This headline has to be a typo. How can you spend your way out of a money problem? Am I in charge of a federal government program?

When you find yourself in a hole, the first step to getting out of the hole is to stop digging. So how can you spend your way out of debt? I will explain how.

Google “how do I get out of debt” and scroll down past the paid ads. Almost all of your search results will give you some iteration of the following items of advice:

• Organize your invoices so you can see what you’re working with
• Create a spreadsheet of your income and expenses (either on paper or using a computer program/application)
• Add up your expenses and add up your income. Do you have more expenses than income?
• Get another job.
• Eliminate all the expenses you can. You can keep electricity, shelter, and food, but not much else.
• Live this lifestyle until every debt is paid off.

All right, I’m getting a little funny here. But I don’t think I’m exaggerating too much. The promoted idea is to live as spartan a lifestyle as possible and maximize the amount of money you pay off your debts.

The common theme here is that in order to get out of debt, you have to eliminate everything from your lifestyle and use that money to pay off your debts.

How long do you think you can live like this? Two weeks? One month?

If you are single, this lifestyle can last longer because you have no one else to worry about. But when there is a spouse, the two must live like this. The plan became much more complicated.

Add children to the stage and the complication increased exponentially. A five-year-old does not understand debt. All he knows is that cable television is no longer there.

My suggestion is to incorporate some expenses into some “unnecessary” expenses. Allow yourself to do more than just work, work, and come home. This will be different for everyone. In my case we went out to dinner once a week. A good restaurant, not a fast food place. It was something to look forward to every week.

We also kept our Dish TV. There are no movie channels. This made staying home from going out to restaurants and movies easier. We go out making money.

We started our plan in 2010. Our 25th wedding anniversary was in 2012 and we had talked for years about taking a cruise. So we budget for this too and save a little each month.

In theory, this “frivolous” spending makes the debt pay off more slowly. But if this little diversion keeps you on your payment plan, then you’ll reach your goal. Living Spartan for a month and then giving up doesn’t get you there!

Think of it like trying to lose weight. If your plan is to cut out everything except kale and celery, you’ll probably lose a lot of weight at first, but give up in a week or two. The thought of a slice of pizza will become so overwhelming that you’ll go overboard and eat an entire pizza, then feel guilty and abandon the plan. But if you eat in moderation through portion control and watching your calories, you’ll allow yourself to eat a little pizza and still lose weight. It will be slower weight loss, but you will stick with your weight loss plan because you are not completely depriving yourself of the “forbidden” foods.

Of course, your tastes and your budget will determine what you can do with your expenses. Maybe you can only afford to eat out once or twice a month. Will this “reward” keep you on your plan to get out of debt? He did it for me!

Should you get out of debt? Absolutely! But to be successful, I think you need to include some fun expenses in your budget. This may postpone your completion date on paper, but your chances of success will be infinitely better than living on dog food and reading candles!