No .. there is something to it. I socked away cash in my 401K and then found myself with a big fat 401K and not being able to afford the insane downpayment required to buy a million dollar home. Home prices in a few places increased by quite a bit over the last few years. So by not having cash accessible, I had a big setback. Since then, I lowered my 401K contribution to just be what the company matches. I expect I'll be able to increase it after I put in that 20% down payment. Btw .. I did look into getting a loan against my 401K for purpose of buying a house but I think there is a limit that doesn't reflect the current market in the Bay area (don't remember but something like 20-50K; too early to remember the details).