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 reap the benefits of extra funding alternatives. Each 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 take pleasure in 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 haven’t got the money circulate to take action.
When you’ve got a job, particularly one which pays effectively, don’t take it with no consideration! 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 once 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 among the more durable realities of FIRE. You should be taught 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 impartial on-line media platforms on account of AI disruption.
- The danger that AI will remove hundreds of 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 stay independently.
Given these two developments, my plan is straightforward: make investments aggressively and train my kids all the pieces I can about life. I’ll create a partnership with their college lecturers, as a substitute of simply outsourcing 100% of my kids’s training 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 dwelling.
This put up will delve into the emotional facet of cash and FIRE. As a result of even when you suppose you might have sufficient, chances are you’ll lengthy for extra, particularly when you have folks relying on you.
Did not Have Sufficient Money Circulate To Make investments Extra In Google
I’ve acknowledged Google’s dominance within the “new media” panorama for effectively over a decade. It’s develop into a close to monopoly in search, and as a capitalist, I wish to put money into monopolies that generate outsized income. 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 strategy to hedge towards 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 had been beginning to make me nervous. The inventory ultimately dipped to $239 on October 9, so I made my closing buy of the yr the subsequent day.
Despite the fact that I remained bullish, a part of me puzzled 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 operating low on money and had taxes due by October 15. With no large paycheck coming in anymore, I couldn’t preserve including to my place.
My obligation is to pay earnings taxes to assist fund the federal government companies 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 enormous healthcare subsidies for individuals who can not. Go USA!
Missed The Subsequent Ramp Greater
Then, on October 21, one thing attention-grabbing occurred. ChatGPT, one other firm I personal shares in via 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 experiences 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 Personal AI Investments
Now for the subsequent case examine on why having a pleasant large paycheck throughout a bull market is most popular.
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 kids. The bull market has been form 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 kids’s Fundrise enterprise account, with publicity to personal AI firms like OpenAI, Databricks, Anduril, and Anthropic. My purpose is to contribute a complete of $300,000 over the subsequent two years via dollar-cost averaging because the funding minimal is barely $10. Nonetheless, on account of my lack of money circulate, I really feel like I am too gradual to catch the prepare.
However Fundrise, which invests in later-stage personal progress firms, isn’t my solely enterprise publicity. Throughout the enterprise house, I wish to diversify throughout the corporate lifecycle, from pre-seed to later levels. The sooner the funding stage, the larger the danger, however the larger the reward.
The Temptation to Hold Diversifying My Personal 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 college dad elevating a cybersecurity fund. He bought his final startup to a serious public firm and now desires to put money into pre-seed and seed-stage safety startups. He’s well-connected, good, and genuinely likable. Supporting good folks is at all times a pleasure. And his minimal funding is $100,000, which is way more palatable.
Nonetheless, investing in each would require not less than $350,000 in commitments, cash I merely don’t have until I unload different property or return to buying and selling my time for cash. Then, after all, 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 unload. If solely I had an enormous paycheck once more. I may 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 yr 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 yr in capital outlay.
If I had been nonetheless incomes a number of six figures, this wouldn’t be an enormous problem. My passive earnings already covers our fundamental residing bills. However as twin unemployed mother and father, an additional $75,000–$100,000 a yr 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 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, probably from expiring Treasury payments quite than promoting appreciated shares and paying capital beneficial properties 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% 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 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 personal – illustrating how missing energetic earnings throughout a bull market could be suboptimal. Listed here are some takeaways for these of you lucky sufficient to have well-paying jobs.
1) In case 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 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 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) In case you’re FIRE, embrace enoughness.
You received’t be capable to put money into 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 property or, worse, stress about cash once you’re purported 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 special recreation, one the place freedom and autonomy matter greater than W-2 earnings. Your present investments are already doing effectively in a bull market.
Enoughness means realizing you may take pleasure in 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 when you 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 circulate 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. Hold your powder dry in order that when true alternatives come up, you’ll have the arrogance and money to behave calmly.
The fact is that virtually each funding appears to be like 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 desire diversifying via enterprise capital funds quite 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 normally $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 straightforward to neglect 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 sources you might have.
In case your portfolio provides you anxiousness, you’ve gone too far out on the danger curve. If it makes you complacent, perhaps you’ve gone too far the opposite method. The candy spot is the place your cash works laborious 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 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 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 wish to really feel like I’m falling too far behind.
Since my previous 401(okay) 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
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 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 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 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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