<prompt> Human: My mom is 4 years away from retirement as a teacher. She has a good pension and is only 3 years from paying off the mortgage. She would like to add a deck to the house, put in a patio, and install wood floors in the upstairs. Cost wise shes looking at around 25,000 for these fixes.Its hard for her to save for these large projects and shes considering taking out a home equity loan. Is this a good idea or are there other options that may be better financially?  <response>: She should save up for these projects and pay for them cash. If she cant do that, then she shouldnt do it at all. 