At this stage of life, many people, particularly couples whose families are grown and whose working life is coming to a close, like to do something to mark the occasion. Numbers of people start dreaming about their dream holiday long before they make any plans to go or start wondering where the money is going to come from. This may be the time to check out your options, just to see whether that dream holiday could become a reality.

If you believed even half of what television advertisers tell you, you might think that every couple who were approaching retirement or had just retired, released the equity that was in their home to have enough money to just get away from it all for a while.

An increasing number of home owners in the UK are thinking of taking out some kind of secured loan for whatever reason. Banks and building societies (and often other lenders) prefer home owners because if a borrower defaults on their loan, the lender can (with legal help) take their home instead so you do need to be aware of what you are letting yourself in for. The key thing to bear in mind when thinking about secured loans is information. The more information that you have about the different loans available on the high street or online, the more likely you are to make a decision that is the best for you.

If you do go for a secured loan, the amount you can borrow depends on the equity in your house, for example, if your house is worth a hundred and fifty thousand pounds, it is pointless asking the lender for two hundred thousand pounds. Before you make any concrete plans for your holiday, do some research into what's out there. Who has the best APR (annual percentage rate) and are you going to let them have the value of your home when you are gone, or are you going to make repayments on it now?

It is always worth having a look on the internet when you are researching secured loans. Some of the businesses out there are offering good deals to people and what is more, they do most of the research as well! Once they have your details, they can do a search until they come up with a loan that best suits your needs. How good is that? You'll be able to bask in the glow of that feeling all the while you are basking in the sun.