Looking back, Nitzsche says that liquidating his 401(k) to pay off credit card debt is something he wouldn't do again. “It is so detrimental to your long-term financial health and your retirement,” he says. Many experts agree that tapping into your retirement savings early can have long-term effects.
Dave Ramsey says you shouldn't take money out of your IRA early unless it's to avoid bankruptcy or foreclosure. Why? Because using your retirement fund for anything other than retirement can come at a big cost. You can pay off debt faster!
If you have low interest rate loans, and expect higher returns on the investments in your 401(k), it's a good strategy to contribute to the 401(k) while you are also paying off the debt, making certain to pay off high interest rate debt first.
The first problem with hardship withdrawals from a 401k or traditional IRA is a 10 percent withdrawal penalty. If you take out $20,000 to pay off your credit card debt, then you'll pay a $2,000 penalty on both of these accounts if the money was taken out as a hardship withdrawal.
Since the 401(k) loan isn't technically a debt—you're withdrawing your own money, after all—it has no effect on your debt-to-income ratio or on your credit score, two big factors that influence lenders.
There may be early withdrawal penalties
Since you contribute pre-tax money to a traditional 401(k), you'll owe income taxes on any withdrawn money. However, if you make an early withdrawal from your 401(k) -- which is before the age of 59 ½ -- you'll likely be subjected to an additional 10% early distribution tax.
Many borrowers use money from their 401(k) to pay off credit cards, car loans and other high-interest consumer loans. On paper, this is a good decision. The 401(k) loan has no interest, while the consumer loan has a relatively high one. Paying them off with a lump sum saves interest and financing charges.
Short answer — no! Longer, clearer answer — even if your credit card interest rates are higher than your tax rate, it's almost never a good idea to withdraw your retirement savings early.
1. Repayment will cost you more than your original contributions. The leading purported plus of a 401(k) loan—that you're simply borrowing from yourself, for a pittance—quickly becomes questionable once you examine how you'll have to repay the money.
If you remove funds from your 401(k) before you turn age 59 1⁄2 , you will get hit with a penalty tax of 10% on top of the taxes you will owe to the IRS.
It's also better to start saving for retirement early, so you can reap the benefits of compound interest over a longer period of time. As a general rule, the younger you are, the more you should prioritize your retirement savings over your mortgage.
Utilizing 401(k) funds to pay off a mortgage early results in less total interest paid to the lender over time. However, this advantage is strongest if you're barely into your mortgage term. If you're instead deep into paying the mortgage off, you've likely already paid the bulk of the interest you owe.
“Every single day your high-interest debt goes unpaid, it's costing you money — a LOT of money — in interest,” Krawcheck says. Instead of putting your extra cash toward an emergency fund, she suggests that focusing all of it on credit card debt first will save you more in the long run.
The easiest way to borrow from your 401(k) without owing any taxes is to roll over the funds into a new retirement account. You may do this when, for instance, you leave a job and are moving funds from your former employer's 401(k) plan into one sponsored by your new employer.
A 401(k) loan has some key disadvantages, however. While you'll pay yourself back, one major drawback is you're still removing money from your retirement account that is growing tax-free. And the less money in your plan, the less money that grows over time.
Can You Use a 401(k) to Buy a House? The short answer is yes, since it is your money. While there are no restrictions against using the funds in your account for anything you want, withdrawing funds from a 401(k) before the age of 59 1/2 will incur a 10% early withdrawal penalty, as well as taxes.
Usually, a 401(k) loan has more favorable terms than a regular bank loan, and it is a good alternative if you do not want to withdraw your retirement money. If you are currently paying off a 401(k) loan, you can choose to pay off the outstanding loan balance earlier than the allowed loan term.
Option 1: Pay off the highest-interest debt first
Best for: Minimizing the amount of interest you pay. There's a good reason to pay off your highest interest debt first — it's the debt that's charging you the most interest.
36%—No more than 36 percent of your pretax income should go to all debt: your home debt plus credit card debt and auto loans.
Senator Elizabeth Warren popularized the so-called "50/20/30 budget rule" (sometimes labeled "50-30-20") in her book, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan. The basic rule is to divide up after-tax income and allocate it to spend: 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and socking away 20% to savings.
Fast answer: A general rule of thumb is to have one times your annual income saved by age 30, three times by 40, and so on.
It's better to pay off your credit card than to keep a balance. It's best to pay a credit card balance in full because credit card companies charge interest when you don't pay your bill in full every month.