The 2 Bucket System: The EASIEST Retirement Plan for $2M+ Households
34K views · Jul 25, 2026 · Education
Comments · 193
@paulmcclure7794 · 8 hours ago (edited)
great info, and great last name, I am Paul McClure, nice to meet you virtually, 54, have about 3yrs in safe bucket, and 1M in market, it has paid great dividends, and gone way up in value.
@jameschaves5723 · 2 months ago (edited)
I’m 55 and newly retired. I researched many strategies and chose the 2 bucket system. Right before I retired I moved 3 years of living expenses into a money market account. The remainder will stay in a large cap growth fund. I will have to take advantage of the tax valley and do some large Roth Conversions. It’s nice knowing I’m guaranteed 3 years of no worry spending.
41
@darinolson6568 · 2 months ago
I have yet to find a better and more understandable strategy than the 2 bucket strategy. Three to five years of "gap" money at the ready, and the rest in stocks.
52
@kohman-kwiatkowski7674 · 2 weeks ago
I agree - a two bucket system (and guardrails) is a great option - but I don’t think you MUST have $2M or more to work.
2
@normcarmichael6708 · 2 weeks ago
Should replace years of expenses in bucket 1 with the higher of years of expenses or years of rmd.
1
@jakem.816 · 2 months ago
I've been going with a hybrid of this, a 3 bucket system. #1 is my checking account where my pension goes to pay my monthly expenses and cover unforseen emergencies. #2 is an investment account tied to a large cap S&P500 fund designed as 3 years of total expenses. #3 is a savings account where I dump the annual interest from said account into to pay for vacations, home repairs, and fun extras. If nothing major happens, it's like taking free trips and getting free dinners out each month. If it does, it's only digging into the principal.
5
@dougmanck4149 · 2 months ago
I have 1 bucket and just take out whatever I need. Simple
8
@kennethdickens4905 · 1 month ago
How far down is down not to refill the now bucket? 5%? 10%?
2
@marciapalazzi320 · 2 months ago
This system works whether you're wealthy or not
5
@BrianNC81 · 2 months ago
Could you put covered call ETF example JEPQ/SPYI for income in bucket #1?
@sou6201 · 2 months ago
In the Now bucket, what are the money invested in? Index funds or just money market?
@tulio3571 · 1 month ago
Hi there what is considered a good or a bad year ?
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