Higher Take Home Pay for 2026

With the passage of the OBBB bill in July 2025, many taxpayers should be able to get higher after tax take home pay in 2026.   This is because the OBBB tax changes are retroactive to 2025 and and people did not make adjustments to 2025 withholding.   One may want to make W-4 withholding changes for items that will be in effect until 2028.

Some possible adjustments are: 

• No federal tax on tips or overtime.
• Increased standard deduction amounts.
• Senior deduction up to $6000 per person 65 and older.
• Increase in Child Tax Credit to $2200 from $2000.
• Above the line charitable contribution deduction up to $2000 even if one doesn't itemize.

This may result in as much as $50-100 additional take home pay per month even if one isn't earning more.   However, YMMV.

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

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

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Simple Investing Strategies

Here are some Keep It Simple investing strategies I have seen and I like:

Strategy #1

• Rule #1, don't lose money in the long term
• Rule #2, don't forget Rule#1

Strategy #2

• Safety first
• Reasonable returns
• Simple

Strategy #3

• Don't bet against America

I'm blending these three strategies for my children for long term (at least 20 years or more) investing in their retirement account by buying the S&P 500 index (or growth stock index) for their accounts and holding until they are in their sixties.

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 © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Higher Medical Costs from Aging

"If I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself." ~ Mickey Mantle

"Growing old ain't for sissies." ~ Bette Davis

I didn't expect I would encounter significantly health issues and higher medical costs as I got older. I was wrong,

In my youth, I was very healthy and very athletic.  I played football from second grade through college, where I also played rugby.   I stayed active after graduating by playing rugby, even running a marathon in my thirties.   I rarely ever saw a doctor and usually healed quickly after minor injuries. Even to my early 60s I only had two prescription drugs, a statin and low dose aspirin.

Now, some of the injuries in my youth become chronic issues, such as arthritis of the joints.  In addition, I have severe coronary heart disease, despite no evidence of heart issues with my parents or siblings.  For 2024 and 2025, I have reached my out of pocket maximum with my health insurance.  

I expect further declines in health condition are likely as I continue to grow older and therefore, require increasing medical attention and costs. 

High health care costs is the hidden reason so many retirees run out of money   Both Mickey Mantle and Bette Davis were right about getting older.

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

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

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Managing Joint Aches and Pains

A noticeable health change in my later 50s and early 60 was the increasing occurrence of slight pain in my knee, ankle, hip and shoulder joints, especially after sports activities such as tennis or skiing. To wrap up 2025, I decided to make appointments with current and new orthopedic doctors for my joint pain, since I have exceeded my insurance out of pocket limits, meaning the visits are 100% covered by insurance.

Here's what each doctor did and said:

• X-rays were taken of each joint.   For the knee and ankle, there was no or little change from previous visit which showed arthritis issues.   For new areas, should and hip, x-rays showed no bone nor arthritis issue.
• Every doctor advised the course of action depends on pain level and negative effect on quality of life.  Action to be taken are as follows in approximate order:
• Rest and/or stretch
• Ice and heat treatment
• Brace
• OTC pain medication
• Prescription injections
• Surgery for replace

Basically, if pain prevents one from doing a desired activity, try the least intrusive treatment.   Move up treatment level if a current level doesn't reduce pain sufficiently to do the activity.  When the pain prevents one completely from daily activities after treatment, then the final course is surgery and replacement. 

Fortunately, I am currently at the rest/stretch treatment for most of my joints and  using a knee brace mainly for more stability.

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

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

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Record High Long Term Capital Gains Distributions

With the excellent stock returns from 2023 to 2025, many mutual funds are making Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG)  distributions in 2025.  For 2025, I expect to receive the highest LTCG distribution since we started owning the funds in 2021.  

It's good because we are receiving almost 3X what we received last year, reflecting that the mutual funds have done well this year.   It's bad because I didn't find out estimates of the LTCG distributions until November  and won't be sure until the end of December of the amount, since some of the November estimates have been low.  As a result, our estimated tax liability for 2025 is slightly higher than I anticipated.

However, since we are still a couple weeks away from the end of 2025, we can sell some positions for a loss and/or make some charitable contributions in 2025 instead of waiting until 2026.   That way, we can reduce our tax liability for 2025 by taking these actions before the end of the year..

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 © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Replacing Carpeting on Basement Steps with Oak Stair Treads

The carpeting on the stairs to our finished basement is very worn and soiled.  We have tried cleaning it over the years without much improvement, due to the nap being very compressed.

We've hired a wood flooring company to replace the carpeted steps with oak stair treads.   We were offered two options from different companies.   One company quoted doing retro stair treads that are designed to cap the existing treads.  The treads would then be finished in place. The second company quoted putting actual stair treads over the exist treads and adding a scotia.   The treads would be finished before being attached to the exist treads.

In both cases, we would be responsible for painting the risers and stringers after the treads were installed.

Tearing out the current steps and rebuilding new staircase was considered and discussed with another company.  However, they explained they only work with contractors who would do demolition prior to installation.  Thus, much more complex and costly.

We decided to go with the putting actual stair treads, instead of retro stair tread caps for mainly one reason.  The polyurethane was applied offsite and would be cured before being brought into the house.  Thus, less odor from from the finish which would be less respiratory discomfort for the family.  

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

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

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Already Working on Our 2025 Tax Return

The best time for to work on the current year tax return?  At least a month before the end of the year. That way, one can make adjustments to reduce tax liability for the current year. 

With all the tax changes in the OBBB bill that was passed in July 2025, I started working on our 2025 tax return in September 2025.  The reason is I wanted qualify for as many deductions and credits as possible to minimize our tax liability for 2025 .   

Here are the elements I am managing:

• Charitable contributions.  We are able to use charitable contribution for our itemized deductions to reduce taxable income.  We still have the rest of December to make additional charitable contributions.
• Medical deductions.   We are able to deduct medical expenses for our itemized deductions to reduce taxable income.   Doing a doctor visit in December instead of January will increase itemized deductions and reduced taxable income. 
• Distributions from an inherited IRA.   My spouse inherited an IRA after December 31, 2019, which means it must be fully distributed by the end of the 10th year.  In addition, RMDs must be taken in 2025.   Managing the distributions to be more tax efficient and minimize tax liability for the remaining 6 years will be a challenge and require some analysis and adjusting when to take discretionary income such as investment profits.
• Tax loss harvesting.  To reduce capital gains income, we are evaluating which investments losses to take in 2025.    Losses up to $3000 can be deducted from income on a tax return.

By managing the above elements I can enable us to qualify for the following tax benefits:

• Senior tax deduction.   Up to $6000 deduction per senior 65 or older.
• American opportunity credit. Credit of up to $2500 for up to $4000 of tuition paid for post secondary education.  
• Tax rate on Long Term Capital Gains and dividends lowered to 0%.  The tax rate is normally 15%.

Here are two tax benefits that we qualify for even without managing the above elements:

• Child tax credit.   Increased to $2200 tax credit from $2000 for each eligible child.
• SALT cap increases.   Increases the amount of deduction allowed from $10,000 to $40,000 State and Local Taxes.

In addition, I expect to get a higher that normal refund since we were withholding until October as if the OBBB bill did not pass.  I estimate the OBBB bill will reduce our tax liability by about 50% or more.

For more on Strategies and Plans, 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

Another Call for a Bear Market Crash

Pundits have called 30 of the last 4 major bear markets correctly.  Some people are again calling for a bear market beginning tomorrow, Monday 12/15/25.

Do I know if a bear market is coming?   No.   Am I prepared for a bear market?   I think so.

Currently, are taxable accounts are invested a stock and bond portfolio designed to generate regular monthly income.   Our tax advantaged accounts are similarly invested.    If the market continues to go up, our account will participate in the gains.

If the market drops significantly, I expect to still generate about the same amount of regular monthly income.  Since, we have not have a drop since changing our investment strategy, we shall see if this work.   In addition, I will use some of the cash to buy into market index funds, such as SCHB, SCHG, VOO and MGK, to benefit from buying at discount.

Hopefully, the new strategy will insure us against major financial suffering with a significant bear market.

Disclosure:  I received no compensation from  Schwab nor Vanguard for mention of their index ETFs.

 

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 © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Could've, Should've Held the Winner Stocks

I've been reviewing my investing history and saw a few big misses.   My mistake, I sold the big winners after small gains.  I kept the losers, waiting for them to recover, which very few did.

What would have happened if I kept my winners.  I've owned and, unfortunately, sold a number of long term winners.   I have two examples.    

The first one is Google, ticker symbol GOOGL.    I bought 100 shares of GOOGL in 2004 for $8000.   If I had held the shares until today, those shares would be worth a little over $1 million  or 126X.    Of course, I didn't hold it until today.  I don't know for sure, but I probably sold the position around $9000 later in 2004.    A good profit, but not even close to the million I could have had.

The second one is Apple, ticker symbol AAPL.   I bought a 100 shares at 90 in 1990, right before the Desert Storm, which caused a drop in the market and AAPL.    When the shares recovered about a year later, I sold for a small profit.    If I had held those share until today, I would have about $6.5 million or 722X.

Instead, I probably only ended up with $2000-$3000 profit at the most.

Could've, Should've.

On the other hand, my spouse bought GOOGL in 2013 and AAPL in 2016 and held.   She is up 14X and 10X respectively and has more than exceeded her losses.

Of course, every time I sold, it was due to fear of an upcoming crash.   2004 was right after the dot com crash and 1990 was right after the crash of 1987.  And I would have had to ride through the subsequent bear markets of 2008, 2020, and 2022.

Recall also, that some individual stocks either take a long time or never recover.   For example, Cisco, ticker symbol CSCO, just passed it's all time high of 2000 this week.

It's too late for me.  My solution for my kids is to invest in the S&P 500 index or a Large Cap Growth Stock index which naturally stays invested in winners.   Then not sell for 40 years.   Hopefully, that will result in a million dollar return when they retire.

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

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

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

Exceeded Out Of Pocket (OOP) Maximum for Health Insurance

The bad news is I am over my out of pocket (OOP) maximum health care insurance cost for this year.  The good news is I am over my OOP health care insurance cost maximum for this year.

The reason for the bad news?   I am having more health care issues than usual that require medical attention.  When I was younger, I hardly ever went to the doctor, despite having excellent medical insurance. Sometimes I would go 5 years without seeing a doctor, despite being active in sports like rugby.  Since retiring, I have had more reasons to seek medical attention, due primarily due to treatment of coronary heart disease and  age related issues, such as joint pain and arthritis..

The reason for the good news?  Once I meet my OOP maximum, 100% of my medical costs are paid by insurance, including copays and coinsurance.   My cost is now $0 for the rest of the year.   As a result, I am scheduling appointments for some of the non urgent medical issues that I would do in future, right now.    That way I can get an earlier evaluation this year, for no cost to me.

This is the second year in a row that I have exceeded my OOP maximum.   

Of course, everyone's insurance is different and YMMV depending on one's insurance policy.  

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

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

Copyright © 2025 Achievement Catalyst, LLC