<prompt> Human: So we purchased a town house right before the crash. I think around 2006. Two mortgages. The smaller one was at 34,000 with 8.75 interest and a balloon. I was able to get the balloon off and adjust the interest rate on the larger loan, but they couldnt lower the 8.75 one.After 12 or so years the principal has only gone down about 6000. I could drain my 401k and pay off that loan. I know everyone says not to do that because of the tax hit, but am I losing more money paying that interest for another 20 years?We are paying double the minimum but after refinancing just to get the balloon off its still going to take forever to pay off.Any advice would be appreciated.  <response>: Its an absolutely horrible idea to take an early withdrawal to pay this off. At most I would suggest a 401k loan if your provider offers one, but a straight up withdrawal? Never. Thats far worse than your interest rate both for tax reasons and penalty reasons, not to mention the loss of investment gains. 