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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Internet Order Processing Gripe

Yesterday, I ordered a battery hedge trimmer, 2 batteries and charger.  It was a special promotion; buy the batteries and charger and get a tool for free.   I ordered it online to be delivered for no charge.  An option was to have it delivered same day, for no charge.  I noticed a small caution that any item not available would be canceled and the rest would be delivered.

I checked the order a couple hours later.  The company had cancelled the batteries and charger, but was continuing to deliver the tool.  Huh?  It was a promotion:  buy the battery/charger and get a tool for no additional charge.  Now I was getting a full price tool and no battery to run it.   Arrgh!

I called customer service.  I asked if my order could be cancelled.  I explained that I needed to buy both items to get the tool for free.  They said same day orders couldn't be cancelled, and a stipulation of the order was that unavailable items would be cancelled and refunded.  They said I could refuse the delivery or return the item.

I told customer service that the online system should have indicated that the entire order could not be fulfilled the same day and only offered later delivery.

I was home when the item was delivered.  I asked if I could refuse the delivery.   The delivery person responded, "I'm an Uber driver, meaning she didn't work for the retailer."   Uggggh!.   Now I needed to drive to the store, which I was trying to avoid with an online same day delivery order.

And now the rest of the story.

I reordered the product with the promotion.  I returned the same day delivered item.   The reorder arrived 3 days early.  Yippee!   However, the packaging, which was just the product box, was significantly damaged.  I opened the box right away.  The tool was bent with a 15+ degree on the blade. I called customer service again.   The only recourse was to drive the the store, AGAIN, and do an exchange.   Arrgh!

So much for saving time by ordering online.  BTW, the retailer didn't give any compensation or credit for my inconvenience, as other retailers have done for much less of an issue.   Ugggh!

However, I will give this retailer another chance.  I've never had such an issue with them before.  Maybe this is, hopefully, a one time occurrence.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Senior Discounts and Other Savings Opportunities

Since being over 55, I check if companies have senior discounts.   Many do, including Half Price Books and Walgreens.  My Ford dealer gives a discount on parts used for service.  I've also used the discount with movers and flooring installation. The discount ranges from 5-10% usually.

Different payment option sometimes charge a fee or offer a discount.  In the past, I asked if paying cash or by check gave a discount.   Sometimes yes, and sometimes no.  If yes, I pay by cash.   Recently, some service retailers have started charging a 3% service fee for using a credit card, with no fee for debit cards, checks or cash.   In this case, I pay by debit card or checks.

Sometimes the additional 3% service is indicated, and sometimes it is not.  I've started asking before making payment if a service fee is charged with credit cards, to avoid an additional charge.

Disclosure:  No compensation was received for writing this post.

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

This is not financial, payment method, nor fee advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Play Sports with Heart and Be Positive

My son has advanced enough in tennis to consistently beat me.   Yeah, I can make excuses like recovering from major surgery or knee pain, but that would dismiss that he just is much better than me skill wise.   It's to the point, I'm not much competition for him.

He was starting to get bored, so I decided to up the stakes.  I had him spot my 4 games each set and 15 points each game.  His immediate response was, "That's unfair!"   Despite his complaint, that's how we played the next two sets, which I won handily.   He showed a lot of frustration.

Of course, I explained to him why I had him spot me the games and points.   I wanted him to mentally get used to being behind, and focus on winning points instead of worrying about the previous error.  It didn't take him long to start consistently beating me again, despite the lead I had.

Then I upped the stakes on him again.  After playing him for several weeks being spotted 4 game and the first game points, I could anticipate his play and shots about 50% of the time.  Also, I knew his weaknesses, one of which was lobs.   I started winning one set.   Today, I won two sets.

However, my son has now keeps calm, forget about missed shots, continue to play hard and stay positive.  This approach is also helping him as he plays in tournaments.  He shows much less frustration than before, which is helping him win more sets.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Forgot to Pay Estimated Taxes by Due Date

Ooops, I forgot to pay my state estimated tax due date of June 15, and paid it today on June 27.  Even though I expect to pay over 100% of our estimated taxes, there my still be a small interest payment due for being late based on the rules of estimated payments.

Here's my understanding of the rules:

• Estimated payments need to be paid by the due date to be considered on time without verification.  Withholding payments can be paid at anytime without consideration for timing.
• If estimated payments are not paid on time, there are two ways to be exempted from interest payments:
• Estimated payment were made later due to timing of receiving income, which is not received regularly.
• The amount owed is less that the threshhold for interest to be charged.
• Otherwise, a form to calculate the interest penalty should be filled out or one can allow the tax agency to compute the interest penalty.
• Finally, one can ask for penalty forgiveness to be granted this one time.

I don't expect to pay interest penalty for this missed payment.   First, my quarterly payments are greater than our expected tax liability divided by 4.  Second, our income is lumpy and skewed towards the end of the year, with 20% of income coming in December.

Anyway, I'm lucky this year.  I will put in place a process to avoid late estimated payments in 2027.  Specifically, I will over pay on the first quarter which should offset any late payments in the remaining quarters.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Writing Down Ideas

I used to have a very good memory; not photographic, but accurate and long term.  I also would remember numbers, especially those related to data and prices.  Recently, my memory skills have declined.  Sometimes, I forget where I put the something a few minutes ago.   Worst of all, I will forget a thought, concept or idea that I had.

I used to write items down on small pieces of paper.  Unfortunately, sometimes these would be misplaced or I would forget where I put them.  My solution is to write things down in a small notebook.  That way, I will remember the ideas and thoughts.  

Now, I just need to remember where I place my notebook and not lose it.

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

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

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