My husband suffers from severe depression and has lost 2 jobs in the last 2 years leaving me financially vulnerable. I need to plan my finances as if I were the only one bringing in an income.
I have 2 children…1 in college with tuition costing me $25,000/year. I currently own a home worth $330,000 with an outstanding mortgage of $217,000. I’m torn between selling my house and using half of the proceeeds to pay for college and downsize to a smaller house with a mortgage of approximately $150,000 which is all I can afford on my salary.
Obviously, that makes the most financial sense. I have a 9 year old and moving would be another change for him and it’s already been a rough year! The mother in me is thinking that maybe I should withdraw from our IRA to get my current mortgage to a more manageable amount so that my son doesn’t have to move. We currently have $300,000 in retirement funds.
I’m 43 making $53,000/yr, vested in a state retirement system and will have access to a trust fund for my retirement. Would cashing out some of our IRA funds be the worst decision I could make?
Sue
