Comments on: Should I Stop 401(k) Contributions to Pay Off Debt?

By: Ration Toilet Paper or Contribute to 401k? « Stay at Home Mom CFO

Ration Toilet Paper or Contribute to 401k? « Stay at Home Mom CFO — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:40:35 +0000

[...] This exact question was posed over at the Frugal Dad site. The consensus seemed to be: If it will take more than 18-24 months to pay off your debt you should contribute up until the employee match of your 401k. Frugal Dad himself said, that is was a personal decision… [...]

By: Six Ways to Raise Emergency Cash | Frugal Dad

Six Ways to Raise Emergency Cash | Frugal Dad — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:34:03 +0000

[...] Take out a 401(k) loan. Borrowing from your 401(k) has become a popular option for raising cash, but I’m still a bit skeptical. For one thing, [...]

By: Pay Off Debt Or Save For Retirement | How to decide what's best for you

Pay Off Debt Or Save For Retirement | How to decide what's best for you — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:34:21 +0000

[...] always more than one reasonable approach to a money management decision. As an example, while Dave Ramsey would stop saving for retirement to pay off debt as would Michelle Singletary, Liz Pulliam Weston believes we should not stop saving for retirement [...]

By: Tee

Tee — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:51:34 +0000

I’m in a unique situation where I have about $17k of debt. I’m 42 y/o, and all of my debt is at 0% for the time being. I believe I can pay it off before the APR resets in ~12 months. I have a 401K with a 50% match up to 8% that I currently contribute to in order to get the match. I’m considering suspending my 401k contributions for 6-8 months to payoff the ~$17k in debt, then maximizing my 401k contributions once I’m out of debt and aggresively saving for an emergency fund. What do you think?

By: Have We Been Sold A Bunch Of Lies About Money? | Frugal Dad

Have We Been Sold A Bunch Of Lies About Money? | Frugal Dad — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:01:39 +0000

[...] on the current status of our economy, and wondering when and how things will shake out. My 401(k) has been demolished. Family member’s 401(k)s have been demolished, even those in target [...]

By: Janice on Nov. 13th, 2008

Janice on Nov. 13th, 2008 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:08:14 +0000

All of the blogs I’ve read are helpful, and relatable. My question is; “Will my company match the contributions I’ve made for the past 10 months of this year, now that I have suspended my contributions to pay down debt”, or do I lose the match altogether”? I made the decision due to the money I had loss, as a result of the downturn in the market.

By: orneryswife

orneryswife — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:27:54 +0000

Excellent article, and I have enjoyed the comments. Andy C is the only one that brings up the fact that all those 401K dollars are pre-tax contributions. If we stop putting money into the 401K, we go up to the next tax bracket and see very little of the money on the paycheck. That money ends up going to the IRS instead of our retirement fund. NOT that anything is growing much right now, but I’d rather pay myself than Uncle Sam, given the choice.

This decision, whether or not to suspend matching 401K contributions has caused us much grief as we have tried to figure out the best way to relieve our debt load with intensity. In the end, we ended up leaving the contribution as it was. I still don’t know if it was the right choice, but there you go!
TM

By: Tyler @ Building Camelot

Tyler @ Building Camelot — Sat, 10 May 2008 14:36:34 +0000

I agree that this is a personal decision…and one that my wife and I think is a good idea. I’d rather pay a little less into 401K than increase credit card debt. I never even thought of doing this until I read this article so thanks for the idea! Love your blog.

–TW

By: May 5, 2008 Link Payday | Uncommon Cents

May 5, 2008 Link Payday | Uncommon Cents — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:45:25 +0000

[...] Dad weighs in on a classic question: Should I Stop 401(k) Contributions to Pay off Debt? There’s pros and cons on each side, and it can be difficult to determine which side will work [...]

By: Toby

Toby — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:15:43 +0000

It has been said of course, but this is how I personally think it should go if you are really loaded:

*Contribute ,up to the max of matching only, to your 401k
*With the remainder, get debt free.
*Once you are debt free, get a house.
*Once you have a house, max out Roth IRA contributions if you are young enough for that to be a good idea (<50 or so?)
*Max out regular IRA (more flexible than a 401k) if you are still eligible.
*Max out 401k.
*Invest in other non-tax deferred vehicles of your choice.