Traditional studies assume a 30-year retirement, but FIRE spans 40 to 50 years — and that changes everything.

With a bucket strategy, only about 5 years of expenses may sit in safety assets, while the rest stays in long-term growth. That means higher early equity exposure, faster compounding, and protection from early-sequence risk — all without holding excessive debt.

In a long horizon, this balance of safety and growth is mathematically superior. For FIRE, the bucket approach isn't psychological comfort — it's structural advantage.