Schwab Launches New Money-Mentoring Web Site for Parents

SAN FRANCISCO, April 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Parents and grandparents seeking to ground their children in the basics of modern-day money management have a new resource to turn to at http://www.schwabmoneywise.com/ . The Web site offers practical guidance, tools, tips, calculators and a life-stage-based interactive game to help adults learn how to talk to kids about money and equip them with critical knowledge of personal and consumer finance.

The site is organized by financial topic (budgeting, saving, borrowing, investing, taxes and philanthropy); and by financial milestone (managing an allowance, getting a first job, buying a car, going to college and leaving home). Based on the premise that there are teachable moments in life when young adults become more receptive to information, the site offers perspective and guidance for parents to make the most of each financial rite-of-passage in helping kids get a strong head start.

The site was developed based on Schwab research showing that parents want help educating their kids about money. Coincidentally, the 2007 Schwab Teens & Money Survey shows that teens themselves want to learn. Almost two thirds of teens (65 percent) believe that learning about money management is interesting; more than half (60 percent) say that it's one of their top priorities; and nearly nine in ten (89 percent) say they want to learn how to invest their money to make it grow.

"We're hoping this Web site paves the way for parents, grandparents and other adults to help coach the young people in their lives toward financial fitness," said Carrie Schwab Pomerantz, chief strategist of consumer education at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. "Kids today are growing up in a much more demanding financial world than young adults had to face even a generation ago. Providing them with the right knowledge and skill-sets now should enable them to make smart financial choices throughout their lives."

From Financial Basics and Financial Milestones to Calculators and an Interactive Game

Adults are invited to explore the site's financial basics section, which includes a hierarchy of learning. With each financial basic, the learning experience can be tailored to the life circumstances of the child. Individual topics are linked to related information within the financial milestones section, such as establishing and managing an allowance, getting a first job and paying taxes, buying a car, saving for college and ultimately leaving home. Interactive tools, such as a savings calculator, budgeting planner and a debt payoff calculator, allow for hands-on learning and bring essential lessons about money to life.

The game Schwab MoneyWise(TM) It's Your Life provides an engaging way to illustrate the long-term effects of discrete decisions made along life's path. Through a series of questions, options and random events that pop up along the way, the player can see what the future might hold based on different financial choices made along the continuum of "life."

Visitors to the site are invited to offer suggestions and feedback within a section called "Let's Talk."

Schwab and Financial Literacy

The Schwab MoneyWise(TM) program addresses a pervasive need for people to understand the basics of personal and consumer finance in order to be financially successful throughout life. The program has its roots in research and work the company has done for many years promoting financial literacy, including a series of best-selling personal finance books by Charles R. Schwab, as well as Charles Schwab Foundation's work with teens through Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the educational program Money Matters: Make It Count(SM), now in its fourth year. Schwab MoneyWise builds on this legacy by providing additional educational resources for the general public.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHW) is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices and 6.8 million client brokerage accounts, more than one million corporate retirement plan participants, 150,000 banking accounts, and $1.3 trillion in client assets. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, http://www.sipc.org/), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through its Schwab Institutional division. The Charles Schwab Bank, N.A. (member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services and products. CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member SIPC, http://www.sipc.org/) is an electronic trading technology and brokerage firm providing services to highly active, online traders. More information is available at http://www.schwab.com/ . (0407-5653)

About Charles Schwab Foundation

Funded by the Charles Schwab Corporation, Charles Schwab Foundation is committed to giving back to the community by supporting employee-selected causes and fostering financial literacy through funding, involvement and expertise.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (http://www.bgca.org/) comprises a national network of some 4,000 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving more than 4.6 million young people, in all 50 states and on U.S. military bases worldwide. Known as "The Positive Place for Kids," the Clubs provide guidance-oriented character development programs on a daily basis for children 6-18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional staff. Key Boys & Girls Club programs emphasize leadership development, education and career exploration, financial literacy, health and life skills, the arts, sports, fitness and recreation, and family outreach. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.