Municipal Bond Funds - Managing Interest Rate Increases

In the past, I have avoided bond funds since the principal will fall when interest rate increases happen. With an individual bond, the principal can be recovered if I don't sell and hold until maturity.  This is not the case with a bond mutual fund, which is continuous and never completely matures. Thus, I will take a loss on principal invested if I sell while interest rates are higher than when I made the original investment

However, since my strategy is now creating a retirement paycheck instead delivering growth in principal, I discovered at tax benefit hack from a municipal bond fund principal declining due to interest rates rising.

Disclaimer:  I haven't had this idea financially analyzed by an "expert."  This is based on my own experience and evaluation.  I have only had experience over the past year, which has not experienced a significant decline for a long period.

Here's the how I evaluated:

1. Judge the result mainly based on income generated for a consistent "retirement paycheck" and not on growth or decrease of principal.  I assume that the income remains constant when interest rates rise, due to reinvestment.  I assume that income declines when interest rates fall due to reinvestment
2. I assume that the bond principal falls when interest rates rise and the principal rises with interest rates fall.

Here's the process for when interest rates are rising:

1. Do tax loss harvesting of the position.  Avoid a wash sale by ensuring 30 days between the sale and purchase of the same security.  While most people sell first and buy back later, I chose to buy first and sell later.  This is worked well since most times, my purchase was near a short term bottom.
2. Maintain the same amount of shares in the positions.  This ensures that the interest payment per month continues to be about the same, which is important for my retirement paycheck strategy.
3. Use the loss on the municipal bond fund to offset realized gains in other positions, or take up the a $3000 capital loss deduction against other income.

In the 12 months I've been doing this, I reduced my capital gains income by 64% in 2025, resulting in significant tax savings, while still received the same amount of total interest and dividend income . I expect to take a $3000 capital loss in 2026 that will reduce my taxable income by that amount.

What about the principal value falling?  Does that concern me?  Not yet, since I expect to get about the same amount of "retirement paycheck" each month.   An analogy would be the value of my home.  I don't worry about the estimated value of the house going down (or up) due to price volatility, as long as I am living in the home.

Will it  concern me in the future?   Only if there is a significant collapse of the U.S. economy.  However, for typical recessions and bear markets, probably not.  We shall see when one occurs.

Of course, YMMV.

Note: The effect and strategy for interest rates falling is not discussed in the post, but will reviewed in a future post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Circle of Neighborhood Life

When we moved into our neighborhood 23 years ago, we were childless and expecting to adopt.   After we adopted, our daughter couldn't wait to ride the school bus.  When she started kindergarten, she was one of two children at our bus stop across the street. Over time that grew to 4-5 kids. 

 

Then the houses started turning over as more original and 2nd homeowners sold when they became empty nesters.  Over time the number of kids grew.   Then came are son, who was 8 years younger. He started kindergarten when our daughter started high school.  Since K-4, 5-8 and 9-12 ride different busses, my son was with a new and expanding group, around 8-10 kids .

Since my kids are older, I've lost track of the K-4 bus riders.  Occasionally, I see the group if I leave early for an appointment or to play golf.  It appears smaller than when I went out with my son, and it is a different group of parents.

While I don't expect number of kids to drop as low as 2 when my daughter started kindergarten, I do think we are now in the ebb cycle for our neighborhood, as many kids are in middle school from existing residents new families moving in.    K-4 seem lighter now, but shortly that will increase since I see numerous strollers during neighborhood walks.

We're staying in place at least until our son graduates from high school.   We will probably extend or residency until he graduates from college.  That's as far as we've thought out, for now.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

One Path to Big Stock Gains

This is based on my observation and experience.  Definitely, not financial advice.

• Foresight 😎
  
  Working for the company that awards stock to employees that allows one to easily:
  1) Have a concentrated portfolio
  2) Hodl Through Volatility
  3) Own a life changing amount.
  
  
• Conviction 😊
  
  Believing in the company enough to remain for a couple decades or more.  Time owning the stock can be better than timing the stock. 
  
  
• Luck 🍀
  
  Company success translates into significant growth in stock valuation.  Some take off like rockets.  Rockets are the ones that deliver, but rockets are never obvious at the beginning.
  
  Wall Street's latest blockbuster stock split has arrived -- and this industry titan has rallied 337,000% over the last 32 years
  
  However, there are many other blockbusters such as AAPL, GOOGL, AMZN.  Then again, many companies do not take off  or some go broke (eg. Enron), which I am more likely to choose. 😞

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

What to Expect in the Second Half of 2026

"It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future." ~ Yogi Berra

Weather forecasters and stock market pundits get paid whether they are right or wrong.  LOL.   Here's a rare, if not the only,  positive 2026 forecast for the stock market based on historical returns.

The S&P 500 returned 10% in the first half of 2026. Here's what history says happens in the second half.

 The table below shows results since 1991:

Year	1st half return	2nd half return	Full-year return
1991	+12.4%	+12.4%	+26.3%
1995	+18.6%	+13.1%	+34.1%
1997	+19.5%	+9.6%	+31%
1998	+16.8%	+8.4%	+26.7%
1999	+11.7%	+7%	+19.5%
2003	+10.8%	+14.1%	+26.4%
2013	+12.6%	+15.1%	+29.6%
2019	+17.3%	+9.8%	+28.9%
2021	+14.4%	+10.9%	+26.9%
2023	+15.9%	+7.2%	+24.2%
2024	+14.5%	+7.7%	+23.3%
2026	+10.2%	?	?

Source data: Yahoo Finance.

If history rhymes, 2026 will be another positive and banner return year.  

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Retirement Projects Around the House

Maintenance, repairs and renovations has evolved to a full time job, especially as the house gets and the longer one lives in it.  

When we moved in 23 years ago, we were mostly comfortable with the house as is.  We immediately hired a professional and  converted all the carpeting on the 1st and 2nd floors to hardwood.  

At first, the maintenance work was relatively straight forward and part time.   Mowing the lawn, which we paid to have done once a week.   Raking the leaves in the fall, which occurred over several weeks for a few hours a week. Seeding and fertilizing the lawn for winter

 

Over the next few years, we made cosmetic changes, such as interior painting and changing window treatments.  We also made some structure upgrades, such as replacing the roof, putting new furnace and a/c and painting/repairing the exterior.  

 After COVID, we upgraded appliances in the kitchen and did a small remodel, but didn't change cabinets.  Also, we refinished our hardwood on the first floor.

Our latest project involves remodeling our bathrooms. Our house was built in 1988.  Th upstairs and basement bathrooms have 4X4 white tile on the floor and in the bathtub.   The mirrors are 4X8 across the whole vanity.  We're thinking of modernizing the tile, mirrors and vanities, in addition to replacing the tub, toilet and sinks.

Finally, we are doing landscaping project, which involves new plantings, removing dying trees, and creating more privacy.  We are also doing some stonescape work with large marble tile.

For some projects such a remodels, we hire professional. For some such as landscape planting, deck , concrete sidewalk, patio and driveway maintenance, we are doing ourselves as a start..

Here are some of the maintenance projects we are regularly doing:

• #1 Fixing items when the "break" or stop working.   Recent examples include: pot filler leaking, washing machine leaking, bathtub rusting, freezer not cooling enough, bike tuneups, dishwasher not cleaning, drain clogged, dripping faucets, HVAC inspection, exterior and interior, light bulb replacement, and miscellaneous stuff.  
• Regular lawn maintenance, which includes seeding, weed control and raking leaves.  We do pay to have our half acre lot mowed weekly.
• Tree maintenance annually.   Trimming reachable dead branches.   Have higher branches done by professional.   Fertilization if needed.
• Regular car maintenance.  Oil changes, tire rotations, repairs as needed.  I do minor repair such as replacing bulbs, changing cabin and engine air filters.
• Annual fall cleanup, especially leaf raking, leaf composting, gutter cleaning.
• Routine painting touch up.
• Annual wood deck power washing, staining and sealing.

Sheesh, I often wonder how I had time to work?

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Using AI to Cure Cancer

In conversations with my roommates from college, I've wondered why AI isn't being used to solve big health problems like curing cancer.

In case you missed last week's big news, AI was used to "cure" cancer:

Moderna stock surges as melanoma vaccine trial shows "landmark moment"

Moderna’s Cancer Breakthrough Just Made Tempus AI’s $1.5 Billion Bet Look Brilliant

Terrific news, IMHO. Bravo for AI offering innovation that helps people without taking away from people.

A new skin cancer vaccine looks promising. A doctor who helped test it answers 5 key questions.

Disclosure: I was not compensated by any of the mentioned companies for this post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

AOC Calling the Kettle Black

This article recently came across on my feed:

AOC Rips Into Elon Musk: 'He Is Not A Scientist, He Is Not An Engineer. He Is A Billionaire Con Man With A Lot Of Money'

AOC calling Muskman a Con Man is pure irony.  I'm no fan of Muskman.  IMHO, he is a very big government parasite, getting rich from selling carbon credits subsidized by the government.  However, he has delivered innovations, even though it's only on about 10% of his promises:  100% electric cars, reusable rockets for both people and satellites are among them..

On the other hand, AOC, who was elected to Congress in 2018, has been a master of "performance politics," which is the epitome of conning, meaning AOC has primarily been a prominent ideological voice rather than a lead author of standalone laws.  Here's what I mainly remember about AOC in Congress:

• Played "Among Us" regularly on her phone.
• Mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on X by writing: “This is like applauding a grown man for being able to wipe their behind. Not exactly a vote of confidence.”  LOL, she's right.
• Mocked President Trump on X about comparing college transcripts, "Let's make a deal, Mr. President: You release your college transcript, I'll release mine, and we'll see who was the better student. Loser has to fund the Post Office."  Maybe we should see the college transcript of all members of Congress.
• She had a great performance when interviewed on NPR; her speaking style appeals to many listeners and voters.

Recently, the following popped up on my feed about AOCs financial (or lack of ) acumen.  Surprised me that despite a $174,000 annual salary since 2019 she has not paid off her remaining student loan of $19000 which still remains at the same amount in 2026..  Huh?  I guess she was waiting for forgiveness.

Deadbeat AOC’s student-loan mooching should be a red flag to her 2028 supporters

AOC just revealed her net worth is less than $100,000, here’s how much Fidelity says she should have saved for retirement before she turns 40

Billionaires exist due to tax benefits Congress created.  Student loans are a problem due to laws Congress created. AOC could write laws to correct the problems that she identifies.  That's the job of a person elected to Congress.   But no, AOC is a poor con woman, with not much money, who continues with performance politics, instead of lead authoring and getting laws passed, to keep getting elected.   

Spoiler alert:  I won't be voting for AOC nor Muskman if either runs for President.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Oh No, I Felt Brilliant This Week

Through Thursday this week, 90% of my buy the dip stocks went up, and sometimes by a lot.   Many of my long term "loser" stocks in a separate account also went up this week, with a few becoming profitable, which I quickly sold for small profit.

This week was exciting, enjoyable and very low anxiety.   However, although I felt brilliant, I know the results were too good to be true.  It really is just a great, outstanding, maybe even once in a lifetime bull market.  It works until it doesn't, which is why I'm sticking to my plan, and avoiding being greedy.

Here's the plan I'm continuing:

• Build and maintain a "retirement paycheck" through dividends from stocks and interest from fixed income.
• Simplify stock holdings by reducing individual stock holding and increasing broad market fund holdings.  Sell some positions for tax loss harvesting.
• Continue to hodl "buy the dip" SAAS stock with a target until midterms.   
• Stop buying stocks during a market dip.
• Scale into high interest rate treasuries on bond mutual funds since interest rates may go up.

Most of all avoid being greedy when selling stocks.  I kept this in mind as I reduced our stock holdings; I did not try to extract the last cent from selling. Sell, simply and feel good is my new mantra when simplifying.

Edit:  My positions held up until Friday's close. Woohoo!

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Stock Market Warning Articles. What to Do?

Pundits are highlighting the Schiller P/E as an indicator of a near term market top followed by a bear market.  This article from Yahoo Finance shows the Schiller P/E at the second highest level with the 2000 dot-com crash being the highest.

This stock market indicator just flashed a warning not seen since the dot-com bubble

The Motley Fool warns that margin debt is also indicating a possible top followed by a bear market based on recent history.

The Stock Market Is Doing Something Observed Only 4 Times Since 1997 -- and the Previous 3 Instances Ended in Disaster for Wall Street | The Motley Fool

Here's a new one that I just learned about: increasing corporate bankruptcies and private credit yield spreads.

An economist who studies financial crises says the US is on the brink of recession. These are the 2 warning signs.

I admit, when I was younger, I used to worry a lot about another 1929 crash occurring.   As a result, I often sold my winners for a small profit, especially since individual stocks would have high volatility in a crash, sometimes with the result of never recovering.  As a result, my returns are much less than the the total market returns.

What is an investor to do?

In hindsight, here's what I would do:

• In my 20-30s, I would put at least $159 per month into a broad market, low fee mutual fund (around 0.1% or less fees).   I would do an S&P 500 mutual fund.   I would just hold until my 60s, before withdrawing or selling any funds at which point the account would be about $1 million.  In the long term, the overall stock market always goes up.
• When bonds or CDs are 5% yields or higher,  I would start buying longer term, say 5-20 years and hold.   If in a taxable account, I would withdraw the interest earned and spend, since I am already paying income tax on the interest.  If in a tax advantaged account, I would leave and use to invest in a broad market mutual fund.
• I would save 6 months to 3 years of cash and keep it in a money market fund.
• In my 40s-50s, I would start increasing funds put in fixed income.   I would still not sell any of the equity mutual fund investments.
• Retired and/or in my 60s-70s, I would start scaling out of some of individual stocks and/or market mutual fund while going up or very high.  Transfer to money market or short term fixed income.
  

I think there is a future opportunity to find a sweet spot for percentages to have, sell or transfer at different times.  But that is for another future TBD post.

Of course, YMMV.

Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation from Yahoo Finance nor The Motley Fool for this post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Municipal Bond Funds Become Higher Risk

Since buying into muni ETFs (in late 2025) and muni mutual funds (early to mid 2026), they have been relatively stable despite all the volatility this in 2026.  This gave me confidence that this was a good investment option for my retirement paycheck strategy, even though the strategy targeted for consistent payments and not consistent principal.   However, this strategy still needs to experience a market downturn prove its value.

In recent back testing, I discovered that while the principal was relatively constant in the 2008 downturn, the principal fell significantly in the 2022 bear market.   Why the difference?  My conclusion is interest rates decreased in the 2008 recession, while interest rates and inflation increased in the 2002 bear market.

Bond prices go in the opposite direction of interest rates and hence the difference between the two years.

At this point, it appears interest rates are more likely to go higher than lower, resulting in more downward pressure and volatility on bond and bond fund prices.  If this happens, this will be a real time test of the retirement paycheck strategy, which tries to maintain consistent payments even if the principal declines.

At the same time, I can put more money into bonds and bond funds with higher interest rates.  However, I will be scaling in for the possibility the interest rates will increase over a year or more.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC