T. Rowe Price Introduces Free Financial Education Activity Book For Kids

BALTIMORE, July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As another fun way to teach kids basic money lessons, T. Rowe Price has introduced The Great Piggy Bank Adventure financial education activity book.  This free activity book, entitled "Journey to Your Dream Goal," uses puzzles, games, and tricky challenges to guide kids through the process of making smart financial decisions. Along the way it helps kids become "finance smarty pants" by teaching them key lessons on the power of setting financial goals, the importance of saving and spending wisely, the effects of inflation, and the benefits of asset allocation and diversification.

The kids and money activity book is downloadable online at the T. Rowe Price Family Center website and is available at all T. Rowe Price Investor Centers.

"The need for financial education has never been greater," says Stuart Ritter , CFP®, a T. Rowe Price financial planner and father of three young kids. "The activities make important financial concepts accessible to kids at an early age and help make learning fun. By encouraging children to ask their parents questions about money matters, the book is also a great tool for helping families have smarter conversations about setting goals, making better saving and spending decisions, and other financial topics."

Designed to be used independently, the kids and money activity book also serves as a companion to The Great Piggy Bank Adventure®, a free online board game at thegreatpiggybankadventure.com and a hands-on, interactive exhibit at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida. T. Rowe Price collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online to create The Great Piggy Bank Adventure® in order to facilitate family financial conversations and convey basic money lessons.

The need for fun financial education materials that can teach children while also serving as a resource for parents is supported by T. Rowe Price 's recent Parents, Kids and Money survey, which found that kids could develop better financial habits. Although family money conversations often lead to kids making good money choices, parents also report that more than a quarter of the time their children quickly forget the lessons. Likewise, while 92 percent of parents who give an allowance say they discuss how it should be handled, 43 percent of kids at least sometimes spend it all at once and 39 percent sometimes or always come back for more.

In addition, two-thirds of parents think they could be doing more to teach their children about money, while just 28 percent say they are very prepared to discuss basic financial principles such as setting goals, the importance of saving, smart spending, inflation, and diversification.

Founded in 1937, Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ-GS: TROW) is a global investment management organization with $509.9 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2011. The organization provides a broad array of mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individual and institutional investors, retirement plans, and financial intermediaries. The company also offers sophisticated investment planning and guidance tools. T. Rowe Price 's disciplined, risk-aware investment approach focuses on diversification, style consistency, and fundamental research. More information is available at troweprice.com.

T. Rowe Price and Disney Enterprises, Inc. are not affiliated companies.

SOURCE T. Rowe Price

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