I Want to Cash Out My 401k Early, Should I?

“Should I cash out my 401k?” That’s a question you never want to ask in an online financial independence forum. It’s been a well-known rule to never cash out retirement accounts due to withdrawal penalties, tax implications, and the possibility of throwing away your retirement plans. But, what if you had a substantially larger amount in real estate and other assets, what would you think then?

Kate is in this exact predicament and has done a phenomenal job at growing her wealth over the past decade. Kate and her husband have acquired $1.8 million in rental properties, bringing in gross rents of over $10,000 per month! She’s currently sitting on half a million dollars in rental property debt and is wondering whether cashing out her 401k to pay off the debt would make sense.

Because Kate is in such a high cash flow position, she may be asking a question that’s not so obvious. Mindy and Scott spend time walking through calculations that allow Kate to visualize what her life would look like with paid-off rentals as opposed to a fully-funded 401k account.

Click here to listen on Apple Podcasts.