I Appreciate our Bank's Fraud Protection Group

Recently, our bank seems very diligent about protecting customers from fraudulent transactions.  Here are some recent actions that give me confidence I am being protected.

• My partnership in commercial real estate property recently changed management firms.  When the distribution check was issued, my bank flagged it as a potentially fraudulent check.  The reason was my bank was unable to contact the issuer of the check to confirm legitimacy. 
  
  The scam they were protecting me from was one where the check issuer pays more than requested and requests a refund of the difference.  The recipient pays the difference with a personal check.  In the meantime, the original check bounces and the recipient loses the difference.
  
  Although it took a week to resolve and the funds were deemed no available, I appreciated that my bank was watching out for me.
  
  
• Recently, one of our brokerage accounts made a legitimate small deposit.   Our bank flagged it as a potential scam to link our account to a scammers bank account.   The deposit was legitimate and there was no issue.

Although there was no issue with either transaction, I appreciate our bank erring on the side of caution to protect our deposited funds.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Arthritis and Me

Arthritis typically hasn't bothered me much in the past.   I have ankle injuries from playing football and the resulting arthritis has been present for 20+ years, but hasn't hampered me from any activities.  A few years ago, my right knee starting bothering me and it turned out to be arthritis due to a torn meniscus when from playing rugby.   Both the ankle and knee have been treated by a orthopedic specialist.

About a few months ago, the joint pain starting to bother my hands more.  I don't know whether it is because of arthritis or medication I am taking for my heart.   I talked to my primary care doctor about  my hands and he said the main treatment was to relieve the pain with acetaminophen if needed.   Not much else can be done.

We'll see how that works.   

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Recurring Dreams

Over the past 10 years I have several interesting recurring dreams.  Here are some that I remember the most.

• The most frequent one is a work trip to an international destination.   Sometimes, I have trouble finding my room.  Other times the room is a strange design.   Often, I don't have a return airline ticket.  Also, I have trouble getting ground transportation to the airport.   
  
  The flight usually makes a connection which requires us to transfer to another terminal after talking to the gate agent, who is not sure where we need to go.
  
  I always wake up before arriving at the final destination, so I don't know how this ends.
  
  
• Still working at the same company despite of already retiring.   In this dream, I keep showing up to work, getting paid, and no one seems to challenge that I am no longer employed.  I just keep showing up.
  
  
• In this one, I'm playing football for my school team.  I have trouble finding the entrance to the locker room.   Then I can't find my locker nor my equipment. I go the bathroom and all the toilets are strangely designed and out of order. Then, after I get all my equipment on,  I have trouble finding the field 

I have no idea these dreams but apparently they represent some unsolved issue I am facing. Luckily, it's doesn't seem to be about our finances.😎  Maybe I'll read up on dream analysis some time. 

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Experimented with Investment Strategies

In late January 2018, I started testing investment strategies for our retirement accounts.  I tried both index investing and choosing individual stocks.

Here's an headline summary of the strategies I tried:

• International Index
• S&P 500 Index
• Growth Index
• Value Index
• Dividend Stocks
• Bitcoin Related Stocks
• Smallcap Biotech Stocks
• Midcap Biotech Stocks
• Momentum Stocks
• REIT Stocks
• Trading Fallen Stocks
• Trading Rising Stocks

I ended the test in 2024.  Although, I did a quantitative analysis, I am giving a qualitative summary below.

• My overall return was positive but not a large positive.  Although some strategies lost money, most other strategies were positive and made up for the loss.
• My biggest losing strategy was Trading Fallen Stocks.  I learned that most falling stocks keep falling or don't recover. Unfortunately, I held on to losing stocks instead of cutting my losses early.
• I had a few big wins, but I sold many gains too early for small gains of 10-20% when some would have returned very big gains if I had held.  TSLA was one example that I sold too early instead of holding.
• I did not do better than just investing in the S&P index.  In fact, I didn't come close.
• It was way too much time and effort to manage individual stock portfolio when buying the index did much better for almost no time and effort beside making the purchase.

As a result, going forward, I will be investing mainly in the S&P index and holding for the equity part of our accounts.  I will still trade some individual stocks, but these will be mostly vibe/bet investments that attempt to make a small profit, for a little fun and excitement.  

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Mailed in Hardcopy Tax Returns This Morning

When I was working, I usually applied for an automatic extension to October.   That only extended the filing date and did not extend paying taxes owed, which were still due on April 15. Thus, I had a rough draft of the return already done.  However, I usually procrastinated to confirm the calculations and then do the tedious job of filling out the forms and making copies.   

The worst part was by October, the next tax season was almost over and I would have to start doing taxes again.  In addition, my spouse also objected to waiting so long to file, but I had the excuse of work.

After retiring, I continued to file the automatic extension and file by October since I didn't receive a refund.  However, about 10 years ago I started getting a refund due to over withholding and I started filing on or before April 15 to get the refund.  Now I get ready to file as early late January, but I usually need to wait for some 1099 forms that arrive in late February.

Nowadays, I can be ready to file by mid March, which means we can get our refund in April.  This year, I didn't mail the hard copy returns until today, which means we'll probably get our refund in May.  I filed one state return electronically and hope to receive the refund in a couple weeks.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Lottery Jackpots: Then and Now

I remember when lotteries had the first million dollar jackpot in the 70s. That was big, becoming an instant millionaire.   Back then a million was BIG bucks.     

Fast forward 50 years.   Big jackpots are now $1 billion, which is really BIG bucks.  Even when it's split, it's still a lot of money for the winner.

I wonder what jackpots may be 50 years from now.   Maybe $1 trillion.   Woohoo!   

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Speaking of Taxes

I finished doing our taxes yesterday:  Federal and 2 states.  I still do and file taxes the old fashion way, by hand, although I use Excel to do all the calculations.  I used to fill in the forms by hand too.  However, last year, I started using the PDF fill in forms since the IRS was cut back and stopped mailing form in time to complete a tax return by April 15.  Do returns with the PDF fill in forms made inputting the info much easier since errors can be easily changed and reprinted, versus rewriting the entire form.

We're getting a HUGE federal refund which I am not particularly proud of since I prefer to get a little as possible or even owe a little.  I don't like the idea of the government using my money without paying interest for most of the year.

I filed one state electronically and will put the Federal and one state a tax return in the mail by end of week. 

I've already started managing income and withholding for our 2026 tax returns.  The new Trump tax breaks are reducing our tax liability significantly if I take some action, though not as much as eliminating taxes on Social Security, which was promised.   Still I'm getting some helpful tax breaks, which I plan to maximize over the next three years.

 I still have to do my daughter's tax return, but that is relatively easy.  I had her file an "exempt" W4 for federal withholding since she is in college and earns below the single standard deduction and, therefore, has no federal income tax liability.   Unfortunately, our state doesn't allow "exempt" withholding except for a few limited cases.   However, she gets a 100% refund from the state.   Interestingly, my state allows me to file for her electronically with her permission, which she will gladly give me.   Better than going to one of the big three tax prep companies, which probably would charge a couple hundred bucks for a very simple return.  I just expect a "thank you" for my 10 minutes of effort.

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

Who Pays the Majority of Income Taxes

It shouldn't be a surprise that the rich pay most of the federal income taxes.   According to The rich pay majority of U.S. income taxes, the top 10% paid 72% of income taxes in 2022, up from 55% in 1986. The next 59% paid the remaining 28% of income taxes and 31% paid zero federal income taxes.

In some countries, the tax on the wealthy is very high.  Tax on some wealthy French  sometimes top 100 percent of income.

Disclosure:  This is not an April Fool's post.

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

Plant Grass in the Fall and Do Spot Weed Control in the Spring

I start preparing out grass for the Spring in the late Fall of the previous year.   I over seed my lawn in September with starter fertilizer.   In addition, I put winter fertilizer down by October.   While I don't see any benefits immediately, I get an awesome lawn the next Spring.   At that time, I also do spot broad leaf weed control, making our lawn even more awesome.  I prefer spot weed control over using fertilizer with weed control since it is applied only to the weed and not to the entire lawn.

My neighbors sometimes ask me who does our lawn service since it looks so good.  I proudly tell them I do the lawn service, except for  mowing, myself.  I confess, I use a mowing service since it saves me about 3 hours a week for our yard.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Today would be my Dad's 100th Birthday

Yes, my dad would be 100 today if he were alive.   I miss him lots.    He always made sure I had the best equipment for every sport I played. He supported me for the costs of going to an Ivy League school.  He's the reason I followed in his footsteps and became a chemical engineer.  He showed me how to be a great father.

I didn't show my appreciation enough when he was alive.  I should have thanked him and my mom more. I was lucky to have them as my parents.  I wouldn't be where I am today without their great support.

Thanks Dad and Mom.  

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC