 TITLE: How Secured Loans Can Help Your Credit CONTENT: Are Secured Loans a Good Idea?\n------------------------------\nTo determine if a secured loan is worth exploring, your first step should be to review your income and expenses carefully and make sure the payments are doable. If paying hundreds of dollars every month will be a struggle or cause you to fall behind on essential bills, a credit-builder loan is not wise. But if you can easily afford those payments for the entire life of the loan and always pay on time, the secured loan will work to your advantage.\nThe two most common credit scoring models, FICO® Score☉ and VantageScore, both rank payment history as the most important factor in score calculations. Making on-time secured loan payments will go a long way toward building or rebuilding your credit.\nStill, secured loans are not right for everyone. Exercise even more caution if you've had past difficulties with credit. There may be bad habits that need to be broken, such as charging more than you can afford to repay or not preparing for emergencies. You're taking a great risk if you fall behind on a secured loan, and the last thing you want is for the lender to take your assets and leave you with worse credit than before. END