Placing a Bet on Commodities

With the dollar devaluation that is happening, I expect commodity prices to increase since they are typically dollar denominated.  This happened after the Great Recession of 08/09 when the Fed used QE to devalue the dollar.   Back then, oil rose to record highs.

While oil still below those all time highs, there has been a significant increase on Gold and Silver prices in the last few months to all time highs..   I expect other commodities will soon follow upward, but maybe not as drastic.

Since I don't know which commodities will go up the most, I decided to buy a commodity ETF, PDBC.  I chose PDBC over DBC since PDBC is a non K-1 ETF.   I avoid ETFs that issue K-1s since it may cause complexity when filing taxes.  For examples, K-1s are sometimes issued as late as October results in either filing an extension or amendment to include the K-1 in the tax return.

Disclosure:  I purchased PDBC in our accounts this past week, January 27-30, 2026.

For more on New Beginnings, check back every  Sunday for a new segment.

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Getting a Really Big Tax Refund

I will be getting a big tax refund when I file my 2025 tax return.  My refund will be larger than our tax liability. I'm getting back about 60% of the federal taxes withheld for 2025. I'm not happy about that since I try to make our refund as close to $0 as possible, or even owe a small amount.   That money that could have been earning 3-4% instead of earning 0% at the government.

How did I end up with such a big tax refund?

• I started withholding about 110% of last year's tax liability to avoid any penalty since I expected to have about the same taxable income as in 2024.
• One Big Beautiful Bill was passed in July 2025 with significant tax changes.
• Several tax changes retroactive to 2025 were made that affected our tax liability
• Senior Deduction
• SALT Cap increase
• Child Tax Credit increase
• I waited until September 2025 to estimate the effect on 2025 tax liability.
• Estimated 30-50% reduction in federal taxes depending on income
• Began tax loss harvesting in investment to reduce capital gains tax
• Stopped tax withholding for final two months of 2025.

Bottom line:  By the time I realized how much our taxes would be reduced, we had already over withheld significantly.  

I prefer to get a small refund or owe a small amount of tax. For 2026, I've already adjusted our withholding to be 110% of our expected tax liability for 2025 since I expect our income to be about the same as 2025.   If we get a windfall and owe more taxes, there is no penalty for underpayment of tax liability.

No huge tax refund for me in 2027 for the 2026 tax year.

For more on New Beginnings, check back every Monday for a new segment.

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Good Tips from a Financial Seminar

I attended a complementary financial seminar a dinner a few days ago. Most seminars Here are my key takeaways from the presentation.

• One's job is only half done at 65, a typical age of retirement.   This is still important work to do.  Financial stewardship is a major job in retirement:  Ensuring enough funds to cover lifetime expenses, maximizing income generate, and spending for enjoyment.  This is work that requires educating oneself or hiring others with the knowledge.
  
  
• Managing finances to legally reduce current and future taxes is a important task for retirees.  Retirees need to be aware of strategies that can help reduce or eliminate taxes on long term capital gains, dividends, and RMDs.  In addition, there are a number of tax efficient ways to get more tax benefit from charitable contributions.

I was aware of many of the methodologies:  0% dividend long term capital gains tax bracket, 1031 real estate exchange, and donor advised funds.   My new learning was about QLAC which can delay taking RMDs until age 85, but probably will not use.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Lack of Routine is a Retirement Adjustment

After many years of work, I had developed a pretty set routine.   

Weekdays -Routine

• 6AM   Get up, shower and get dressed for work.
• 7AM   Drive to work
• 8AM - 6PM   Work with collegues
• 6PM    Drive home, pick up items, run errands
• 8PM    Home tasks and relax

Weekends -No Routine

• No set schedule
• Generally do errands, kids activities, house/yard work
• Manage retirement investments and spending

Upon retirement in 2007, I no longer had a weekday routine.  I filled it partly with part-time work (no pun intended) by doing seasonal taxes, working at local parks and teaching some after school classes.   For one year, I was the interim executive director for a new non profit.  These were all good transition jobs, but nothing stuck for a last hurrah job.

In 2015, I ended doing retirement part-time work.  I started focusing more time on determining my retirement purpose and delivering on that: My Retirement "Career" and Purpose.   Except for kid's activities, there still isn't much routine, but there is much more focus and direction, which helps a lot.

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 © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

More Frequent Medical Treatments

When retirement planners said I needed to plan on spending about $200,000 on medical costs, I thought not me.  Most of my life, I hardly ever went to the doctor, even though I played physical sports such as football through college and rugby until my 30s.  In my 30s, I scheduled an appointment with my primary care physician, and the scheduler asked if I was a current patient.  I said yes and she asked when was the last time I saw the doctor.  I answered, "About 5 years ago or more."   She answered, "That's why I don't have you as a regular patient.  We archive records if you haven't been here for three years."  I made a point after that to visit at least once every three years.

In my 50s, my frequency of medical visits increased, mainly due to cardio vascular disease  (CVD) that required stents.  Thus, I started yearly visits with a cardiologist.    In my 60s, joint pain from arthritis began to increase and I needed a brace for sports activities.   In addition, stents weren't a permanent solution and my CVD issues returned after 12 years, despite my changing to a vegan diet.   This time Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery was needed.   

Now a 14 months after CABG, there are still blockages that need to addressed and I'm going back in for more stents that will hopefully resolve the issue, for a few more years.   I also plan to have cataract surgery to replace my clouding lenses later this year.  This is in addition to my regular checkups with my primary care physician and my cardiologist.   These 2026 visits will result in me reaching my out of pocket limit for health insurance for the third year in a row.   

I've gone from rarely going to see the doctor in my youth to exceeding insurance maximum out of pocket costs regularly as a senior.  I did not expect such a change in my health needs as I became older.  

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Non Optimal Outcomes from Lack of Financial Literacy

I confess, I am a financial geek.   I enjoy investing our retirement accounts.  I enjoy analyzing ways to legally reduce our tax liability.  I try to maximize our fixed income interest.  I learn about new income opportunities.

I find almost none of my friends and family have the same level of interest in finances.   In fact, I have learned some have very little simple financial knowledge and almost no complex financial knowledge.  

Lack of financial literacy can lead to issues and sometimes catastrophes.

I remember many years ago, a friend told me her strategy for maintaining a higher lifestyle was to max out her credit cards and pay only the minimum each month. She rented a high end apartment, furnished it via credit card debt, and bought a new car.   Within a year, her expenses, including minimum credit card payments, were more than her net monthly paycheck.   For reference, she was a new hire chemical engineer and paid very well.  Her solution was to get a second job as a waitress to pay for her expenses.  I tried explain to her that cutting back on expenses would help also, but to little avail.

Financial literacy would help people avoid punitive debt problems such as minimum credit card payments, payday loans and exorbitant student loans.  Financial literacy may also help reduce the incidence of financial scams since many people don't recognize financial red flags of scams.  This leads to people being tricked by bank phishing, catfished for money, or involved with a hobosexual partner.  I've seen this happen to otherwise very intelligent people.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Buying High Yield Muni Bond Funds

To reduce our taxable income, I've been keeping cash in a Municipal Money Market Fund.  It pays less than taxable money markets, but keeps our taxable income below threshholds for tax benefits, such as deductions and credits.    However, due to seasonality, the interest payments are very low in January, less than 1% in mid January.   This caused me to look for Municipal Bond funds that pay higher interest, with some risk.

I found some high yield Municipal Bond Funds.   I decided to go with PRFHX is the T. Rowe Price Tax-Free High Yield Fund.   Dividends are around 4%, federal tax free, which is higher than my taxable money market interest I've been receiving.

Disclosure:  I was not compensated by T. Rowe Price for this post.  I have already purchased PRFHX for several of out taxable accounts.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Screening Phone Calls Reduces Annoyance

We screen all our landline incoming phone calls.  We don't answer if we don't recognize the phone number.  97% of those calls don't leave a message.   The other 3% are cold calls or returned calls where we don't know the number yet.

I can monitor calls from the main phone or the two cordless extensions.  Saves us a lot of time.  We don't need to decline making contributions, listen to sales calls, or deal with potential scammers.  

Too bad email isn't as efficient at screening out scam email yet.   Wishful thinking.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Managing RMD Impact at 73

I've  been thinking about doing Roth Conversions to minimize the RMD tax bomb.   Tax rates are pretty low now.   I would definitely do conversions in the 12% tax bracket.   However, I'm rethinking as to whether to do RMD conversions, pay the tax now, to avoid paying taxes in the future at higher tax brackets.  It seems the RMD tax bomb might not be as big a deal as the media implies.

According to the 2026 Uniform Lifetime Table, a $10,000 IRA would require a $3774 RMD at 73.   For a $1M IRA, multiply that by 10 to get a $37,735 RMD. 

With a median IRA balance of $200,000 at 73, that means a median of $7,500 annual RMD. With an average IRA balance of $600,000 that means an average of $22,600 annual RMD.   Neither of these seem outrageous from a federal tax point of view.  This is causing me to lean towards just paying taxes when I have to take an RMD.

Another factor is the Inherited IRA RMD requirement to be distributed in 10 years.   At a median of $200,000 that would be $20,000 per year for 1 heir, which probably is a nice bonus for 10 years.  At $600,000 that would be $60,000 per year for 1 heir, which my create a minor tax bomb but still they  would still receive at least 2/3s even after higher tax rates.

If I had $100 Million in an traditional IRA (I wish),  I might think about Roth Conversions and RMDs differently.  Even then, I might just take my annual $3.7 million RMD and pay the taxes.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

University Snow Closings - Times have Changed

My alma mater just posted on LinkedIn that classes will be held at the discretion of the instructor due to 14 inches of snow.  Back in my day, classes were not cancelled for winter weather.   In February 1977, I walked to an 8AM class in waist deep snow. The chemistry professor wondered out loud why there were so few students.  LOL

For more on New Beginnings, check back every Sunday for a new segment.

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC