<prompt> Human: As the title implies, my fiance and i are considering borrowing against our 401k to finance a kitchen renovation of a potential home we are considering. At this point the home, without any updates is appraised at 235k- we are able to get the home at 223; we would get the mortgage for the appraisal value, and then borrow against our 401k 30k to give us a comfortable kitchen renno budget of 40k... thoughts?  <response>: I wouldnt. Youre losing the compounding which is the key to long term investing in a 401K. Plus loans are paid with after tax dollars. Buy a cheaper house, or live with the current kitchen until youve saved the 40K. My two cents. 