Yeah, a lot of people discourage it, but my opinion is that if you’d be redirecting savings from the 401k anyway, you might as well just invest in your 401k and take the loan so you save the 401k space.
I agree. Last year we decided to finally replace our aging HVAC systems and take care of some other long overdue home maintenance. We could have paid for it out of our taxable brokerage account, but instead I took the maximum 401k loan and put the leftover amount into my taxable account.
We decided to go with the loan because the investment options in my 401k suck, so I would rather reduce that balance. If I leave my job, I can pay the loan from my taxable account, then roll it over to my IRA, and still get the benefit of better investment options. The only “cost” is the 5% interest that I’m paying to myself.
For others, be careful because many employer sponsored plans don’t allow new contributions to the 401k while there’s a loan. You don’t want to lose that tax advantage space.
But if your plan allows contributions while repaying the loan, I think it’s a reasonable option.
Your can use your tax advantaged accounts in most places to help with the down payment. That may be better than foregoing those contributions.
My spouse used a 401k loan to shore up their efund between buying our house together and selling their old house. The terms were surprisingly decent.
Yeah, a lot of people discourage it, but my opinion is that if you’d be redirecting savings from the 401k anyway, you might as well just invest in your 401k and take the loan so you save the 401k space.
I agree. Last year we decided to finally replace our aging HVAC systems and take care of some other long overdue home maintenance. We could have paid for it out of our taxable brokerage account, but instead I took the maximum 401k loan and put the leftover amount into my taxable account.
We decided to go with the loan because the investment options in my 401k suck, so I would rather reduce that balance. If I leave my job, I can pay the loan from my taxable account, then roll it over to my IRA, and still get the benefit of better investment options. The only “cost” is the 5% interest that I’m paying to myself.
For others, be careful because many employer sponsored plans don’t allow new contributions to the 401k while there’s a loan. You don’t want to lose that tax advantage space.
But if your plan allows contributions while repaying the loan, I think it’s a reasonable option.