<prompt> Human: So I recently left my old job and started a new one. The new job got me a 10 bonus up to a salary of 70k and into a position that Ill be much happier at. During the last 3 months at my previous job my old company went public, and I was left with the decision as to whether or not to buy my company stock options. It cost me around 8K to buy them which left me close to broke, but the stock is now worth around 25K so it was a no-brainer to buy the stock.So this leads into my question... Im currently only 25 years old and am slightly worried about how much Ill owe in taxes because of the stock I now own. At my previous company, I had around 12K in the 401K they offered and I have the option to either roll this balance over into my new companies 401K or to cash it out. My new company 401K has a strong company match, so Ill be maxing that out this year to get the full match and going forward. As I mentioned, Im pretty short on liquid cash right now and also need to pay rent 900month, car 300month, and student loans 3 separate loans with a balance of 15K each at 9.5. Does it make sense to cash out my old company 401K to prepare for tax seasonattack student debt? Does anybody have any other advice on my unique situation?  <response>: Do you know for sure that youll have to pay taxes on the stock? You may not need to do that until you sell the stock ie, realize the gains. Id look into this more, or even talk to an accountant, before making an irreversible and costly decision -- you may have to pay penalties -- like cashing out a 401k. 