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ATLANTA, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Holiday shopping is in full swing, but many Americans may be headed for a debt hangover come New Year's Day.  To help consumers jumpstart repaying their debt, leading nationwide credit reporting agency, Equifax (NYSE: EFX) partnered with renowned personal finance expert and best-selling author, David Bach, to issue the Debt Free Challenge – getting one million people to pledge to pay down $1 billion of debt – and be entered for a chance to win $10,000 to put toward that goal.

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"Personal debt has become a major problem for American consumers – the average American family is carrying close to $15,000 in credit card debt^*," says Bach.  "Unfortunately there is somewhat of a paralysis that sets in when it comes to getting out of debt – it can seem overwhelming and people don't know where to start.  The Debt Free Challenge can be that first step."

Debt Free Challenge participants will be automatically entered to win a debt-busting $10,000 cash giveaway.  In addition, participants in the Challenge will receive a free 30-day trial of Debt Wise™ and a free downloadable chapter from David Bach's new book, Debt Free For Life: The Finish Rich Plan for Financial Freedom (Crown Business, 12/28/10). Inspired by a totally new approach to building financial freedom, the book, and companion tool Debt Wise™, provides Americans with a step-by-step action plan to reduce all kinds of debt - fast.

"We're proud to partner with David Bach – he's been teaching people how to live debt free for more than a decade and now his tactics are even easier to implement with Equifax Debt Wise," says Trey Loughran, President of Equifax Personal Information Solutions. "It is our hope that the Debt Free Challenge and Debt Wise™ will empower Americans to achieve their own Debt Freedom Day."

Debt Wise™, Equifax's online, do-it-yourself debt reduction tool, helps consumers set up – and stick to – a debt repayment plan.  Debt Wise uses the data already in your Equifax credit report and stacks your debts to show you which to pay off first– accelerating the time it takes to reach your Debt Freedom Day and saving you money in interest.

The Debt Free Challenge Sweepstakes runs from December 15, 2010 through June 30, 2011.  To learn more about Debt Wise™ and the Debt Free Challenge Sweepstakes, visit http://www.DebtFreeChallenge.com.  Join the Debt Wise Community on Facebook, www.facebook.com/debtwise, to access exclusive content, special offers and opportunities to chat with David Bach live.

About Equifax (www.equifax.com)

Equifax is a global leader in information solutions, leveraging one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers. Customers have trusted Equifax for more than 100 years to deliver innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses - large and small - rely on them for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decision technology, marketing tools and much more. Equifax empowers individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax, Inc. operates in the U.S. and 14 other countries throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500^®Index. Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

Debt Wise™ does not provide debt management advice, credit counseling, financial planning or counseling, and will not act as an intermediary between subscribers and their lenders/creditors.  Subscribers must continue to pay their lenders/creditors directly in accordance with their terms.  Debt Wise™ will not improve or repair subscribers' credit history or score, or debt-to-income ratio.  Debt Wise™ is not available in NV, UT or DC.  See equifaxdebtwise.com for important additional information.

About David Bach (www.finishrich.com)

The Founder and Chairman of FinishRich Media, a company dedicated to revolutionizing the way people learn about money, Bach is the author of 10 consecutive national bestselling books, including two # 1 New York Times business bestsellers, Start Late, Finish Rich and The Automatic Millionaire. In all, his FinishRich books have been published in more than 15 languages, with more than 7 million copies in print. A renowned motivational and financial speaker, Bach regularly speaks at the world's leading financial service firms, Fortune 500 companies, universities, and national conferences. Prior to founding FinishRich Media, he was a senior vice president of Morgan Stanley and a partner of The Bach Group, which during his tenure (1993 to 2001) managed more than half a billion dollars for individual investors. Bach is also the creator of the FinishRich^® seminar series, which highlights his quick and easy-to-follow financial strategies, and which has been taught to more than 750,000 people nationwide. Among multiple other media appearances, he has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and is a regular guest on NBC's Today's Money 911 segment.    

^*Statistical reference based on consumer credit data from the Federal Reserve Board's G.19 release which can be found at http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/Current/.  

SOURCE Equifax