Cashing out $9K 401(K) would cost me $415,000

I was considering cashing out my modest 401(K) rollover to put exclusively toward credit card debt (10% APR or less) when I decided to jump online and check out just how much it would cost me in the long run.

According to my nifty Excel calculator, if I left that money alone and never contributed another penny to it, at a 10% rate of return I would have approx $415,000 at retirement. At a 12% rate of return, it would be around $858,000.

I guess that’s not a good tradeoff for paying off around $7,000 of debt now (that would be the after tax takeaway.) And especially since it’s borrowing at around 4% APR or less. Still, it is pushing down my credit score because of the debt to credit ratio and I would really like to get rid of it.

So, if I can’t use that money, the next bet is to Sell Car Sell!

Will find a way to post the Excel Calculator as soon as I can. Not sure where I got it from, but it is very useful, and simple too.