Hi all,
I'm not FIRE yet, but I own and run two businesses which I enjoy and which I don't work too many hours in. So, for me, I'm OK with all of my income not coming from passive investments. In that sense, you might call me FIRE, but it's actually not true because if my businesses died, I wouldn't be "independent" any more (the "I" in FIRE).
Anyway, because my businesses can be volatile, I've tried to develop a passive income stream, not just to FIRE, but to fill the gaps in business income. I will admit that I haven't followed the tried and true investing rules... I've invested most of my portfolio in things like hard money loans, individual stocks, preferred stocks, and other big "no-no's". OK, slap me on the wrist, maybe I deserve it. My returns have lagged the market (not surprisingly), but I'm not gonna beat myself up for it.
Also, I own one rental property which is a goldmine and has doubled in value, so that makes up for some of my other decisions.
So.................... now to my question. All the income from my investments keeps building up, as I feel less and less comfortable investing in my normal asset classes. I'm really hoarding way too much cash now, and really wanting to invest it. I'd like to move more toward a standard MMM approach of index funds BUT......
Isn't the market too friggin' high? What are people doing now with hoards of cash? Are people really content dumping giant chunks of money in index funds right now? Is the 4% rule still good, when the market is this high? I remember even MMM himself blogging recently about how the market is a "bit high". Some P/E ratio analysis even confirms this...
So, just looking for some investing ideas or inspiration on where to put large chunks of cash right now. With rates low, the stock market high, real estate prices in my area really high, seems like there are a lot of asset classes that are scary at the moment. I just wish we were back in the days of 7% savings rates, then I could let my money sit while I think about it.
OK, thoughts please....... thanks!
