Just came across something interesting about market cycles that's been floating around for ages. There's this old theory from Samuel Benner back in 1875 where he tried to map out when to make money in financial markets – basically arguing that there are predictable periods for buying and selling if you understand the pattern.

So the way it breaks down is pretty straightforward. You've got panic years hitting roughly every 18-20 years or so – think 1927, 1945, 1965, 1981, 1999, 2019, and it projects forward to 2035, 2053. During these periods when to make money is basically to stay cautious and not panic sell. That's when everyone's freaking out and making emotional decisions.

Then there are the boom years – the good times when prices are rising hard and markets are recovering. Years like 1928, 1943, 1960, 1973, 1989, 2000, 2007, 2016, 2020, 2026, 2034 – these are supposedly when you want to be taking profits and selling. Markets are hot, sentiment is strong, people are buying everything. Classic periods when to make money by exiting positions.

The flip side is the recession and decline years – 1924, 1931, 1942, 1951, 1958, 1969, 1978, 1985, 1996, 2005, 2012, 2023, 2032, 2040. Prices are beaten down, economy's struggling, but that's actually when savvy investors are supposed to be accumulating. Buy low, hold, wait for the boom to come back around.

The basic playbook? Buy when everything's cheap and depressing, hold through the panic, then sell when the boom kicks in and everyone's euphoric. Sounds simple in theory, right?

Now here's the thing – this is based on historical cycles and patterns, not some law of physics. Real markets get hit by wars, political shifts, tech disruptions, all kinds of unpredictable stuff. So while Benner's framework gives you a decent mental model for thinking about long-term periods when to make money, it's not a guaranteed roadmap. Use it as one lens among many, not gospel.