<prompt> Human: I have about 19,000 in a retirement account managed by my current employer. The money is 100 employer-contributed because Ive never been able to afford to contribute.Im currently looking for a job hence the throwaway, and Im considering cashing out that account when I leave my current job.My wife and I currently have about 9,000 in credit card debt, and we make about 200 a month in minimum payments. If I cash out the account, I hope to have just enough left after the tax hit to be able to pay off the cards.Other relevant info: Im 28 years old, shes 27. Weve got a 95k mortgage that were refinancing, plus about 45k in student loans and about 22k in car loans. Were living paycheck to paycheck now, but I expect that a new job will give us at least 1,000 extra in our budget each month. It could be as much as 1,300. Yes, I am vastly underpaid right now, despite the pretty awesome retirement benefits.Im hoping to use the extra money from my new job, refinancing the house, and paying off the credit cards to attack the existing debt and save for a down payment on a new house. We want to buy a new house in five years and expect to need about 20-30k for a down payment. That part shouldnt be a problem at all.TL:DR: Im young and searching for a new job, could pay off credit cards by cashing out retirement. Good idea or bad?EDIT The people have spoken! Im trying to talk my wife out of doing this now. Shes convinced its the right solution, but Im uncomfortable with it, after all the advice you guys gave. Thanks everybody for taking the time to respond to my question.  <response>: I am by no means an expert, but if I were in your shoes, I would do my best not to cash out the retirement benefits, especially since you havent contributed to it and it is all free money right now.I would reduce your spending as much as humanly possible. No outings for dinner, no alcohol, no fun activities, cancel cable, cancel cell phones and get prepaids and no smartphones. Then I would sell off anything and everything I dont use... DVDs, CDs, video games, you name it. I would try to trade in the cars assuming they are not underwater for cheaper, used cars, or just a single car. Then I would pay off my credit cards with the money made off of selling things and things I am no longer doing during the month; live frugally until my CC debt was 0.Again, I am not an expert, but that is what I would do. Cashing out retirement savings is a bad deal and it is made that way on purpose so that you dont cash them out and you will end up not only having to pay penalties but also might have to pay income taxes on the money. 