It’s a raging bull market, and I’ll admit, I’m slightly aggravated I don’t have a big paycheck anymore to make the most of extra funding alternatives. Each 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 stream 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 wish to make investments, however you merely do not have the money stream to take action.
When you have a job, particularly one which pays properly, don’t take it without any consideration! Save and make investments as a lot as you may whereas instances are good. At some point, the earnings will sluggish 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 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 wonderful. But it surely’s not all the time sushi and snowboarding in Niseko.
Being cash-strapped throughout a bull market is without doubt one of the harder 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 impartial on-line media platforms because of AI disruption.
- The danger that AI will eradicate thousands and thousands 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 tendencies, my plan is straightforward: make investments aggressively and train my youngsters every little thing I can about life. I’ll create a partnership with their faculty academics, as an alternative of simply outsourcing 100percentof my youngsters’s training 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 dwelling.
Did not Have Sufficient Money Circulation To Make investments Extra In Google
I’ve acknowledged Google’s dominance within the “new media” panorama for properly over a decade. It’s change into a close to monopoly in search, and as a capitalist, I wish 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 option to hedge in opposition to that danger.
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 finally dipped to $239 on October 9, so I made my ultimate buy of the 12 months the subsequent 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 no large paycheck coming in anymore, I couldn’t hold including to my place.
My obligation is to pay earnings taxes to assist fund the federal government providers that about 40% of People don’t contribute to instantly, since they do not pay earnings taxes. Go USA!
Missed The Subsequent Ramp Increased
Then, on October 21, one thing attention-grabbing 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 really began to rebound.
However I didn’t purchase. With out regular money stream 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 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 earnings and ample liquidity.
Diversifying Non-public 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 simple to do. Nonetheless, I’ve been targeted on constructing extra personal AI funding publicity for my youngsters. The bull market has been variety 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 date, 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 subsequent two years by means of dollar-cost averaging for the reason that funding minimal is just $10.
However Fundrise, which invests in later-stage personal progress corporations, isn’t my solely enterprise publicity. In actual fact, it is comparatively new, having solely invested in its enterprise product since 2023.
Throughout 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 Hold 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 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 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, good, and genuinely likable. Supporting good individuals 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 property 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 unload. 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 instantly. Usually, 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 had been nonetheless incomes a number of six figures, this wouldn’t be an enormous concern. My passive earnings already covers our primary residing 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 properly, 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 speculate.
So as an alternative, I’ll have to reallocate capital, probably from expiring Treasury payments slightly than promoting appreciated shares and paying capital beneficial properties 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% up to now after 3Q2025 outcomes.
These late-cycle portfolio shifts towards extra danger are sometimes what result in bother as soon as the subsequent 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 personal – illustrating how missing lively earnings throughout a bull market may be suboptimal. Listed below are some takeaways for these of you lucky sufficient to have well-paying jobs.
1) In the event 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 further 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 without end.
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 straightforward mode” of wealth constructing.
2) In the event you’re FIRE, embrace enoughness.
You received’t be capable of spend money on each sizzling alternative, study 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 property or, worse, stress about cash whenever 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 unique recreation, one the place freedom and autonomy matter greater than W-2 earnings. Your current investments are already doing properly in a bull market.
Enoughness means realizing 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 now not simply monetary; it’s measured in time and selection.
And for those who proceed having bother embracing enoughness, then the one resolution is to construct up your passive earnings giant sufficient to have a much bigger weekly money stream 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. 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 wonderful 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 means of enterprise capital funds slightly 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 test sizes are normally $25,000 – $50,000, which poses one other hurdle for many traders who wish to construct a diversified portfolio.
4) At all times stability danger with psychological freedom.
It’s straightforward to overlook that peace of thoughts can also be a return on funding. The purpose isn’t to die with the most important portfolio; it’s to reside the richest life doable with the sources you could have.
In case your portfolio provides you nervousness, you’ve gone too far out on the chance curve. If it makes you complacent, possibly you’ve gone too far the opposite manner. The candy spot is the place your cash works arduous sufficient so that you can sleep properly at evening—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 monetary skilled evaluate, 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 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 can 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 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 is to align your cash together 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.
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 simply’re falling behind—regardless that, technically, you’ve already received the sport?
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