Press Releases
Visa USA and Personal Finance Expert Jean Chatzky Launch National Women's Savings Initiative at California Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women
Award-Winning Financial Education Program Helps Women Face and Overcome Unique Financial HurdlesLONG BEACH, October 23, 2007
The good news for women today is that they are living seven years longer than men. The bad news is that women - especially those at retirement age - often face greater financial difficulties than men. To help women overcome these financial roadblocks, today at the California Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women, Visa
With the help of personal finance expert Jean Chatzky and philanthropist Teresa Heinz Kerry, the goal of this Women's Savings Initiative is to give women free access to helpful money management tools and resources in the areas of: savings, retirement planning, earnings, budgeting and investing. This Women's Savings Initiative is being offered through Visa's Practical Money Skills for Life financial education program (www.practicalmoneyskills.com).
"Women are living longer today and taking on more responsibility, especially when it comes to raising children, and that can mean added pressure to understand and juggle finances," said Chatzky. "Whatever their financial situation, the tools and resources provided by the Practical Money Skills for Life Program and the Women's Savings Initiative will help women earn, save, invest and protect their financial assets with confidence."
The centerpiece of this Initiative is a special money-management resource section which is part of Visa's award-winning, financial education program, Practical Money Skills for Life. Available for free at www.practicalmoneyskills.com, this section will include:
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Original video and audio podcasts by Jean Chatzky updated every week on important financial topics for women
- A new book on retirement planning for women, What Women Need to Know About Retirement, available as an eBook and MP3 audio book
- A wide variety of financial resources for various life events (buying a house, retirement and emergency savings)
- Interactive financial calculators on relevant topics like planning for a baby, holiday shopping, allowances for children and making a budget
As part of the Initiative, women will have access to Jean Chatzky's Practical Money Series, a new, year-long series of money-management video podcasts, articles and resources by Chatzky. With new podcasts and materials released every week, these tools will help women organize their financial life, plan for major life events, save for retirement, balance career and family and make the most of their money.
An additional component of this Initiative is an e-book entitled "What Women Need to Know About Retirement." Published under the direction and leadership of Teresa Heinz Kerry, the Heinz Family Philanthropies and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), it provides women with a blueprint to both get started planning a retirement and to grow that investment. It is available at no cost on www.practicalmoneyskills.com for download as a PDF paper version or MP3 audio book, and also available for free on www.womensretirement.org.
"Raising awareness about the need for greater financial security for all women has been a passion of mine for more than a decade," said philanthropist and women's advocate, Teresa Heinz Kerry. "We are proud to join as a partner with Visa to give women access to a program that will help them on a road to financial freedom and success."
Practical Money Skills for Life is an award-winning, teacher-tested and teacher-approved financial education program that is available in English, Spanish and Chinese. The program contains three comprehensive sections, complete with money management resources and lesson plans tailored for use at home, in the classroom or at work. It also contains an array of tips to help prepare for life changing financial events, from planning a baby to saving for college and retirement, as well as a number of other budget calculators and interactive games.
Visa also runs What's My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a leading higher education consumer awareness program. The website guides college students through the ABC's of a FICO credit score, from factors that can lower a score to ways on improving it, at no charge.
Additionally, building on a decade-long commitment to improving the financial literacy of all Americans, Visa has joined with personal finance expert Jean Chatzky. A best-selling author who appears regularly on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "The Today Show", as well as hosting a daily radio program on Oprah & Friends (XM 156), Ms. Chatzky is collaborating with Visa to promote financial literacy nationwide.
Through this collaboration, Ms. Chatzky is helping to develop new financial education curriculum and interactive resources geared toward teachers, students, women and parents. She has and will continue to participate in a number of Practical Money Skills for Life and What's My Score outreach activities.
About the Heinz Family Philanthropies
With offices in
CONTACT
Steve Burke
For Visa Inc.
703.946.5737
sburke@crcpublicrelations.com
Romi Neustadt
For Heinz Philanthropies
406.579.9947
rneustadt@gmail.com