Real Estate Crash May Be Coming

Is this story an indication of the decline for real estate prices?

Chicago Office Tower Sells at an 87% Discount to Pre-Covid Price

I'm assuming the owner decided it was better to take the loss than to wait for a recovery and just tossed the keys to the lender.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

The Dip Bottomed Today - For Now

The stock market had a massive rebound with the Dow index closing at an all time high.  Many of the stock that I purchased this past week, but only a few have gained past the purchase price.   Still I bought most at a significant discount (30-50%) from their 52 week highs.  

Most rose today, with a couple falling further.  I was able to sell one of the TSLA shares I purchased yesterday at a 3.5% profit.   At this point, I expect the rebound to continue next week, but I don't know for sure.   I decided to buy some MGK and VOO in case the rally continues in next week

I feel good right now from buying.  Hoping for the rebound to continue.🙏

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Looking for a Stock Market Bounce Today

I'm doing a small amount of trading in our retirement accounts.  Hoping for but not expecting a bounce in the fallen stocks the past few days.  If there is a big bounce, I may sell some positions for a small profit.  If the recently purchased stocks keep falling, I am reluctant to increase my holdings in the stock.   I want to avoid trying to catch a falling knife.

However, I do plan to scale in some funds to our kids' college accounts in a S&P500 index.  Even if the market dips further, we'll be keeping these accounts for several years.  In addition, if the market falls further, I will be able to add more funds at that time. 

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Volatility Still Not Worrying Me -Yet

Per my post Market Volatility Not As Worrisome Anymore - For Now, I am still comfortable the current volatility, even if it continues.   We're still getting a monthly retirement paycheck that I created, and I have been working to increase the monthly payments with Municipal Bond Mutual Funds.  January's payment was much lower than usual, but that's because some January 1 dividends moved up to December 31.    So i expect that we're still OK.

However, the recently volatility is still short lived, only about 3 days, though turbulent.   We shall see how I feel if the volatility continues for all of February 2026.

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 © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

The Dip Kept Dipping - Arrgh!

I decided to buy today's stock market dip by purchasing several individual stocks, which what I did when I was younger.  Buying individual stocks on a dip is a hard habit to break.   I picked up some good buys, but the dip kept dipping to the close and my purchases ended the day down.  Fortunately, I don't have much invested in the buys today since I plan to put most funds in a S&P Index fund as the dip continues, which I expect it will.   

Looking back, a good time to buy is when the market dips. I'm going to take this opportunity to invest my kids' college accounts in the S&P Index fund tomorrow.  These are long term accounts and won't matter much if the dip keeps dipping.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Feels Like a Stock Market Correction is Coming

It sure feels like a market correction is in progress.   Corrections happen every 1-2 years.  Bear markets happen every 5-7 years.

• Tech is weak, down from its high and keeps falling
• 59% of stocks are down more than 30% from their 52 week high
• Stocks fall even on good news
• I've been buying into this correction

Typically, when I buy, the market falls further. 😈 If I wait, the market rebounds quickly.😆

I've bought into the following large cap stocks on the drop:  MSFT, TSLA, CRM, TEAM, UNH, HUBS, ADBE, and NOW.  I hoping for a rebound in these stocks.

I've bought into the following small cap stocks on the drop:   GERN, GALT, SIGA, SNDL, PACB, SDLP, and SLS.  I'm just hoping on these.😎

I bought the following a deep loss for tax harvesting purposes:  PYPL.

If this isn't a correction.  Great.  If it is a correction or worse, I'm prepared to implement my strategy of putting more funds in a S&P index mutual funds for my kids and our retirement accounts.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Did Better Buying the Dip Today

I continued to buy the dip today and did much better.  I bought and sold HUBS for a profit.  I bought TEAM and NOW, and closed up on those positions for the day.  My bad pick was TSLA.  I bought a few shares at $415 and $407 and it continued to decline to below $400, but recovered to close at $406.  I did buy 1 share under $400.

The market is very volatile right now.   Most of my purchases are just a guess of whether the stock has bottomed yet.   Thus, I am very attuned to the stock movement after my purchase.  I worry if it goes down since I purchased too early. I worry if it goes up and I don't sell before it goes down again.  Too much time worrying.😠

I realize now why I'm not a good stock picker.  I'm too nervous about not taking profits when I own individual stocks.  I worry that I don't sell, the stock will become a loss, which has happened to me many time.  The result is my big winners don't give me big gains, which causes me to worry again since I left a lot of money on the table.

I'm definitely much better off investing most of our funds in the market index and using a very small percentage of our funds to buy individual stocks.  That way, I can enjoy the thrill of picking a winner, instead of worrying whether I should sell or hold.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Cover Necessities Before Other Expenses

As a new hire just graduated from college, I had three buckets of spending: necessities, savings and discretionary.   Necessities were highest priority, followed by savings and discretionary.   Necessities had to be paid each month.  Savings were next for a emergency fund, future purchases and retirement savings.  Discretionary was for fun.  Here's what was in those categories.

Necessities:  Rent, utilities, groceries, student loans, auto costs, insurance (health, rental, disability) and clothing.   These are the must cover expenses.  

Savings:  Emergency savings for unexpected cost, savings for future large purchases, retirement savings.

Discretionary: entertainment, vacations, eating out, upgrade phone/computer

Personally, I managed necessities to be the lowest cost acceptable.   I rented a lower cost apartment close to work.  It was half the cost of a nearby luxury apartment other new hires rented.  I used coupons for groceries and bought items that were on sale.  I had a low student loan payment that was less than $100/month.   I drove a 13 year old hand me down car for the first 2 years.  My parents gave me my bedroom furniture, and recreation room furniture from their house and I used them for several years.

I ran out of money with two days left in the first month, but was able to adjust and save money the second month.   For discretionary spending, I kept costs to a minimum by playing rugby  ($25 fee/season) for entertainment and cooking most of my meals.

As my income increased, I was able to save more and spend more on discretionary items.  Eventually, I was able by a new car because I had kept my initial necessity costs lower.

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 © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Buying This Dip

The stock market dipped on February 2-3 and I bought several positions:  TSLA, HUBS, PYPL, MSFT, TEAM, ADBE, NOW, GERN, SNDL, PACB, and PDBC.    These are all stocks that I already owned.  I still intend to simplify my holdings, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to (hopefully) make some profits on the inevitable bounce.

There is the possibility that the stock will continue to dip.  This often happens when I buy the dip.😟  We'll see.😎

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Cataract Surgery Decision to Avoid Reading Glasses

I am planning on getting cataract replacement surgery this year.  Many people choose to correct their vision to 20/20.  However, this option requires wearing reading glasses for near vision options.  For additional cost that's not covered by Medicare, some people choose to use variable distance lens replacements, which is a new innovation in the last few years.

I'm choosing a third option, having one far sighted eye and one near sighted eye.   I will correct one eye to 20/20 vision and I will have the other eye continue to be near sighted at reading distance, which a slight correct, but not to 20/20.    This way, I won't need to wear contacts for driving, since one eye is 20/20 nor glasses for reading, since the other eye is near distance.  

For most people, this is a difficult option since the brain is not used to integrating different vision levels.  This works for me since I am already accustomed to my eyes having different distance vision when not corrected.   Most of the time, I don't wear any glasses or contacts  and mostly wear for driving and sports. 

When I  am playing sports, tennis or skiing, I still prefer to have both eyes be 20/20.  After cataract surgery, I will wear one contact lens, which will be covered 80% by Medicare.  Glasses are covered 100% by Medicare, but I prefer contacts for sports

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC