While secured loan options dwindle there is always an opportunity to remortgage your home and reap some of the rewards from your existing equity.

It is true that house prices have, on average, fallen by as much as 16 per cent in a year, according to Halifax. But that's just an average of houses that are on the books of that bank – there may be plenty of houses in the UK that have not reduced in value by nearly as much, and your home might be one of them.

And if it is, you have more options than you might think. The more equity you have in your home, the better deals you can get and the lower rates you will have to pay. You may find that by remortgaging, and freeing up a little equity, you save yourself a lot of money in the long run.

But any equity unlocked from your home cannot be spent frivolously. It's a precious commodity in this housing market and should be treated as such. If you unlock any money from your home you must have a plan for every penny, and it must be a plan that will help reduce debts or improve your standing in the long run, making your life easier.

Talk to a mortgage broker about what options you have for remortgage. You may be limited in what you can secure and what you can unlock, or you may find that it is still beneficial to stick with your current rate for the time being. The only way you will be able to find out is by talking to a professional. Then, and only then should you be ready to go forward and get hold of a new loan and some new capital.

To keep up with the latest news and comments on current financial affairs please visit the Secured Loan Blog.

New research from uSwitch.com has found that 6.5 million households are in debt to energy suppliers to the tune of £820m – more debt that needs to be secured before more bills follows.

The average amount owed has £126 – and over half of those in debt to their energy supplier owe more than they did this time last year. And it's likely to get worse. 2008 saw energy price hikes of 42% or £381, however many customers have only just started to see these increases reflected in their monthly direct debit payments.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, says: "Despite energy prices now starting to fall, almost a third of direct debit households have only started to feel the impact of last year's price hikes within the last few months. Not only has this raised concerns over affordability, but it also suggests that energy debt is likely to continue to grow as so many households will be playing catch up."

Energy bills are crucial, obviously, but if you are playing catch-up with them, other bills may suffer. You may have to miss out on a car loan payment to cover them, or a credit card repayment. And then this will lead to penalties or fines on those debts, which will lead you to have to miss other debts, like store card repayments and insurance bills. This could snowball, and before you know it you have a host of arrears, missed mortgage payments and you cannot keep up with any of them.

Don't let bills get the better of you. Use your home's equity to clear your name, get back in the black. Using a secured loan will mean you are paying a much smaller rate than you would if you were paying penalties and fees on other debts.

SOURCE: uSwitch.com, 10/03/09

To keep up with the latest news and comments on current financial affairs please visit the Secured Loan Blog.