Users need a way to track their liquid assets separately from their investments that are tied up in retirement accounts to better manage their cash flow and accessibility for expenses.
Background: I'm a single dude in his early 30s with a high-paying job at a large company (300-400k annually, and will increase). My job is pretty secure -- protected by a union and a seniority based system...i.e. If the market crashes, I'm pretty far up the ladder and unlikely to get furloughed or laid off. My primary home was refi'd during COVID for a 30 year fixed 2.62%. Two cars- both paid off a long time ago. No student loans or other debt other than credit cards which get paid off in full each month. Plenty of invested money - 401k, Roth IRA, traditional IRA, and a couple checking and one high yield savings. All in all, I don't feel like I'm in a bad spot financially, except for one thing: illiquidity. The issue: The majority of my money is tied up in places inaccessible without paying income tax, penalties, or both. I have cash for "small" stuff like a broken AC unit, or a busted pipe, to supplement or cover whatever homeowners insurance won't, but not much more. Why it matters: About a year ago, I bought a second (vacation) home in another state with my parents--with whom I have a great relationship. We purchased the home as 50% equity partners and share every expense from the mortgage all the way down to the cleaning service. My name is on the loan and title. The home purchase price was just under 1.1 mil, and knowing my lack of liquid cash but steady income situation, the parents agreed to help front me some of the down payment. At this point I owe 'em another 30k or so, which I'm steadily paying off as any other bill. The problem NOW is that they're hell-bent on quite a few costly home improvements, which will undoubtedly increase the value of the home significantly: one will add around 300sq.ft. and the other will markedly update and improve the entry and kitchen area. All in all, probably about 120k in improvements. Also worthy of note is that the house was purchased for $50-60 cheaper per sq.ft. than any other house in the (very nice) neighborhood where it's located. The improvements would add about 300sq.ft making a \~5,700sq.ft house just over 6k sq.ft + a new kitchen and entry area. I'd guess resale value would increase by close to 100k....but that's just a guess based on the current market. The question is: how do I go about best financing or obtaining the money for said home improvement(s)? Simply foregoing the improvements or waiting 2-3 years isn't a viable option--although they are moving faster and at a higher price point than I'd anticipated--but that's a different discussion. My initial hunch was to take a large chunk from my 401k as a loan to myself with the pros of it being non-interest "loan", of sorts, that I could more than easily pay back to myself within the required 5 year window. And with little fear of losing my job, this didn't initially seem like a terrible idea. I understand that this isn't normally advisable since I'd lose the dividends/gains, and then have the sold shares from the loaned money purchased again later at a higher price. However, I contemplated that perhaps this could be offset by the fact that the money was used -- invested, if you will -- into real property whose value would be increased by the use of those funds. Now, though, I'm rethinking that. However, in the absence of a personal loan -- at a relatively high interest rate -- I simply don't think I can come up with even my half (call it 50-60k) in cash in a short few months (the improvement project is likely a 2-4 month ordeal). Any other ideas or thoughts? Pros or cons to this beyond the obvious and already stated? Thanks!