<prompt> Human: Almost two years ago I had to stop working for almost a year to help my wife and son. My wife had pregnancy complications and my son was born early and spent months in the NICU. Everyone is great and healthy now!Due to medical related expenses, living expenses, etc, we accumulated about credit card debt. Basically lived off our credit cards for a while. The bulk of our debt was medical related expenses that we had to pay out of pocket and COBRA. We are older parents, both 40 years old.I stopped working and had money going out but no money in. I would make the same decision again to be there for my wife and son.I got back working and we paid down the debt to 50k. I just got laid off and not working. Have a severance that will cover two months of expenses including insurance and some funds to go another three months. Half the debt is on zero interest for another year, then up to 20.Between three 401ks my wife and I have 85k in 401ks. I know well get taxed and theres the 10 early withdrawal penalty. I hate to pay that 10 but those monthly credit card payments are getting tough to stomach.Being unemployed right now, not sure if it makes sense to do this or not.  <response>: No. Dont do it. That 10 penalty will be on top of your tax bracket. Even at a 25 tax bracket, you will end up paying 350 for every 1,000 in 401k withdrawal. Before you take money from your retirement, consider two options. 1 Try to consolidate your debt with a bank or credit union. This would alleviate the interest rates and the single monthly payment will help you plan your month. 2 Call the credit card companies and negotiate. Yes, it will hurt your credit rating but it will hurt less than 35. I had to do both of these things back during the 2008 - 2009 recession. Im glad I didnt cash out my retirement plan. 