This paper highlights the composition of ‘good adaptation’ in order to ensure judicious spending of adaptation finance. In doing so, the paper seeks to deviate from the standard debates on the source of adaptation finance and monitoring of its allocation and expenditure. The authors argue that the fixation with additionality might often stand in the way of financing good adaptation. This includes developmental activities that can contribute towards building a minimum level of adaptive capacities in the short-term and enable good adaptation in the long-term, specifically certain win-win strategies, ‘soft adaptation’ as compared to ‘hard’ or structural adaptation measures and integration of adaptation into development. Recognising that climate change is a complex problem, the paper highlights that conventional resource allocation methods might not prove as effective and might result in maladaptation, insufficient adaptation or 'adaptation deficit'. The paper emphasises that initiating adaptation activities at the right time is also crucial in order to reap maximum gains and minimise costs by taking early action. The authors also recognise that ‘hard adaptation’ projects, being more tangible, often receive more attention than soft adaptation projects and emphasise the need for specific institutional mechanisms to support appropriate adaptation actions that are efficient, effective and equitable. It is also noted that a programmatic approach towards adaptation including knowledge management can prove to be effective.