I posted "Some posters here can live off income steams like rental income or pensions alone and may be happy with just making a riskless 0% real return on their portfolios." YMMV.
And, that is the thing. Yes, there are people who have so much money -- either from rental income or pensions or just having a humongous portfolio that they can spend what they want to (that is, an acceptable lifestyle to them) and they don't care if they get any return on their portfolio.
That is, give me a portfolio of $10,000,000 and a plan that has to last 30 years and even considering inflation I don't really care what the portfolio earns. I can stick the money in a mattress and won't run out.
The thing is that most people don't have that situation.
What I don't like about the whole "if you've won the game why keep playing mantra" is that it implicitly says that if you need to have a return from your portfolio in order to retire at your desired level then you haven't won the game and you are, in fact, a loser.
Basically, if you need to invest in equities for portfolio return so that the portfolio isn't eaten away by inflation then you haven't "won the game" and you are a loser.
By that standard, then I will say that I am a loser. I can't afford to have my portfolio earning a 0% real return and I can't afford to have my portfolio eaten away by inflation.
To have that kind of portfolio I would have had to worked for
many additional years as would DH.
We aren't afraid of equities. We don't equate low volatility with low risk. I see the OP's portfolio as way more risky than a diversified portfolio with some equities.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to say that my portfolio could loss half its value due to inflation and I could get 0% real return and I would still have so much money that I could withdraw enough to meet all my spending needs for the rest of my life.
But, like probably most people, I can't say that. I don't have that kind of wealth. But, I don't feel I need to work another 10 years to get that kind of wealth just so I can avoid having any equities. To the extent there is risk from equities, I would rather take that risk than have to work another 10 years.
But -- to be clear -- I think the risk of inflation is one that is often underestimated by many who refuse to have any equities (not saying that is you, but it is some people).
I don't consider having equities, by the way, as a form of "playing." I consider having a diversified portfolio as a way to reduce overall risk, including inflation risk.