Preparing for Volatility After Midterm Elections

I expect there will be significant volatility in stock prices and interest rates shortly after the midterm elections.  Here's how I'm preparing for the possibility:

• Keeping cash in short term T Bills and market funds.   If interest rates increase, which I expect them to, I can invest these funds into long term fixed income.  If interest fall, I'm OK with interest from these bonds and funds even though the principal declines.
• Be ready to buy stocks on a discount, especially the total market index funds.  I will buy some GOOGL if it drops below $300, which would be over a 25% decline from the ATH.
• Buy some November 6 DTE put options on SPY.  I'm looking at 550 or higher strike prices.
• No matter what happens, just chill and HODL.

I've survived the worst in my lifetime: 1987 crash, the 2002 dot.com crash, the 08/09 Great Recession, the 2020 Covid crash and the 2022 bear market.   Each one has made us strong.  I think I will survive the 2026 volatility.   

Bring it on.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Get Paid to Transfer funds to Current Brokerages

As I look to consolidate brokerage accounts, one of my current brokerages offered to match any major brokerages bonus for opening a new account.  However, I don't need to open a new account.  I can add funds to an existing account.

I was already thinking to consolidate accounts and reduce the number of brokerage firms we use.  Now I have an financial incentive to do it.  One just has to search for brokerage promotions.  The bonuses range from $50 to $10,000 depending on the amount added.   Of course, I will be no where near $10,000 but even $50 make is worth considering.  I'm going to ask for a matching bonus when transferring funds.

One needs to read the terms and conditions, for example how long new funds are in account,  to make sure one qualifies.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Good Leverage when Negotiating - Being Able to Walk Away

Being able to walk away may be one of the best negotiating approaches.

My best example was when I was selling a property. I negotiated that the buyer had to give me an a $5,000 nonrefundable fee before filing to change the zoning to commercial.  I knew if they backed out of the sale after rezoning, my real estate taxes would go up significantly and the fee would cover the increase.  When they requested my signature to authorize rezoning, I asked for the $5,000 nonrefundable payment in the contract.   They objected saying they couldn't risk $5,000 if the rezoning was denied and threatened to back out of the deal, which was legal.  I told them, "You guys are smarter than me in real estate.  If you think it is a big risk, I won't disagree with you and I'm not taking on your risk."  The next day, they called and verbally told me they were ending the contract.

I didn't panic.  I calmly told my attorney the buyers were planning to terminate the deal and assumed they would send the official letter.  I thought about alternate buyers who had expressed some interest.   I knew I wouldn't be released from selling until I received written termination and waited.  Two days later, I stopped thinking about selling the property to the current buyer and started working on our landscaping.   Then, my daughter yelled out to the yard that I had a call from the buyer's broker.

Although I didn't particularly want to talk to him, I went to the phone.   He said, "The buyer wants to continue with the deal and needs your signature today."   I said, "Per the contract, I will FedEx my authorization to the escrow lawyer who is in charge of ensuring the non refundable money is paid before transferring the document to the buyer."   The broker said, "But we need it this afternoon."   I said, "I'll send the authorization to the escrow attorney, per the contract."  

Again, the buyer was trying to put pressure on me, and I was willing to stay with the contract, even if at a risk of losing the sale.  Soon we reached a compromise, based on advice from my attorney.   The buyer would wire me the money immediately, and I would fax them the authorization when received.   Although the timing was tight, we were able to complete the transaction in time for the buyer to receive the documentation needed.

Disclosure: Details, that would allow the buyer and seller to be identified, have been changed to keep them anonymous.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Consolidating Brokerage Accounts to Simplify

When I was younger, I used multiple brokerages (for diversity of benefits and safety) and created multiple accounts for different strategies.  This was helpful during the Great Recession of 08/09 when some brokerages had financial difficulties, with some even going bankrupt, such as Lehman, or money markets funds breaking the buck.  Although, we didn't lose any money, I maintained having multiple brokerages.   In addition, during the teens, at one brokerage I was experimenting with 22 different investment strategies and created an account for each one.

I've decided we have too many accounts and am working to simplify.  My goal it to get down to one brokerage with 6 accounts, titled for a Roth, Traditional IRA and Taxable account for my spouse and me.  This should make it easier to manage and trade and give us a single point of contact.

This weekend I started the process of merging and reducing accounts in our brokerages for a future transition to few brokers.  At this point, I think we can get to 2 brokers.  We shall see.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Will the Stock Market Go Up or Down Immediately after Midterm Elections?

Yes, it will (go up or down), but really I don't know.  If I did really know, I wouldn't be telling anyone.  I would just buy options and become the next billionaire or even trillionaire.😎

Remember, as Yogi Berra once said, "It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future."

Anyway, here's what I expect:

• If the Democrats take the majority in one or both houses, I expect the market to decline immediately, but recover.
• If the Republicans keep the majority in both houses, I expect the market to decline immediately, but recover.

Net, I expect the same downward initial reaction and then recovery no matter which party wins the majority in Congress.

Investors, Hedge Funds, Market Makers, and Gamblers will react negatively first and then return to advancing the stock market.  That's what I expect based on all the reactions to negative news over the past 2 years. Of course, it works until it doesn't.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Continuing to Sell Software Stocks for a Profit

Yesterday, I sold about 10% of the software SAAS stocks I bought on the dip in February 2026.  While AI and memory stocks were hit hard (6-12% declines), software stocks actually advanced.  I took the opportunity to start taking profits.   In some cases, the price of stocks I sold advanced 2-3% higher.

Hopefully, the software stocks will continue to advance today, allowing me to exit some more with higher gains.  While I have gains as much as 100%, I no longer have conviction the rally will continue much longer.  Also, there is significant uncertainty with the midterm elections.  Thus, I will continue to scale out the software stocks I bought in February 2026, but will continue to hodl the core positions in the previously managed account.

Crossing my fingers for a bounce for the stock market and/or continued upward momentum for software stocks.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Reversion to Normal ...

Futures are showing a likely decline in the market today.

What could go wrong?

Remember when

• wars/conflicts, 
• inflation, 
• increasing interest rates, 
• increasing U.S. debt, 
• high personal debt
• more debt defaults
• high margin debt at or near all time highs

cause the market to go down?

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

The stock market advance has been too good to be true.   When a correction comes, it may be surprisingly big.  I'm buying a some insurance, January 2027 SPY puts, strike price 550.  Otherwise, I'm waiting, scaling out of recent equity purchase, hodling my fixed income portfolio and keeping cash.

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

This is not financial, economic, stock investing, nor investment advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Significant Fixed Income Losses

My bonds and bond funds have declined significantly over the past month, due to interest rates increasing.  Some of my bonds, specifically 20 year Treasuries, are down as much as 14% since their purchase in 2023, when interest rates started increasing.  Many are down 4-8%.

Here's why I am not worried...yet:

• Other than 1% bonds that are maturing in the next two months, out taxable bonds pay an minimum of 3.75%, with over 90% paying 4-5% for 3- 20 years.  I will get paid this amount for up to 20 years, no matter what future interest rates are.  
• Historically, 5% is a good interest rate for long term bonds.
• I am getting sufficient income to support our "retirement paycheck" strategy, which is giving us a monthly payment for our retirement expenses.
• I am holding the bonds until maturity, which means I receive the par value and losses go to 0% or may even be a small gain.
• For bond funds, which are primarily muni bond funds in taxable account, I can do tax loss harvesting to offset stock gains, and rebuy the bond fund at a lower price.
• Finally, I have cash in money market funds or treasury bonds (1 year less Treasuries), which will pay more if interest rates go up.  About 40% of our investable funds are in this category

Here's what would could go wrong:

• Long term interest rates could go up significantly.  In 1981, the 10 and 20 year Treasuries yield as much as 15.8%.  
• Inflation could go up significantly to double digits.
• The U.S. could default.

Right now, the probability of what could go wrong is still very low, less than 1%.  However, the probability continues to increase as the U.S. deficit increases, the wars continue, and inflation continues to rise.

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

This is not financial, fixed income, inflation, nor policy advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Roth Conversion Hack for Trump Accounts

This is a hack for making Trump account withdrawals tax free in the future.

At age 18, Trump accounts convert to traditional IRAs, with all the associated rules.  Since contributions are made after tax, only earnings are taxed when withdrawing from a Trump account IRA.  

Here's the hack.

• If the child is still a dependent and not earning wages,  the standard deduction is up to $1350 (for 2026) of unearned income.  Thus, the child can convert up to $1350 of IRA earnings to a Roth account tax free.  Since contributions are prorated between contributions and earning, the child will also convert some untaxed original contribution.
• If child has earned income, the standard deduction is earned income + $450 unearned income, up to the single standard deduction of $16100 (for 2026).

If planned well, the entire Trump IRA can be converted to a Roth IRA with little or no tax.

My son is 14.  If I open a Trump account for him, we can contribute up to $5000/year to the account, up to age 17.  At that point, he may have $20,000 to convert to a Roth, provided the investments don't decline. 

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

This is not financial, retirement savings, nor Roth Conversion advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Selling and Taking Some Profit

I plan to scale out of some of my SAAS software stocks and take some profit this week.  The market looks very weak, with the tech stocks looking like the worst.   At this point, I still will hodl some of the shares, in anticipate on a possible President Trump TACO and a rebound.   

I'm still ambivalent about the stock market reaction to the midterm elections.   Even if Congress becomes a Democratic majority, the stock market may go up or down, significantly.  So I'm taking some profit, but not selling out the positions, as a hedge for the market moving either way.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC