Stocks or stay liquid?

[Elliot Marszalek]

I've been saving up cash for a down payment whenever I can find a good deal but it bothers me to see the money just sitting there and not being put to work making more money. Normally I'm investing as much as I can after each paycheck into stocks and with the market being down it looks like a good time to buy in on some reliable stocks that pay dividends. If I invest the cash I have saved up in stocks and then find a deal I'd be breaking one of my main rules which is once money goes into my stock portfolio the money is untouchable and only the income generated from it via dividends is allowed to be taken out. (Normally even that is reinvested through DRIP programs and such). What would you do? Do I invest it and then break my rule to pull it back out when I find a deal or just keep letting it build up as I continue my search for my first house hack/investment rental property?