Learnings from Refinishing Wood Front Door

I've been procrastinating refinishing our front oak door for a couple years, since I was concerned I would mess up and end up with a horrible job and the high cost of having someone redo the work correctly.   20 years ago, I tried to stain a pine desk for my spouse and it turned out blotchy.  That experience has made me hesitant to try staining again.

I decided to take it in baby steps:

• First, I found the stain and polyurethane that was used by painters 10 years ago.  The stain still seemed good, but the the spar urethane had gelled and no longer usable.
• I had purchased a battery operated oscillating tool for another project.  I decided I needed an orbital sander in addition and purchased one.
• I tested the sanders and spar urethane on some outdoor furniture over the summer using a brush.  It seemed to work well.
• I decided to wait for fall weather temperatures before doing the front door.
• In the meantime, I checked the internet for recommendations on staining and applying polyurethane.
• The key learning was that the stain should be applied with with a cloth or stain pad.  A brush had a tendency to cause brush marks or dark areas.  
• A second key learning was to do step sanding: initial 80 grit, 120 grit, final 220 grit, before applying stain.

.I did the project over 4 days, mainly because it was the last 4 consecutive days in November of being over 55F during part of the day.   Here were the steps, without removing the door:

• Day 1- Remove hardware and sand all the flat sections.  Replace hardware at end of day.
• Day 2 - No need to remover hardware. Sand curved and recessed panel areas.  
• Day 3 - Remove hardware and oil base stain.  Clean dried stain areas lightly with water and sand any raised grain with 220 grit.  Replace hardware.  Allow stain to cure overnight.
• Day 4 - Remover hardware and put 5 thin layers of water based spar urethane, semi gloss.  Allow 30 minutes minimum between layers.  Reapply hardware.  Wait one extra day to attach the kickplate.

Each day took about 2-4 hours of work time each day.  I even did other projects, such as changing the water in our hot tub, and raking up leaves during the wait times.

The finished door looked great.  I'm hoping it will last another 10 years.  If not, I think I can refresh sections as needed every 2-3 years since the bottom sections seem to deteriorate faster.  We shall see.

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

This is not financial, wood staining, nor door maintenance advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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Bring Back Jensen

OK, I get it.   Jensen made some personal mistakes. However, I don't see (yet) how the mistakes were a detriment to NVDA.

At this point, I'm advocating that NVDA should reinstated Jensen as CEO.  I've sent my request to NVDA at info@nvidia.com.

Disclosure:  I own shares of NVDA and bought more on the recent dip after the affairs were revealed publicly.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Sequence of Returns Risk

Two investors retire at different times with exactly the same amount of retirement savings and the same expenses.   Retiree 1 lives comfortably and has funds after passing away 30 years later.  Retiree 2 faces financial challenges and runs out of money around 25 years before passing away at 30 years.

What happened?

SORR - Sequence of Return Risk

Retiree 1 was fully invested and the market kept going up after he retired for several years.   When it did crash, the retirement accounts were significantly higher than when he retired and he was still able to cover expenses comfortably.  The market recovered in a couple years and his investments were still significantly higher than when he retired.  He was able to leave an inheritance when he passed away.

Retiree 2 was fully invested and the market crashed just before he retired.  As a result, he needed to sell investments that had declined significantly to pay for expenses.   The market only took a couple years to recover, but the result was devastating and resulted in him running out of money before he passed away.

One solution is for upcoming retirees to have sufficient funds in cash or cash equivalents to cover the 3-5 years initially on the retirement date.  There might be others solutions that I 'm not aware of.

We almost were Retiree 2.   I retired in 2007, just before the 08/09 Great Recession.   We survived because we were not fully invested in equities, and had sufficient fixed income and cash to cover several years of expenses without withdrawing retirement savings.  Eventually, almost everything recovered and we were able to have a success retirement until now.

While a combination of fixed income, cash, and maturing CDs covered our expenses enabling us to survive during the Great Recession,  YMMV.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

I Bought the NVDA Dip

I couldn't resist.   Despite my strategy an plan to reduce individual stock holding, I decided the drop was too big  and the stock is oversold.  I  bought some shares.  Not many, even though I think NVDA will recover.

I bought premarket today at 153.94.  In the past  I would have bought more shares, but I'm more sensitive to volatility now, and limited myself to just a few shares.  

NVDA closed at 166.19.  Woohoo!

Breaking news:  A third Jensen affair has hit Nvdia.   Also, Jensen has resigned.  Bullish?  I would love to sell at 200!😎

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

Asked for Higher Interest Rate from Bank

Earlier this week, I learned that interest rates on savings accounts are negotiable and may be adjusted upwards.  Up until now, I always assumed the posted rates were fixed and I needed to shop for the best rate.

Recently, my daughter received a letter from her bank (which is our bank too) offering a promotional interest rate on savings accounts of 4%.  I called the customer service line and asked how I could get the same higher interest rate since I already had sufficient funds to qualify.  The rep said that she could submit a request for a interest rate exception which might increase the interest we received.  The answer would depend on a number of factors, including our relationship with the bank. However, she was mostly vague about the process and was reluctant to submit a request at the time since I was expecting to deposit more funds..

Yesterday, I called our local branch to discuss the process of increasing interest rates with our regular contact.  Unfortunately, she was no longer working there.  Instead, I was transferred to the branch manager, who was very helpful.  He said he would submit all our eligible accounts and expected to hear back in a few days.  He was estimating we would get an increase, but not as high as the promotional rate.

Well, we shall see.   I've been with the same bank over 40 years, and it is our main bank for our checking and direct deposits.  I'm hoping we'll get at least 3% interest on all our savings accounts. 

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

A Second Jensen Affair has Hit Nvdia

I bought the dip on Nvdia (NVDA) since I thought the company would rebound and Jensen would stay as CEO.  I just read that is alleged that Jensen had another affair with a senior NVDA executive.  Ouch, I don't know if NVDA or Jensen can take a second hit.  I don't think I'll continue buying the dip.

Fortunately, I only bought a few shares for kicks and won't lose much if NVDA keeps going down.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Financial Preparedness

Be prepared. ~ Boy Scout Motto                                                                                                              

JP Morgan prepares for trouble before trouble arrives.

“We prepare for low rates, high rates, stock price down 40%, credit spreads going up, bond rates at 8%, high yield at 15%,” Dimon said. “And JPMorgan can handle all of that.”

As a retiree, I believe it is important to prepare for possible financial issues before issue arrives.

Here's what we've done to be prepared.

• Lower interest rates - We own long term bonds, up to 20 years maturity, that pay 4-5%. The teens were horrible with bonds paying less than 1% for 10 years. That made depending on fixed income in retirement difficult.
• Higher interest rates -  We have cash in money market funds that can be used to buy bonds at 7% and higher if rates should get that high.
• Higher inflation - We owns tangible assets such as real estate, precious metals,  and commodity equities.
• Stock market declines of 40% - we have social security,  dividends, interest, and rental income that cover current expenses if needed for several years. 

However, other than a water distiller and a couple months of non perishable foods, we are still not prepared for "black swan events" such as a U.S. default, hyperinflation, nor a nuclear war.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Changed to Washing All My Clothes Together

I posted that I'm Married and Wash My Own Clothes, despite my spouse washing family clothes.  Up until now, I've been sorting my clothes: delicates, whites and darks.   I previously had different "hampers" for each sorted type.  When I washed, I only did one of the sorted hampers.

However, my detergent pods are XL, which is more than needed for one sorted load.  In fact, the XL pod is sufficient for washing all three loads at once.  So I decided to combine all three sorts and wash on the delicate cycle. 

I've done this three times with no issues.  Since all my clothes have been washed several times, there is no no color bleeding.   For me this is a time saver.  I do all my laundry at once.   Do one big sort to hang up or put in dryer.   Then put away the dried clothes.

Eliminates sorting, maximizes detergent use, and easier to manage.  Win, win, win.

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

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

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Simple Principle to Build and Keep Wealth

On the r/wealth subreddit a poster asked for ways to get wealthy

The aggregated overwhelming answer was:

Same Spouse, Same House, Same Car.

Same spouse -  divorce cuts one wealth in half.   Choose carefully, and lean towards one with good financial sense and habits.

Same house -  No need to keep upgrading nor having vacation homes.

Same car - Drive them until they die.   

This is a good starting point, and of course, YMMV.

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

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

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Gasoline Prices are Lower After Midterms - Just as Promised

I filled my F-150 tank up for $1 less per gallon than last week.  Unbelievable, President Trump delivered on his promise.

Of course, I'm still waiting for no taxes on Social Security, which would be really big for me and a lot of other people.  For now,  I'll have to settle for lower gas prices that I got earlier today.  Maybe President Trump will end the war with Iran (again) tomorrow and really drive down gas prices. 😎

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC