Managing Our Kids Tax Returns

When I first started working summers, my dad did my tax returns.  That was a great help and relief to me.   Now I'm doing the same for my kids.   One difference now is that tax returns are more complicated, but tax relief for dependents is more frequent, if one fills out the return properly. My dependent kids are exempt for federal and state taxes if they earn less than $16,100 in wages, or less than wages + 450 unearned income up to $16,100.  If they only have unearned income, they need to have less than $1350 income to be tax free.

For my daughter, who will earn less than $16,100, I ensure she has less than $450 of unearned income.  For my son, I ensure he has less than $1350 of unearned income.   If I meet this income criteria, they are tax exempt and do not need to file a tax return.

For federal tax withholding, my daughter can fill out a W-4 exemption from withhold and have zero dollars withheld.  Thus, no federal tax return is needed.  Unfortunately, there is no exception for withholding in our state.  Thus, my daughter needs to file a state tax return each year to get 100% of state withheld taxes refunded.  I am authorized to file on her behalf and do so since I can get it done in less than an hour.

I plan on doing tax return gratis for my kids to help them get through their first few years of full time employment.  

For more on Strategies and Plans, 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

I Quit Buying the Dip

I've stopped buying the dips.  I admit that is has been exciting, an adrenaline rush, that I have enjoyed; but it's not a long term situation that is sustainable. It requires more attention and work than I want in the future.  The index funds are less exciting, but less volatile, and require much less attention.  Overall, I have done better with the index funds than the individual stocks at this point.  Thus, I'm moving back to thinning out my individual stock holdings and investing in broad market equity funds and fixed income.

Basically, it's no longer fun and is becoming stressful.  If I had sold all my buy the dip stocks when initially profitable, I would have made money on all but one.  Instead, I held, hoping for bigger gains and instead half of them dropped to 52 week lows.  Psychologically,  I'm now a long term investor (cynically known as bag holder), waiting for them to profitable again, if ever.   Definitely, not fun and is stressful.

However, I plan to still hodl the buy the dip software stocks I purchased in February 2026.   I won't add to them if they decline further, and I won't sell if get slightly above breakeven.   Also, I still reserve the option to occasionally purchase an individual stock, but I plan to add no new positions and, longer term, reduce to only 10-20 individual stock positions maximum.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Spider on Shower Caddy

I take my showers in the basement bath to avoid bothering my spouse since I shower both early and late when she might be sleeping.  Since it is the basement, we occasionally get some bugs on the floor.  Not being one to kill bugs, I usually pick them up and move them outside.

This time I decided to leave this spider in place since it is small and would be hard to catch without harming it.  I wondered how it would get food, since the bathroom was devoid of flying insects.  I wondered how long it would stay, since it's been there since June 30, 2026.  Since the spider is not causing any issues for me, I'm inclined to leave it alone.

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

Tax Gain Harvesting Article

Earlier this year, I posted about Tax Gain Harvesting as a strategy to eliminate taxes on long term capital gains.  These seemed like an excellent strategy to me.  A tax rate of 0% seems outstanding.   However, I had not seen the strategy on financial websites nor being proposed by financial advisors.  Maybe it's because the catch is one has to be in the 12% tax bracket.

I just read the strategy in a MSN article: Here are the 3 top tax mistakes that cost US retirees thousands — and almost every older American makes them. How many are hurting you?  One of the "mistakes is not using tax gain harvesting.   See the excerpt below.

"Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are taxed more favorably than ordinary income. As of 2025, the 0% capital gains rate applies to individuals with taxable income up to $48,350, and married couples filing jointly up to $96,700.

These generous brackets allow you to realize gains — such as by selling appreciated assets in a taxable brokerage account — without increasing your tax bill.

Overlooking this opportunity could prove costly, especially if much of your wealth is in traditional IRAs that will be subject to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) starting at age 73."

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

New Signs of Spring

When I was younger, the signs of Spring were trees leafing out, birds returning, rainier weather, warmer temperatures and longer days.   These still occur.  However, I've notice additional signs for Spring.

Young college aged Gen Z salesmen going door to door selling:

• Insect pest control.
• Window washing

Opening line is, "Your neighbor Matt and your neighbor Sara are using the service.  Since we will be in the neighborhood already, we can give you a discount for the service."  OK, the pressure is now on since neighbors are users of the service and a big discount for committing immediately,

On principle, I don't hire services pitched by door to door salesmen.   I briefly listen to their offer and decline politely, explaining we don't use pesticides or need window washing.  If they continue to sell usually by saying their pesticides are "safe" or window washing is "superior", I tell them a firm "no" and thank them.

Still the salesmen (although a new group) come back every year, indicating that Spring has come.

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

Upgrading to a Costco Executive Membership is FREE

Costco's Gold Star membership is $65 per year.   Costco's Executive membership is an additional $65 or $130 per year.   However, I did the math and upgrading to Executive is "free" and costs nothing at the completion of the year.

Huh?   How can paying $65 more be free?   By reading the fine print.

The main benefits for Executive membership are:

• 2% cash back reward on all Costco purchases, including vacation packages and gasoline.
• Early entry to stores by 30 minutes on Saturday, and by 1 hour on other days.

OK, so where's the free part?   It happens a the renewal of the membership as described below

Free part 1:  The 2% cash back reward returns $65 if one spends $3250 during the membership period.  That's breakeven for the upgrade to Executive membership.  Spend $6500 and 2% cash back reward returns $130, which is the entire cost of an Executive membership.

Free part 2:  What if I don't spend $3250?   Costco guarantees that the cash back reward is a minimum of $65, which is the cost of the Executive membership upgrade.   The cash back reward is issued once a year, just before renewal.  If the amount is less that $65, Costco will give the member the difference, either in cash or as payment to the renewal of the Executive membership.   

Either way, the $65 upgrade is offset.

Of course, picky financial people might claim there is lost interest for 1 year on the $65.  I guess, but that's only $1.95 if the interest rates are 3% which is about the interest rate for a 1 year CD.

Disclosure: I have been a Costco Executive member over 20 years.   I have only had submit for the offset twice.  Every other time, I have earned more than $65 cash back.  Finally, I was not compensated by Costco for this post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Brush Reuse Hack for Several Days Painting

In the past, when painting over several days, I would clean up the paint brush with soap and water every day.  The next day, I would use the slightly damp brush.  

I learned a hack for reusing a brush from watching painters do our indoor rooms last time.   At the end of the day, the painter wrapped the brush in a damp paper towel and put the brush in a ziploc bag.  The next day, the painter took out the brush, unwrapped the paper towel and used the brush.  After finishing the job, the brush was cleaned with soap and water.

I've done this a few times now.  It works well and I can use the brush over a couple week project without cleaning it before I'm finished. Big effort and time saver.  

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Cleaning and Staining the Wood Deck

We have a treated wood deck in the back.  We do the power wash cleaning and staining ourselves.  In the past, I power washed the entire deck first over several days, due to clearing furniture and plants from one section to another.  Then I stained over several days due to moving furniture and plants to finished sections and allowing that section to be stained.  Since the deck is built from 2X4 treated wood with 3/8 inch gaps, it's acceptable to stain a section over different days since no overlap can be seen.

This year, I decided to clean and stain a section (about 10-15%) at a time.  It was satisfying cleaning and staining in this manner since a section would be finished and looking good, instead of waiting for completion.  Also, it enabled me to go over and touch up the power washing easier, since I often need 2-3 passes to ensure no spots are missed. Finally, I am able to work in 1-3 hour segments, which allows me to schedule into a few hours gap during the day instead allotting the whole day.

I am almost finished and everything looks great so far.  Only one or two more sections to go, depending on how much time I have to do a section.

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

This is not financial, deck maintenance nor do-it-yourself advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

A Relaxing 4th of July

Usually, we attend a local fireworks event, which includes music performers, food and other entertainment.   It feels like quite an effort most years.   Preparing, parking, food lines and traffic after the event.   We usually bring portable chairs to sit in the lawn.   Parking requires finding lots that still have openings and then walking to the site.  Lines are long for food and drink.   Then leaving usually takes one hour minimum to get out of the parking lot and then another 30 minutes to get home, which is usually just before midnight.   In addition, this year was really, really hot.

Despite multiple fireworks displays (about 10) in our area, we decided not to attend.  I'm not a big fan of fireworks, and our son told us that he isn't either.  We used to do it for the kids, and our oldest is 21 and planned to attend with her friends.

Instead, this year I took the kids to the Dave and Busters all you can play $2.50 event.   Dave and Busters has always been a favorite for arcades, and we started there at 11AM.    We left by 1PM and went home for lunch.    Then I returned with my son and his friend for another 3 hours since our passes didn't expire until 1AM.  

After coming home, my son and spouse set off our own fireworks at 8-9PM, which were mostly left over  sparklers and smoke bombs from previous years.   Several neighbors were setting off more elaborate fireworks based the loud bangs.  Afterwards,  we watched the Macy's fireworks display in NYC on TV.  

Very relaxing and enjoyable. 

Disclosure:  No compensation was received from Dave and Busters for writing this post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

An Excellent Reason for Congressional Term Limits

I've noticed that Republican congress people who are either retiring or lost their primary are diligently working to solve some critical issues like Social Security potentially cutting benefits.  It appears they no longer feel obligated to support the party  positions and are doing what they feel is "right" for citizens.

Maybe it's time to have term limits for Congress also.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC