Well... If I required of myself (and spouse) that we set aside and grow a segregated bucket full of money sufficient to cover 3 to 5 years' of expenses, I'd never be able to invest, period. So that whole bucket-stuff matters not to me, one iota. The best plan for us is to invest, prudently, for the long haul. We certainly are better off than if we were struggling to fill a pail carrying 5 years' worth of money to cover what we need for that time-period.
Each of us is dealt whatever hand we are dealt. From there, we make choices, and make the best of things. I'm feeling rather fortunate these days--- with zero buckets in the mix. Yes, this stuff in general is indeed very personal, after all is said and done. Using buckets in my case would be like attempting to make a Scientist out of me. I'm not cut out for it.

We're in danger of getting into a semantic swamp here with respect to the cash bucket. What exactly is a "normal" expense vs an "unexpected" expense?
To me, a "normal" expense is something that is predictable: a new roof, other major homeowner maintenance, typical major vehicle maintenance, and obviously the normal household operating expenses, including taxes, insurance, food, etc.
So the cash bucket certainly needs to be adequate to cover 3 to 5 years of those normal expenses. We knew well what those normal expenses were because at an early accumulation stage we kept good records of our ongoing expenses, sorted by category, so that we could separate the necessary from the optional. Optional? Things like vacations, restaurants, wine and liquor. Keep records like that and after 3 or 4 years you pretty well know what's necessary and what's optional.
An "unexpected" expense could certainly be a major medical liability or other tragedy not covered by insurance. Since something like that is unanticipated and unpredictable, frankly I don't really know how to protect against that in advance. Worst scenario it might be necessary to partially draw down both buckets for something like that.
All of this depends of course on what the normal expected income is. If the income is greater than the normal expenses, then there is, to an extent, a cushion there in case of disaster.

Thanks Yogi. Way back from 2010. Seems in that interview, Evansky was a proponent of 2 buckets. I think he said 2 years cash and the standard 60:40 portfolio. I could hear Christine late in the interview almost edging him on for the idea that more buckets may be better. Maybe I was reading into her intentions. My opinion, stick with KISS.

That's a good article and video @hank. He seems to be a proponent of 5 years cash and then a portfolio of 50%-60% equity. Well, that seems to me to be a 2 bucket system. Maybe it's just semantics. But his ideas are in line with mine, a cash buffer bucket and then a moderate portfolio bucket. I don't think you need anything fancier unless you are more comfortable separating bonds/income from your equity bucket. Everyone's brain categorizes differently.

In term of cash flow, the cash bucket is secured based on your annual living expense minus social security and pension $ for say 3-5 years. Emergency house/car repair can be factored into that cash bucket and back fill that over several years.
Some people have a second bucket in between consisting of bonds and balanced funds to dampen the market volatility and the possibility of prolong drawdown. Dividend growth funds can be part of this strategy. You can decide the % that you feel comfortable to fill the cash bucket every year. Personally, I use both balanced funds and dividend growth funds.
The third bucket is consisting of stocks/stock funds for capital growth.

I started buying brokered CDs at Fidelity because the yields are higher, they are easy to purchase, and it’s a convenient way to build and maintain a ladder. My credit union used to offer very competitive rates but has not kept pace over the past couple of years. They are finally offering one-year CDs yielding 5.1%, but their longer term issues are running 1-2% lower than Fidelity’s offerings. Their money market account is still paying a pitiful 1.5%, so I moved nearly all of our cash holdings to Fidelity.

Excellent suggestion. The cash bucket can cover yearly withdrawal for several years without worry the ups and downs of the equity bucket. And there are good options with T bill ladder, CDs, and high yield money market as the cash equivalent.

Australian Mcquarie Asset Management acquired Dalaware, Ivy/Waddell & Reed, etc several years ago. It also offers a few ETFs.
Now comes its unified branding.
https://mim.fgsfulfillment.com/download.aspx?sku=PRESS-FORWARD
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macquarie_Group

I can appreciate the simplicity of having all T-IRAs in one place if one is of a "certain age" :-) I'm not, but I have likewise moved my T-IRA to one house.
Though that's largely because after having done Roth conversions for 15 years (income restrictions were lifted in 2010), there's not so much left in the T-IRA.

One way, popularized by AAII is to hold x number of years expenses in cash ( you pick the number… at least 5)
In years where SP500 or Wiltshire or ur index of choice is within 5% of all time high, withdraw living expenses from equities. When index below 5% take money out of cash. Refill cash bucket over 2 to 3 years. This way u never sell equities at bottom

Thanks @Derf. That helps.
However, I get the sense this goes beyond the simple question in your referenced quotation: (“Does anyone remember why …?”)
Here’s a couple excerpts from Morningstar’s analysis of RSIVX:
“David K. Sherman brings over 13 years of portfolio management experience to the table. It is encouraging to see that the strategies managed by Sherman have outperformed on a risk-adjusted basis, with an average Morningstar Rating of 4.7. Isolating the analysis to the fund at hand, David Sherman has delivered a mixed track record, leading the average category peer but lagging the category benchmark for the past 10-year period ….
“Undergoing some change … Co-founder and co-chief investment officer Mitch Rubin departed the firm in November 2022 on the heels of weak performance across the firm’s equity strategies. Meanwhile, RiverPark’s assets under management has declined 35% since December 2020 as outflows across most of its products have been persistent in recent years.”
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Since Mr. Sherman ( @davidsherman ) sometimes posts here, I’m assuming @BaluBalu’s question is intended for him. ISTM an informal / mostly anonymous / lightly moderated forum like this may not be the appropriate setting for an extended dialogue with a fund manager. Likely, the reasons the fund did not meet @BaluBalu’s expectations are complex. I suspect they may have already been addressed in the fund’s Annual / Semi-Annual reports from that period. In the absence of such, than it would seem appropriate for past or current clients to contact Mr. Sherman or one of his subordinates directly.
Link to M* https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/rsivx/quote

@Sven Yes. Current Income Sources: defined benefit pensions = 45%, taxable investment account = 30%, social security = 25%. (Also have two smaller Roths that are not being tapped.) Taxable investment account has grown substantially since retirement. Exhausting it is not a significant concern (wife and I also have good long term care policies taken out during pre-retirement planning phase). Just don't appreciate fluctuations in account balance in years account balance does not end at new high. Restricting annual withdrawals to some or all of the dividend income already sitting in the account at end of year helps keep those fluctuations in perspective. It also simplifies the year end review.

We haven't heard much from JohnN in quite a while.

@JohnN was among the kind folks who weighed in on my “burning” question - What’s the most you’d ever invest in a single stock?” last August.
Here’s the thread
Sounds like he had 15% in TSLA then. Hope it’s working for him.
I continue to struggle with the same question. Recently I sold off two stocks, leaving just one that I believe is a good long term hold. Hours of backward looking research (covering more than 15 years). Anyhow … it’s at 5% and “diluted” with a like amount in a short term bond fund (playing name games here). So that combined they comprise a 10% portfolio sleeve. Intend to keep them in relative balance over time as a risk mitigation measure.

Had second thoughts about holding ET, so sold out of that 3-month-old position and will replace with WMB once my buy order fires. I'm thinking WMB has a more strategic portfolio and more stable/recurring revenue flows than ET. Paying about a 5.3% QDI right now.
Also putting in order to re-enter PFE at 27.50. Like INTC a few years ago it's a hated stock that's paying a solid dividend -- I'm hoping it, like INTC, is able to manage a similar turnaround as it reforms its pipeline prospects in the coming years. But at over 6% QDI on DRIP is probably good enough to be paid to wait.
Also stalking BIZD @ 16 as a rates-play on private equity dealmaking coming back if/when rates go down and potentially ASGI a bit lower for more infrastructure/utes.

@davfor ...in an ideal world, the dividends/distributions generated in your IRA would sufficiently cover your RMDs as well.

I'll take you word for it. But, I don't face any RMD requirements. So, that's an uncharted world to me. About 90% of my investment $'s are invested in a taxable account. That account is the focus of my annual withdrawal ruminations. During most of my working years, available cash was funneled into a weekend real estate investing hobby. The limited $'s that were set aside in a tax deferred retirement account were withdrawn in annual steps from the age of 55 when I retired until the age of 62 when I began to collect social security.

https://www.kitces.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kitces-Report-March-2012-20-Years-Of-Safe-Withdrawal-Rate-Research.pdf
I remember that too, @PRESSmUP. Is this the link-report you are referring to?

Thanks @MikeM ...yes, I believe that article was a part of the conversation. I found the worksheet I had mention which calculates the optimal withdrawal amounts and their source. Not Kitces, but related.
https://www.i-orp.com/Plans/index.html

https://www.kitces.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Kitces-Report-March-2012-20-Years-Of-Safe-Withdrawal-Rate-Research.pdf
I remember that too, @PRESSmUP. Is this the link-report you are referring to?

@yogibearbull ...indeed. That approach won't work forever. Several studies have concluded that taking only RMDs would leave a boatload of money when we're less likely to enjoy it...which is why I began taking IRA distributions when I was 59.5.
@bee had generated a post several years back with an attachment from Kitces with a spreadsheet to determine the most efficient withdrawal strategy, and I've adopted it to this day.

Just my opinion, it's difficult to find honest, great CFPs who are fiduciary and put their clients' interests first. If you are a typical investor, a CFP should be able to come up with a detailed plan in 3 hours and charge you a $1000 (maybe $1500) regardless if you have $300K or $500K, and only based on the complexity. This plan should be good for several years to come, until something major changes. If the clients need help, they should be able to pay by the hour. Think CPA. If you use a CPA, you pay by the hour or the job. The CFP plan doesn't change every year, it's even easier.
That also means, no ongoing annual fee + setting you up with 5-6 funds max, mostly indexes to show you that it's not brain surgery.
If the CFPs do the above they will starve. Hence, there is no way to put clients' interests first

My tax liability fluctuates significantly from year to year. Every other year I minimize ordinary income (e.g. limit Roth conversions, use tax-free MMFs) so that I can harvest cap gains at 0% tax rate. In the off years, I minimize cap gains and increase ordinary income (e.g. increase Roth conversion amounts).
MAGI may be similar from year to year but taxes are very different.
If some cap gains are taxed at 0% and some at 15%, then every dollar added to ordinary income moves a 0% cap gains dollar into the 15% bracket. So that extra dollar of ordinary income effectively gets taxed at 22% (ordinary rate) + 15% (cap gains rate).
Similar idea to bunching deductions. Maximize deductions in a year when you're itemizing, and minimize deductions in a year when you're taking a standard deduction.