Secured loans are loans in which you put up collateral for the money that you borrow. Generally, a secured loan would be a mortgage with the home being the collateral. It's important to understand that if you don't make the payments on a secured loan, the collateral that you put up in order to get the money will be taken, e.g. your house or car.
There is a long term for secured loans and they generally carry a lesser interest rate because the lender does not have as much of a risk if you default on paying the bills. They'll just take back their property.
This is not risky for the lender but it is definitely a big risk for the borrower. That's why secured loans are really something that you should think about before taking them out. Not only do you have the issue of potentially losing your property, but you have the problem of it affecting your credit score significantly if you don't pay the bills. This is especially damaging if your house goes into foreclosure or your car is repossessed.
You want to really have a budget in line and go over every bit of the debt that you have combined with your income before you decide to take on secured loans to make sure they are something that you have room to pay for. They need to be a debt that you can pay on time, regularly each month with an amount over the minimum payment so the payment affects the principal balance.
If handled responsibly, secured loans can have a very positive impact on your credit score as they will be reported to the three credit agencies. You'll also need to have good credit initially in order to obtain secured loans. They're kind of like the prima dona of loans. If you get one, it makes you feel accomplished.