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Frank Addessi

Born and raised in the center of the known universe, Brooklyn NY, and currently hiding out in the bucolic hills of northeast Pennsylvania writing about personal finance. His expertise includes personal loans, credit cards and retirement. It's not easy living the American Dream but someone has to do it!

Posts by Frank Addessi

SmartAsset: Tax Prep Checklist
Taxes

Tax Prep Checklist: What You Need to Know

If you’re part of the roughly 60% of Americans who pay someone else to prepare their tax return, then there’s a good chance that you’ve had to make more than one visit to the preparer’s office because you forgot something. Since preparing… read more…

The Pros and Cons of Unsecured Personal Loans
Personal Loans

The Pros and Cons of Unsecured Personal Loans

If you default on a mortgage, the bank could repossess your home to recover part of their money. When it comes to personal loans, however, the only thing securing it in many cases is your own reputation (unless you plan… read more…

Top 5 Reasons to Work Past Retirement Age
Retirement

Top 5 Reasons to Work Past Retirement Age

Once upon a time you worked at a job for 40 years or so. Then they gave you a cake, a gold watch and a pat on the back and sent you on your way, never to be seen or… read more…

Stock Indices
Investing

A Guide to U.S. Stock Indices

The Dow is up and the NASDAQ is down, but the S&P is unchanged. These terms get tossed around by everyone, from television pundits to politicians to people on the street. Many people assume they are representative of the stock market as a whole, while others think they represent the state of the economy. Understanding what these… read more…

Top 10 Personal Finance Myths – Busted
Personal Finance

Top 10 Personal Finance Myths – Busted

With all the personal finance advice on TV and strewn across all corners of the Internet, it can be hard to know what’s fact and what’s fiction. So we’re here to help. Below are 10 popular personal finance myths that people… read more…

saver's credit
Taxes

The Saver’s Credit: 2023 Rules and Income Limits

Financial experts recommend saving for retirement. According to one rule of thumb, you should have twice your salary saved by the time you’re 40, and eight times your salary by the time you’re 65. Unfortunately, the average American paces well… read more…

What Makes a Professional Estate Planner a Professional?
Taxes

What Makes a Professional Estate Planner a Professional?

Estate planning requires interdisciplinary knowledge of law, tax and accounting issues. Yet the answer to the question What makes a professional estate planner a professional? is that they get paid. This answer is not only snarky, but it also exposes a rather disturbing issue: the lack of regulation. In most places, anyone can hang a sign… read more…

Social Security Myths Busted
Retirement

Social Security Myths Busted

If social security were a person, 2015 would mark its 15th year receiving benefits. In other words, the most significant social benefits program in history turns 80 shortly. The program looks remarkably good for its age and shows no signs of slowing down or going away anytime soon. That is, unless you believe the rumors… read more…

The Dangers of DIY Estate Planning
Taxes

The Dangers of DIY Estate Planning

While it may be tempting to save some money and plan your estate by yourself, it is likely not a good idea. Estate planning is full of small details that the average person just doesn’t know about, but which someone… read more…

Up, Up and Away – Understanding Inflation
Insights

Up, Up and Away – Understanding Inflation

We’ve all observed at some point that the cost of everything is going up. Most of us have either said or been told, “When I was a kid you could buy a loaf of bread for…” followed by a price… read more…

The Best Time of Year to Buy Everything
Credit Cards

The Best Time of Year to Buy Everything

Chances are you have your own shopping rituals that you use to save money, such as never Christmas shopping in any month that ends in “ber,” or checking the clearance rack first. Some rituals are rooted in psychology, like never… read more…

end of year taxes
Taxes

7 End of Year Tax Strategies That Can Save You Money

It’s tax time! No, it’s not April 15th and you are not the subject of a time travel experiment gone wrong. But if you are one of the millions of taxpayers who expects to owe and wants to minimize your tax bill, or you want to maximize your refund, the time to think about taxes… read more…

SmartAsset: Life Insurance for Business Partners
Life Insurance

Life Insurance for Business Partners

Going into business with a partner is full of risks and unknowns (what happens if we don’t get along?). If you think your partner is bad, their spouse may even be worse! This brings up the second problem: if you… read more…

Top Business Opportunities for Retirees
Retirement

Top Business Opportunities for Retirees

To many, an imminent retirement can seem like a prison sentence. They feel they will be cut off from the world and locked away, enjoying only the occasional weekend visit by family and friends. For those who want a little more… read more…

Personal Finance

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Bulk Buying

Everyone loves a bargain. Manufacturers and retailers have understood that fact for decades and the result is bigger boxes with less content because it provides the impression of being a good deal. The process is simple: They offer consumers five… read more…

Personal Finance

What a Difference One Degree Makes!

Having a discussion about home energy consumption and saving money can sometimes seem intimidating so it might be best to start with the fundamental equations at the heart of the issue. E (energy) = M (money) Therefore, more energy equals… read more…

Life Insurance Loopholes
Life Insurance

Life Insurance Loopholes

Not all contracts on your life are the same – there’s the gangster movie variety which usually involves a guy named Vinny or Tony who sends you to sleep with the fishies and then there’s the life insurance type. Only… read more…

Retirement Goals by the Numbers
Retirement

Retirement Goals by the Numbers

The 60’s rock band The Byrds had a huge hit that opens with “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” which is lifted straight out of the book of Ecclesiastes and as far as I know they have never been sued for plagiarism. Lyric litigation aside,… read more…

Get Off The Credit Go-Round and Stop Overspending
Credit Score

Get Off The Credit Go-Round and Stop Overspending

There was a time when a trip to the supermarket ended with the question from the cashier – paper or plastic? The cashier was of course asking about what type of bag you wanted your groceries packed in. While paper bags fell into disuse the phrase of paper or plastic stuck around but the meaning… read more…

Grow Your Credit Score From the Ground Up
Credit Score

Grow Your Credit Score From the Ground Up

There are those, myself included, who will tell you that having no credit is worse than having bad credit. While this is largely anecdotal, it seems that creditors don’t like virgins, credit virgins that is. It’s like looking for your first job where positions are listed as entry level but employers really want someone with experience.… read more…

Psssst, Buddy, Wanna Boost Your Credit Score
Credit Score

Psssst, Buddy, Wanna Boost Your Credit Score

There are some facts that are immutable: 1. The modern world as we know it runs on credit. 2. Access to credit is governed by credit scores. 3. Crime is driven by greed. The first two facts above drive a particular type of the third. Scams, cons, hustles, and plain old fraud are some of the terms… read more…

8 Year Term on a New Car Loan - Is It Worth It?
Credit Score

The Cost of a Long Term Car Loan

I’m reasonably confident that when Benjamin Franklin wrote that time is money back in 1748 he was not talking about the relationship between the term of a loan and the cost of money being borrowed. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t appropriate the sentiment when we discuss car loans. The credit report agency Experian reported… read more…

Real Estate Books
Mortgage

9 Books to Read Before Buying Your First Home

Buying your first home will be the biggest decisions you’ll make in both your personal financial lives. In fact, it ranks as one of the hardest, most frightening, long-term commitments you’ll ever undertake. It can become especially daunting if you don’t educate yourself before putting pen to paper on a mortgage contract. But if you take… read more…

Should First-Time Homebuyers Build Their New Homes?
Mortgage

Should First-Time Homebuyers Build Their New Homes?

Americans are very keen on having the newest thing whether that is a car, following a fad or even buying a house. Many people believe that the American dream is to build their own house one day. What if you… read more…

money car
Credit Score

Car Loans with Bad Credit: Pros and Cons of Dealership Loans

Having less than perfect credit shouldn’t be an invitation to being taken advantage of but it often is. The fact is that the worse your credit is the worse it can get if you’re not careful. The reason is that when you agree to bad terms because you desperately need a car often results in… read more…