Less Need to Turn Off the Lights

When I was a kid, I was always instructed to turn off the lights when not using, and reminded when I didn't turn out the lights.  The rationale was electricity costs money and leaving lights on when not needed wasted electricity. True, especially with incandescent lights, which give off significant heat also.

With LED lights, the amount of electricity used for the same amount of light is 75-85% less.   While electricity is still wasted when left on, it is much lower than when I was growing up.   Still an issue, but much less than with incandescent light bulbs.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Free is a Good Price

I like free stuff.  Especially, if it's something I use frequently or need.

• My tennis club allows family members  or junior members (17 and under) to use indoor tennis courts for free, if they "walk on" a few minutes before and don't make a reservation.  I do walkon with my son 2 times a week, which saves 50-75 dollars a week if I reserve and pay the hourly charge.  We live 5 minutes away from our tennis club.   This more than covers the cost of our membership fee, which includes swimming during the summer.
• My grocery and hardware store occasionally offer coupons for free items to membership customers.  Sometimes awesome products, sometimes minor products but free.   My grocery free items are usually 1-2 dollars and no other purchase is required.  My first free hardware item was $16.99 and it was useful.
• My neighbor and I routinely share tools and help each other with DIY repairs.   I admit, he gives much more than me, but we consider it fair.  My best story about him:  I inherited a snow blower from my in-laws which hadn't been used for 5 years and the gas had not been drained.  As a result, it wouldn't start.  I moseyed over to his garage to borrow some carburetor cleaner.  Instead, he decided to take apart the carburetor, clean it and reassemble it.  It started after he did that.
• My broker financial advisors did a free analysis on when I should start taking Social Security payments.  Two different brokers recommended the same:  take as soon as possible. 
• The tax preparation company I worked in would offer free tax planning advice throughout the year to every client who had paid to do the previous year's taxes.  Despite being free, clients never took my offer and didn't contact the company off season.

OK, some may point out that these aren't really free.  After all, I have already paid a club membership fee, bought some product, or contracted for a service.  I'm just getting extra product or service in addition to what I already purchased.  Fair point, but I still feel like I get it for free because it would be an out of pocket cost if I did it elsewhere.  Feel free to convince me otherwise.

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

Bond Values Drop when Interest Rates Rise

Most of my account values are falling due to interest rates rising.  That's because bond/CD values go down when interest rates go up.  Similarly, bond/CD values go up when interest rates fall.

I'm not worried about bond/CD values going down since my plan is to hold to maturity, which means I receive 100% of par value, which is usually the issue price. While waiting for maturity, I am paid a 4-5% total annual payment for holding the bond/cd, no matter what the interest rate is.   The bond/CD payment is what is really important to me, and it will be consistent no matter what the interest rate is.   

That is my strategy for retirement income at this time so that I can be stock market volatility agnostic.  This will be one of the first tests on the strategy.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

No Believable TACO, Stocks Fall

The stock market has become accustomed to President Trumps TACOs, on Tuesday no less.   This time he tried to TACO pre-Tuesday, but the UAE has denied requesting a delay.   

Lately, the runups from TACOs have lasted for shorter times.  This runup barely lasted Tuesday morning before collapsing.

Buying expecting a TACO works until it doesn't.  Maybe that is now...

We'll see at EOD whether a weak TACO works.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Holding Off Buying More Fixed Income for Now

Arrrgh!  Interest rates are going up.  Recently, I've been buying 20 year Treasuries which are yielding 5%.   I've been scaling in just in case interest rise.

I'm going to stop buying the 20 year Treasury for now and wait for interest rates to be close to 5.5% before resuming.  I will also stop buying municipal bond funds at this time due to interest rates rising.

However, this will be a good test of my current strategy of creating a retirement paycheck and being agnostic to stock market and interest rate volatility.  We'll see how the strategy weathers this event.

Of course, it works until it doesn't and YMMV.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

I've Been A Stock Market Scaredy-Cat

In the past, with every market pump, I've been scared to get in.  When the market finally dips, I've been scared to get in.  I expect that the Great Recession/Depression type bear market is going to happen.

As a result, I've never been fully invested in equities.

I still think that there will be an inevitable bear market.  The stock market can't keep going up forever, even with President Trump continuous encouragement and TACOs.  However, I have developed an investment strategy that will help me weather a bear market and keep my kids fully invested for the long term.

For now, I believe that March 31, 2026 is the bottom from which this rally has started. Although, I bought the dip prior to March 31, I'm going to hodl there is a clear top, which sometimes is hard to define.   In the meantime, I'm buying bonds and bond funds to create regular income, which should enable us to survive the stock volatility downward should it occur suddenly.

I still don't see a clear top yet.   So, I'm hodling at this time.

On the other hand, I'm having them make monthly investments into the S&P 500 Index in their Roth accounts, when they qualify for them, and continue to do so for 40 years.   For their 529 plan, they are invested mostly in CDs since they need the money in few years.  However, we're putting new 529 contributions into an S&P 500 Indext.

We shall see if this cures me from being a Scaredy-Cat.  Of course, this works until it doesn't and YMMV.  

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

United Explorer Visa Card Bonus Rewards

All our credit cards earn points or cash back.  I try to use the card that benefit us the most.   Sometime this involves managing which card to use since some card offer bonus rewards periodically.

I have a United Explorer Visa card that I rarely use.  I originally got the card because we were flying United and it enabled us to check two bags for free.  In addition, I received two passes to their lounge, which we did use.  Also, I just found out I can use United points to pay the annual card fee.

However, I don't use the United Explorer card much except when they have occasional points bonus reward of 1000 point when spending $500 and and additional bonus of 1500 points if done in all three bonus months.  Recently though, the United Explorer increased the number of ways to get bonus rewards.

• $100 flight credit for spending $10000 in a calendar year.
• 6000 bonus miles for spending $7000 in a specified 4 month period.

Right now the bonus mile programs overlap in timing which means the same spending can apply to both bonuses.

For us, this is not additional spending.  It's just a choice of which card to use for rewards, since we use credit cards for almost everything, groceries, entertainment, travel, online purchase, etc, except if there is a added charge for using a credit card.

I estimate all the bonus miles will get me close to one economy round trip flight on United for one person.

Disclosure: No compensation from United or Visa was received for this post.

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

This is not financial, credit card, nor travel advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Still Hodling "Buy the Dip Stocks" for Now

Volatility makes it challenging to hodl buy the dip stocks.  When a very profitable stock dips 20, 30 or 50%, my instinct is to sell and keep some profit. Or if it drops right after I buy, I tend to sell once it recovers to a small gain.  As a result, I sold AAPL that I bought in 1990 right before the Desert Storm drop, sold AMZN in 2009 after the Great Recession drop, and sold GOOGL during the Great Recession drop.   These shares would now be worth mult-millions, even though I invested only a few thousand in each.  My problem is not having enough conviction to keep the position.

Unfortunately, I tend to hodl stocks that drop and never recover.  LOL.

However, at this time I have a bit of conviction for the "buy the dip" stocks  I am hodling:

• I believe the negative impact of AI on SAAS software stocks is overblown.  I think companies will learn that the effort to use AI instead of Customer Relationship Software programs will be more effort than paying for the service.   For example, people can do a tax return on their own on a spreadsheet, which I do, instead of purchasing Tax Prep software, but very few people do that.
•  I believe the input stocks, such as memory and chips, to AI infrastructure will continue to do well in the near term.  

On the other hand, I'm sure this will be like the railroad, car companies and airlines when the first started.  There will be many AI based companies, more than are economically sustainable.   It is not clear to me right now which ones will survive.  So I am sticking with the two big names, GOOGL/GOOG and MSFT.

My spouse has been hodling GOOGL and GOOG since 2015.  I tried to convince her to sell some at $150, $200, and $300.   Each time she declined.  Her GOOG and GOOGL stock are up 19X since 2015.

My final conviction is not stock related.  I firmly believe President Trump will frequently TACO to support the stock market advance continuing until the midterm elections in 2026.  TACO works until it doesn't.  We shall see.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Patience, Young Grasshopper

"Patience, young grasshopper." ~ Master Po 

This was the advice given to his student Kwai Chang Caine to develop patience, maturity, wisdom in the 1970s TV series Kung Fu.  

One can also apply this concept to investing.  Building wealth takes time.  The first decade or two seemed excruciatingly slow to us.  Significant investment gains take years not months or days in come cases.  Buy and holding works best for most people.

However, with the advent of the online trading, no trading fees, and short dated options, people are expecting faster, almost immediate big returns.  Instant gratification.

I admit, I have fallen into the instant gratification trap at times.  Recently, I expected my "buy the dip" stocks to immediately rebound.   A few did, the the rest are still rebounding.  

Yes, for these "buy the dip stocks," it's time for patience, young grasshopper.😎

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Impressed with Oscillating Multi-Tool

I acquired most my tools in my 20s and 30s.   I added a few in my 40s and have been set since then.  Or so I thought.

Recently,  we purchased a TV/Entertainment stand.  I needed to cut out part of the back panels to fit in our CD player, which was slightly deeper than the entertainment stand. I thought about how I would do it with my corded tools, such as a drill and jigsaw.  It was a tight fit, which was made more difficult with a electric cord.   Also, it would be tough to cut straight lines.

My neighbor let me a corded oscillating tool for casts, after I discussed the idea of using a reciprocating saw.  He thought the panel might be too thin and vibrate too much with a reciprocating saw.   Then, after explaining what I wanted to do, the furniture company lent me a battery operated oscillating multi-tool to use for cutting out the back panel.  I used it to easily cut out the 95% pre-cut panels in the back.   To do the big cut out, I bought a half moon blade that would cut flush to the bottom.  On benefit of the half moon blade was it allowed easy cutting of straight lines.

I was impressed and decided to shop for the tool.  Luckily for me, there were several DEWALT multi-tool packages on sale for about 1/2 off at several home improvement stores. I decided to buy one and add it to my collection of useful do-it-yourself tools.

Disclosure:  No compensation was received from DEWALT for this post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Buying 20 year Treasuries Yielding 5%

Historically, 5% has been a good yield to get on a CD or Treasury bond.  I've decided to lock in that return for 20 years with some of my fixed income funds.  When I started working my goal was to save a million dollars and earn 5% interest to yield $50,000 per year.   That would have been about 2-1/2 times my starting salary. 

Of course, critics will note that I wasn't accounting for inflation and increased lifestyle amenities back then.   However, in my experience, 5% has been on the higher end, but not the highest, of interest rates.  So, I've decided to lock in 5% for 20 years for a portion of our investments in fixed income.   If interest rates go up, I can invest some more at higher rates.  If interest rates go down, I already will get 5% for up to 20 years.   Since it is uncertain which way rates will go, getting 5% long term seems like a win-win for me.

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

This is not financial, saving, nor interest rate advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

My Hopium Stonks

I'm hodling a few stocks that are underwater and have been pretty flat or going down for a while.  However, some of them are now showing some life.  I plan to continue to hodl and hope for a significant gain when the market advances.   This time, I won't be selling as I just break even or am up 15%.    I'm hoping for big gains.

Below are the stocks I own and am hoping for big gains.  Do your own due diligence.

• Blackberry (BB) -  Was a meme stock in 2021.  I bought on the way down and it stayed down until 2025 and then dipped again.  Has been rising in 2026.   I own one $10 strike call option expiring in January 2027.  Current price; $6.08.
• Nokia (NOK) - It has doubled in the past year.  I owned options in 2025 and sold for a profit. Was a meme stock at one time.  Hoping that it doubles from here.
• Sellas Life Sciences (SLS) -  Read about it in Wall Street Bets sub reddit in January 2026. It's a biotech stock with a cancer drug for leukemia.  Bought in after it was already up 100%.  I'm up about 50%.  My call option is up about 130%.  I'm hoping for a 500% return.
• I'm hodling some marijuana stocks (SNDL, TLRY) , EV related stocks ( EVGO, SLDP) and other biotech stocks (GALT, PACB, GERN).   I'm hoping President Trump will pivot to these stocks in an attempt to attract voters who normally wouldn't vote for him.   Definitely, hopium stocks.

These are all longshots for me.  Some have been longshots for over a decade.  TBH, there is only a small chance of winning big.  However, this has been a crazy market so far.  Maybe some luck will come my way.

Disclosure:  I own all the stocks and options mentioned in this post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

2025 Federal Tax Refund in the Bank

I filed our 2025 tax return by mail around April 2, 2025.   I'm old fashioned.  I still do my taxes by hand, with the help of a spreadsheet, do the PDF fill in forms (an upgrade from writing in by hand before 2024), and mailing it in via snail mail.  

I recall in the past, the IRS would show that it was received relatively fast, but take a while to process it and send a refund.  This year, I checked after 2, 3 and 4 weeks and there was no acknowledgement of receiving our tax return.   However, in week 5, Where's My Refund showed in had been received and surprise, 2 days later, it had been processed and the refund was issued via ACH.

E-file returns are acknowledged after with 24 hours of filing and I guessing refund are issued within a few days.  First, it e-file, I need to purchase a tax prep software, which I'm too cheap to do.  Second, I prefer using a spreadsheet since I can easily see the internal changes caused by different inputs, instead of just seeing the final answer.

My state already allows direct e-filing on their website, which I used to input the numbers from my spreadsheet.  The refund was received in about 2 weeks.  I wish the Federal government would use a similar free system for e-filing.

Anyway, due to the OBBB bill tax changes, our refund was Yuge since I didn't adjust our withholding until October, which resulted in overpaying our Federal taxes for 2025 by a lot.  For 2026, I have adjusted our withholding to match the expected amount of our 2026 Federal income tax.  Hopefully, that will keep our refund closer to zero for 2026.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

A Reason for the Memory Stock Rout Yesterday

Last night, I found this article SanDisk, Micron stocks plummet as Korea shockwave batters the great memory boom which gives a reason for the sharp decline in memory stocks yesterday.  If this is main or only reason, I expect that memory stocks will be up sharply today.

We'll see if my assessment is correct later today.  If yes, buying MU on discount yesterday was the right move.  It would be great to get a 10% or more advance today.

Disclosure:  I own MU in our accounts, which I purchased Monday and yesterday.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

MU and STX Buys - Arrrggh!

It wasn't such a good idea to buy MU and STX yesterday.   After going up immediately yesterday, both have declines significantly, up to 10%, by 1PM today.  Volatility cuts both ways, on the way up, and now on the way down.

At this point, I only have a few shares and can afford to hodl through this volatility.  I expect there were a number of stop orders that were crashed through this morning.  Hopefully, the action will settle down by end of day or tomorrow...hopefully.

• Edit 1:  After dropping as much at 11%, MU has rebounded and is only down 6% at 2:22PM.
• Edit 2:  What a roller coaster ride.  From yesterday's close of $795 down to a $706 low and back up to close at $767.  I bought MU today on the way down at $750, $745 and $728.  All three buys closed green. Woohoo!
• Edit 3:  I found this article SanDisk, Micron stocks plummet as Korea shockwave batters the great memory boom about the reason memory chips dropped precipitously today. 

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

TACO Tuesday or NACHO Tuesday?

Hey, it's Tuesday which means TACO, or maybe now NACHO (Not A Chance Hormuz Opens).  Either way, the stock market will react by going up.   

TACO. Iran war is over for the 13th time.   Stock market goes up.

NACHO.  President Trump, "Strait of Hormuz is open."  Stock market goes up.

                 Iran, " Strait of Hormuz is closed."  Stock market goes up.

Can't make this up.   It works until it doesn't.  YMMV.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Feels Like It's 1999

I remember the dot.com bubble.   Stocks would go up 50-100% in a day sometimes.  This went on for months.  Relatives, colleagues and friends would tell me how rich they were getting everyday.   I stayed out of it.   It seemed too good to be true.  Eventually, it was too good to be true when the crash of 2000-2002 happened.

At this point, I'm hodling for now.   I admit, I did buy 2 shares of memory stocks in today's premarket, 1 of MU @ $790.79 and 1 of STX @ 787.87, to ride the rise or decline.  Other than that, I'm avoiding making buys in this market, except of tax loss harvesting.

I was out this morning at the open, when both MU and STX dipped below my purchase prices.  As of 1:20PM, MU was over $800 and STX was $836.  I am hoping both will go over $1000 this week.

 

We'll see how this goes.   

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Is it "Stonks Only Go Up" time?

Since March 23 bottom, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite have been up 6 consecutive weeks.  The Dow was up 5 out of 6 weeks during that time.  The S&P YTD total return is 8.52%. The Nasdaq composite YTD return is 12.8%.   The Dow YTD return is 3.2%. 

These results are after 4 months and would already a great return for a whole year, in the case of the S&P and Nasdaq.  Woohoo! This level of returns is not sustainable longer term, but may continue in the near term for days, weeks or even months.

Is it "Stonks only go up" time?  The answer is "Yes," with the caveat that uncertainty is for how long.  Right now, the market seem irrational, and it will work...until it doesn't, and when it stops working is unpredictable.  In the meantime, I'll enjoy the continued runup, and be prepared for the inevitable correction.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Where did all the Bears go on WSB?

There were very few bearish comments on WSB (WallStreetBets) tonight, which gives me concern that the top may be in or close.   Pretty much euphoria in most of the comments.   It making me a little cautious and reminds me of the sentiment just before the dot.com crash.

Oh well, we see how tomorrow goes.  For now, I continue to hodl.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

New Tennis Champ in our House

This year, my 13 old son starting beating me in tennis.   Not just barely, but crushing me 6-0.    I've started to have him spot me 4 games in a set when we play now.

I have always been a mediocre tennis player, skill wise.  I made up for the deficiency with hustle and scrappiness.  I walked onto our HS tennis team as a sophomore, never having done more than play tennis at 1 week summer camp a few years in elementary school.   I made the team and was slotted at 3rd doubles.

Each week the coach would have a challenge to determine the seeding of the players/doubles teams.  We were always seeded 3rd doubles at the start.   Each week, we won the the challenge and played 1st double in the match.   We were just scrappier and hustled better than other players who had better skills.

Fast forward to my son.   When he was younger, we put him in many sports activities:  soccer, T-ball, flag football, swimming, golf and tennis.  The only one that stuck was tennis, which he has been playing since 6 years old.   He loves tennis.  We enrolled him in summer tennis camp, had him take lessons, and put him in tournaments.   At 13, he is much better than I ever was.  He can even sub in my Men's Doubles League if needed.

At this point, I am encouraging him to enjoy tennis. It's a sport that can be played even when much older.  In high school, he may tryout for the school team.  He may or may not play in college. Pro, probably not. However, he will have a anchor for high school, college and life, which I consider excellent.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

My Go To Sources for News that Affect My Financial Decisions

CNBC?  Not.  CNN?  Not.    Bloomberg?  Not.

I go to Wallstreetbets on Reddit and my feed on LinkedIn.  Why?   Wallstreetbets posters on the thread What are your moves today, or What are you moves tomorrow. seem to be ahead for news sites by quite a bit.  I read about the shooting at the Correspondents dinner on Wallstreetbets before any of the news sites had articles about it.   One morning, I found out about the missile attacks on U.S. and Iranian ships first on Wallstreetbets.   With almost 20 million members, they seem to keep on top of and post about events that potentially affect financial markets.

LinkedIn members are using posts to promote their business, often taking opposing sides on AI and Investment options.  I get to read both sides and the middle, which offers me the opportunities to see multiple views and make an evaluation myself.

Otherwise, I'm a very low Social Media user.   Never use TikTok, Instagram.   I use YouTube for do-it- yourself repair projects, but never for financial projects.

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

HUBS - Arrrgh!

HUBS (Hubspot) announced good earnings results, IMHO, but disappointed.  The stock is down 23% and has dropped as much as 26%.   This is one of my "buy the dip" software stocks. It was initially the best performer up as much 24%.  Now, it's the worst performer.  Ah, the excitement of volatility.

Fortunately, HUBS is not a large holding and the rest of the account is doing OK.  For now I'm going to hodl HUBS and wait.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

"I Used to be Young and Poor,

and after working for 40 years, I am no longer ... young." - satircal post from Wall Street Bets.

From what I 've read, that's how many people near or in retirement feel.  Social Security isn't enough.  Retirement savings isn't enough.  Combined, it's still tough to cover all retirement costs, especially growing medical costs and future costs for senior living expenses such as assisted or long term care.

And now, if Congress doesn't act, Social Security benefits will be cut 23-24% across the board in 2033.  Yikes.   That may make some seniors old and poor.

IMHO, to avoid being old and poor, I work with my kids to save as much as they can, up to 20% of their earned income.  Invest the funds in the S&P500 and HODL.  If there is Social Security, consider that a bonus.  If there's an inheritance, that's another bonus.

In our case, our employers had a retirement savings plan but no pension.  We assumed that there would be no Social Security and targeted to save 20X our pre-retirement income before retiring.  In hindsight, 30X would have been better to help during the Great Recession, which occurred immediately after we retired in our 40s.  We did receive Social Security and an inheritance.    

So far it has worked, and we continue to watch and manage our retirement income.  As always, it works until it doesn't.   YMMV.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

5-7% Mortgage Rates are the Historical Norm

Home buyers are complaining that 30 year mortgages are about mid 6% and 15 year mortgages are high 5%.   Many of these home buyers of been spoiled by the super low mortgage rates below 3% during the covid era of 20-21.

Low interest rates had two impacts:

1. It lowered the monthly payment for buyers.  They could afford more house.
2. It caused house prices to increase since buyers could afford higher prices for the same monthly payment.

Now that interest rates are higher, people who have low interest rates have low incentive to buy a new house and have their monthly payment increase significantly.  First time home buyers are locked out the market by both high monthly payments and high house prices created by 20-21 low mortgage rates.

But rates are not that different from historical norms.  Many current buyers and potential buyers weren't in the market in the 80s.  I was.   Back then, mortgage rates hit a high of 17% after being in the normal 4-7% for decades.  I felt fortunate to get a 12% mortgage rate for my first house.   I got my second house after being married at a 5.5% mortgage rate and felt lucky.

IMHO, if it's not mortgage rates, then it must be home price inflation.  If it the issue, it's a much tougher problem to solve for home buyers.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Good Thing I Don't Bet on Earnings

Yesterday, I was checking our accounts.  I noticed FSLY was up 200% from last year.  I decided to HODL instead of sell.   I thought it might benefit from AI like memory chips did.   I didn't want to miss out of tremendous gains like memory stocks have experience.   

Well, FSLY reported earning after hours and fell 22% 28% due disappointing results.  So much for my thesis.  I am still going to HODL.   However, I'm glad I don't buy options in anticipation of good or bad earnings results, since I tend to expect the opposite.

I still lost, but since I own shares, I can be a bag holder for a while longer and hoping my thesis is right in the longer term.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Financial Kryptonite for Building Wealth

For me, here's my Kryptonite that destroys wealth building:

• Living above my means.
• Not paying myself first when earning a paycheck.

IMHO, doing the above leads to debt, which leads to more debt, which is a wealth building death spiral.  In our case, we chose to live below our means and pay ourselves first each month.  Doing so was one factor that helped us have a successful early retirement.

Of course, YMMV and avoiding kryptonite doesn't guarantee success.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Self Defense Against Financial Scams

From MSN

4 financial scams targeting seniors to watch for as AI and deepfakes raise the stakes

Below is summary of the headlines.

• Investment Scams: “Guaranteed Returns” Are Often a Trap
• Romance Scams: Emotional Trust Turned Into Financial Theft
• Government Impersonation Scams: When Fear Becomes the Weapon
• Tech Support Scams: The Fake Emergency on Your Screen
• A New Layer of Risk: AI Voice Cloning and Deepfake Family Emergency Scams

In summary of the article, it seems good actions to take are avoid being pressured by urgency, disconnect  when pressured for money, consult with a trusted person, and contact the authorities if needed.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Ignored Financial Tasks than Became Important Later

This is what I've noticed based on my own experience.

Here are the financial basics we focused on when younger.  These are many of the financial decisions and tasks needed when the kids are still living with parents.

• Earning money through jobs.
• Focusing on careers
• Increasing earnings
• Paying for the following
• Rent/mortgage, home maintenance, utilities, car payment.
• Necessities such as groceries, clothing, transportation.
• Day care for children.
• Entertainment, eating out, extracurriculars for children.
• Health insurance and medical expenses
• Saving for:
• College
• Retirement
• Home down payment
• Borrowing
• Funding college
• Buying auto
• Home mortgage

Here's are some of the tasks we ignored until later. These are future financial tasks that don't receive much attention until closer to retirement.

• Income calculation during retirement
• Social Security
• Stable and regular income from investment
• Simplifying financial tasks
• Investments - Reduce number of accounts and types of investments
• Credit Card - Reduce number and annual fees
• Higher costs needed to compensate for aging
• Health and long term care premiums
• Residence modifications
• Spending plan based on older lifestyle
• Renovations both minor and major
• Vacations with children's families
• Helping adult children with major costs
• Grandchildren college expenses.
• Creating a Trust or Will
• Choosing someone to handle financial affairs when one is unable to handle on their own.

In some cases, I did some of the financial tasks for older people because I learned about them with my parents, for example Creating a Trust.  Others, I didn't consider until after retirement, for example Social Security.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

From Magnificent 7 to Magnificent 1 in early 2026

These stocks have been named the Magnificent 7 for their being the driver of index gains over the past year:  Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), Tesla (TSLA), and Nvidia (NVDA).

Lately it's been reduced the Magnificent 3:  GOOGL, AAPL and AMZN.

However, realistically it's been a Magnificent 1 in April 2026:  GOOGL which has delivered 23% YTD gains.  None of the other Magnificent 7 are even close.  In fact, some even have negative YTD returns as low as -17%. 👀 at you Tesla.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Financial Products "Sold" by Financial Advisors

"If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail." ~ proverb popularized by Abraham Maslow

I have learned this also applies to many financial advisors, who earn money based on the product they recommend.

If a advisor selling a specific financial product, then that is the number one personal finance recommendation he is likely to make.  Insurance financial advisors tend to recommend insurance products.  Brokerage financial advisors tend to recommend stock and bond products.  Mutual fund advisors tend to recommend their own mutual funds.  Secondary offering advisors tend to recommend their offerings.  Tax advisors tend to recommend investment that minimize tax liability.

While it is legitimate for an advisor recommend a financial product for which he is compensated, I feel I need to do more diligence before accepting the recommendation.   I do more independent research on the product to decide.    In most of the cases, I decide not the invest.  Examples include: Private Credit, Indexed ETFs, Opportunity Zone Real Estate and most Life Insurance based products.   They may be right for some people but not for me.

Some options that I have used include but not currently:  Actively managed separate accounts. I like the idea of have individual stocks in my own account.   However, I've  recently moved away from this option.

Currently, I'm considering a robo investment platform offered by one the brokerages.  I expect the advisor that recommended may get compensated.  That's OK since I am doing an independent evaluation of the product on my own.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Locking In Higher Interest Rates to Help our Retirement

When I started working in the 1980s, I calculated that I could retire on $1 million invested at 5% interest.  After all, that was 150% of my starting salary.  Of course, interest rates even went higher, making a million dollars a good goal.

From 2009 to 1019, it looked like retirement was going to require significant more investment funds, when interest rates dropped below 0.5% for CDs.   Then having a million dollars didn't look so good as a retirement plan since it would only yield less than $5,000 per year.   The path to retirement looked dismal.

Then in 2019 interest rates starting rising, with rates peaking in 2023 to 2025 at about 5%.   that means a million dollars now yield $50,000 per year instead of only $5,000.   It also means less retirement savings is needed to retire comfortably.

While interest rates may still go up, I'm locking in 4-5% interest rates on part of our savings for 10-20 years through Treasury bonds and CDs.   Yes, interest rates rising and inflation are a risk, but the bigger risk for us is interest rates going back to 1% or less for an extended period.

Here's my simple logic.  If rates go up, I can always reinvest maturing bonds at the higher rate.   If rates go down, I have to reinvest as at a lower rate, which makes this the higher risk option. So I am scaling in to long term fixed rated bonds and CDs over the next few weeks and months.

For more on  Reflections and Musings,  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