Are secured personal loans good?

Secured personal loans aren’t necessarily good or bad, but they are rare. A secured personal loan requires the borrower to pledge some collateral (such as money in a savings account) in exchange for the loan, in order to reduce the lender’s risk. If you have to use a secured personal loan (or a secured credit card for that matter) to fund a major purchase, or to cover large expenses, it can have some beneficial effects, such as helping build your credit score.