Splitting retirement assets into three "buckets": short-term cash (1–2 years), medium-term bonds (3–10 years), and long-term stocks (10+). Refill each bucket from the next one in good market years.
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Related terms
Income that continues without active work: dividends, interest, rents, royalties. Less common in early FIRE (most rely on portfolio drawdowns), but a popular parallel path.
(Income − Expenses) ÷ Income. The single most important variable for years-to-FIRE. A 50% savings rate reaches FIRE in ~17 years; a 20% rate takes ~37.
Gradually increasing your bond allocation in the years leading up to retirement, then reducing it again after — a "tent" shape — to buffer against sequence risk.
How your asset allocation changes over time — typically shifting from stock-heavy to more bonds as you approach and enter retirement.
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