. >> one of the first things you say this issue of dipping into your 401(k) or i.r.a. are the considerations there? >> a lot of folks that's going to be the biggest chunk of change they have in the 401(k) or i.r.a. if you're really in financial distress, you can opt for a hardship withdrawal from that 401(k), not from an i.r.a. but you also want to think about the fact that normally if you're under 59 1/2 you're going to have to pay not only regular income tax, ordinary income tax on the withdrawals but also a 10% penalty. here's a way around that. you can opt for what's called a 72-t distribution allowing you to take substantial or regular payouts from that 401(k) or i.r.a. there are going to be certain amounts and it's not going to be a lump sum but that's something you can do. if you start it, though, you have to do it at least five years or until 59 1/2 so you may be taking a lot of that money out of that nest egg that you have. >> now let's move on to the option of taking out social security before you're 65. walk us through that. >> if you're 62, you can start to

and putting it into my roth i.r.a.?it's hard for me to answer that question, because i don't know what else you have going on. but, let me give you a guideline. if you're going to need all the income from your i.r.a. to generate money for you to live on, don't waste paying the taxes to convert it to a roth. because any money you convert to a roth you will owe ordinary income taxes on. and then that money isn't there to generate income for you. if this was money at your retirement that you didn't need to touch for the next 10, 20, 30 years or ever, i would then start to convert it. little by little, so that you don't have to go into a higher tax bracket. >> all right. thanks for your questions. we've got another question written in from, this is carol in connecticut. i'm a 40-plus mom with a 13-year-old daughter, who loves to shop. i am not much of a shopper and a big bargain shopper. she likes expensive things and lots of them. what is the best way to manage this dilemma without battling every time we go shopping? i kno

. >> your question is from aaron, i have an after-tax i.r.a. i have for years.ks will not be taxed but the earnings will. on an income tax basis. good new, this year if the conversion is done you can spread the earnings across 2011 and 2012 next year will be paid in the sub subsequent year. there's one kicker if this is the only i.r.a., you've got a hodgepodge, they are all put together. then use the weighted average in running to the calculations. >> good to know. thank you, appreciate it. help desk about getting you answers. send us an e-mail or logon to cnn.com/help desk to see more financial solutions. also pick up the latest issue of money magazine on news stands now. ♪ i hate suburbia and the bourgeoi-sie ♪ ♪ but i really love my bank ♪ i hate-- didn't quite catch that last bit. i said i really love my bank. right... is there a problem ? it's not really raging, man. uh, we were hoping for more raging ? well, you said write from the heart. yeah... don't do that. at ally, you'll love our online savings account. named the best of 2010 by money magazine. ally.