail financial symbol…

Sign for VA office

VA Extends COVID-19 Debt Relief to Veterans Through 2020

By Bill Fay | September 15, 2020

Veterans indebted to the Department of Veterans Affairs won a partial payment reprieve this summer that will last at least through the end of 2020. The VA action extends a…

For sale sign in front yard of house

Coronavirus and the Real Estate Market

By Bill Fay | August 14, 2020

Dorothy surely wasn’t thinking of life in a COVID-19 pandemic when she clicked those heels in the “Wizard of Oz” and opined that ‘there’s no place like home.’ But her…

Senator Mitch McConnell at a podium

Details on the HEALS Act

By Bill Fay | August 5, 2020

Congress and the White House are still debating whether the HEALS Act, HEROES Act – or some compromise Act in between – will deliver the next round of coronavirus relief…

Nancy Pelosi at a podium

Details on the HEROES Act

By Bill Fay | July 21, 2020

When the House of Representative passed the $3-trillion HEROES Act on May 15, it all but guaranteed that a second stimulus check would arrive for Americans in need of financial help…

Bankruptcy court with COVID-19 sign

COVID-19 Bankruptcies

By Bill Fay | July 16, 2020

The storm is coming. American consumers will be filing personal bankruptcies in record numbers by the end of 2020. That is the projection from bankruptcy attorneys, bankers and other experts…

Image of the stimulus COVID-19 relief check distributed by President Trump

Stimulus Checks for COVID-19 Relief

By Bill Fay | July 1, 2020

The phrase “stimulus check” is second only to “coronavirus” or “COVID-19” as something to talk about these days and people are definitely talking. About 159 million Americans have received the…

Calendar with July 15 marked as tax day

Tax Season Countdown All Over Again

By Bill Fay | June 30, 2020

Everyone knows the old saying: Time flies when you’re procrastinating. Seems like only yesterday we were breezing past April 15 — the traditional deadline for income tax filing — and…