Hello:
I will be eligible next year to take 10 percent of my ESOP money out if I want to (the gross distribution should be around $80000.00).
Now I certainly will roll it over into something such as an IRA to avoid the penalties.
But what I want to do is pay off some nagging credit card debt, currently the balances total around $12000.00 split up with about $7500.00 in a balance transfer "new account" interest lock of
2.99%(until paid off, not a 12 month teaser rate) and another $4000.00 or so in a normal account at 8.25%.Now I get these balance transfer offers all the time, so I could just find the best deal for that $4000.00 in another balance transfer "lifetime" interest lock (only now the rates have crept up to 5 or
6%).So what is a good strategy to use with the rolled over money? Should I roll over all of the distribution then take out the cash to pay off the debt? Do a partial rollover and pay the debt off with the proceeds (after figuring out how much extra to take out to cover penalty and taxes)?
What is the best way to keep this "semi-liquid" so I can draw on it if need be (understanding that penalties and extra income taxes would need to be paid each time I did this)?
Thanks,
Tony