WASHINGTON - The U.S. Treasury launched its
first financial education television commercial this
week to encourage Americans to save for important life
events. The "Choose to Save" public service
announcement, a product of a partnership with the
American Savings Education Council (ASEC), arrives
during national financial literacy month and promotes
free government resources for financial planning
available on the website MyMoney.gov and toll-free
hotline 1-888-MyMoney.
The 30-second public service announcement, part of
ASEC's broader Choose to Save series of radio and
television spots, can be found at www.treas.gov/financialeducation.
The National Association of Broadcasters is nationally
distributing the commercial, which was created at WJLA-TV
in Washington, D.C.
"The goal of this television spot is to make more
Americans aware of the federal government's treasure of
free, non-biased financial planning resources," said
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Education Dan
Iannicola, Jr. "Before the MyMoney.gov website, this
information was all a hidden treasure, spread across
more than 20 government web sites. This commercial tells
everyone that now they only need to know one place to
visit."
The ad directs viewers to the federal government's
one-stop shop website for personal finance information.
The MyMoney.gov website, available in both English and
Spanish, has links to materials that teach the
importance of saving for retirement, managing credit
cards, investing, avoiding scams and many other useful
subjects. Users can also test their financial literacy
knowledge with the Money 20 quiz.
The April release of the Choose to Save commercial
coincides with Financial Literacy Month, a national
observance to promote wise money management. The month
has been recognized by resolutions by both houses of
Congress and with events across the country.
"Managing your money is a year-round job, but this month
we join with our financial literacy partners in
government, business and the non-profit world to
encourage Americans to take the first steps to learning
more about their money," Iannicola said. "With that
knowledge Americans have the power to plan a secure
financial future."
Treasury heads the Congressionally-mandated Financial
Literacy and Education Commission. The 20-agency federal
commission created the MyMoney.gov website and toll-free
hotline in October 2004 and released a national strategy
for financial literacy in April 2006.
ASEC and ChooseToSave.org are educational programs of
the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.
LINKS
Choose to Save Commercial
-- John MacDonald
Director of Media Relations, EBRI
202-775-6349, macdonald@ebri.org