It’s a raging bull market, and I’ll admit, I’m just a little irritated I don’t have a big paycheck anymore to benefit from extra funding alternatives. On daily basis, I see individuals with regular W-2 revenue are funneling 1000’s into shares, actual property, and personal offers. In the meantime, I’m sitting right here, asset wealthy however money circulation constrained.
In a earlier publish, we mentioned how liquidity is the primary distinction between feeling like a poor versus a rich millionaire. For these of us who enjoy investing more than spending, not having a paycheck – particularly once we’re already all-in – creates a sense of deprivation. You need to make investments, however you merely haven’t got the money circulation to take action.
You probably have a job, particularly one which pays nicely, don’t take it without any consideration! Save and make investments as a lot as you may whereas instances are good. Someday, the revenue will gradual or cease, and also you’ll want you had invested extra whenever you had the possibility.
Since writing about FIRE again in 2009, I’ve at all times tried to share each the highs and lows of economic independence. Escaping a job you dislike to do no matter you need is superb. But it surely’s not at all times sushi and snowboarding in Niseko.
Being cash-strapped throughout a bull market is likely one of the tougher realities of FIRE.
When You Don’t Have Sufficient Revenue to Put money into Alternatives
Proper now, my household faces two existential challenges:
- The potential decline of unbiased on-line media platforms attributable to AI disruption.
- The chance that AI will remove 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 reside independently.
Given these two developments, my plan is easy: make investments aggressively and train my youngsters the whole lot I can about life. I’ll create a partnership with their college academics, as a substitute of simply outsourcing 100percentof my youngsters’s schooling to them.
The world is altering too rapidly, and the teachings that may matter most – resilience, creativity, emotional intelligence, and monetary literacy – should come from residence.
Did not Have Sufficient Money Circulation To Make investments Extra In Google
I’ve acknowledged Google’s dominance within the “new media” panorama for nicely over a decade. It’s turn into a close to monopoly in search, and as a capitalist, I need to invest in monopolies that generate outsized profits. On the similar 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 solution to hedge towards that danger.
I’d been steadily shopping for shares all year long however slowed down as soon as the worth hit $250 in September 2025. Valuations had been beginning to make me nervous. The inventory finally dipped to $239 on October 9, so I made my last buy of the yr the following day.
Although I remained bullish, a part of me puzzled if the decline from $250 was the beginning of a deeper correction. The actual cause I ended shopping for, although, was easy. I used to be operating low on money and had taxes due by October 15. With out a huge paycheck coming in anymore, I couldn’t hold including to my place.
My responsibility is to pay revenue taxes to assist fund the federal government providers that about 40% of Individuals don’t contribute to immediately, since they do not pay revenue taxes. Go USA!
Missed The Subsequent Ramp Increased
Then, on October 21, one thing fascinating occurred. ChatGPT, one other firm I personal shares in via Fundrise Venture, introduced the launch of Atlas, an AI-powered net browser designed to compete immediately with Google.
The information despatched Google’s inventory tumbling from up on the day to down sharply. I needed to purchase the dip as a result of it felt like an overreaction, particularly since experiences confirmed Google’s search market share had truly began to rebound.
However I didn’t purchase. With out regular money circulation mid-month, like most individuals with day jobs have, I needed to wait till the tip of the month for passive revenue from bonds, dividends, and rental properties. Then, on October 29, Google reported stellar earnings after the shut, and the inventory shot increased.
Ugh. For an investor, few issues are extra painful than having the correct funding thesis however failing to execute. But once more, a painful reminder that chance typically favors these with regular revenue and ample liquidity.
Diversifying Non-public 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 easy to do. Nonetheless, I’ve been centered on constructing more private AI investment exposure for my children. The bull market has been form to folks 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 date, I’ve allotted $193,100 to my youngsters’s Fundrise venture account, with publicity to non-public AI firms like OpenAI, Databricks, Anduril, and Anthropic. My aim is to contribute a complete of $300,000 over the following two years via dollar-cost averaging because the funding minimal is barely $10.
However Fundrise, which invests in later-stage personal development firms, isn’t my solely enterprise publicity. In actual fact, it is comparatively new, having solely invested in its enterprise product since 2023.
Inside the enterprise house, 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 Preserve Diversifying My Non-public Investments
An current VC agency the place I’m an LP is launching one other fund that focuses on seed and Sequence A rounds. They simply employed a brand new GP who I personally know and suppose he is very sensible, 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 must 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 desires to spend money on pre-seed and seed-stage safety startups. He’s well-connected, sensible, and genuinely likable. Supporting good individuals is at all times a pleasure. And his minimal funding is $100,000, which is rather more palatable.
Nonetheless, investing in each would require not less than $350,000 in commitments, cash I merely don’t have except I dump different belongings or return to buying and selling my time for cash. Then, after all, I need to proceed buying the dip in the S&P 500 and different particular person tech shares in the event that they do dump. If solely I had a giant paycheck once more. I may spend money on all three funds with ease.
Capital Calls and Actuality Checks
Good factor capital commitments aren’t drawn instantly. Usually, funds name capital over a 3–4 yr interval. The cybersecurity fund, for instance, will name 25% upfront, then the remaining 75% over three years. Meaning I’d must plan for about $35,000 a yr in capital outlay.
If I had been nonetheless incomes a number of six figures, this wouldn’t be a giant concern. My passive revenue already covers our fundamental residing bills. However as dual unemployed parents, an additional $75,000–$100,000 a yr in enterprise commitments, if I spend money on the opposite fund as nicely, is a stretch. Our passive revenue would 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 adaptability, however the draw back is much less dry powder to speculate.
So as a substitute, I’ll must reallocate capital, possible from expiring Treasury payments fairly than promoting appreciated shares and paying capital positive factors tax. However doing so shifts a few of my danger profile from ultra-safe to speculative, which could possibly be harmful if we’re coming into a late-stage 1999-like market. Simply have a look at Meta’s inventory drop 14% to date after 3Q2025 outcomes.
These late-cycle portfolio shifts towards extra danger are sometimes what result in hassle 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 spite of everything.
Takeaways Of Incomes And Not Incomes Throughout A Bull Market
I’ve shared two funding case research – one public, one personal – illustrating how missing lively revenue throughout a bull market will be suboptimal. Listed below are some takeaways for these of you lucky sufficient to have well-paying jobs.
1) When you’re working, double down on saving and investing now.
These are your golden years, a uncommon overlap of regular revenue 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 opportunity by no means stays open endlessly.
Automate your contributions, front-load your retirement accounts, and benefit from employer matches whilst you can. Someday, you’ll look again at this era as “the straightforward mode” of wealth constructing.
2) When you’re FIRE, embrace enoughness.
You received’t have the ability to spend money on each sizzling alternative, be taught to be OK with it. You have already got investments which might 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 alleged to be free and relaxed.
It’s disappointing to really feel left behind when markets roar and your revenue is little or zero. However remind your self that you just’ve already received a unique sport, one the place freedom and autonomy matter greater than W-2 earnings. Your current investments are already doing nicely 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 while not having anybody’s permission. Your wealth is not simply monetary; it’s measured in time and selection.
And for those who proceed having hassle embracing enoughness, then the one answer is to build up your passive income giant sufficient to have an even bigger weekly money circulation buffer.
3) Don’t chase each shiny deal as a result of many will not work out.
You’ll at all times see somebody making a killing in some funding. Allow them to. Chasing yield or FOMO-driven investments typically results in self-inflicted ache. Preserve your powder dry in order that when true alternatives come up, you’ll have the boldness and money to behave calmly.
The fact is that nearly each funding seems to be superb in a bull market. However not each funding will work out. Early-stage enterprise, particularly, has a brutal mortality charge (~90%). That’s why I desire diversifying via venture capital funds fairly than particular person startups.
If you wish to be an angel investor, you want sufficient capital to unfold throughout not less than 20–50 firms, plus the abdomen for a lot of of them to fail. The minimal test sizes are often $25,000 – $50,000, which poses one other hurdle for many buyers who need to construct a diversified portfolio.
4) At all times stability danger with psychological freedom.
It’s simple to neglect that peace of thoughts can also be a return on funding. The aim isn’t to die with the largest portfolio; it’s to reside the richest life potential with the assets you’ve got.
In case your portfolio provides you anxiousness, you’ve gone too far out on the risk curve. If it makes you complacent, possibly you’ve gone too far the opposite means. The candy spot is the place your cash works arduous sufficient so that you can sleep nicely at night time—and get up excited for the day.
5) The irony of FIRE in a bull market.
Being FIRE in a bull market, paradoxically, you could find yourself taking extra danger to attempt to sustain. Standard knowledge says retirees ought to dial down danger as soon as their paycheck stops. But, as you noticed with my IRA financial professional review, I’ve 99% of my IRA in shares. Partly, that’s as a result of it’s cash I received’t contact till I’m 60+. However the greater cause is psychological. I don’t need to really feel like I’m falling too far behind.
Since my previous 401(ok) 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 would possibly really feel compelled to be, simply to remain even. Watch out because the downturns shall be extra painful with a scarcity of revenue and a severely underperforming portfolio.
In The Finish, Investing is About Tradeoffs
Sooner or later, you notice 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 reside your life freely. Whether or not you’re incomes or not, the secret’s to align your cash together with your values, shield your time, and make peace with the truth that you’ll by no means seize each alternative.
Freedom, in spite of everything, is the final word dividend.
Every other retirees or FIRE people really feel a twinge of envy watching this bull market roar and not using 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 just’re falling behind—regardless that, technically, you’ve already received the sport?
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