Glenn Hegar
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Glenn Hegar
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
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Glenn Hegar
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
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comptroller seal Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 9, 2020

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar Partners with Money Smart Week to Teach Children About Financial Literacy

(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is partnering with a national education program created by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to help children learn important concepts of financial literacy.

Hegar read the children’s book, The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble with Money, for Money Smart Week® Kids Read 2020. The book, originally published in 1983, was selected this year as an outstanding money-themed children’s book by the American Library Association and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“It’s never too early for young Americans to learn how to be responsible with money – it doesn’t grow on trees,” Hegar said. “In Trouble with Money, there are valuable lessons about saving for a rainy day. The most valuable lesson may very well come from the book’s first line: ‘When little bears spend every nickel and penny, the trouble with money is they never have any.’

“As a parent of three school-aged children, I know that many parents are struggling to find enriching activities they can do at home as a family. For those parents who might be looking for a good story and some easy activities to help kickstart a healthy, early understanding of money and personal financial literacy, this video and the Money Smart program are a great place to begin.”

Hegar’s virtual read-along, filmed by the Texas Comptroller’s office, is an extension of the Money Smart Week Kids Read program offered last spring, when more than 25,000 free books and parent reading guides were distributed across the country. The Texas college savings plans administered through the Comptroller’s office sponsored the production of 4,953 books that were distributed to Texas schools and libraries through the program. The instructional program provides 20 minutes of financial education, entertainment and fun learning for kids ages 5 to 10.

Money Smart Week is a national public education program coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and delivered by a network of supporters that empowers people with the knowledge and skills to make better-informed personal financial decisions around the key financial pillars of saving, spending, borrowing and planning.

The Texas Comptroller’s office offers parents with a way to help their children save for postsecondary education with three tax-advantaged 529 plans: the direct-sold Texas College Savings Plan® (TCSP) and the advisor-sold LoneStar 529 Plan® (LS529), both college savings plans, and the Texas Tuition Promise Fund® (TTPF), a prepaid tuition plan.