New Feed the Pig PSA Campaign Encourages 25-34 Year-Olds to Save

DALLAS — Beginning today, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) are partnering with the Ad Council in a public service effort encouraging Americans aged 25-34 to Feed the Pig™ as a key step to building a solid financial future.

Featuring Benjamin Bankes, the traditional childhood piggy bank transformed into an attention-grabbing icon, the national multi-media public service announcement (PSA) campaign inspires 25-34-year-olds to reignite the savings habit by taking small, easy steps to take control of their finances.

To begin taking these small steps, the target audience can find free financial information and tools by visiting a new Web site, www.FeedthePig.org.

“Younger adults often don’t realize what a big difference even ‘small change’ makes,” says TSCPA Chairman Jerry Love, CPA. “By forgoing the morning latte and saving this money in an interest-bearing account, in twenty years you could have over $54,000 in the bank.”

The Feed the Pig campaign extends the reach of the CPA profession’s highly successful 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy effort in which state CPA societies and CPA volunteers across the country have been educating Americans of all ages, from children to retirees, financial issues specific to their stage of life.

According to Jimmy Williamson, chair of the AICPA board of directors, the Feed the Pig campaign is an especially vital addition to the profession’s pro bono financial literacy initiative. “Typically 25-34 is a milestone time of life—marriage, parenthood, career, home ownership. By saving more, this group will make a huge difference in their own financial futures, their family’s and their community’s.”

Financial illiteracy is a national crisis. Americans spend $1.22 for every $1.00 they earn, according to the SEC. Over two million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2005. The statistics for young Americans are just as staggering. Among young adult households with incomes below $50,000, nearly 1 in 5 with credit card debt is in debt hardship—spending over 40 percent of their income servicing debt, including mortgages and student loans.

Further alarming evidence was reported on in a study commissioned by the AICPA released today in conjunction with the Feed the Pig launch. UCLA economist Christopher Thornberg and researcher Jay Hovenson reveal that Americans 25-34 are headed down a destructive financial path. Savings for this age group is even lower than expected as the proportion of young American’s with some type of formal savings account declined significantly over the last decade.

“We believe that this campaign is going to be the latest success in our financial literacy program. Feed the Pig is a call to action for young adults to take control and improve their futures,” said Love. “With this message, the accounting profession can make a huge difference in the financial lives of millions of young adults: a difference that will pay off for the rest of their lives.”

Feed the Pig is the Ad Council’s latest campaign. Many of its previous efforts feature slogans that have become part of the American vernacular, including “Only you can prevent forest fires” (for the U.S. Forest Service) and “A mind is a terrible thing to waste” (for the United Negro College Fund). The campaign will employ a variety of media, including TV, radio, print, Web, digital and outdoor advertising such as billboards and bus kiosks, and will run for a minimum of three years.

PERSONAL FINANCE INFORMATION
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ABOUT TSCPA
TSCPA (http://www.tscpa.org) is a nonprofit, voluntary, professional organization representing Texas CPAs. The society has 20 local chapters statewide and has 27,000 members, one of the largest in-state memberships of any state CPA society in the United States. TSCPA is committed to serving the public interest with programs that advance the highest standards of ethics and practice within the CPA profession.