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To: conservative cat
==> “I cashed out an old 401K to pay off my car.” <==

I wish you well, but I don't applaud your decision. It might be correct, IF you anticipate losing your income in the very near future. But in fact, debt is an ADVANTAGE in the face of high inflation because you will be paying it off in cheaper dollars - and unless the interest rate is adjustable, the lender will not be able to recover the full value of the loan.

Also, there has been quite a bit of talk about appropriating IRA’s and other such accounts into the Social Security system, which has been hemorrhaging money for years. The seizure might be "sweetened" by restoring the balance to its level just before the debacle, but I believe that would be a drop in the bucket compared to the losses going forward with the current clowns in charge

11 posted on 10/04/2009 11:11:23 AM PDT by MainFrame65 (The US Senate: World's greatest PREVARICATIVE body!.)
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To: MainFrame65
I wish you well, but I don't applaud your decision. It might be correct, IF you anticipate losing your income in the very near future.

Yes, with my ex-husband out of work for 9 months, I anticipate that either I will eventually lose child support completely when he runs out of unemployment or get it drastically cut back if he takes a job making much less than he was (he was a Teamster making much more than he was worth based on his education and skills). Also, I work for a company that has been laying for almost 9 months now, as well. So far, I have dodged the bullet, but if a couple of things don't turn for them, the cuts are going to go much deeper.

I figure now is the time to bail out on the (not so big) 401K to pay off one piece of debt (I still have my house, which is thankfully still above water), because if either of those come to pass, and the market catches up to reality, then I won't have the option of cashing out and paying off the car.

13 posted on 10/04/2009 1:15:49 PM PDT by conservative cat (America, you have been PWNED!)
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