ADDING MULTIMEDIA New Study Finds Mustached Americans Earn More, But Save Less

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Take note clean-shaven and beard-wearing Americans: Sporting a mustache may improve your chances of landing a higher-paying job, but it won’t mean you put more money in the bank, according to a study commissioned by Quicken^® and the American Mustache Institute (AMI), the St. Louis-based think tank and advocacy organization representing Mustached Americans.

The study “Saving And Spending Patterns of Mustached Americans” – available for viewing and download on AMI’s research page – was conducted by the firm of Menjou-Bärtchen Research Consultants during the first six months of 2009. It examined a random sample of 2,000 Mustached Americans along with 2,000 bearded and 2,000 clean-shaven Americans.

The research found that Mustached Americans earned 8.2 percent more on average than those with beards and 4.3 percent more than the clean-shaven. People of Mustached American descent, however, also tended to spend 11 percent more and save 3 percent less than their collective counterparts.

“A down economy on top of the trappings of the more sexually adventurous Mustached American lifestyle – and things are beginning to catch up with us,” said Dr. Abraham Jonas Froman, AMI’s chief executive officer. “We just hope that our new partnership with Quicken, as well as the excitement of naming the ‘Robert Goulet Mustached American of the Year’ at ‘Stache Bash 2009 featuring John Oates, will help provide a sound financial roadmap for our community.”

Quicken^®, which provides personal and small business finance products and services, has partnered with AMI to establish a special Mustached American help line at 877-STACHE-1 and will provide financial planning tools at ‘Stache Bash 2009 featuring John Oates, to be held Oct. 30 in St. Louis. As part of a further Mustached American Improvement Initiative (MAII), Quicken will also fly one financially challenged Mustached American and guest to ‘Stache Bash, and more information will be available at Twitter.com/MustacheTalk and Twitter.com/quicken.

The study found that the majority of Mustached Americans’ disposable income was spent on toiletries such as cologne, and teeth whitening solutions (10 percent); alcoholic beverages such as beer and Rich & Rare Canadian Whisky (11 percent); 1970s and ‘80s-era music memorabilia, most commonly by Hall & Oates (1 percent); clothing apparel consisting of Speedo swimsuits, leather pants, and tank-top tee-shirts; and DVD movies most commonly starring Billy Dee Williams, Chuck Norris, Richard Roundtree, and Burt Reynolds.

“If efficiencies in financial management could be realized in the near-term,” said principal research consultant Dr. Hans Menjou-Bärtchen. “It’s highly probable that over the next four to five years, we will see Mustached Americans’ savings rate grow to surpass their bearded and shaven peers.”

Bearded Americans, according to the study, spend the majority of their income on breakfast pastries (14 percent), beard combs (2 percent), lice removal kits (1 percent), overalls (12 percent), and semi-automatic weapons (18 percent).

Clean-shaven Americans said they most commonly spend their income on items such as Levi’s Dockers brand apparel (15 percent), signet rings (7 percent), fitness water and other sports-related beverages (12 percent), vitamin supplements (13 percent), strip-mall haircuts (9 percent), and Zima brand adult beverages (8 percent).

For more about the study or ‘Stache Bash 2009 featuring John Oates, visit www.AmericanMustacheInstitute.org or call 877-STACHE-1. To read the full study visit http://www.americanmustacheinstitute.org/Research.aspx, and to see a companion video visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sni8ewT_Wak.

About AMI

The American Mustache Institute, the bravest organization in the history of mankind behind only the U.S. Military and the post-Jim Henson Muppets, is the world’s only facial hair advocacy and research organization, with more than 700 global chapters. AMI battles negative stereotypes and discrimination against Mustached Americans. Based in St. Louis due to the presence of the world’s largest mustache – the Gateway Arch – the organization is committed to recapturing the mustache’s glory years of the 1970s, when there existed a climate of acceptance, understanding, and flavor saving for people of Mustached American descent.

About Quicken

Quicken is a division of Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU), a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Our flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. Its financial institutions division, anchored by Digital Insight, provides on-demand banking services to help banks and credit unions serve businesses and consumers with innovative solutions.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.1 billion in its fiscal year 2008. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.

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