<prompt> Human: Hey all, and thanks in advance for the advice. Me: uppermid-20sI have two retirement accounts. My first is a 401k which houses nearly all of my retirement savings, and which I will not touch for decades upon decades. I keep putting into it and get a fairly generous employer match, so Im not concerned with this account, knowing it will continue to grow. The second is a small Traditional IRA that only has around 3,000. I started this account two years ago with 3,000, it stands exactly at 3054.46 today. Over the past few months, I have accumulated a fair amount of debt, more than I should have and more than I reasonably should be taking on. This is mostly due to an engagement ring and wedding planning and several unexpected expenses. My thinking is that the short term benefit of paying off these bigger expenses particularly the ring, which is on a card with a high APR will outweigh the benefit of keeping the money in this traditional IRA. Is this a good idea or a bad idea? Pros and cons for either decision? Thanks!  <response>: Over the past few months, I have accumulated a fair amount of debt, more than I should have and more than I reasonably should be taking on. This is mostly due to an engagement ring and wedding planning and several unexpected expenses. You knew wedding expenses were coming, you shouldve budgeted for them or downsized the weddingring. Unexpected expenses are what emergency funds are for. It sounds to me like you arent budgeting or saving which are steps 1a and 1b of personal finance. The only time you should drain retirement accounts is to avoid bankruptcy or foreclosure, which it doesnt sound like youre facing. Withdrawing from retirement to pay down debts is fixing bad behavior with more bad behavior. I would just get on a tight budget and hunker down for a few months and pay it off. 