TORONTO – June 19, 2002 – Leading into Canada Day, a new countrywide study released today finds Canadians focused on spending their money on fundamentals such as food, home, family and friends. Only three per cent of Canadians viewed investments and retirement savings as the most important use for their money.

Respondents to a national survey reported that food (30 per cent); house, mortgage, or rent payments (17 per cent); friends and family (11 per cent); health and well being (9 per cent); education (7 per cent); and, bills and debt (3 per cent) were all more important uses for their money than RRSPs, investments, and retirement savings.

The results are part of the Canadian Priceless Index, a national survey conducted by Environics Research Group for MasterCard Canada, in which 2,000 respondents across the country were asked to reflect on what they considered to be the most priceless aspects of Canadian life, history and society, as well as our nation’s most valuable contributions to the rest of the world.

"The Canadian Priceless Index clearly indicates that many Canadians’ spending is focused on immediate priorities – food, putting a roof over their head and taking care of friends and family," said Walt Macnee, President, MasterCard Canada.

The Canadian Priceless Index also sheds light on the more whimsical spending habits of Canadians.

• When asked if they won a million dollars what they would spend it on, the most common answers were: give it to family or friends (49 per cent), buy a new house or pay down a mortgage (47 per cent); travel (40 per cent); pay off debts (21 per cent); donate to charity (27 per cent). Retirement came much farther down the list at 5 per cent.
• When asked what their favourite thing to spend money on is, the number one answer was clothes, jewelry and make-up (16 per cent), followed by food and dining out (14 per cent), gifts (10 per cent), travel (10 per cent) and entertainment (10 per cent).
  
• Asked what their most priceless purchase was, homes were a resounding favourite (24 per cent), followed by cars (13 per cent), and wedding rings (7 per cent), jewelry and clothing (6 per cent) and pets (4 per cent).

Study methodology
This survey of 2,028 Canadians 18 years of age and over was carried out by telephone between May 21 and June 5, 2002. Results to a survey of this size can be considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percent, nineteen times out of twenty.

About MasterCard
MasterCard International has a comprehensive portfolio of well-known, widely accepted payment brands including MasterCard® , Cirrus® and Maestro® . More than 1.7 billion MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestro logos are present on credit, charge and debit cards in circulation today. An association comprised of more than 15,000 member financial institutions, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses, both large and small, in 210 countries and territories. MasterCard is a leader in quality and innovation, offering a wide range of payment solutions in the virtual and traditional worlds. MasterCard’s award-winning Priceless® advertising campaign is now seen in 90 countries and in 45 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. With more than 24 million acceptance locations, no card is accepted in more places and by more merchants than the MasterCard Card. For the year ended December 31, 2001 gross dollar volume exceeded US$986 billion. MasterCard can be reached through its World Wide Web site at http://www.mastercard.com.

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Allison Morris, Tina Gladstone or Christopher Fox
Environics Communications for MasterCard Canada
416-920-9000
tgladstone@pr.environics.ca
cfox@pr.environics.ca