PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- For the average American family, today's financial environment is offering an extremely bleak outlook in terms of saving for college: Nearly half of the nation's parents are unable to save for college! This eye-opening fact is just one of the loud and clear messages sent by American families who participated in the 2nd annual Futuretrust(R) "Hopes & Dreams" survey, conducted by Harris Interactive(R). As a company that has long fostered a meaningful dialogue with young families, Futuretrust is dedicated to providing a voice for those who are nurturing the aspirations of the next generation. The company's nationwide "Hopes and Dreams" 2008 survey, first conducted in 2007, uncovers one of today's most important topics -- how the average American family believes they will pay for their child's college education. In addition, the Futuretrust "Hopes and Dreams" 2008 survey explores Americans' thoughts on if and how the government should be involved, while also focusing on the current economic crunch and how it has impacted daily life. According to Futuretrust Founder and President, Rebecca Matthias, "The Hopes and Dreams survey results are a wake-up call for Americans who are planning to send their children to college." College costs are ever-rising -- today, the average college student graduates with $21,000(1) in debt, and the average college tuition sticker price is projected to be an astronomical $294,496(2) for those born in the year 2007. There is no doubt that such a burden affects the life choices of America's parents. The Futuretrust Hopes & Dreams 2008 survey set out to find exactly what choices those parents are making. Those intimidating numbers in today's unsteady fiscal reality leave no reason to wonder why parents are so worried. "Various financial stresses are making it even more difficult for families who want to save. In fact, 50% of parents(3) say the rising cost of food, gas and other daily necessities is the greatest obstacle to saving.(4) Yet, if families use a Futuretrust MasterCard(R) to pay for the expenses already figured into a household's budget, savings can mount painlessly," says Matthias. While parents may feel overwhelmed and incapable of making a dent, the one element they have on their side is time. "It's never too early to start saving. The parents who open a 529 even when they are still expecting are getting an even greater head start in saving for this life-changing benefit for their children." America's families, and America's children, deserve the brightest of futures. Futuretrust can help. About Futuretrust(R) Futuretrust(R) is a MasterCard(R)-linked college savings program that enables families and friends to save for college through their everyday spending. Every time a purchase is made with the Futuretrust MasterCard, a minimum of 1% is automatically contributed to any tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan of the member's choice. Members also earn up to 10% in additional college savings when they use the Futuretrust MasterCard at thousands of partners in the Futuretrust Preferred Merchant Network consisting of major retail chains, catalogs, restaurants, and on-line merchants. Members can also earn college savings rebates when they buy, sell, finance, or refinance a home. Futuretrust is a no cost program. Membership is available online at http://www.futuretrust.com/, by calling 1.888.trust68, or in-store at any Motherhood(R) Maternity, Mimi Maternity(R), A Pea in the Pod(R) and Destination Maternity(R) location. Futuretrust is a Mothers Work, Inc. brand. About Harris Interactive(R) Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com/. (1) ***Source: The Project on Student Debt (MSN article) (2) ***Source: SavingForCollege.com (3) For the purposes of this survey, "parents" are defined as U.S. adults ages 18+ who are parents/legal guardians or expectant parents of a child or children who are likely to attend college in the future. (4) *Source: The Futuretrust "Hopes & Dreams" 2008 survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive between June 12, 2008 and June 16, 2008 among 2,134 U.S. adults ages 18+, of whom, 644 are parents/legal guardians or expectant parents of a child or children who are likely to attend college in the future. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. To learn more, log onto http://www.futuretrust.com/. Mothers Work press releases available through Company News On-Call at http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/581877.html. DATASOURCE: Futuretrust CONTACT: Judie Ashworth of Futuretrust, +1-215-873-2283, ; or Linda Falcone or Erin Doyle of blue sky communications for Futuretrust, , , +1-212-995-1777 Web site: http://www.futuretrust.com/ http://www.harrisinteractive.com/ http://www.savingforcollege.com/ http://www.motherswork.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/581877.html

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