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REDDIT

Getting my 401k match. Use loan funds?

I
Feb 28, 2025 · 06:25

I recently took a home equity loan to purchase an investment property from a family member for cheap. With that loan, I took an extra 20k for improvements to the property and to use as an emergency fund.

I’m currently only putting 3% into my 401k. My employer matches 30%. I make 100k per year. Due to my financial situation, I really cannot afford to contribute any more at all.

My question is, should I start maxing out my 401k to get the employer match and then pay myself back the difference from the loan/emergency fund? Or should I put the emergency fund into a HYSA or something like VOO?

I would need to go back to contributing 3% when the funds from the loan ran out. By then, I should have that amount back plus at least 30% extra sitting in my 401k. Am I thinking about this correctly?