CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 12/17/12 -- With only a week until Christmas, many consumers are still out buying and wrapping gifts for loved ones, but TransUnion finds that more than half of Americans are already looking ahead to 2013 and to achieving their financial resolutions in the New Year.

According to a recent Zogby Analytics survey commissioned by TransUnion, more than half of Americans surveyed (53.5 percent) say one of their financial resolutions for 2013 is to save more money. This was followed closely by those who wanted to spend less on unnecessary expenses (48.7 percent) and pay down existing debts (42.3 percent).

"The new year 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 2013," said Heather Battison, senior director at TransUnion responsible for consumer education. "TransUnion's new TransUnion Plus offers tools to help consumers understand their credit information, assess their current spending habits, set monthly budgets, manage their debt load, protect their identity -- and most of all, help them achieve their financial goals for this year."

TransUnion provides the following five tips to help consumers get financially fit in 2013:

• Check your credit reports frequently: 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: Understand what affects your credit score and take the necessary steps to reaching healthier credit. The higher your score, the better rate you are likely to receive.
  
  
• Create a monthly spending plan and stick to it: Determine your current spending habits, and set a monthly budget to determine just how much disposable income you have so you can manage it wisely. TransUnion Plus is a new tool that allows you input all of your information about your bank accounts, 401(k), loans and any other accounts that influence how you budget. By examining your spending habits during the past few months and inputting monthly payments and deposits using this tool, you can get a better idea about where you can cut spending and increase savings.
  
  
• File a dispute. It is your right to question information on your credit report that you don't recognize or that might accurately reflect your credit history. Online dispute forms can be found on TransUnion.com.
  
  
• Guard against identity theft: To help minimize your risk against it, sign up for a credit monitoring service that will quickly alert you to any changes in your report.
  
  

About TransUnion

TransUnion Interactive, Inc. is a consumer subsidiary of TransUnion. As a global leader in credit and information 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 comprehensive data and advanced analytics and decisioning. 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. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Chicago, TransUnion reaches businesses and consumers in 33 countries around the world. Follow us on Facebook. www.transunion.com

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