It’s a raging bull market, and I’ll confess, I’m a little bit aggravated I don’t have a big paycheck anymore to benefit from extra funding alternatives. Day by day, I see individuals 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 movement constrained.
In a earlier put up, we mentioned how liquidity is the principle 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 once we’re already all-in – creates a sense of deprivation. You wish to make investments, however you merely do not have the money movement to take action.
You probably have a job, particularly one which pays nicely, don’t take it as a right! Save and make investments as a lot as you possibly can whereas occasions are good. At some point, the earnings will sluggish or cease, and also you’ll want you had invested extra while you had the prospect.
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 wonderful. However it’s not at all times sushi and snowboarding in Niseko.
Being cash-strapped throughout a bull market is among the harder realities of FIRE. It’s essential to study to be snug falling behind, or not less than not operating 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 chance that AI will eradicate tens of millions of jobs – so by the point my youngsters graduate in 2040 and 2043, there might not be sufficient well-paying alternatives for them to reside independently.
Given these two traits, my plan is easy: make investments aggressively and train my youngsters every part I can about life. I’ll create a partnership with their faculty academics, as a substitute of simply outsourcing 100% of my youngsters’s schooling to them.
The world is altering too rapidly, 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 aspect of cash and FIRE. As a result of even if you happen to suppose you’ve gotten sufficient, you could lengthy for extra, particularly you probably have individuals relying on you.
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 develop into a close to monopoly in search, and as a capitalist, I wish to spend money on monopolies that generate outsized earnings. 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 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 worth hit $250 in September 2025. Valuations have been beginning to make me nervous. The inventory finally dipped to $239 on October 9, so I made my ultimate buy of the 12 months the following day.
Though I remained bullish, a part of me puzzled if the decline from $250 was the beginning of a deeper correction. The true motive 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 preserve including to my place.
My responsibility is to pay earnings taxes to assist fund the federal government providers that about 40% of Individuals don’t contribute to instantly, since they do not pay earnings taxes. It is the identical philosophy of figuring out and consuming proper to pay enormous healthcare subsidies for individuals who can not. Go USA!
Missed The Subsequent Ramp Larger
Then, on October 21, one thing fascinating occurred. ChatGPT, one other firm I personal shares in by means of Fundrise Enterprise, introduced the launch of Atlas, an AI-powered internet browser designed to compete instantly 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 experiences confirmed Google’s search market share had truly began to rebound.
However I didn’t purchase. With out regular money movement 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 appropriate funding thesis however failing to execute. But once more, a prickly reminder that chance usually favors these with regular earnings 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 targeted on constructing extra personal 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.
Thus far, I’ve allotted $193,100 to my youngsters’s Fundrise enterprise account, with publicity to non-public AI corporations like OpenAI, Databricks, Anduril, and Anthropic. My objective is to contribute a complete of $300,000 over the following two years by means of dollar-cost averaging for the reason that funding minimal is simply $10. Nonetheless, attributable to my lack of money movement, I really feel like I am too sluggish to catch the prepare.
However Fundrise, which invests in later-stage personal progress corporations, isn’t my solely enterprise publicity. Inside the enterprise area, I wish 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 Non-public Investments
An present 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 suppose 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 faculty dad elevating a cybersecurity fund. He bought his final startup to a significant public firm and now needs to spend money on pre-seed and seed-stage safety startups. He’s well-connected, good, and genuinely likable. Supporting good individuals is at all times a pleasure. And his minimal funding is $100,000, which is far 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, in fact, I wish to proceed shopping for the dip within the S&P 500 and different particular person tech shares in the event that they do dump. If solely I had an enormous 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 immediately. 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. Which means 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 concern. 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 spend money on the opposite fund as nicely, 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 consumer a month. And I actually do not wish to get a job. The tradeoff is peace and suppleness, however the draw back is much less dry powder to take a position.
So as a substitute, I’ll have to reallocate capital, possible from expiring Treasury payments fairly than promoting appreciated shares and paying capital features 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 have a look at Meta’s inventory drop 14% to date after 3Q2025 outcomes. However I wish to purchase a few of that inventory too.
These late-cycle portfolio shifts towards extra threat 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, perhaps 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 personal – illustrating how missing energetic earnings 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 earnings and booming markets. Don’t squander it. Each additional 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 perpetually.
Automate your contributions, front-load your retirement accounts, and benefit from employer matches whilst you can. At some point, you’ll look again at this era as “the simple mode” of wealth constructing.
2) When you’re FIRE, embrace enoughness.
You gained’t be capable to spend money on each scorching alternative, study to be OK with it. You have already got investments which are 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 while 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 distinct recreation, one the place freedom and autonomy matter greater than W-2 earnings. Your present investments are already doing nicely in a bull market.
Enoughness means figuring out you possibly can 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 hassle embracing enoughness, then the one answer is to construct up your passive earnings giant sufficient to have an even bigger weekly money movement 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 usually results in self-inflicted ache. Maintain 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 appears wonderful in a bull market. However not each funding will work out. Early-stage enterprise, particularly, has a brutal mortality fee (~90%). That’s why I want diversifying by means of enterprise 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 corporations, plus the abdomen for a lot of of them to fail. The minimal examine sizes are often $25,000 – $50,000, which poses one other hurdle for many traders who wish to construct a diversified portfolio.
4) All the time stability threat with psychological freedom.
It’s simple to overlook that peace of thoughts can be a return on funding. The objective isn’t to die with the largest portfolio; it’s to reside the richest life potential with the assets you’ve gotten.
In case your portfolio provides you anxiousness, you’ve gone too far out on the chance curve. If it makes you complacent, perhaps you’ve gone too far the opposite method. The candy spot is the place your cash works exhausting 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 can result in hazard.
Being FIRE in a bull market, paradoxically, you could find yourself taking extra threat to attempt to sustain. Typical knowledge says retirees ought to dial down threat as soon as their paycheck stops. But, as you noticed with my IRA monetary skilled overview, 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 wish 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 would possibly 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 scorching funding, it is about constructing sufficient wealth the place you possibly can push cash into the background so you possibly can reside your life freely. Whether or not you’re incomes or not, the bottom line is to align your cash along with your values, defend your time, and make peace with the truth that you’ll by no means seize each alternative.
Freedom, in any case, is the last word dividend.
Some other retirees or FIRE of us really feel a twinge of envy watching this bull market roar with no 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—despite the fact that, technically, you’ve already gained the sport?
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