I assume that's short-hand for taking a loan against your 401K (penalties mentioned as a worst-case-scenario?). Which you pay back "to yourself", with interest.

I assume that's short-hand for taking a loan against your 401K (penalties mentioned as a worst-case-scenario?). Which you pay back "to yourself", with interest. I have an emergency fund because "I'm supposed to", but in hindsight, paying myself 4% would've been a higher rate of return than my 401K has seen this year. In light of that, is the advice really that bad? Even if it was a good year and it turned out wrong, you've probably only lost a few points on that money over the term of your loan. If the alternative is putting money into a Savings Account returning a fraction of a percent, and actually becoming worth less over time? Just thinking out loud. I don't consider myself all that financially savvy.