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