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.

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…

GI Bill - Abraham Lincoln Face

GI Bill

By Bill Fay | January 2, 2019

The GI Bill is arguably the best benefit for veterans and members of the armed forces. It helps service members pay for higher education for themselves as well as for their dependents,…

Businessman looking overwhelmed while going over taxes

I Can’t Pay My Business Taxes: Consequences and Tax Debt Relief Options

By Bill Fay | December 18, 2018

Fledgling entrepreneurs usually focus on the bright side of their small business plans, not contemplating what to do if revenue nosedived and business taxes couldn’t be paid. Yet tax problems…

Vector hands holding smartphones with credit score app on the screen in flat style

How Does Bankruptcy Affect Your Credit?

By Bill Fay | December 18, 2018

When you file for bankruptcy, you should know that this negative mark will stay on your credit report for 7-10 years and its immediate impact will be a 100-200 point…

Lawyer with sign that asks if you need a lawyer

Do I Need a Bankruptcy Attorney?

By Bill Fay | December 11, 2018

What Does a Bankruptcy Attorney Do? The word bankruptcy is so fraught with negative images that consumers tend to forget the real purpose behind filing: A) It provides protection from…

Filing income taxes with papers and charts

Income Taxes

By Bill Fay | December 6, 2018

Think of government as an engine and taxes as fuel. If you don’t fuel an engine, it won’t run, and if you don’t pay taxes, government can’t do the important…

Team of doctors and nurses to show senior health care

Senior Health Care Options and Costs

By Bill Fay | December 6, 2018

The United States spends twice as much on health care as the rest of world’s developed nations. In fact, 18% of our gross domestic product (GDP) each year goes to…

Happy Nurse and Elderly Women in Assisted Living or Nursing Home

Assisted Living and Nursing Home Costs

By Bill Fay | December 4, 2018

Retirement often starts with high hopes and good health and, for those who saved, a paid-off home and money for travel. But there’s a 900-pound gorilla hiding just beyond tomorrow…

Veteran and business owner shaking hands

Business Incentives for Hiring Veterans

By Bill Fay | November 2, 2018

Hiring a military veteran isn’t merely a noble gesture. It’s a sound business decision for companies looking for a tax break or tax credit. Owners just need to take advantage…

VA Loan Papers and Money

How Veterans Can Get a VA Home Loan

By Bill Fay | November 1, 2018

Landing an extraordinary home loan probably isn’t anyone’s top reason for enlisting in the armed forces, but since the end of World War II more than 22 million active military…

How does debt effect security clearance for our military personnel

How Debt and Bad Credit Affect Security Clearances

By Bill Fay | October 31, 2018

For those pursuing a life in the United States military — Army, Navy (including the Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard or Space Force — gaining and keeping a security…

Homeless women laying down showing poverty in the United States

Poverty in the United States

By Bill Fay | October 31, 2018

Poverty is the human condition of being unable to obtain or provide a standard level of food, water and/or shelter for you or your family. It exists in every country…

Tax Settlement

By Bill Fay | October 11, 2018

Death and taxes are life’s two great certainties, but every year a sizeable number of people who owe the Internal Revenue Service act as if they don’t grasp the maxim.…

Couple happy with debt consolidation alternative

Debt Consolidation

By Bill Fay | October 5, 2018

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Man filling out form for bankruptcy

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

By Bill Fay | October 5, 2018

Most people know more about the Chinese alphabet than the U.S. bankruptcy system. The most common filings are Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, though other options can add to the…

Medical debt consolidation form surrounded by calculator, money and medicine

How to Consolidate Medical Bills

By Bill Fay | October 1, 2018

Inflation went on a rampage in 2022 as the economy staggered to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, so the last thing anyone needs are crushing medical bills. Unfortunately, many…

Debt relief program with papers and calculator

How Do Debt Relief Programs Work?

By Bill Fay | September 24, 2018

Debt-relief programs offer consumers a pathway to financial freedom. These programs can help consumers deal with overwhelming debt in a number of ways, with each one offering a slightly different…

Two men exchanging money in peer to peer lending

Peer-to-Peer Lending

By Bill Fay | September 21, 2018

For peer-to-peer lenders, the Great Recession was manna from heaven. When banks clamped down on lending to all but their best-heeled customers after the 2008 global economic meltdown, fledgling peer-to-peer…

Woman holding credit card with security overlay and word Protected

The Federal Consumer Credit Protection Act & How it Protects You

By Bill Fay | September 21, 2018

Consumer rights sound like it would be a given in America, but it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the government first acted to protect consumers. It started with the Consumer…

Two white direction signs with arrows and the words medicare and medicaid

Medicaid Costs & Coverage

By Bill Fay | September 19, 2018

While the high cost of health care in America is a source of heated and enduring debate among politicians, policy wonks and cable news talking heads, most of us just…

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…