What do you do if your financial planner tells you to spend more money each month? (Yes, he really did that!) Pause, and maybe hide your piggy bank for a minute. Together, hubby and I were saving about $700/month, and our planner wanted us to spend it instead of save it. He basically gave us permission to be fancy. That recommendation can make sense for planned one-time expenses, tax-smart moves, or purposeful lifestyle upgrades, but it can also signal mismatched goals, questionable advice, or an accountant who moonlights as a cruise-ship marketer. Here’s a checklist (with a wink) to decide what to do.

First, understand the rationale. In our case, he told us to “live life more.” Translation: travel, eat out, do things besides alphabetize the spice rack. He assured us that even if I took more than my required minimum distribution, I’d never run out of money. Such a deal! It’s oddly comforting to be told you’re financially boring and it’s time to spice things up.

Next, match it to your goals and timelines. He confirmed his advice lines up with our retirement income, healthcare, and emergency fund plans, the boring grown-up boxes. Since our only dependents are each other, that simplified things.

Check the math, loudly, and with snacks. I grilled cash-flow projections, stress tests (market downturns, inflation, zombie apocalypses), and worst-case scenarios. We debated assumptions like returns, taxes, life expectancy, and sequence-of-returns impact until my eyes glazed over like a donut.

Hubby and I decided we’d phase in spending like responsible adults: a tasteful increase, not a spree. Luckily, our planner won’t cash in on our splurging, the extra would come from Social Security, not some commissionable product, so no kickbacks or surprise timeshares.

Moral of the story:

We’ve agreed to spend more money, but on our terms. The extra $700/month will go into fun money (occasional fancy coffee and that pottery class I’ve always wanted), and if we don’t spend it all, leftovers go straight into the emergency fund at the end of the month. It boils down to balance: live a little now, and still be able to call the plumber later.