We're 67 With $5.8 Million. I Want to Spend $300K on Home Renovations and a New Car. My Wife Is Opposed.

We lived frugally for years to build our nest egg. Our house is dated and cramped, and my car is old. How do I get my wife to say 'yes'? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.You are now subscribedYour newsletter sign-up was successfulWant to add more newsletters?Delivered dailyKiplinger TodayProfit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.Sent five days a weekKiplinger A Step AheadGet practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.Delivered dailyKiplinger Closing BellGet today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.Sent twice a weekKiplinger Adviser IntelFinancial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.Delivered weeklyKiplinger Tax TipsTrim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.Sent twice a weekKiplinger Retirement TipsYour twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirementSent bimonthly.Kiplinger Adviser AngleInsights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.Sent twice a weekKiplinger Investing WeeklyYour twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.Sent weekly for six weeksKiplinger Invest for RetirementYour step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose. Question: We lived below our means our entire careers. We're now 67 with $5.8 million and about to take Social Security, which will provide $5,000 a month. I want to spend $300k on home renovations for our cramped and outdated house. I also want a new car. My wife is opposed. How do I get her to loosen up?Answer: Many people who retire with large sums of money get there via hard work, frugal living, and diligent saving. If you've reached the age of 67 with $5.8 million saved, you're most likely looking at a comfortable retirement, especially if you're used to living modestly.Plus, if you have $5,000 a month in Social Security coming your way, you may not have to tap your savings too heavily to cover your essential needs. That gives you more wiggle room to really enjoy that money and splurge on things that enhance your quality of life.Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special IssuesProfit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.But what if your wife is struggling to do that? You may be looking to spend $300K on home renovations and a new car, which are reasonable things to purchase — especially if you have a $5.8 million nest egg to dip into. But if your wife is used to spending minimally, it may take some convincing.Here's how to get your wife on board with enjoying your money while acknowledging her hesitation."If your plan showed a 95% success rate before the [planned spending], you'd likely be around 90% to 92% after completing the spending." — Eric CroakAt first glance, $300,000 might seem like a huge chunk of money to withdraw from a retirement nest egg in one fell swoop.

But Eric Croak, CFP and President at Croak Capital, insists that it's not earth-shattering."Two retirees starting at age 67 with $5.8 million and $60,000 of Social Security income are already in good shape from most planners' perspectives," Croak insists.As he points out, $300,000 is only about 5.2% of the total nest egg. Using the popular Monte Carlo model, this might reduce the probability of success by about 2% to 5%, depending on asset allocation, planned withdrawals, and market performance. But that, he insists, is not a huge deal."If your plan showed a 95% success rate before the [planned spending], you'd likely be around 90% to 92% after completing the spending. That's still very comfortable for most couples aged 67 to 72 with 25 to 30 year time horizons."Do you have a tricky money situation? We want to hear about it for an upcoming advice column. We're interested in retirement-related financial dilemmas, especially those that impact relationships with partners, friends and family. You will remain anonymous. Submit your question to KipAdvice@futurenet.com. Not all questions will be published.Article continues below. ⬇️While Croak feels that $300,000 is a reasonable amount to spend early in retirement in this situation, he agrees that the hesitation may be more of a mindset issue than a financial one."On the behavioral side, I think the wife is likely reacting less to the $300,000 spend and more toward spending in retirement in general," he explains. "After saving for 40 years, it really does train your brain to view spending as the enemy instead of running out of money."What Croak suggests in situations like these is to create a written retirement income plan that clearly defines a "lifestyle bucket" for housing, travel, cars, and other expenses over the next few years."When spending is planned for… it no longer feels like dipping into your safety net," he says.Croak also suggests running a stress test to show how the plan can handle a simultaneous 30% market downturn plus the full spending amount. If the plan survives, Croak explains, then withdrawing the money becomes less scary.Randy Jaramillo, founder and president of Reliant Wealth Management, agrees."The outlook has to be with the idea of replacing spending with permission structure," he says. "This couple must work together to define a safe annual spending number and a one-time spending bucket."It may also help to directly address your wife's fear of spending money. Even if the numbers back up your plan, you don't want to dismiss her hesitation. Instead, have a calm discussion that's rooted in firm numbers."What would you regret more at age 85? Never enjoying what you built or spending $300,000 now?" — Randy JaramilloEven if you can afford to tap your nest egg to the tune of $300,000, Jaramillo says that for someone with a saver's mentality, it can be difficult to see such a large sum of money get withdrawn at once. That's why he suggests a tiered approach to that spending."You can break the $300,000 in two phases," he says. "Year One, partial renovation, and in Year Two, you could take $150,000 and finish the renovation plus the car."This may be a reasonable compromise, he says, especially if you can also show your wife the value of spending the money."Frugal spenders hate waste and value meaning," Jaramillo says. But if you show that the renovation lets you both enjoy your home more, your wife might have an easier time getting on board. Spending in stages also allows adjustments if the market takes a steep dive.Jaramillo also recommends running what he calls a "regret test.""What would you regret more at age 85? Never enjoying what you built or spending $300,000 now?" he says.The bottom line, says Jaramillo, is that a couple in this situation can easily afford to spend $300,000 on lifestyle enhancements with minimal risk. "The real challenge is rewiring a lifetime of frugality," he says.Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.Maurie Backman is a freelance contributor to Kiplinger. She has over a decade of experience writing about financial topics, including retirement, investing, Social Security, and real estate. She has written for USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, and Bankrate. She studied creative writing and finance at Binghamton University and merged the two disciplines to help empower consumers to make smart financial planning decisions.