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 make the most of extra funding alternatives. Day-after-day, I see individuals with regular W-2 earnings are funneling hundreds 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 haven’t got the money circulate to take action.
When you’ve got a job, particularly one which pays effectively, don’t take it as a right! Save and make investments as a lot as you’ll be able to whereas instances are good. At some point, the earnings will gradual 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 all the time tried to share each the highs and lows of economic independence. Escaping a job you dislike to do no matter you need is superb. However it’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 could study to be snug falling behind, or a minimum of not working up the rating.
When You Don’t Have Sufficient Earnings to Put money into Alternatives
Proper now, my household faces two existential challenges:
- The potential decline of impartial on-line media platforms resulting from AI disruption.
- The chance that AI will remove thousands and thousands of jobs – so by the point my kids graduate in 2040 and 2043, there might not be sufficient well-paying alternatives for them to dwell independently.
Given these two traits, my plan is easy: make investments aggressively and educate my kids every thing I can about life. I’ll create a partnership with their faculty academics, as a substitute of simply outsourcing 100percentof my kids’s training 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 residence.
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 change into a close to monopoly in search, and as a capitalist, I need to spend money on 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 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 have been beginning to make me nervous. The inventory ultimately dipped to $239 on October 9, so I made my closing buy of the 12 months the subsequent day.
Regardless that I remained bullish, a part of me questioned if the decline from $250 was the beginning of a deeper correction. The true purpose I finished 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 Individuals don’t contribute to immediately, since they do not pay earnings taxes. It is the identical philosophy of understanding and consuming proper to pay enormous healthcare subsidies for many who can’t. Go USA!
Missed The Subsequent Ramp Larger
Then, on October 21, one thing attention-grabbing 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 needed to purchase the dip as a result of it felt like an overreaction, particularly since reviews confirmed Google’s search market share had really 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 tip 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 precise 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 subsequent case examine on why having a pleasant huge paycheck throughout a bull market is most popular.
Public market investments are my bread and butter for investing since it is easy to do. Nevertheless, I’ve been centered on constructing extra non-public AI funding publicity for my kids. The bull market has been variety 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 kids’s Fundrise enterprise account, with publicity to non-public AI firms like OpenAI, Databricks, Anduril, and Anthropic. My purpose is to contribute a complete of $300,000 over the subsequent two years by dollar-cost averaging because the funding minimal is barely $10. Nevertheless, resulting from 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 development firms, isn’t my solely enterprise publicity. Throughout the enterprise area, I need to diversify throughout the corporate lifecycle, from pre-seed to later levels. The sooner the funding stage, the larger the chance, however the larger the reward.
The Temptation to Maintain 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 Collection A rounds. They only employed a brand new GP who I personally know and assume 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 faculty dad elevating a cybersecurity fund. He bought his final startup to a serious 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 all the time a pleasure. And his minimal funding is $100,000, which is rather more palatable.
Nonetheless, investing in each would require a minimum of $350,000 in commitments, cash I merely don’t have until I dump different belongings or return to buying and selling my time for cash. Then, in fact, 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 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 must 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 primary dwelling bills. However as twin unemployed dad and mom, an additional $75,000–$100,000 a 12 months in enterprise commitments, if I spend money on the opposite fund as effectively, is a stretch. Our passive earnings 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 suppleness, however the draw back is much less dry powder to speculate.
So as a substitute, I’ll must reallocate capital, probably from expiring Treasury payments fairly than promoting appreciated shares and paying capital positive aspects tax. However doing so shifts a few of my danger 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 need to purchase a few of that inventory too.
These late-cycle portfolio shifts towards extra danger are sometimes what result in hassle as soon as the subsequent bear market hits. Then once more, if we’re nearer to 1994 than 1999, perhaps 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 non-public – illustrating how missing lively earnings throughout a bull market could be suboptimal. Listed below 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 additional greenback invested throughout a bull run compounds sooner and units you up for when the inevitable downturn comes. The window of alternative by no means stays open eternally.
Automate your contributions, front-load your retirement accounts, and make the most 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 received’t be capable to spend money on each sizzling 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 imagined 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 received a unique 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’ll be able to 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 should you proceed having hassle embracing enoughness, then the one resolution is to construct up your passive earnings giant sufficient to have a much 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 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 seems superb in a bull market. However not each funding will work out. Early-stage enterprise, particularly, has a brutal mortality price (~90%). That’s why I want diversifying by enterprise capital funds fairly than particular person startups.
If you wish to be an angel investor, you want sufficient capital to unfold throughout a minimum of 20–50 firms, plus the abdomen for a lot of of them to fail. The minimal verify sizes are normally $25,000 – $50,000, which poses one other hurdle for many traders who need to construct a diversified portfolio.
4) All the time stability danger with psychological freedom.
It’s straightforward to neglect that peace of thoughts can be a return on funding. The purpose isn’t to die with the largest portfolio; it’s to dwell the richest life doable with the sources you’ve gotten.
In case your portfolio offers you nervousness, 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 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, chances are you’ll 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 monetary skilled overview, 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 purpose 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 a wierd 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 will likely be extra painful with a scarcity 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’ll be able to push cash into the background so you’ll be able to dwell your life freely. Whether or not you’re incomes or not, the hot button 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 spite of everything, is the final word dividend.
Some other retirees or FIRE people 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 received the sport?
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