Just came across this fascinating 19th-century economic theory that's honestly kind of wild when you look at it today. Samuel Benner, an Ohio farmer back in 1875, basically tried to map out market cycles by studying historical patterns. What he came up with was a framework for identifying periods when to make money - and it's weirdly specific about timing.

Here's how it breaks down. Benner identified three main cycles repeating over time:

First, there are the crash years - what he called panic periods. These show up roughly every 16-18 years and mark when financial collapses happen. Years like 1927, 1945, 1965, 1981, 1999, 2019... and he predicted 2035 would be another one. During these periods, you basically want to stay cautious or get out.

Then there are the boom years - the prosperity phases when prices peak and everything looks good. 1926, 1935, 1945, 1955, 1962, 1972, 1980, 1989, 1998, 2007, 2016... and here's where it gets interesting: 2026 is supposedly one of these selling years. That's literally this year. According to his theory, these are the periods when to make money by offloading assets at peak prices.

Finally, the buying opportunities - the recession years when prices are low and assets are cheap. 1924, 1931, 1942, 1951, 1958, 1969, 1978, 1985, 1995, 2006, 2011, 2023... and 2030 is marked as the next one. Every 7-10 years roughly, these windows appear.

The practical strategy Benner outlined was pretty straightforward: buy during the cheap years (C), hold and accumulate, then sell during the prosperity peaks (B), and avoid getting caught in the panic years (A). It's basically a long-term cycle-trading framework from over 150 years ago.

What makes this relevant right now is the timing. If you follow Benner's cycles, 2023 was a buying period - which tracks with how crypto bottomed and recovered. We're now in 2026, supposedly a selling/profit-taking year. And 2035 is marked as both a potential peak AND a panic year, suggesting a sharp reversal could happen.

Obviously, this is historical theory, not a guarantee. But the consistency of these cycles across multiple market cycles is worth paying attention to. The periods when to make money according to Benner seem to align better with actual market history than you'd expect from something written in the 1800s.

If you're thinking about positioning for the next few years, this framework gives you a different lens to consider. Whether you believe in the cycles or not, understanding these periods when to make money can at least help you think about your own market timing strategy.