My Request to President Trump and Secretary Bessent

The fixed income portion of my investments have taken a big hit recently.  Interest rates are going up on Treasuries and other bonds.   Inflation is higher and sticky.  Prices for many of my grocery items are higher.  My gasoline price for regular is over $4.00.

President Trump said that inflation and interest rates would come down immediately after he was elected.  They have not.  Now, President Trump is telling me that gasoline prices will come down immediately after the midterms.

Frankly, I can't wait until after the midterms.   President Trump's and Secretary Bessent's promises should be delivered before the midterms or I'm assuming they won't happen.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

9/11 Never Forget

I will never forget and still remember where I was and what I was doing.   We are expats in Japan during that time.  I was up late, on the computer, getting ready to do some stock trades.  (For reference, Japan is 14 hours ahead on EST.)    Then I saw a news flash that a plane had crashed into the twin towers.  I assumed it was a small plane accidental crash.  Then, there was a news flash of a second plane.  I knew then the crashes were not an accident.

There are memorials to those for those on the flights.   There are memorials for those that perished in the World Trade Center.   IMHO 9/11 should be made a Federal holiday so that we truly "Never Forget."

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Retirement Payment Strategy Being Tested

The recent volatility is testing my comfort with the retirement "paycheck" strategy.  My goal was to be volatility agnostic by creating a retirement "paycheck."  

This has worked so far, until this week. Due to interest rate increases, my fixed income and municipal bond positions have been falling...significantly since I started owning them earlier this year.   I have started to become concerned about volatility, especially with AI related positions, such as memory stocks.  I decided to sell my MU positions for a good profit of 23-34%.

Overall, I'm still continuing to hodl, but my conviction is wavering for the first time purchasing my "buy the dip" stocks earlier this year in February 2026.  Also, my municipal bond funds, which have been amazingly stable this year, are dropping as much as 1% in a day.  Finally, I expect some of my accounts my show a loss for 2026 due to fixed income and municipal bond fund principals falling in September.

Oh well, I shall see how it goes this month.   As they say, "It works until it doesn't."   

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Do Parents Have Time and Money to Raise Kids Today?

We are much older than usual parents.  Our kids are 14 and 21.   Even though we are both retired, it still takes a significant amount of our time each day to raise our kids.  I do not know how we would manage if both of us were working, or even if only one of us was working.

When I was a kid, my dad worked and my was stayed at home.   Most of my extra curricular activities (football, baseball, cub/boy scouts) were in the neighborhood and I could walk to or ride my bike to.  No need for parents to drive.  In HS, my father picked me up after work from sports (football, track, tennis), and it was only 3 miles from my house.  I didn't play any elite leagues or elite clinics that required traveling other cities or states from my home.  I never had any private lessons for anything. Finally, I don't think my parents ever watched any of my sports games until we were in the State Championship finals.

When we first married, my spouse and I both worked.  After getting transferred overseas, my spouse "retired."   Upon returning, we adopted our daughter and my spouse was the stay at home parent.  After three years, I retired and both of us were stay at home parents.

Raising kids today is much more involved and intense that when my parents raised me.  

 Here are some of my memories growing up:

• Going to school preparation.  K-12 involves pre-attendance orientation and acquiring school supplies, both personal and for the entire class.  When I went, I just showed up the the first day and only need to bring a pencil and composition book.   For K-7, I attended a parochial school, with no lockers.  We just stored our books under our homeroom desk and our coats to the group closet in the back.  I didn't have a locker until public school in 8th grade.
• Extra curricular activities.  As I wrote above, all my pre Junior High activities were in the neighbor hood which I could attend on my own.  Although I don't know the number, the costs were low, just annual fees since I didn't take lessons.  In Junior High and High School, I played sports and my dad could pick me up after work.  Back then, there were no sports activity fees for students.
• Free time activities.  After school and on weekends, I just went out a played in the neighborhood with friends.  We played in each other's yard, the street or the nearby park. On weeknights, we'd be out from getting off school until dinner time.  On weekends, we were out all day, maybe coming home for lunch, and definitely coming home for dinner.
• Meals.  My mom cooked homemade meals at home. We ate family style what was cooked breakfast and dinner.  Lunches were either packed for school or bought at the HS cafeteria.   TV dinners were a special treat.  Eating out at McDonald's was a more special treat.
• Transportation.  Until HS, my parents only owned one car, which my dad used to commute to work.  For groceries and other shopping, we all went together in the evening or on weekends.
• College expenses -  My parents paid for the first year.  I had a guaranteed student loan for $1500 the second year and $3000 for my junior and senior year.  I also put all of my summer job earnings toward paying for school senior year.

Here is my experience raising kids today:

• Going to school preparation.  Our daughter need to sign a rental contract off campus 9 months in advance.   There is a 2 week gap between moving out and moving in.  She was fortunate, since she renewed, there was no gap, even though she need to change apartments.  Still took a full day with a pickup up truck and 5 cars to move her and 2 roommates.  Our son needed to attend school orientation.  My spouse needed to buy numerous individual and group supplies and download various apps to manage communication with the school.
• Extra curricular activities.   Both are kids were involved in various sports and music.   Music stuck with my daughter.  Tennis stuck with my son.  Nowadays, students pay an activity fee for each sport.  Also, both involved additional lessons and limited travel, which can be high expenses and significant time. For example, we shuttle our son from school to tennis every weekday and wait for him to finish, which takes 3.5 hours of our time. In addition, there are overnight trips and even international trips for school.  
• Free time activities.   Lots of electronic activities and video game players.  Much higher cost than playing in the neighborhood.
• Meals.   My spouse does a lot of healthy home cooking from scratch, which require significant preparation time and effort.   We rarely eat out, maybe a couple times a month maximum.
• Transportation.   My first new car cost 40% of my starting salary.  My new truck 23 years later cost less than 10% of my salary.  Originally, we had two cars.  We added a third when my MIL went to independent living.  That worked well since our daughter was driving two years later, which lowered time parents needed to transport.   We have lent her one car for her last two years of college since she is now living off campus. 
• College expenses.  We are committing to completely covering undergraduate (and graduate, if needed) college expenses for both kids.  We started contributing to 529 plans the year we adopted.  That has worked out well.

What's the difference?

• Going to school preparation.  Meals. Higher grocery costs since we go organic, which wasn't available when I was a kid.
• Extra curricular activities.  More and much higher cost for kids activities.   Lessons and additional training for sports, which adds significantly more costs.
• Free time activities.  Video game consoles and smart phone videos.
• Meals.   Our main higher cost is fresh, organic food.  For many other, it's eating out several times a week.
• Transportation. Cars now cost more than many people's starting salary.  More cars that require maintenance.  My parents had one car when I was young.  We have three, one of which is used by our adult daughter.
• College expenses.   $25,000 to $100,000 per year versus $2,000-$10,000 per year. 
• More maintenance time, effort and costs due to shorter appliance life.  I don't remember ever replacing anything in my childhood home in 35 years.  Nowadays, it seems appliances (water heater, furnace, dishwasher etc) need replacement about every 10 years.
• Renovation or upgrades.  I don't recall my parents ever upgrading their kitchens nor bathrooms in the 35 years they owned the house.

My nephew who is single claims he life (school, employment, buying a house) is much harder than it was for me.   I can't wait to hear what he says when he is married and has kids.

As a retired parent, I don't know how parents raised kids while still working, especially when both parents are working.

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

Nine Numbers that Matter More than Net Worth for Retirement

I thought the following article was an excellent summary for the total financial elements of retirement.

Financial advisors say retirees are too focused on net worth (these 9 numbers matter more)

Below are the description headers for the nine numbers, which the article describes in more detail. 

1. Income-to-expense gap

2. Annual spending needs

3. Withdrawal rate

4. Health care costs

5. How much Social Security covers

6. Years of cash reserves

7. Tax rate during retirement

8. Years your retirement needs to last

9. Debt-to-income ratio

Although I started out using Net Worth as the metric, I have evolved to covering the other 9 numbers during retirement. 

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Gold, Oil and Silver, Oh My!

With inflation and war risks, I plan to hodl gold, oil and silver investments we currently own.  However,   I'm not adding more since my goal is to simplify our investment holdings.

Here's what we own:

• Gold and silver ETFs and stocks in gold and silver miners..  Inherited from spouse's parents' IRAs.  I sold some near the recent peak.   Although, I've committed to hodling and not selling positions in my spouse's account, these were inherited after 2019 and must be liquidated before 10 years.  
• Junk silver coins.  I purchased these in 2011 when silver was at or near a low.  I was teaching my the 7 year old daughter about coin collecting and invest.  We visited a monthly coin and stamp show and bought a few items each month.   We bought 90% junk silver coins and some collectible silver proof sets.
• Gold bars.   A couple years ago, I was walking into Costco and the greeter pointed at the gold price sign and said, "We're selling below spot price, right now," and showed me spot on his phone.   I couldn't resist getting a deal, which include a 2% rebate for my executive membership and 2% reward on my credit card.  I only bought 1 bar. In hindsight, I should have bought the limit of 5.
• Oil stocks.  I own a few oil stocks: CRGY, HP, HAL, RIG and NBR.  RIG and NBR will likely not/never break even.   CRGY is profitable or underwater depending on the account.  HP and HAL have a good chance to be profitble.

We had previously owned gold miners and ETFs in our taxable accounts, but as usual, I sold them for a small profit after being underwater for many years since I bought near a previous peak in 2011.

Here is my plan:

• As gold and silver rise, I will take the opportunity to begin scaling out as it gets closer to previous ATH.  I will also sell some jewelry for scrap.
• As oil rises, I will sell HP and HAL as they become profitable.   I will sell RIG and NBR immediately if they break even.  I will hodl CRGY in the taxable account since it is already profitable and scale out of CRGY in the IRAs as they become profitable.

Of course, gold, oil and silver may not rise, which means we will continue to hodl.  I am prepared to sell if the should rise significantly.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Predictable Inflation Adjusted Payments - The Gold Retirement Standard

It would be great if retirees received a predictable inflation adjusted monthly payment that covered all one's expected and discretionary expenses.

• Predictable
• Inflation Adjusted
• Expenses

Unfortunately, there isn't an option that meets all the criteria.

• Predictable - The options usually are fixed or the inflation adjustment doesn't deliver enough.   Annuities or long term bonds have predictable fixed payments, which meets one criteria.  However, they don't increase with inflation, nor do they necessary cover increasing expenses with aging.
  
• Inflation adjusted -  Social Security payments are "inflation adjusted," but do not necessarily cover the items that retired people need.  TIPS bonds are inflation adjusted and theoretically, so are equities, but neither are guaranteed.
• Expenses - The reality is living expenses will grow and new health and aging care expenses will be grow more than expected as on gets older.  

Here's my attempt at mimicking a gold standard of payment:

• Predictable -  Buying 20 year Treasuries yielding 5%.  I've stopped for now but will buy more if yields rise to 6-7%.   
• Inflation adjusted - Social security, rental property, TIPS bonds, and equities.   Social security, rents and TIPS are broadly inflation adjusted, but don't necessarily match cost increases experienced by and individual.   Equities have downside risks but do rise in the long term and provide an inflation cushion.
• Expenses - We purchased long term care insurance when  I was in my 20s and later for my spouse in her 30s when we got married, when premiums were much less expensive.  We also have retiree health care insurance from my company and Medicare (me) which has more coverage and is less expensive than the ACA health insurance.  Finally, we have saved for our children in college 529 plans from the time we adopted them.  We expect to 100% cover their college expenses for both our 21 year old and 14 year old.

But as Yogi Berra once said, "It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future." We have covered what we can control as best we can, and will have to adjust for elements we don't control such as inflation, the economy, stock market volatility and health.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Pushed Articles in My Browsers - Alien Life and Time Travel

I would expect to be pushed lots of articles about personal finance, and I am by both Edge and Chrome browsers. For reference, I do get a lot of recommended articles about personal finance, debt, and the economy.   Lately, I'm getting a lot of stories about alien life and some about time travelers talking about the future.  Although I find them interesting, I have no idea why I get numerous feeds of these topics, since I haven't searched these topics nor gone to articles previously on those topics.

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

This is not financial, alien life nor time travel advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Charity Lawnmowing Earning Money

People can help others in need in many ways.  The one's I'm most familiar with are food banks.  Here's one that I didn't know about:

These landscapers are mowing the extra mile — and changing lives

The interesting aspect of the lawnmowing charity work is that the mowers share their work as YouTube creators.  They earn money from advertising and sponsorships.  In some cases, they earn enough to make it their full time job.

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

This is not financial, charity, nor content creator advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Low Price Maxxing

For most of my life, I did low price maxxing.  I would try to save money constantly on purchases.  I could give infinite examples, but will only do a few for perspective. 

• I clip coupons or wait for regular sales to buy the products I use.   Then I buy a larger quantity to benefit.
• I have an almost photographic memory prices paid.  Easy for me to do since I'm a numbers person and can remember purchases I've made in the past few weeks without checking.  I regularly take advantage of stores that price match if price drops within 30 days. 
• For gasoline discounts, I'll will take multiple cars to take advantage for big ones, like $1 off, for the whole family.
• I use points for hotel stays and airline flights, which results in the cost being free or a small charge.  In fact, for hotel stays the numerous taxes are eliminated.  For airlines, I still need to pay a small tax of about $10 max.

IMHO, this act of frugality help me retire early successfully in my late forties.  Even after retiring, I continued to low price max for many purchases.  I enjoy low price maxxing.   I sometimes included my family in some low price maxxing activities, but they sometimes felt like it was bothersome effort with low return.

Since our retirement financial situation has become more sustainable, I have backed off significantly from asking my family to also low price max.  Although my family knows they don't need to low price max, they will participate in some low effort elements, like buying more when on sale, but avoid doing most others like using coupons.  For me, habits are hard to break and I continue to low price max but not a rigorously as before.   

One thing I will not do to low price max:  Install an app, which restaurants often require.    I low price max at an app restaurant by not going there.  LOL.   My daughter, however, regularly gets lower prices with the restaurant app. 

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

This is not financial, purchasing, nor shopping advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC