Just came across this fascinating historical chart that's been circulating – it's based on Samuel Benner's work from way back in 1875, where he attempted to map out recurring patterns in financial markets. The guy was basically trying to figure out when boom times hit versus when things crash.

Here's how he broke it down: he identified three distinct periods when to make money, each with different characteristics. The panic years – roughly every 18-20 years or so – are when financial crises tend to hit. We're talking about 1927, 1945, 1965, 1981, 1999, 2019, and if the pattern holds, potentially 2035 and beyond. During these periods, the advice is to stay defensive and definitely not panic sell.

Then there are the boom years where prices surge and markets recover strongly. These are your windows to actually take profits – years like 1928, 1943, 1960, 1973, 1989, 2000, 2007, 2016, 2020, and interestingly, 2026 is supposedly in this category too. This is when you want to be selling, not buying.

The opposite side of this is the recession and decline periods – 1924, 1931, 1942, 1958, 1978, 1985, 2005, 2012, 2023, 2032, etc. Prices are depressed, the economy's struggling, and this is supposedly the ideal time to accumulate assets. Buy when everything's cheap, hold through the cycle, then sell when boom times arrive.

The basic playbook Benner was suggesting: load up on stocks, land, commodities during hard times, wait for the recovery, then liquidate at peak prices. Avoid selling during panic years when emotions run high.

Now here's the thing – this is a historical pattern observation, not some universal law. Markets today are influenced by so many variables: geopolitics, technological shifts, policy changes, wars, unexpected events. But as a long-term framework for understanding market cycles? It's interesting to keep in mind. Definitely worth looking at if you're thinking about periods when to make money and want to understand market psychology over decades.