It’s a raging bull market, and I’ll admit, I’m a bit aggravated I don’t have a big paycheck anymore to benefit from extra funding alternatives. Every single day, 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 move constrained.
In a earlier publish, 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 once we’re already all-in – creates a sense of deprivation. You wish to make investments, however you merely haven’t got the money move to take action.
In case you have a job, particularly one which pays properly, don’t take it with no consideration! Save and make investments as a lot as you possibly can whereas occasions are good. In the future, the revenue will sluggish or cease, and also you’ll want you had invested extra if 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 superb. But it surely’s not all the time sushi and snowboarding in Niseko.
Being cash-strapped throughout a bull market is likely one of the more durable realities of FIRE.
When You Don’t Have Sufficient Revenue to Spend money on Alternatives
Proper now, my household faces two existential challenges:
- The potential decline of impartial on-line media platforms as a result of 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 might not be sufficient well-paying alternatives for them to stay independently.
Given these two traits, my plan is straightforward: make investments aggressively and educate my youngsters all the pieces I can about life. I’ll create a partnership with their faculty lecturers, 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 dwelling.
Did not Have Sufficient Money Move 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 put money into 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 method 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 had been beginning to make me nervous. The inventory finally dipped to $239 on October 9, so I made my closing buy of the yr the subsequent day.
Regardless that I remained bullish, a part of me puzzled if the decline from $250 was the beginning of a deeper correction. The actual motive 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 preserve 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 instantly, since they do not pay revenue taxes. Go USA!
Missed The Subsequent Ramp Larger
Then, on October 21, one thing fascinating occurred. ChatGPT, one other firm I personal shares in by way 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 studies confirmed Google’s search market share had really began to rebound.
However I didn’t purchase. With out regular money move mid-month, like most individuals with day jobs have, I needed to wait till the top 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 larger.
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 subsequent case examine on why having a pleasant large 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. Nevertheless, I’ve been targeted on constructing extra non-public 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.
To date, I’ve allotted $193,100 to my youngsters’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 way of dollar-cost averaging because the funding minimal is simply $10.
However Fundrise, which invests in later-stage non-public development firms, isn’t my solely enterprise publicity. In truth, it is comparatively new, having solely invested in its enterprise product since 2023.
Inside the enterprise area, 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 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 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 must 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 desires to put money into 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 rather more palatable.
Nonetheless, investing in each would require at the very least $350,000 in commitments, cash I merely don’t have except I dump 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 dump. If solely I had an enormous paycheck once more. I might 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 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 an enormous difficulty. My passive revenue already covers our fundamental dwelling bills. However as twin unemployed dad and mom, an additional $75,000–$100,000 a yr in enterprise commitments, if I put money into the opposite fund as properly, 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 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 a substitute, I’ll must reallocate capital, possible from expiring Treasury payments quite than promoting appreciated shares and paying capital positive aspects tax. However doing so shifts a few of my threat profile from ultra-safe to speculative, which might be harmful if we’re getting into a late-stage 1999-like market. Simply take a look at Meta’s inventory drop 14% to date after 3Q2025 outcomes.
These late-cycle portfolio shifts towards extra threat 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 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 energetic revenue throughout a bull market may be suboptimal. Listed here are some takeaways for these of you lucky sufficient to have well-paying jobs.
1) If you happen to’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 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 perpetually.
Automate your contributions, front-load your retirement accounts, and benefit from employer matches whilst you can. In the future, you’ll look again at this era as “the straightforward mode” of wealth constructing.
2) If you happen to’re FIRE, embrace enoughness.
You gained’t have the ability 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 if you’re purported 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 gained a distinct 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 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 should you proceed having bother embracing enoughness, then the one resolution is to construct up your passive revenue massive sufficient to have an even bigger weekly money move 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. Preserve your powder dry in order that when true alternatives come up, you’ll have the boldness and money to behave calmly.
The truth is that nearly each funding seems to be superb 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 desire diversifying by way of enterprise capital funds quite 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 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 buyers who wish to construct a diversified portfolio.
4) All the time steadiness threat with psychological freedom.
It’s simple to neglect that peace of thoughts can be a return on funding. The purpose isn’t to die with the most important portfolio; it’s to stay the richest life attainable with the sources you’ve got.
In case your portfolio offers you nervousness, you’ve gone too far out on the danger curve. If it makes you complacent, possibly you’ve gone too far the opposite manner. The candy spot is the place your cash works exhausting sufficient so that you can sleep properly 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, it’s possible 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 evaluate, 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 can 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 possibly can push cash into the background so you possibly can stay 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 last word dividend.
Some other retirees or FIRE people really feel a twinge of envy watching this bull market roar with out 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—despite the fact that, technically, you’ve already gained the sport?
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