Take 401k and pay off home

[PotshotJim]

Just my opinion, forget the 401k exists and pay off your debts as well as you can. If the doom doesn't happen as scheduled and you get ready to retire, you'll be glad you left this money alone.

 

[MrNiceGuy]

1) Cash out your 401k

2) Go to Vegas

3) Put everything on 17 black

Your broker is practically doing that already. Might as well get the thrill of slapping the cash down yourself.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Stomper - now that was hilarious but true. Really, you might as well put the money in a bottle, throw it in the ocean and hope it comes back to you some day at this point.

Then, on the off chance it does come back in twenty years, you can use the bills as toilet paper.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Just my opinion, forget the 401k exists and pay off your debts as well as you can. If the doom doesn't happen as scheduled and you get ready to retire, you'll be glad you left this money alone.

I see your point. But I saw many many people loose half there 401k or other investments in nothing flat in 2001. At this point here's my other plan. Screw paying off the House, and just wait till the crap is full force. At that point, maybe they won't even be expecting a payment for anything, since the whole system could be toast. We all will be pro at squatting.

 

[308]

Wow...nice, all this financial advice from the fear gurus
Anyone invested wisely in "2001" and let it ride would have seen it all come back in double digits

Investing is solid funds with companies that provide products used by people every day and every where would require every one , every where to stop living in order for those investments to disappear.

Go ahead and give the bildebergerlizardreptilian bankers your 40% off the top and wait for later when you have nothing...then you can come hat in hand and beg to feed out of the government trough.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Wow...nice, all this financial advice from the fear gurus
Anyone invested wisely in "2001" and let it ride would have seen it all come back in double digits

Investing is solid funds with companies that provide products used by people every day and every where would require every one , every where to stop living in order for those investments to disappear.

Go ahead and give the bildebergerlizardreptilian bankers your 40% off the top and wait for later when you have nothing...then you can come hat in hand and beg to feed out of the government trough.

But paying triple the price for our house is a good thing? It's a hard decision, and of course not popular.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Also. 308, the tax codes are changing. 30 years. Lots can happen in that time for me.

 

[308]

You have 30 years to go? Sweet!!

Don't get caught up in fear mongering. Fear is a creation of our imagination based upon what we think might happen, but has not yet happened and may never happen. Sort of a self induced metal disorder like liberalism

Wise investments and deferred gratification will afford one peace of mind, and millions in the bank at retirement. Who cares about the tax code with a nest egg like that.

Sadly, too many middle aged adolescents are more interested in their quads/waverunners/trailers/4x4s....all the while having nothing in the bank except chump change

BTW...I can turn you on to my Ameriprise Financial Adviser...22yrs now and happy to be with them.

 

[PotshotJim]

I see your point. But I saw many many people loose half there 401k or other investments in nothing flat in 2001. At this point here's my other plan. Screw paying off the House, and just wait till the crap is full force. At that point, maybe they won't even be expecting a payment for anything, since the whole system could be toast. We all will be pro at squatting.

They didn't lose their investments, the value of their investments went down. They only lost money if they cashed out in a down market.
I went for that ride in 1999, 2001, in 2008, and could very well go for another one before I retire. If you don't have the risk tolerance, don't read the statements, just shred them and go on with your day. Those of us who did nothing and sat tight are just fine. Those who panicked and made rash decisions got hurt. I believe that the only day your investment value matters is the day you cash it out.
As for paying off your mortgage, WHY? If you have a decent loan in the 3-4% range, that is cheap money that is invested in a solid asset.
I'm not Gordon Gecko, just an electrician, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[rick benjamin]

Wise words Jim

 

[Burt Gummer]

Facts are not fear mongering. The monetary system as it is cannot continue. That is a mathematical certainty.

You can ignore reality but not the consequences of ignoring reality. To each their own I guess.

When I have use of my real assets/tools/etc and all you have is a useless account number far, far away don't come begging.

 

[Ironbar]

Your all right. Here is my thoughts. I hate payments. And all of the folks in 2001 lost half there 401k. So what's the difference if we can predict this will happen again? That's fortune telling though. But the evidence is there to a degree. I owe 200k on house. I make good money. The house is 1,300 square feet, with 6 people in it. We live way below our means. And we are happy!

Why do people keep saying this? Why do people think that when the stock market tanks, they somehow LOSE anything? If your 401k is in mutual funds or stocks say, and if the market tanks, do you think those stocks and mutual funds somehow disappear? Do you think you no longer own them? NO! They are simply worth less money AT THAT TIME, but they're still there.

When the economic downturn hit in '08, my 401k nosedived like everyone else's. Now in 2013, they're right back back to where they were and more. You don't lose money, your portfolio is simply worth less. And when the market bounces back, so does your portfolio.

 

[Bushman]

Pay the house off.

 

[oknow]

Debt-free is the only way to go. Unfortunately still have to make payments on your house even if you pay it off i.e. property tax. Life is you knew it is no more, Times Have Changed and not for the best

 

[oknow]

Wow...nice, all this financial advice from the fear gurus
Anyone invested wisely in "2001" and let it ride would have seen it all come back in double digits

Yeah and that was pre-Obama, Before he's done he's going to bankrupt the country.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I'm 39 years old

At the age of 39 you take an immediate 10% penalty, in addition to any taxes due, for early withdrawal. Combine that with state and federal taxes due, and you're looking at losing at least 50%, maybe more.

 

[2506]

I would strongly advise against it. You'll have two things working against you: taxes and penalties on your early withdrawal and you will no longer get a mortgage deduction. Einstein said "Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”

 

[Oregonhunter5]

I see your points. One thought. Have you ever known a person who ought gold 25 years ago for 25.00 an ounce? People would pile on them saying that's a piss poor investment. It grows to slow. Well,,,,,, ask that guy how life is today.
For those who say, my portfolio is back to where it was from the 2001 tank. That's a long time to rebound. That's a lot of interest payments. I have a 5.4% interst rate on the home. And I really see the market tanking.
I know my thoughts are very unpopular. I get it.
But sometimes that's how great ideas start.
If the dollar value keeps falling, and it will, that 401k ain't worth bubblegum in 20 years. Cause you will NEVER EVER see another republican president. Mark my words.

 

[Burt Gummer]

A 10% penalty isn't squat compared to future tax rates and the declining dollar.

No disrespect intended, all in good humor, but I really have to laugh at people believing their dollar/IRA savings will be worth something in 20 years.

The dollar, thanks to the parasitic private Federal Reserve bank/scam, has lost 94% of its purchasing power in the last 100 years. That should convince anyone with a rational mind that bailing in favor of something real is the intelligent path.

 

[slimmer13]

Bull market, lower your contributions, Bear market, up them, Pay extra on your house every month to build equity and pay less interest. Put away some food, water, ammo, etc. Plan for as many contingencies as possible (even non collapse). Never go all in on anything. Don't listen to anyone who says they are "certain" of anything, they are full of bubblegum....no disrespect intended.