In almost all instances if you still work for the company you cannot cash out the money. You can however, look into taking a loan out on the money you have in the account. Then, you would agree to pay the money back over a time period of 5 to 10 years with all payments and interest being deposited into your account. If you are only working one day a week for this company your monthly or weekly payments could actually be more than what you are earning. It is best to leave the money where it is. Witht the economy and the market you will see fluctuations. You can expect there to be times when the investments are decreasing and you feel like you are losing money. However, in the long run you should see that your investment actually made money. That is why a 401k is not to be treated like an account where you widthdraw the money before retirement. I have ridden out highs and lows in the market and overall I am ahead. If you leave the company you are with then, you can widthdraw the money in your 401k plan. I know you mentioned the taxes but you forgot about the penalty that you will pay for early widthdawl. When you add up the costs (taxes and penalties) it might come out to more than what you were paying in interest. It is actually better to get a second job temporarily and pay down the balances then take away from your retirement.