so...

[cyaneyed]

i was nice at work... and loaned my heater out to a girl who works here from india. i think in general, in offices in the US, we keep it cool enough to warrant heaters, depending on how close you are to the A/C vents and if you have to work in a server room. My warm heart goes out to anyone who's had to freeze their butt off just to work. *hugs xmusoukaso

Comments

[turbogrrl]

People are all "don't touch it" for a reason. You'll lose 10% off the top as penalty, *and* you'll owe regular income tax (local, state, federal) on every bit you remove (and depending on how much you remove, you may end up in a higher tax bracket), so there goes another 20-30%. So, right off the bat, you've lost at least 30% of your money. Possibly 40%.

As for buying a house... the market is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. The economy is going to get a lot worse. *Maybe* if you moved somewhere where cost of living and real estate has fallen a lot more (richmond? kansas?)... but then you'd have to find a new job, too. Even if you had spare cash sitting in a pile in front of you, I couldn't recommend buying right now. Too scary. Gambling with your retirement? Terrifying.

[deepthink]

The steep penalties on early 401k withdrawals are there as a positive bit of social engineering. So, yeah. Take the years to save up cash for a downpayment.

true true

[laeno]

I agree; not the thing to do although we have thought about it too. I feel like I'll never own a home. I'm tired of renting. We're trying to save for a 20% down payment (after I get a job). ::sigh::