<prompt> Human: Im 43, and Ive been unemployed for about a year-and-a-half now. Im on unemployment, but the amount I receive does not cover all of my monthly expenses. My savings have slowly whittled down to the point where its almost non-existent.I bought a house 18 years ago, and I have 2 years left on the mortgage. About 17K is still owed. I do have a Roth IRA with 22K.My question is, do I take the early withdrawal on the IRA and pay off the house? My unemployment benefits would then be enough to cover my monthly expenses.What kind of a hit am I going to take with the early withdrawal in the form of penalties, since Im not yet 5912? Will the Roth after penalties be enough to cover the mortgage? Would this be a hardship withdrawal since I wont be able to cover the mortgage in the next month or two when my savings run out, and the house would go into foreclosure?  <response>: You have to find a job and it sounds like you MUST move to a location with jobs. You are very lucky your house is almost paid off so sell it, take the money and relocate to someplace that is hiring. 