• Scotiabank "You're Going to be Richer Than You Think" FUN-ancial Tour goes nation-wide
• Majority of Canadians wish they had known more about finances when they were younger

TORONTO, Aug. 29, 2011 /CNW/ - Student finances may not be a laughing matter, but award-winning comedian and lecturer James Cunningham brings his own take to the topic on the Scotiabank "You're Going to be Richer Than You Think" FUN-ancial Tour. Starting with his first stop today at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Cunningham will deliver entertaining, engaging and informative lectures to college and university students across Canada to help them better understand the financial realities of life after high school.

"Scotiabank is thrilled to be expanding this innovative financial literacy program nation-wide to reach approximately 10,000 students this fall," said Duncan Hannay, Scotiabank Senior Vice-President of Canadian Marketing. "We recognize the importance of helping educate students about finances so they can better navigate through the important financial decisions ahead of them."

According to a recent Scotiabank poll conducted by Harris/Decima, the majority of Canadians wish they had known more about finances when they were younger. Specifically, they would have liked to have known more about saving for their future, financial planning, managing debt and the basics of budgeting (65, 64, 57, and 54 per cent respectively).

"These are precisely the topics I cover on the tour since this is a key time in a young adult's life to establish money management skills," said James Cunningham. "While I use comedy to deliver the message, the message is simple and remains clear and important: control your money, so it doesn't control you."

Every stop of the tour has audience interaction and breaks financial independence down into three steps: budget your money; manage your debt; and start investing now.

"We know that Canadians are looking for more resources when it comes to financial education and this tour demonstrates our commitment to building on and developing innovative programs to support them at important milestones throughout their life," said Kaz Flinn, Scotiabank Vice-President, Corporate Social Responsibility. "We are proud to take on a proactive role in delivering financial education to students in colleges and universities across Canada that helps them build financial knowledge and confidence."

For Tour dates, please see attached backgrounder.

About the Tour
In 2005, award-winning Canadian comedian and lecturer James Cunningham began working exclusively in Canada with the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce to launch what has become a globally recognized financial literacy program for youth.  The program's success was recently recognized at the World Chamber Congress with the "Best Unconventional Project" award. In 2010, Scotiabank introduced the "You're Going to be Richer Than You Think" FUN-ancial tour to college and university students in Ontario.  Now in its second year, the tour extends to college and university students nationwide.

About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With more than 70,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With assets above $571 billion (as at April 30, 2011), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.

About the poll
The data was gathered between August 11th through August 14th, 2011 through Harris/Decima's weekly teleVox, the company's national omnibus survey. Results are based on a sample of 1,006 Canadians, and the corresponding margin of error is ±3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

2011 Tour Dates: Scotiabank "You're Going to be Richer Than You Think"
FUN-ancial Tour with James Cunningham