I have considered it because I think there’s a good chance that at least some of that money will get confiscated in the future. Also I’m starting to suspect that it is a little naive to give your money to Wall Street thinking that it will magically grow and you’ll retire on it some day. After nearly 20 years of having a 401K, I’ve seen it’s balance take a huge hit a couple of times (2000 and 2008). So it looks so far to me that every 8-10 years I’m going to lose a ton. Yes I’m probably a crappy investor and yes everyone here on piggington is a super-genius and doesn’t have this problem. But with these big shocks every decade or so, it becomes difficult to imagine being able to retire on this money. Sometimes I think it might be smarter to just pull it out, pay the penalties, and buy a house or a business something close by that I can keep an eye on. I’m sure this is a very bad thing to do according to all the financial experts, which is another reason I suspect that I may need to do it.
