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Retirement accounts: Tempted to take out loans from your 401(k) or withdraw contributions (the money you've deposited) from your Roth IRA penalty-free? Unless you are willing to develop a taste for cat food, don't shortchange your future. If you must, though, take the loan, because you can't replace borrowed Roth contributions. Don't even consider taking money out of a regular IRA unless you like donating around half of it to Uncle Sam in the form of taxes and penalties. Collectibles such as coins and antiques: If you need to raise funds from collectibles in a hurry, the sharks smell blood in the water, and you are less likely to get a good price for Great Aunt Betsy's Colonial-era sewing kit. Long-term bonds: When you buy a bond, you are guaranteed a set amount of interest plus the return of your principal on the maturity date. Before that, all bets are off. If you want your principal back before the maturity date, you have to sell the bond for the going price, which could be less than the face value. The longer the term, the more sensitive bond prices are to interest rate changes. Your family: Yeah, you've got a lot invested in those kids, and you might get a nice price for them on eBay, if they are polite and don't eat much. But we can't recommend liquidating this asset, tempting as it may be at times.