Excerpt: When you're in a bind, the last thing you want to hear is a list of reasons why you shouldn't borrow the money you need. Often, however, that's exactly what you'll hear about taking out a loan against your retirement plan at work. It's easy for financial planning experts to tell you that borrowing from your 401(k) isn't an ideal thing to do. But when times are tight, even people who are pretty smart with their money often have to choose between unattractive options. And compared with some other ways to get the money you need, you can do a lot worse than 401(k) loans.  MORE >>