Buying 20 year Treasuries Yielding 5%

Historically, 5% has been a good yield to get on a CD or Treasury bond.  I've decided to lock in that return for 20 years with some of my fixed income funds.  When I started working my goal was to save a million dollars and earn 5% interest to yield $50,000 per year.   That would have been about 2-1/2 times my starting salary. 

Of course, critics will note that I wasn't accounting for inflation and increased lifestyle amenities back then.   However, in my experience, 5% has been on the higher end, but not the highest, of interest rates.  So, I've decided to lock in 5% for 20 years for a portion of our investments in fixed income.   If interest rates go up, I can invest some more at higher rates.  If interest rates go down, I already will get 5% for up to 20 years.   Since it is uncertain which way rates will go, getting 5% long term seems like a win-win for me.

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

This is not financial, saving, nor interest rate advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

My Hopium Stonks

I'm hodling a few stocks that are underwater and have been pretty flat or going down for a while.  However, some of them are now showing some life.  I plan to continue to hodl and hope for a significant gain when the market advances.   This time, I won't be selling as I just break even or am up 15%.    I'm hoping for big gains.

Below are the stocks I own and am hoping for big gains.  Do your own due diligence.

• Blackberry (BB) -  Was a meme stock in 2021.  I bought on the way down and it stayed down until 2025 and then dipped again.  Has been rising in 2026.   I own one $10 strike call option expiring in January 2027.  Current price; $6.08.
• Nokia (NOK) - It has doubled in the past year.  I owned options in 2025 and sold for a profit. Was a meme stock at one time.  Hoping that it doubles from here.
• Sellas Life Sciences (SLS) -  Read about it in Wall Street Bets sub reddit in January 2026. It's a biotech stock with a cancer drug for leukemia.  Bought in after it was already up 100%.  I'm up about 50%.  My call option is up about 130%.  I'm hoping for a 500% return.
• I'm hodling some marijuana stocks (SNDL, TLRY) , EV related stocks ( EVGO, SLDP) and other biotech stocks (GALT, PACB, GERN).   I'm hoping President Trump will pivot to these stocks in an attempt to attract voters who normally wouldn't vote for him.   Definitely, hopium stocks.

These are all longshots for me.  Some have been longshots for over a decade.  TBH, there is only a small chance of winning big.  However, this has been a crazy market so far.  Maybe some luck will come my way.

Disclosure:  I own all the stocks and options mentioned in this post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

2025 Federal Tax Refund in the Bank

I filed our 2025 tax return by mail around April 2, 2025.   I'm old fashioned.  I still do my taxes by hand, with the help of a spreadsheet, do the PDF fill in forms (an upgrade from writing in by hand before 2024), and mailing it in via snail mail.  

I recall in the past, the IRS would show that it was received relatively fast, but take a while to process it and send a refund.  This year, I checked after 2, 3 and 4 weeks and there was no acknowledgement of receiving our tax return.   However, in week 5, Where's My Refund showed in had been received and surprise, 2 days later, it had been processed and the refund was issued via ACH.

E-file returns are acknowledged after with 24 hours of filing and I guessing refund are issued within a few days.  First, it e-file, I need to purchase a tax prep software, which I'm too cheap to do.  Second, I prefer using a spreadsheet since I can easily see the internal changes caused by different inputs, instead of just seeing the final answer.

My state already allows direct e-filing on their website, which I used to input the numbers from my spreadsheet.  The refund was received in about 2 weeks.  I wish the Federal government would use a similar free system for e-filing.

Anyway, due to the OBBB bill tax changes, our refund was Yuge since I didn't adjust our withholding until October, which resulted in overpaying our Federal taxes for 2025 by a lot.  For 2026, I have adjusted our withholding to match the expected amount of our 2026 Federal income tax.  Hopefully, that will keep our refund closer to zero for 2026.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

A Reason for the Memory Stock Rout Yesterday

Last night, I found this article SanDisk, Micron stocks plummet as Korea shockwave batters the great memory boom which gives a reason for the sharp decline in memory stocks yesterday.  If this is main or only reason, I expect that memory stocks will be up sharply today.

We'll see if my assessment is correct later today.  If yes, buying MU on discount yesterday was the right move.  It would be great to get a 10% or more advance today.

Disclosure:  I own MU in our accounts, which I purchased Monday and yesterday.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

MU and STX Buys - Arrrggh!

It wasn't such a good idea to buy MU and STX yesterday.   After going up immediately yesterday, both have declines significantly, up to 10%, by 1PM today.  Volatility cuts both ways, on the way up, and now on the way down.

At this point, I only have a few shares and can afford to hodl through this volatility.  I expect there were a number of stop orders that were crashed through this morning.  Hopefully, the action will settle down by end of day or tomorrow...hopefully.

• Edit 1:  After dropping as much at 11%, MU has rebounded and is only down 6% at 2:22PM.
• Edit 2:  What a roller coaster ride.  From yesterday's close of $795 down to a $706 low and back up to close at $767.  I bought MU today on the way down at $750, $745 and $728.  All three buys closed green. Woohoo!
• Edit 3:  I found this article SanDisk, Micron stocks plummet as Korea shockwave batters the great memory boom about the reason memory chips dropped precipitously today. 

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

TACO Tuesday or NACHO Tuesday?

Hey, it's Tuesday which means TACO, or maybe now NACHO (Not A Chance Hormuz Opens).  Either way, the stock market will react by going up.   

TACO. Iran war is over for the 13th time.   Stock market goes up.

NACHO.  President Trump, "Strait of Hormuz is open."  Stock market goes up.

                 Iran, " Strait of Hormuz is closed."  Stock market goes up.

Can't make this up.   It works until it doesn't.  YMMV.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Feels Like It's 1999

I remember the dot.com bubble.   Stocks would go up 50-100% in a day sometimes.  This went on for months.  Relatives, colleagues and friends would tell me how rich they were getting everyday.   I stayed out of it.   It seemed too good to be true.  Eventually, it was too good to be true when the crash of 2000-2002 happened.

At this point, I'm hodling for now.   I admit, I did buy 2 shares of memory stocks in today's premarket, 1 of MU @ $790.79 and 1 of STX @ 787.87, to ride the rise or decline.  Other than that, I'm avoiding making buys in this market, except of tax loss harvesting.

I was out this morning at the open, when both MU and STX dipped below my purchase prices.  As of 1:20PM, MU was over $800 and STX was $836.  I am hoping both will go over $1000 this week.

 

We'll see how this goes.   

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Is it "Stonks Only Go Up" time?

Since March 23 bottom, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite have been up 6 consecutive weeks.  The Dow was up 5 out of 6 weeks during that time.  The S&P YTD total return is 8.52%. The Nasdaq composite YTD return is 12.8%.   The Dow YTD return is 3.2%. 

These results are after 4 months and would already a great return for a whole year, in the case of the S&P and Nasdaq.  Woohoo! This level of returns is not sustainable longer term, but may continue in the near term for days, weeks or even months.

Is it "Stonks only go up" time?  The answer is "Yes," with the caveat that uncertainty is for how long.  Right now, the market seem irrational, and it will work...until it doesn't, and when it stops working is unpredictable.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy the continued runup, and be prepared for the inevitable correction.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Where did all the Bears go on WSB?

There were very few bearish comments on WSB (WallStreetBets) tonight, which gives me concern that the top may be in or close.   Pretty much euphoria in most of the comments.   It making me a little cautious and reminds me of the sentiment just before the dot.com crash.

Oh well, we see how tomorrow goes.  For now, I continue to hodl.

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

New Tennis Champ in our House

This year, my 13 old son starting beating me in tennis.   Not just barely, but crushing me 6-0.    I've started to have him spot me 4 games in a set when we play now.

I have always been a mediocre tennis player, skill wise.  I made up for the deficiency with hustle and scrappiness.  I walked onto our HS tennis team as a sophomore, never having done more than play tennis at 1 week summer camp a few years in elementary school.   I made the team and was slotted at 3rd doubles.

Each week the coach would have a challenge to determine the seeding of the players/doubles teams.  We were always seeded 3rd doubles at the start.   Each week, we won the the challenge and played 1st double in the match.   We were just scrappier and hustled better than other players who had better skills.

Fast forward to my son.   When he was younger, we put him in many sports activities:  soccer, T-ball, flag football, swimming, golf and tennis.  The only one that stuck was tennis, which he has been playing since 6 years old.   He loves tennis.  We enrolled him in summer tennis camp, had him take lessons, and put him in tournaments.   At 13, he is much better than I ever was.  He can even sub in my Men's Doubles League if needed.

At this point, I am encouraging him to enjoy tennis. It's a sport that can be played even when much older.  In high school, he may tryout for the school team.  He may or may not play in college. Pro, probably not. However, he will have a anchor for high school, college and life, which I consider excellent.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC