I'm 46, recently laid off, have a stay-at-home partner with 2 kids and a $3,100 per month mortgage — I'm starting to worry. Should I tap into my $347,000 401(k) or is there another way?

Raiding your retirement funds could come at a big cost. Early withdrawals, before age 59.5, come with a 10% tax penalty. Borrowing money against the account likely won’t be an option, since you're no longer employed.

Here are a few other options to consider first.

Claim unemployment

First and foremost, you'll want to make sure you've claimed unemployment benefits, if available, as soon as you're laid off. Unemployment benefits typically replace a portion of what you were earning, and may be enough to cover essential expenses and keep you afloat until you find a new job.

Slash expenses

The next thing you'll want to do is to slash expenses as much as possible. This can make it easier to live on unemployment benefits or an emergency fund. This may enable you to avoid drastic actions like taking money from your retirement account.

Since you're not working, you can take steps like cooking every meal at home, clipping coupons and other tasks around your home that might reduce utility bills. You can also cut out little luxuries, keeping in mind that this is a temporary situation so it's OK to strip your budget for a while.

Consider a side gig

While you're looking for new full-time work, there are ways to bring in some income to keep you afloat. A side gig is one option. There are loads of opportunities out there to earn money by doing things like ride-hailing or ride-sharing services, delivering food or dog walking.

Earning income from these side gigs can affect unemployment benefits, so be sure you understand the rules before you jump in.

If you want to bring in more money but don't want to take a hit to unemployment, perhaps your partner could also do a side job while you're both home and sharing domestic duties. You could manage the kids while searching for a job, and they could work without affecting your benefits.

Make job hunting your job

Finding a new job is obviously priority number one in this situation. So, treat it like a full-time job. Take steps every day to try to find new work, whether that's applying for a position, networking with others in your industry or polishing up your resume.

Depending on your skillset, it may also be wise to broaden your job search into other positions that you'd be a good fit for.

Rather than doing something that will have long-term adverse financial consequences, such as attempting to take out a personal loan, explore these other solutions instead. Hopefully, they can help until you get back on the job for good.