When it comes to retirement and finances, there is no shortage of advice on why you should save or how you should save. You see the commercials on TV showing one tiny domino gradually becoming a massive tower, or friends and family members are always open to share their success stories, and of course is are a plethora of books and articles on becoming a millionaire by retirement. Much less attention, however, is given on how to spend those savings once you’re actually retired, even though it’s a significant part of the equation. After all, it doesn’t matter how much you save if you blow it all in a year. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind as you begin chipping away at that nest egg.

How Much to Spend:  The simplest way to budget for your retirement without developing an extensive distribution plan is with a level spending plan. In this system, you simply guestimate how many years your retirement may last and divide your savings by that number. It’s better to make a generous guestimate on life expectancy rather than a conservative one. A survey of financial planners conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) found that outliving savings is the No. 1 concern of those approaching retirement. Underestimating your life span is an easy way for this fear to come true. Of course, a level spending plan assumes that your financial needs won’t change over the course of your retirement. If you’re the type of person who regularly meets and exceeds your budgeting goals, you can probably make it work. If not, you may want to consider a plan that allocates more money with each passing year of retirement. There are always expenses that may decrease, however those expenses may be a small portion to the overall budget. You have to consider the increased cost of things you may not have much control over such as state or property taxes, insurance, medication or the event of medical care or other later-life expenses, an escalating plan may provide an additional level of safety.

What to Spend On: Some of your spending choices will come down to personal preference and interests, but you might be surprised to learn that one category of spending consistently proves more fulfilling than others. Professor Michael Finke of The American College surveyed nearly 1,500 retirees and found that spending money on leisure activities and experiences caused the lowest rate of regret. Finke calls this “social spending” and surmises that it’s favored because it encourages older adults to get out into the world and enjoy their retirements.

Similar to planning for retirement, there is not just one size fits all plan for living and spending your savings in retirement. But there is one very wrong way to go about it, and that’s mindlessly. However you choose to spend your savings, make sure you have a plan.