It’s a raging bull market, and I’ll confess, I’m a bit irritated I don’t have a big paycheck anymore to reap the benefits of extra funding alternatives. Day by day, I see folks with regular W-2 earnings are funneling 1000’s into shares, actual property, and personal offers. In the meantime, I’m sitting right here, asset wealthy however money circulate constrained.
In a earlier put up, we mentioned how liquidity is the primary distinction between feeling like a poor versus a wealthy millionaire. For these of us who get pleasure from investing greater than spending, not having a paycheck – particularly after we’re already all-in – creates a sense of deprivation. You need to make investments, however you merely do not have the money circulate to take action.
When you have a job, particularly one which pays effectively, don’t take it as a right! Save and make investments as a lot as you may whereas instances are good. At some point, the earnings will gradual or cease, and also you’ll want you had invested extra whenever you had the prospect.
Since writing about FIRE again in 2009, I’ve all the time tried to share each the highs and lows of monetary independence. Escaping a job you dislike to do no matter you need is superb. But it surely’s not all the time sushi and snowboarding in Niseko.
Being cash-strapped throughout a bull market is likely one of the harder realities of FIRE. You will need to be taught to be comfy falling behind, or at the very least not working up the rating.
When You Don’t Have Sufficient Earnings to Spend money on Alternatives
Proper now, my household faces two existential challenges:
- The potential decline of unbiased on-line media platforms attributable to AI disruption.
- The danger that AI will get rid of tens of millions of jobs – so by the point my youngsters graduate in 2040 and 2043, there will not be sufficient well-paying alternatives for them to stay independently.
Given these two traits, my plan is straightforward: make investments aggressively and train my youngsters all the things I can about life. I’ll create a partnership with their college lecturers, as an alternative of simply outsourcing 100% of my youngsters’s schooling to them.
The world is altering too shortly, and the teachings that can matter most – resilience, creativity, emotional intelligence, and monetary literacy – should come from house.
This put up will delve into the emotional facet of cash and FIRE. As a result of even if you happen to assume you’ve got sufficient, you could lengthy for extra, particularly if in case you have folks relying on you.
Did not Have Sufficient Money Move To Make investments Extra In Google
I’ve acknowledged Google’s dominance within the “new media” panorama for effectively over a decade. It’s turn out to be a close to monopoly in search, and as a capitalist, I need to put money into monopolies that generate outsized earnings. On the identical time, I’ve seen how one algorithm change could make or break a media enterprise in a single day. Proudly owning Google inventory was my approach to hedge in opposition to that threat.
I’d been steadily shopping for shares all year long however slowed down as soon as the value hit $250 in September 2025. Valuations have been beginning to make me nervous. The inventory ultimately dipped to $239 on October 9, so I made my last buy of the 12 months the following day.
Regardless that I remained bullish, a part of me questioned if the decline from $250 was the beginning of a deeper correction. The actual motive I ended shopping for, although, was easy. I used to be working low on money and had taxes due by October 15. With no huge paycheck coming in anymore, I couldn’t hold including to my place.
My responsibility is to pay earnings taxes to assist fund the federal government providers that about 40% of People don’t contribute to immediately, since they do not pay earnings taxes. It is the identical philosophy of understanding and consuming proper to pay large healthcare subsidies for many who can not. Go USA!
Missed The Subsequent Ramp Increased
Then, on October 21, one thing fascinating occurred. ChatGPT, one other firm I personal shares in by Fundrise Enterprise, introduced the launch of Atlas, an AI-powered internet browser designed to compete immediately with Google.
The information despatched Google’s inventory tumbling from up on the day to down sharply. I wished to purchase the dip as a result of it felt like an overreaction, particularly since studies confirmed Google’s search market share had truly began to rebound.
However I didn’t purchase. With out regular money circulate mid-month, like most individuals with day jobs have, I needed to wait till the top of the month for passive earnings from bonds, dividends, and rental properties. Then, on October 29, Google reported stellar earnings after the shut, and the inventory shot larger.
Ugh. For an investor, few issues are extra painful than having the suitable funding thesis however failing to execute. But once more, a prickly reminder that chance typically favors these with regular earnings and ample liquidity.
Diversifying Personal AI Investments
Now for the following case examine on why having a pleasant huge paycheck throughout a bull market is most well-liked.
Public market investments are my bread and butter for investing since it is simple to do. Nevertheless, I’ve been centered on constructing extra non-public AI funding publicity for my youngsters. The bull market has been sort to oldsters who make investments, however the future is unsure for his or her offspring. So I see investing for them now as a type of safety.
To this point, I’ve allotted $193,100 to my youngsters’s Fundrise enterprise account, with publicity to personal AI corporations like OpenAI, Databricks, Anduril, and Anthropic. My purpose is to contribute a complete of $300,000 over the following two years by dollar-cost averaging because the funding minimal is just $10. Nevertheless, attributable to my lack of money circulate, I really feel like I am too gradual to catch the practice.
However Fundrise, which invests in later-stage non-public progress corporations, isn’t my solely enterprise publicity. Throughout the enterprise area, I need to diversify throughout the corporate lifecycle, from pre-seed to later phases. The sooner the funding stage, the better the chance, however the better the reward.
The Temptation to Maintain Diversifying My Personal Investments
An current VC agency the place I’m an LP is launching one other fund that focuses on seed and Collection A rounds. They simply employed a brand new GP who I personally know and assume he is very good, and I’d like to again them. However the minimal funding is $500,000, and even with a loyal LP low cost, I’d nonetheless have to commit $250,000.
Then there’s a fellow college dad elevating a cybersecurity fund. He offered his final startup to a significant public firm and now needs to put money into pre-seed and seed-stage safety startups. He’s well-connected, good, and genuinely likable. Supporting good folks is all the time a pleasure. And his minimal funding is $100,000, which is far more palatable.
Nonetheless, investing in each would require at the very least $350,000 in commitments, cash I merely don’t have except I unload different belongings or return to buying and selling my time for cash. Then, after all, I need to proceed shopping for the dip within the S&P 500 and different particular person tech shares in the event that they do unload. If solely I had an enormous paycheck once more. I might put money into all three funds with ease.
Capital Calls and Actuality Checks
Good factor capital commitments aren’t drawn instantly. Sometimes, funds name capital over a 3–4 12 months interval. The cybersecurity fund, for instance, will name 25% upfront, then the remaining 75% over three years. Meaning I’d have to plan for about $35,000 a 12 months in capital outlay.
If I have been nonetheless incomes a number of six figures, this wouldn’t be an enormous subject. My passive earnings already covers our fundamental dwelling bills. However as twin unemployed mother and father, an additional $75,000–$100,000 a 12 months in enterprise commitments, if I put money into the opposite fund as effectively, is a stretch. Our passive earnings does not have a big sufficient cushion.
Writing books doesn’t pay a lot (although it’s deeply fulfilling). I’ve deliberately restricted my consulting work to only one shopper a month. And I actually do not need to get a job. The tradeoff is peace and suppleness, however the draw back is much less dry powder to speculate.
So as an alternative, I’ll have to reallocate capital, probably from expiring Treasury payments relatively than promoting appreciated shares and paying capital good points tax. However doing so shifts a few of my threat profile from ultra-safe to speculative, which might be harmful if we’re coming into a late-stage 1999-like market. Simply take a look at Meta’s inventory drop 14% thus far after 3Q2025 outcomes. However I need to purchase a few of that inventory too.
These late-cycle portfolio shifts towards extra threat are sometimes what result in bother as soon as the following bear market hits. Then once more, if we’re nearer to 1994 than 1999, possibly going all-in isn’t so loopy in any case.
Takeaways Of Incomes And Not Incomes Throughout A Bull Market
I’ve shared two funding case research – one public, one non-public – illustrating how missing lively earnings throughout a bull market will be suboptimal. Listed here are some takeaways for these of you lucky sufficient to have well-paying jobs.
1) For those who’re working, double down on saving and investing now.
These are your golden years, a uncommon overlap of regular earnings and booming markets. Don’t squander it. Each further greenback invested throughout a bull run compounds quicker and units you up for when the inevitable downturn comes. The window of alternative by no means stays open without end.
Automate your contributions, front-load your retirement accounts, and reap the benefits of employer matches when you can. At some point, you’ll look again at this era as “the simple mode” of wealth constructing.
2) For those who’re FIRE, embrace enoughness.
You gained’t have the ability to put money into each sizzling alternative, be taught to be OK with it. You have already got investments which can be compounding within the background. The very last thing you need is a liquidity crunch that forces you to promote belongings or, worse, stress about cash whenever you’re presupposed to be free and relaxed.
It’s disappointing to really feel left behind when markets roar and your earnings is little or zero. However remind your self that you simply’ve already gained a special sport, one the place freedom and autonomy matter greater than W-2 earnings. Your current investments are already doing effectively in a bull market.
Enoughness means figuring out you may get pleasure from a slower morning, a late-morning tennis match, or a noon nap with no need anybody’s permission. Your wealth is now not simply monetary; it’s measured in time and selection.
And if you happen to proceed having bother embracing enoughness, then the one answer is to construct up your passive earnings giant sufficient to have an even bigger weekly money circulate buffer.
3) Don’t chase each shiny deal as a result of many will not work out.
You’ll all the time see somebody making a killing in some funding. Allow them to. Chasing yield or FOMO-driven investments typically results in self-inflicted ache. Maintain your powder dry in order that when true alternatives come up, you’ll have the arrogance and money to behave calmly.
The truth is that nearly each funding seems superb in a bull market. However not each funding will work out. Early-stage enterprise, specifically, has a brutal mortality fee (~90%). That’s why I choose diversifying by enterprise capital funds relatively than particular person startups.
If you wish to be an angel investor, you want sufficient capital to unfold throughout at the very least 20–50 corporations, plus the abdomen for a lot of of them to fail. The minimal verify sizes are often $25,000 – $50,000, which poses one other hurdle for many buyers who need to construct a diversified portfolio.
4) All the time steadiness threat with psychological freedom.
It’s simple to overlook that peace of thoughts can also be a return on funding. The purpose isn’t to die with the largest portfolio; it’s to stay the richest life doable with the assets you’ve got.
In case your portfolio offers you anxiousness, you’ve gone too far out on the chance curve. If it makes you complacent, possibly you’ve gone too far the opposite means. The candy spot is the place your cash works onerous sufficient so that you can sleep effectively at evening—and get up excited for the day.
5) The irony of FIRE in a bull market can result in hazard.
Being FIRE in a bull market, paradoxically, you could find yourself taking extra threat to attempt to sustain. Standard knowledge says retirees ought to dial down threat as soon as their paycheck stops. But, as you noticed with my IRA monetary skilled evaluation, I’ve 99% of my IRA in shares. Partly, that’s as a result of it’s cash I gained’t contact till I’m 60+. However the larger motive is psychological. I don’t need to really feel like I’m falling too far behind.
Since my outdated 401(ok) now not receives firm revenue sharing, I went all-in on equities after leaving work in 2012. It’s an odd irony: the much less you earn, the extra aggressive you may really feel compelled to be, simply to remain even. Watch out because the downturns might be extra painful with an absence of earnings and a severely underperforming portfolio.
In The Finish, Investing is About Tradeoffs
In some unspecified time in the future, you understand wealth isn’t about chasing each sizzling funding, it is about constructing sufficient wealth the place you may push cash into the background so you may stay your life freely. Whether or not you’re incomes or not, the bottom line is to align your cash along with your values, shield your time, and make peace with the truth that you’ll by no means seize each alternative.
Freedom, in any case, is the final word dividend.
Every other retirees or FIRE people really feel a twinge of envy watching this bull market roar with out a paycheck to feed it? It’s unusual to have achieved monetary freedom, but nonetheless really feel a touch of FOMO when new alternatives seem. How do you handle the urge to chase, or the sense that you simply’re falling behind—although, technically, you’ve already gained the sport?
Disclaimer: This put up just isn’t funding recommendation for you, as I do not know of your monetary scenario and targets. I am sharing with what I am doing with my cash. Please all the time do your due diligence and settle for that there are not any assured returns when investing in threat belongings. Do your due diligence and solely put money into what you’re ready to lose.
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