Saipan to celebrate Dollar Wise Week on Sep. 21-27

Mayors across the country will celebrate Dollar Wise Week, from Sept. 21 to 24, 2008, to promote the Mayor’s National Dollar Wise Campaign: Financial Education for America. The theme of this year’s Dollar Wise Week is, “Savings for Kids and Families.”

Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela emphasized the importance of this theme, saying, “Savings are an important building block of the foundation for the American Dream.”

During Dollar Wise Week, Tudela and the people of the Municipality of Saipan’s community coalition will work with local banks and other financial institutions to encourage families to help their children open savings accounts and learn from an early age the importance of saving money and making wise financial choices. “Unbanked” parents (those without bank accounts) will also be invited to begin saving money in an account.

As Tudela stated: “Savings are essential to making many people’s hopes and dreams possible—owning a home, educating our children, and having stable families.”

To make the event more meaningful this year, the Office of the Mayor of Saipan will hold its Dollar Wise Symposium on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008, 9am until 12pm, at the Sabalu Market area in Susupe.

The United States Conference of Mayor’s Council for the New American City established the National Dollar Wise Campaign. Tudela and his fellow mayors recognize that financial illiteracy is a growing national problem that needs to be addressed and are working together through Dollar Wise to educate citizens on personal and household finances.

Tudela and the local community coalition are committed to providing a variety of personal finance seminars and events during Dollar Wise Week and throughout the year, with the goal of providing education aimed primarily at (homebuyers/homeowners, the unbanked community, students, the elderly, retirees, and/or immigrants).

In 2005, Americans’ savings rates sank into the negative for the first time since the Great Depression. The 0.5 percent savings rate means that Americans spent all their disposable income and dipped into past savings or increased their borrowing. Recent studies reveal that for every $100 Americans bring home, they spend $100.20. In fact, the United States has the lowest personal savings rate of any major industrialized nation.

“The most current investors in American cities are families and individuals. There is no better time than now for Saipan residents to take advantage of programs and activities geared toward financial management and prosperity” said Tudela. “Improved financial literacy will result in a higher standard of living and more stable communities.” [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]