Hello everyone! Are you as nervous about the stock market as I am? I've been getting more and more worried lately. The stock market keeps climbing while ordinary people struggle to pay their bills. Artificial Intelligence stocks are driving the market to the moon. This feels similar to the dot-com bubble of 25 years ago. (Wow, did it really take that long?) Back then, everyone and their mother was pouring money into any dot-com company. The stock market soared for a while, but the bubble inevitably burst. I'm pretty sure AI stocks are on the same trajectory. However, no one knows when the bubble will burst. It could be 2-3 years before we see an outbreak. But when the market crashes, the impact will be huge. Are you ready to see your net worth cut in half? This is what happened after the dot-com bubble burst. I'm too old to experience this kind of hit to our portfolio again.
I was still young at that time and my income was good. I panicked a little and sold some stocks, but I got back into the market. The big lesson I learned is that you need to stay invested during a bear market. Eventually, the stock market will recover and DCA (dollar cost averaging) will give your investing a huge boost.
Things are very different now. Ms. RB40 and I are both retired. We are in the retreat phase. This time, we won't have enough revenue to survive the stock market crash. When the AI bubble bursts, we'll have to get smarter. That's why I sold some U.S. stocks and diversified into bonds, cash and international stocks. I'm more conservative with our investments. We still need to stay invested because our retirement can last over 40 years. I feel very comfortable now. We can survive a stock market crash without selling a lot of U.S. stocks.
However, AI stocks continue to swell and we have a lot of paper gains. I have NVDA, META, GOOG, and a huge SP500 index fund. I wanted to keep it rolling, but I also wanted to cash in some chips. Is it time to start converting some of your paper gains into tangible assets?
tangible assets
The stock market is a great place to invest your money, but it feels like monopoly money. Let's do some research and see what kind of tangible assets we're investing in.
real estate
Real estate is a classic alternative to the stock market. Land and buildings generally increase in value over time. Many lucky homeowners are sitting on substantial gains. In fact, homes are often the largest asset for American homeowners. Investing in rentals is also a great way to diversify. We have a duplex and an apartment. These rentals have performed well over the years. However, I don’t want to be a landlord forever. It's too much work and responsibility. In a few years, I would like to consolidate our real estate holdings into a primary residence.
Sometimes I think we should sell a bunch of stocks and buy a fancy house. Let’s lock in some of these gains! Actually I was just kidding. I don’t want to live in a giant McMansion. I like living in a smaller house. Easier to clean and maintain. However, Mrs. RB40 wanted a bigger, better house. (That’s why we remodeled our kitchen.) The problem with living in an expensive house is that our monthly expenses skyrocket. Utilities, property taxes, insurance, furnishings, landscaping, repairs and maintenance will be more expensive. Personally, I'd rather keep housing costs low than live in a McMansion.
The Ms. RB40 wins that argument, though. We will move after RB40Jr graduates from high school. I will give her full authority to purchase our next primary residence. I have been very unlucky when it comes to housing. I have such weird tastes that neither of our primary residences get much appreciation.
Regardless, if you want to move some money away from the stock market, real estate is a great place to park your money. You can also invest in REIT funds such as VNQ. This is also a great option for the stock market.
precious metals
Gold prices have reached record highs. In October 2025, the price per ounce exceeds $4,000. I don't really care. The only gold we owned was our wedding rings. I never believed in gold. The stock market is a better investment. However, when TSHTF, gold can be a great hedge. Gold significantly retains its value during turbulent times. Things are going to hell in America. I don't think we're going to have a civil war, but billionaires are hell-bent on dividing the population. You never know what will happen. If it came to that, gold would be the easiest thing to load into our cars and escape to Canada. We are only 6 hours away.
The question with gold is, where do I put it? I don't feel comfortable having a nugget of gold in my house. If I'd hidden it well, I probably wouldn't have found it. I'm so forgetful these days. Maybe we could put it in a bank safe?
cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrencies aim to be a viable alternative to the stock market and the US dollar. However, this is all just speculation. Whenever Trump announces a significant increase in tariffs, cryptocurrencies fall along with the stock market. Pour and pump! Insiders are manipulating cryptocurrencies to make millions. It seems that ordinary people will be the ones to endure this level of manipulation. The Trump family has amassed over $5 billion through various cryptocurrency schemes. All this virtual money comes from speculative small investors and various foreign countries. I don't trust cryptocurrencies at all.
Additionally, you always hear about people losing their crypto passwords, hardware wallets, or hard drives. I will definitely be one of them. This whole space is full of scammers. I wasn’t smart enough to get into that field.
Artwork and Collectibles
Rich people invest in art and collectibles, but I know nothing about them. I only see problems. Where will you store your art and collections? Additionally, you must purchase insurance for these things. This increases our monthly expenses.
Art and collectibles are easily damaged. Our son is a clumsy teenager. I wouldn't trust him or Ms. RB40 for expensive art. They are too clumsy.
???
What other tangible assets can appreciate in value? I don't want to buy an expensive truck that's going to depreciate in value or anything like that. Do you know any good assets?
real asset issues
Ah! Converting paper gains into tangible assets is harder than I thought. The biggest issue is storage and maintenance costs. The only thing I would spend money on is a better house. At this point, we may no longer be able to get a mortgage. In a few years we will be selling our duplex and rental apartment to buy a new home. We may also have to sell a significant amount of stock. Oh yeah, that's another reason to avoid real assets at the moment. We'll have to move them out in a few years. That would be painful.
If you're reading this, there's a good chance you're sitting on a ton of paper gains. Are you considering converting some of these into real assets?
Image source: AI Overlord created the image for this blog post.
Should I convert paper gains into real assets? First appeared in “Retire at 40”.
