That's not what the 4% rule means. The 4% rule (modified to 3% by OP) is what you can withdraw without running out of principle. Maintaining the level of princi

That's not what the 4% rule means. The 4% rule (modified to 3% by OP) is what you can withdraw without running out of principle. Maintaining the level of principle is a different thing entirely. Average nominal should be ignored anyway. It's never been a practical number for the individual investor to rely on. Mistakes, allocation models, people having less to invest when times are bad (and market is low), etc.