BiggerPockets Money Podcast

“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. 

In This Episode We Cover

Why a mentor can help spur you onto to make better, more aggressive investing decisions 

Moving to a different part of the country to take advantage of higher salaries

How to calculate whether or not you should withdraw your 401k funds 

Switching your job to a more flexible schedule without giving up your salary

Travel hacking and using credit card points to pay for your vacations

The benefit of using financing to buy your primary residence or rental properties

And So Much More!

Brad Finn was raised with a strong work ethic that follows him to this day. He always knew he should be working hard, and that’s exactly what he did. Brad worked throughout high school, college, and started multiple businesses in adulthood. While his work ethic was strong, his financial skills were lacking. When Brad went to college, he remembers using almost a third of his student loans on partying alone.

Fast forward to his mid-thirties, Brad is waking up in a beautiful house, with two nice cars in the driveway, a great income, a new business, and a negative net worth. It wasn’t until Brad allowed himself to look at the true number behind his net worth that he realized something needed to change. Fortunately, his wife had been slowly, but surely, trying to tell Brad that they had to make that change.

The day Brad’s first child was born, he and his wife were debt-free. This didn’t come easy, especially since they were facing close to $190,000 in debt. They tracked their spending and realized they spent close to $20,000 in two months, solely on eating out. They dialed it in, worked side jobs to boost their savings rates, and rewarded themselves when they hit milestones. Now their net worth is growing fast, and they’re locked in on investing.

In This Episode We Cover

Calculating how much you need in student loans and taking out that exact amount

How to continue your debt payoff journey without getting discouraged

Rewarding yourself for big milestones, even if it will set you back a small amount

Talking to your partner about money and asking their opinion on strategies 

Raising your budget on things that matter while lowering it on things that don’t

Retirement plans for government workers, like 403b and 457 plans 

Understanding that the long journey to financial freedom is worth it

And So Much More!

Retirement planning can be complicated when you have so many options to choose from. Do you stick with the Roth IRA, the 401k, the Roth 401k, your employee pension plan, or solely invest in stocks and real estate? With all these different types of accounts and their numerous benefits and drawbacks, it’s easy to get stuck financially stalling. 

One person who has been able to optimize his retirement plans, is Matt, pilot and soon-to-be captain, delivering cargo around the United States. Matt bought a home in high-appreciation St. Petersburg Florida, where his home has already gained a fair amount of equity. Although he loves the ability to rent out his home and create cash flow, Matt doesn’t like staying on dry land for too long. He’s going to captain his own home; living in a houseboat and renting out his primary residence to lower his living costs even more.

Matt talks through questions he has about his 401k, Roth 401k, Roth IRA, and other retirement accounts. Even though Matt feels he could be optimizing his finances for faster retirement, both Mindy and Scott agree: if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’ll reach his fifty-year-old retirement goal, without any change to his current lifestyle.

In This Episode We Cover

Deciding between the 401k, Roth IRA, Roth 401k, and other retirement accounts 

House hacking and taking advantage of low-interest, owner-occupied loans 

Whether or not an employee pension should be thought of as a guaranteed retirement 

Living on a boat to save money on housing costs and maximize cash flow

How to plan for retirement when you have an age limit for your job

Employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) and when to invest in one

And So Much More!