Category Archives: 401(k) 403(b) Retirement Money

Should I Drain My 401k with Disabled Spouse? – Selena

I have a disabled spouse, who is still waiting for his rating from the US NAVY for his disability. He has Multiple Sclerosis and has ZERO income, I was the bread winner in the family, until out of the blue, my employer closed our facility on Dec. 30th, 2011. After 18 years at my company, [...]

Spouse suffers from severe depression. Should I cash out IRA funds to get mortgage to a manageable amount? – Sue

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 [...]

Should I Take Money Out of My 401k or Roth IRA to Pay My Student Loans? – Seapar

“Dear Paul, Annual Gross Income: 66,000 401k balance: 16,000 Roth IRA balance: 6,000 Savings: 5,500 Stock: 1,500 Grad Student Loans: (72) payments left of one $520 combined payment per month on total $32,500 balance on the following (so, $5,000 interest would be paid over the life of the loan at this payment rate). Loan 1 [...]

Should We Borrow From 401k and Life Insurance to Settle Our Debt? – Moke

“Dear Steve, My wife and I are 81K in unsecured debt and 5K in back taxes. All the unsecured debt is now reflected as judgements. We are now both facing garnishments. We are both working and have a yearly combined gross income of about 110K. We own a home and are paying off two cars. [...]

I Want to Borrow From My 401K to Pay Off My Credit Cards. – Carmen

“Dear Steve, I’ve been a subscriber for a couple of years. I don’t remember how I first found you. I have $26,000 in credit card debt. There are four cards, the lowest interest rate is 9.9%, the highest is 24.24%. I’d like to take a 401k loan to pay them off. I have ~$60k in [...]

Should We Use Our Retirement Money to Repay Our Credit Cards? – Deb

“Dear Steve, we retired early and my husband has retirement from ny state dept of corrections and a 403b with 120,000. we are eligible to take money out of 403 with no penalty we have 52,000 in credit card debt and wonder if we should take the money out of 403b plan as we pay [...]

Should We Drain What’s Left in the IRA to Pay The Mortgage? – Susan

“Dear Steve, My husband has a IRA account that he had transferred from his previous job, and it was not much. We took money out last year to keep our heads above water. Now we are down to only $15,000.00 in our account. We see losses everyday, and we need the money now to survive. [...]

Cashing In IRA Early to Payoff Debt. – James

“Dear Steve, I recently got married and our combined debt load is significant, but manageable. I am able to put a little into savings each month, and I do have a small emergency fund. I am 30 years old and have been putting into my company 401k for more than 7 years. I am currently [...]

Should We Borrow Money From Our 401K to Buy a Dependable Car? – Mickie

“Dear Paul, Work car is on its last leg..Husband needs transportation 45 miles to work and 48 back. Need dependable car. Husband wants to go into 401 K to get money for car….wife does not…we are in our late 50s and feel we should not touch it. Should we borrow money from 401 K to [...]

I Spent All My 401 K Funds And Now My Creditors Are Suing Me. – James

“Dear Steve, In 2007 I was forced to leave my job because of my health. I was 55 and luckly I had a small pension to live on. I had 50,000 in credit card debt at the time. I continued to make all my payments with my savings and 401 k funds for 3 years [...]

Is 401k Borrowing a Smart This to Do to Pay Off My Credit Cards? – Roxanne

“Dear Damon, I am 40 years old and am currently unemployed after leaving a great position to spend time with little ones. I now am regretting decision with the bills that are piling up. My husband and I had banked on him getting a promotion, but now we are forced to live off of his [...]

We Make Good Money But What’s The Best Way to Get Rid of Our Debt? – Carol

“Dear Damon, My husband and I have faced a significant and unfortunate legal situation over the last three years that not only had us feeling totally wronged but has messed up our finances in a big way. Because all of our money aside from housing and food was paying attorneys, we put a lot more [...]

Cashing Out My 401(k) to Pay Off Debt. Is It a Good Idea? – Paul

“Dear Paul, I work for the federal government and make about $90K. My wife makes about 45K (no benefits) after losing her corporate job in 2003. I am 47 with an MS, she is 52 with a BS, married 23 years. I have to retire from my current job at 57 so we both know [...]

My Deferred Compensation Plan Won’t Let Me Take Money Out. – Susan

“Dear Paul, Last year I had an income downturn. I have credit card debt that is drowning me and I struggle to pay everything each month. I now have some medical expenses and have had some family emergencies that have created more financial stress. I have a deferred compensation fund through my job that has [...]

What Do I Need to Know Before We Take Money Out of the IRA to Pay Our Credit Cards? – Jayme

“Dear Paul, CC debit and trying to find the best way to handle the situation. We have about 55k in cc debit and have spoken with an attorney who said we make to much for chapter 7 but could go with chapter 13. My husband really didn’t like this route. I have an IRA with [...]