this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2024
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Fun fact: you can withdraw from your 401k. While there is a hefty tax penalty, you still can do it. Maybe you can get a down payment on a house or pay off student loan debt. Just make sure you withhold taxes from your payout. Don't get caught with that bill at tax season
Especially handy if you have a job with good matching and instant vesting. Of course, this is not finacial advice, but it is an option that exists.
You can use $10k from your 401k for a down payment on a house with zero penalty. If you're married, then your spouse can do the same. So now you have $20k for a house down payment! With an FHA loan you can buy with as little as 3.5% down, which your $20k should cover. Weee!
Heh, here in Australia I’d need over $100,000 for a down payment.
Many are 20% here, so really I’d need over $200,000 just to make the initial payment.
You need that here in the USA too, but with an FHA loan, or a first time buyer program on a conventional loan the percentage needed is reduced. Although they hit you with some pretty hefty fees when you take advantage of those programs. The FHA charges an up-front fee, and conventional loans hit you with PMI which equates to hundreds of dollars per month.
Why even bother with a down payment, lots of loan options out there for 0%
Those are usually harder to get and carry higher interest rates.
In most cases, it's better to save up for a down-payment to cut off a chunk from your loan along with the portion of interest with it. You also tend to be able have loans with better options available to you.
Bold of you to think we all have 401ks.
I imagine there is quite a dispersion of ages on Lemmy
Age has nothing to do with it. I'm 46 and I don't have a 401k. I've never worked for a company that offered me one and I can't afford such a thing out of savings I've never had.
You can also borrow against it sometimes. Basically b3ing a low interest loan to your self with the fees being lower than the penalties
You have to pay it back within 5 years, though.
100% its a loan. Useful for things like down payments or cars, etc. Things that help you save money/make money reliably enough to pay it back.
Still better interest then any other loan too
Or have to pay off the entire loan within a year of leaving the job
If this is your plan you're probably better off rolling it over into an IRA, and then doing a qualified distribution. There are a number of qualifying events that can be used to avoid the penalty for early withdrawals.
Yep, my plan is to pull all the money from my 401k as soon as my employer funds are vested. Paying down debt and living a comfortable life now seems like a better bet than hoping retirement happens.
In Switzerland there is a retirement fund similar to the 401k from which you can withdraw if you definitely leave the country or if you want to use the money to buy your main house.
Meh, I'm pretty sure the IRS will agree to a payment plan for a small monthly fee on top of the payment, which at this point is almost certainly less than what I'm paying in these fucking usurious interest rates.