Negotiated by Walking Away

Many years ago, I was selling some vacant land under contract.  The buyers wanted to eliminate a fee to rezone that had been agreed to in the contract.  The fee was included to protect me, the seller, against an increase in real estate taxes, if the buyer got the property rezoned but decided terminate the contract and not make the purchase.  

When it came time to rezone the property, the buyer requested that I waive the fee.  Their logic was if the rezoning didn't go through, they would be out the cost of the fee.   My logic was if the rezoning went through and they backed out of the deal, I would burdened by a real estate tax as high as 12X my current liability.  I could not afford that increase.

After much discussion, I did not waive the fee.  I told them, "You guys are much smarter than me me on risk.  If you believe that paying the fee is too high a risk, I'm not going to disagree with you.  However, I'm not going to take on the risk instead."

The next day, their broker called back and said the buyers were canceling the contract, which they would be able to do for a $100 cancellation fee.  Nothing I could do.  I called my real estate attorney and told him that buyers were terminating the contract.  

I had potential backup buyers if needed.   However, 2 days later the buyers called and said they weren't eliminating the contract and needed the rezoning authorization right away.   I reminded them that the rezoning request fee had to be paid first and then I would FedEx the document.  They balked saying there wasn't enough time.  I said I'm sticking the contract.

I called my attorney and he recommended the buyer wire the money first before I emailed the authorization.  Their attorney said they wouldn't do that, and yet he called back 1 hour later to agree.  I waited for the funds  to be deposited via wire.  Then I emailed approval.

Walking away worked this time.  YMMV.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Net Worth by Age Chart

Below is a chart of percentile net worth by age group.  I found this info on a LinkedIn post.  To note, this chart includes Home Equity in the net worth number, which may account for a significant portion of net worth for some households.

Disclosure:  I was not compensated by LinkedIn nor DQYDJ for this post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Tax Gain Harvesting

I hate paying federal taxes and will do everything I can to legally reduce my tax liability.   Here's a great hack I discovered to reduce federal taxes.  It's based on Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) being taxed at 0% if one is in the 12% tax bracket.

In 2026, the 12% tax bracket end at $50,400 for single and $100,400 for married filing joint.   This means if one's taxable income (after standard or itemized deduction, QBI and senior deduction) is below this amount, one's dividend and long term capital gains are taxes at 0%.   Yes, that is no Federal tax, zero, nada.

So if one is in the 12% tax bracket, maximize your investment income by choosing to take qualified dividends and LTCG .  With stock commissions at 0%, it's easy to just sell a few shares at a short term loss to limit one's LTCG.

Retirees and new hires and are the best candidates to take advantage of this tax reduction opportunity.

Another great tax hack from My Wealth Builder to legally lower taxes owed.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Trying Physical Therapy to Reduce Joint Pain

I used recover quickly from exercise and sports injuries.  Even an ruptured appendix operation didn't hold me back from playing football a few months later.    Now I'm having difficulty recovering from simple activities and surgeries from over a year ago.  I have hip joint pain, which might be related to taking a statin, and occasional should pain.   I do have constant minor knee and ankle pain from arthritis.  In addition, I seem to be have more difficulty with balance versus a couple years ago, before my major surgery.

My college roommates don't seem to be having any issues.  They are doing major activities like 10,000 steps per day for a year or more, bike riding several miles through different elevations, and kayaking in the ocean.  I'm impressed with what they are doing, and disappointed in my decline of physical ability.

I decided to see a physical therapist last year for my hip and shoulder.  I first went to an orthopedic surgeon to check if there were bone or arthritic issues.   There were none and they referred me to PT.

I had one session with PT for my shoulder and hip.  They gave me a number of stretches and exercises to do.  I started on them today.

Hopefully, the stretches and exercises with help.  I'm looking forward to a more energetic and less painful joints for  2026.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Secrets to Become a Millionaire

Hurry.  Read this one simple trick before it is redacted by nefarious agents!

Here's how one does it:

1. Start in one's 20s or with one's first job.
2. Contribute $158.15 each month into a Roth Account.
3. Invest the funds in the S&P 500 index fund.    
4. Reinvest the dividends.
5. Wait at least 40 years before making a withdrawal.
6. And that's all it takes to get to a million dollars.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Countered Real Estate Offer at Asking Price

And it worked.

Many years ago, I inherited some vacant land in another state.  My dad had purchased it as an investment.  Originally, it was zoned residential and had a house with a resident who was the previous owner.  She became a renter and passed away a few years later.   The house fell into disrepair and was eventually had to be demolished. 

After my parents passed away, I inherited the vacant lot.   It was adjacent to and across the street from already developed commercial properties.  Fortunately, for me the real estate taxes were relatively low since it was zoned residential.  

The property had been appraised for about 8 times the purchase price in 2006.   Of course, 2006/2007 was the peak of the real estate market before the great recession.  It's estimated value when I inherited it was about 2.5 times the purchase price.  Since I had no personal funds invested and the RE taxes were low, I was OK with being patient to wait for the price to rise to 8X again.

After few years, I received an unsolicited offer for the property at 3.5X the purchase price.  I wasn't interested in selling at that price and ignored it for 6 months.  The agent would periodically call and check on my interest.  In the meantime, a second agent contacted me with a low ball offer from about 2.5 times purchase price.   I told him I already had another offer and his was the lowest.

I was hoping that the two buyers would start a bidding war, to my advantage. However, both agents asked me to counter offer first, which was somewhat of a predicament for me since I was an accidental land owner inexperienced in real estate.  

I researched what to do on the Internet.   Basically, the recommendation was to always make a counter offer, even if it is at the asking price.   This made me remember when a neighbor turned down a offer for her house at $5000 below the asking price of $125,000.  She didn't bother to counter.  The seller did revise their offer and my neighbor didn't receive another offer for 6 months.

In my case, I called the agent of the higher bidder and countered at the asking price of 8X the purchase price.  The agent went ballistic becoming very rude and insulting, implying that my price was unrealistic, and said he would have been able to increase 30%, but not over 100%.  I listened but did not respond.

Then,  I disappointedly called the lower bidder agent, expecting a similar response,  and told him the same counter offer.   To my surprise, his answer was, " We accept," and we started working on a sales contract.

Lesson learned, " Always make a counter offer, even if it is the asking price."   Of course, YMMV.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Time to Lock In Higher Long Term Interest Rates

As I prepare our 2025 Federal Tax return, I decided to compare what we earned in taxable interest in 2021 with 2024 on those tax returns.    Recall, interest rates on savings, bonds and CDs were very low prior to 2021.

I was shocked to learn about the growth in taxable interest rates in that time frame.   If our taxable interest was X in 2021, the taxable interest in 2024 was 16X.   In 2024, interest was 40% of our  adjust gross income (AGI), while in 2021 interest was 3% of our AGI.

Since late 2023, interest rates have been declining.  I used to be able to get around 4-5% for 5+ years CDs.  Now the best I can do is about 4% and many are callable in the first few years.

In the next few weeks, I will be working lock in some interest rates at around 4% for about 10 years using Treasuries and Agency bonds.

For more on Strategies and Plans, 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

Taking a Bigger Loss in Stocks didn't Reduce Taxes Owed As Much

Selling a bigger loss doesn't always reduce taxes more.  Here is my story.

As part of tax loss harvesting, I sold a stock with long term capital losses on December 22, 2025.   I immediately calculated the estimated tax savings and it was less than I expected.   I tested selling stock for half the short term loss and the tax savings was greater.

I analyzed the situation and realized the reason.  My long term capital gains were taxed at 0%, while short term capital gains were taxed at 12%.   Therefore, reducing long term capital gains had much less of tax benefit than reducing short term capital gains.

I quickly called the brokerage firm and changed the selected cost basis shares to the short term capital loss, before T+1 settlement occurred.

Fortunately, I use Excel to do a real time analysis of may tax situation and caught this "error."   It increased my refund about $100 but doing this analysis, which I was able to do.  

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

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

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Low Cost Mutual Funds at Discount Brokerages

In my quest to simplify my investments, I discovered that discount brokerages carry no transaction fee/no load mutual funds, with some at very low expense ratios, even 0% in a few cases.   This was somewhat new news to me.

As I convert to owning mainly index funds, versus individual stocks, I was mainly considering ETFs.   In my mind, mutual funds generally had higher fees  and usually traded after the market closed at NAV.   However, I have changed my mind.  

Having funds trade after market close offers a couple benefits.  First, I can sell funds for a gains and buy back at the same price.   This allows me to take use a hack to take longer term capital gains periodically to manage my taxable income.  I sell the position for the gain and buy back immediately at the same price to raise the cost basis.  Second, I don't have to deal with volatility during the hours the market is open.

First, I checked Schwab, which is one of my self-directed brokerages.   Schwab has several index Mutual Funds that have expense ratios of 0.02-0.06%, including an S&P index and International index Funds.  Then I checked Fidelity.  Fidelity has a wide range of index Mutual Funds with low expense ratios of 0.02-0.06% and even a few at 0%.  Finally, I checked Merrill Edge.   Merrill Edge also had a wide range of Index Mutual funds, but most (all but 19) have expense ratios above 0.50%.   In all cases, there were no transaction fees (NTF).  In the case of Merrill Edge, load fees are waived.

Since we have accounts at all three brokerages, I will be looking to use the NTF Index Mutual Funds with low expense ratios at all three.   At first, I was going focus only on U.S. stocks.  However, with the expanded options available, I will also consider and International index Mutual Fund.

Disclosure:  I was not compensated by Schwab, Fidelity, nor Merrill Edge for writing this post.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Refinishing Our Wood Floors

After we bought our house, we replaced all the carpeting on the first and second floors with oak hardwood.  It's been over twenty years.  The oil based polyurethane has turned more orange and has been worn down in high traffic areas like the kitchen.   

It was a lot of effort on our part since we needed to move all the furnishings out of the rooms being refinished.  We managed to do the refinishing in sections, since there were "hard" dividers.  The kitchen was done first.   A year later, we did the dining room and living room.   We did the great room, master bedroom, and steps to the second floor six months later to complete the first floor.  For the kitchen, dining room and living room, we moved the furnishings ourselves to the great room.   For the great room and master bedroom, we hired a moving company to place the furnishings in the dining room, living room and master bathroom.

The refinishing makes us feel like we are in a new house.   In addition, we have purchased a new flat screen TV,  electronics console, and are getting a new couch.   We've move the current leather couch to the basement for use as a recreation area.

This continues our work in progress to make this house our forever home.

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

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

Copyright © 2026 Achievement Catalyst, LLC