When the Dip Keeps Undipping

During the recent bull market, a great strategy has been to buy every dip.   Almost every time, the market or individual stock have recovered quickly.  Buying the dip last Thursday, November 20, 2025 was another great opportunity.  This happened last Friday, November 21, 2025 when the market rebounded from the previous day's decline.  

Lately, the market keeps undipping.  Buying the dip has been a great strategy.

It works until it doesn't. 

As I posted in Stock Market Volatility is Back, I've prepared our portfolio for this stage of the bull or bear market.  I plan to stay calm, avoid any panic selling and not buy the small dips.  

 For more on Reflections and Musings, check back every Saturday for a new segment.

This is not financial nor investment advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Create Revenue for Retirement

In retirement, regular and steady revenue is a better metric than net worth or the size of a stock portfolio.  The reason is net worth include illiquid assets, such as one's home, which doesn't create income to cover expenses and a stock portfolio has volatility that may decline when funds are needed to cover retirement expenses.

With 20/20 hindsight, here's what I should have done by age to build retirement revenue.

• Ages 20-40.   Save and invest for growth on a regular (e.g. monthly) basis. Use taxable and Roth IRA accounts.  Invest 90-95% in a total market index fund.  Dollar cost average and invest more funds during dips.   Do not withdraw or spend any of these funds.  With the other 5-10%, invest, buy and sell individual stock that are monitored periodically.
• Ages 50-65. Continuing saving and investing in growth.  Start converting about 7% a year to income producing options:  CDs, bonds taxable and tax free, government treasuries.  Build a stream of steady dependable revenue that can be counted on during retirement.   If you plan to retire earlier than 65, start about 15 years before retirement age.
• Choose age to start Social Security payments to create a payment amount to complements one's revenue from savings.

In my case, I depended on growth investments much too long until my early 60s.  Also, I retired early at 49, much earlier than the timeline above, right at the start of the Great Recession in 2008.  I did take  Social Security at the right time, starting at 64.  

I was lucky to have survived a 2008 retirement due to the stock market recovering over the next 15 years and some deferred compensation payments.  There was no brilliance on my part, just a lot of learning that I should have done some things a bit differently.  Luckily, in 2022 interest rates started rising, which will help maintain our revenue generation until 2028.

My post My Sources of Retirement Income showed our 2024 retirement revenue by class as:

53% Interest and Dividends in taxable accounts

27% Social Security monthly payments

20% Rental Income quarterly payments

Also, we are starting to convert our retirement accounts from growth investments to income producing investments in preparation for when we will be required to make RMD withdrawals.

For more on Reaping the Rewards, check back every Friday for a new segment.

This is not financial, investment nor retirement advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Health Insurance Morass

My health insurance coverage used to be simple.   When I started working, there was little or no premium charge. I didn't have to worry about in network or out of network.   I paid when I visited and it was all covered.  Over time, it evolved into higher premiums with copays and coinsurance.  

Fast forward to today.    I now have a 1 inch thick book explaining benefits and my responsibility. I have copays, coinsurance, deductibles and varying coverages.   Sometimes, I don't have a good idea of what is covered completely or only limited in coverage.   Some areas seem to be 100% coverage but turn out not to meet all the conditions.   Some times the benefit is more that I expected.

Sometimes the provider doesn't have a good grasp of what is covered and when insurance doesn't provide coverage.

Yesterday, I spend the whole morning reviewing and understanding the coverage I have for one visit.   The previous afternoon, I was in discussion with the provider's billing department discussing why the visit wasn't 100% covered.

Now I have a better understanding of Medicare Annual Wellness Visit coverage and Annual Physical Exam coverage, but it shouldn't take 2 half days worth of effort and phone calls.

For more on Crossing Generations, check back every Thursday for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Revenue Sources by Age

How should one think about revenue and the source?   Here's my point of view.

Revenue sources by age.

• Child -   Parents 100%.   One's parents are investing in one's potential.
• Adolescent -   Allowance provided by parents.
• Teenager -  Allowance and/or part time job.
• Young adult -  Wages from employment or earnings from self employment.
• Middle age adult -  Employment wages/earnings mostly and some investment income.
• Senior adult -  Balance of employment earnings and investment income.
• Retired adult -  Mostly social security, pension and investment income.

Importantly, revenue should be greater than expenses to be financially sound.

For more on The Practice of Personal Finance , check back every  Wednesday for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Personal Finance is a Business

Here's a simple strategy for personal finance:   Think of personal finance like a successful business.  Own the results.

Here's a hack/tip from business thinking.  Cashflow is a term used for businesses, which is the amount of cash flowing in and out of a business. Keep cashflow greater than $0.  Revenue (wages, interest, dividends, or rental income) in minus expenses (mortgage/rent, utilities, foods, entertainment, debt service) out should be greater than zero.  

Unlike a business though, one should minimize, reduce or eliminate debt service since it doesn't potentially increase revenue, as it does for a business.  Instead, debt service only reduces cashflow for individuals.

Replace debt service expense with an investment or savings expense.  Savings is an investment in one's future, including retirement.  Savings and investments have the potential to create revenue for the future.

For more on Ideas You Can Use, check back every  Tuesday for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

2026 Tax Brackets and Related Info

For those that are planning for the 2026 tax year, this article The 2026 Tax Brackets Are Official—Here's Exactly How Much More You'll Pay (Or Save) will provide some key information on the 2026 tax brackets and related info.

Of note, if one is single and expects less than $16,100 in wages with no other income, one will have a federal tax liability of $0.  If that is the case, one can file a W-4 to be exempt from federal tax withholding.  Then if one ends the year with under $16,100 income, no tax federal tax return is needed since tax liability is $0 and no federal tax withholding was done.

The only caution is if one is a dependent, which most college students are.   In that case, one should keep unearned income, such as interest and dividends, below $450 or federal taxes will be owed even if total income income is below the standard deduction of $16,100.

For more on Strategies and Plans, check back every Monday for a new segment.

This is not financial nor tax advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Massive Economic Uncertainty

The only thing that is certain is uncertainty.

Economic uncertainty is making it difficult to have job security, save, invest, make major purchases and plan for the future.

• It's difficult to get hired, both for entry level and experienced.
• Layoffs are increasing even for new hires and long term employees.
• Job interviews are difficult to get even when doing hundreds of applications.
• Starting salaries are no longer commensurate with one's higher education degree.
• Government safety net programs are in flux may be reduced or cancelled.
• Inflation making everything from necessities to housing less affordable.
• ACA health care premiums are subject to government induced volatility resulting in big increases.

Unfortunately, uncertainty is the new reality for everybody, including retirees.

For more on Reaping the Rewards, check back every Friday for a new segment.

This is not financial nor economic advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Interesting Bull vs. Bear Markets Chart

Sometimes a chart can mislead one's thinking.

I saw this chart and liked it.  It seemed to support the concept of staying invested since the Bull Market sections (blue) are tall and wide, while the Bear Market sections (red) are short and narrow.  Bigger is much better it appears.

However, when looking at the math, I realized the maximum loss for a Bear Market is 100%.   Thus the height of the Bear Market section is limited, while the Bull Market section has no upper limit.  In addition, a 50% drop in a Bear Market, will require a 100% gain to break even in a Bull Market.  Similarly, a a 25% drop in a Bear Market, will require a 33% gain to break even in a Bull Market.

Yes, Bull Markets are great.   However, Bear Markets are significantly more painful than implied by the chart below.

For more on Reflections and Musings, check back every Saturday  for a new segment.

This is not financial nor investment advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Will the Stock Market Dip Keep Dipping?

Although the market may rebound this morning, I expect the market to continue to decline, perhaps significantly.   Bitcoin has declined over 30% and META has fallen over 25% in the past month.  

With the current volatility, the direction of the market can change very quickly.  I'm tempted to short some stocks, but I've decided it is too risky if I'm wrong.  I'm going to stick to my plan (My New Strategy for Investing During Market Declines) and do nothing today, expect for maybe closing some SPY puts for a profit.  

For more on Reaping the Rewards, check back every Friday  for a new segment.

This is not financial nor investing advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Social Security COLA and Medicare B Premiums for 2026

For 2026, Social Security payments will increase 2.8% and Medicare Part B premiums will increase to $202.90 from $185.  The higher payment will start in January 2026.

For more details, see It's official. Medicare Part B 2026 premium will eat a big chunk of Social Security COLA

For more on Reaping the Rewards , check back every  Friday  for a new segment.

This is not financial nor retirement advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC