TransUnion Finds Only About One in Ten Canadians Met 2011 Financial Goal

TORONTO--(Marketwire - Dec 19, 2011) - For many Canadians, the tree has been decorated, the cookies baked, and gifts have been bought in the anticipation and excitement of the holiday season, but soon, the decorations will disappear and many will begin focusing on their New Year's resolutions -- and TransUnion encourages consumers to start thinking now about how they can make 2012 their best financial year yet.

As 2011 comes to a close, TransUnion commissioned a Zogby IBOPE survey and asked consumers to look back on their financial goals for 2011. Unfortunately, 26 percent said they were not on track to meet their goals for the year, while only 12 percent said they had achieved their financial goal for the year.

"Even though consumers may be busy with the holidays, now is the perfect time for consumers to appraise their current financial situation and make goals for where they want to be at the end of 2012," says Tom Reid, director of consumer solutions for TransUnion. "TransUnion.ca offers tools to help consumers understand their credit information, manage their debt load, protect their identity -- and help them achieve their financial goals for 2012."

With a few weeks left in the year, now is a great time for consumers to start making their financial resolutions for the new year. TransUnion recommends the following tips to help consumers plan their financial goals for 2012:

• Check your credit reports every three months: The first step to robust credit health is to recognize which bad financial habits, such as late payments, you have and how they are represented on your credit report. Regular check-ups will also help you guard against identity theft.
  
  
• Know your score: The higher your credit score, the better interest rate you are likely to receive.
  
  
• Create a monthly spending plan and stick to it: This simple commitment can help you start a savings plan and will help keep you from building up unmanageable debt. Also, setting aside a fixed amount each month or week will guarantee funds in the case of emergency, while helping you develop financial discipline.
  
  
• File a dispute. It is your right to question information on your credit report that you don't recognize or that might not be reflective of your credit behavior. Online investigation request forms can be found on TransUnion.ca.
  
  
• Guard against identity theft: To help guard against this increasingly prevalent crime, sign up for a credit monitoring service that will quickly alert you to any changes in your report.
  
  

Survey Methodology
IBOPE Zogby International was commissioned by TransUnion to conduct an online survey of 502 Canadian adults.

IBOPE Zogby International's partners supply email addresses for adults in Canada. These panelists were invited to participate from 10/19/11 to 10/20/11. Slight weights were added to region, age, education, and gender to more accurately reflect the population. The margin of error is +/- 4.5 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. The MOE calculation is for sampling error only.

About TransUnion
As a global leader in information and risk management, TransUnion creates advantages for millions of people around the world by gathering, analyzing and delivering information. For businesses, TransUnion helps improve efficiency, manage risk, reduce costs and increase revenue by delivering high quality data, and integrating advanced analytics and enhanced decision-making capabilities. For consumers, TransUnion provides the tools, resources and education to help manage their credit health and achieve their financial goals. Through these and other efforts, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies worldwide. Based in Burlington, Ontario, with global headquarters located in Chicago, Illinois, TransUnion provides local service and support throughout Canada. Visit www.transunion.ca to learn more.