If you ask Larry Schwartz about his past, he will probably respond, “I’ve lived 25 lives,” and he’s not wrong.
Known in the Monadnock region for his free assistance with tax returns and financial advice, Schwartz has contributed much more during his time in the Granite State.
In New Hampshire alone, Schwartz has worked as a financial advisor, home improvement contractor, chair of the Hancock Select Board, magician, woodworker, author and board game designer.
Originally from Chicago, he carried over lots of his skills to Monadnock, and also worked as a paperboy, photographer and aerospace engineer.
If it seems like there is nothing Schwartz can’t do, he would agree with you.
“I just have this insatiable desire to learn how to do interesting things,” he said.
Noisy and busy Chicago
Schwartz was born and raised in the inner city of Chicago, where his family lived below the poverty line.
This taught him to appreciate that “every dollar matters,” he explained as his mantra.
For over 40 years, he worked in the city in multiple career paths, but after putting up with enough noise and traffic, Schwartz and his wife decided to move to a rural area.
With his daughters living in Connecticut, the couple looked into New England. They both enjoyed the charm of New Hampshire, but as soon as Schwartz learned he could benefit from the lack of statewide sales taxes, he decided to move to Hancock.
“That’s a good starting point for what I’ve been doing for 23 years here is trying to teach other people to take advantage of every opportunity to save a few dollars because every dollar matters,” he said.
Live free and save
Schwartz had zero connections in the Granite State, so he started working as a home improvement contractor while building his client list for financial advising.
After moving, he learned about the free program through AARP that provides tax return aid. He had been doing his own taxes for years and realized he could help others.
“I thought, ‘Well, that’s an interesting way I might be able to help people save money,'” Schwartz said.
Then he met a man volunteering his time at the Peterborough Town Library doing taxes for free. Each Saturday morning, Schwartz started helping out. Five or six returns were done each day, all on paper.
Soon, Schwartz took over and was invited by what is now known as the River Center in Peterborough to facilitate his program there. Each week, he traveled to Hillsborough, Antrim, Jaffrey and Keene to provide his services.
After building up a team, they averaged 600 to 650 tax returns a year, exceeding $1 million in returns. At the peak, they did over 700 returns for free.
“In my mind, that’s a million dollars that’s being spent in the community at local stores,” he said.
During his time at the River Center, Francis McBride volunteered as part of the tax team and worked closely with Schwartz for nine years. McBride nominated Schwartz for Hometown Hero.
“I think he’s really an outstanding person; he’s done so much for so many people,” McBride said.
McBride remembers how Schwartz would go above and beyond, helping people in unfortunate circumstances and making sure they had one less thing on their mind.
“I could just see how meticulous he was about being correct and how patient he was,” McBride said.
Eventually, Schwartz’s time with the River Center came to an end in 2018, but the program still runs each year.
In reflection, Schwartz described the experience as “very interesting, very challenging, very rewarding.”
Now, he works out of his office in Depot Square, completing 150 free tax returns each year.
“My training, my ideology, whatever you want to call it, is that working people are often struggling to make ends meet, and nobody should take advantage of them … just because something looks complicated,” he said.
Passion to save
In June 2025, Schwartz stopped his security license and started working full-time as a financial advisor.
“I’ve been working like 80 hours a week as long as I can remember,” he said.
This didn’t slow him down.
In 30 days, he wrote his own book, “Taxes, Trouble, and Truth,” by Paul Hunter, his pen name, addressing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025.
Inspired by the elimination of personal exemptions for tax returns, Schwartz wanted to continue educating people.
Since then, there have been additional changes to tax law, so he plans to publish another edition in January.
Even though Schwartz has stepped back from his role as a financial advisor, he continues to practice what he preaches by cutting coupons each night and finding ways to save a few dollars in his own life.
‘You do the best you can’
In addition to being a math whiz, Schwartz loves wordplay.
“I’ve always been fascinated by words and language,” he said.
Since 1998, he has been producing word and board games from his business, Phadds, which is a play on words from his pen name, Paul Hunter.
All of his games and his business start with “Ph,” inspired by the initials of his pen name.
While the last name comes from one of his favorite shows at the time, “Hunter,” he chose Paul for longevity.
“Paul was cool and simple and direct,” Schwartz said.
While he believes hiring a professional is needed at times, Schwartz has mastered the DIY mentality.
“I have a good college education, I have an engineer’s brain, and we think we can solve any problem, fix anything,” he said.
So, when it came to getting a trademark on his assortment of games, he did the long and challenging process without a legal professional.
“Now there’s just one more thing that if I meet somebody that needs to apply for a trademark, I can talk them through,” Schwartz pointed out.
Over the years, with his many lives, Schwartz has learned by trying things on his own and then helping others with the knowledge he gains along the way.
“No matter how hard a person tries, you can’t be perfect, and you’re gonna miss some things, but you do the best you can,” he said.
To learn more about his thought-provoking games, visit his website at phadds.com. His book, “Taxes, Trouble, and Truth,” can be found on Amazon in physical, e-book or audio format.