[Vintage Racer]

I'd roll over the entire amount from your old 401K into a self-directed IRA. You just call any of the brokers or mutual funds (Vanguard has the lowest fees), and they will send you the paperwork. You return it, and they do all of the rest. You will never see the money and will owe no tax.

As mentioned above, if you withdraw (that's really what you are doing) any money from a 401K or IRA, you will pay income taxes on it (whatever your Fed and state tax bracket is). You will also pay a 10% penalty (unless you are 59 1/2 years old or older). You'll regret doing this at your retirement.