As people take off on their debt freedom journey, so many times they are tempted to withdraw money from their retirement accounts in an attempt to speed up their debt elimination process. We get questions all the time from people who want to know whether or not we think this is a good idea.

I do not think it is ever a good idea to take money out of a retirement account in an effort to pay off debt. Many people feel like retirement is so far away that they have plenty of time to begin saving. And while you may have plenty of time to start saving, you will never regret starting as early as possible. The key is to start investing early and invest consistently. In all likelihood, no matter when you begin saving for retirement, you will wish you had started sooner.

When you get started on your debt freedom journey, it can seem like the end is so far away. But I would encourage you to stay the course. Get a budget using one of our FREE tools, calculate your debt freedom date using our FREE calculator and slowly but surely, you will see those debts drop off. And once they are all gone, not only will you be debt free but you will also still have your money working for you in your retirement accounts.

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