I am thinking about taking a loan from my 401k instead of waiting so long and possibly not getting approved by my insurance company. It is like I have the devil on one side saying do it and the angel on the other side saying wait; good things come to those that wait. I just don't know. Should I also talk to my surgeon about this and find out what the total cost will be.

I would think you'd want to know total cost before you looked into any options, because perhaps cost would determine which payment route you took.

I have a hard time recommending 401k loans to people... have you looked into 0% interest credit offers or low APR? Many cards out there now are about 5% or less.

This is my experience

Right now with the stock market like it is, I think it is a good idea (at my company). You need to look into the fees associated with it. Where I work they only charge a 4 dollar quarterly fee. You pay 7% interest, but you pay it to yourself. Basically the money you borrow will have a higher return than that which is in your 401K right now (with the stock market the way it is). Right now my year to date interest is negative 10%. So thats where I stand on the issue.

I would suggest you try for approval. If you have everything in the letter and all your issues etc. address you should not have a problem. Most have to let you know within 30 days. What is your company policy do they allow it or not? While you are doing this you can talk witht he doctor and hosp about his prices and then go from there. The letter my wife and I used along with the doctors stuff we were approved in less than 30 days. Also keep in mind that if insurance does not pay all or a little you can ded 7.5% of agi at the end of the year with your taxes. So you might get some money back and payoff the loan that much faster. If you would like to see the letter e-mail me your address and I will forward it to you.

Chris

Chris,

My insurance does cover and I will need to go through the 6 month diet. I am just very impatient (sp?). Thank you, My email is aatherton3@gmail.com

Go through the diet. Loans from 401(k) cost you more money that people think. Especially that large of an amount. It's not just the money you take out, it's all the money you would have earned long term. Also, if you loan now, you'll be selling the funds at a lower cost per share than you bought them for- we all know the goal is to buy low sell high- but you'd be doing the opposite, not only losing interest, dividends, earnings, but also growth. I deal with 401(k)'s all day long. You'll appreciate the money when you retire. The six months is definately a long time when you're sitting at day one, but it'll fly by.