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Despite the fact that the full benefits of this project will take decades to come to fruition , our sincere hope is that our little contribution will steadily grow to help the environment and to improve the future amenity of Bath for its citizens .
Warren Buffet , the influential American investor , once said that ‘ Someone ’ s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago ’. Buffet was speaking about the benefits of investing for the long term . For any venture worth pursuing , he argued that instead of looking for easy gains or quick fixes , that we should all be prepared to put in the time that it takes to be successful . This truth applies to saving but why should anyone bother to save when interest rates are so much lower than the rate of inflation ? The answer is that even
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a little bit of cash saved up helps people to cushion themselves from the sudden financial impacts from the likes of recession , redundancy or unexpected bills . For a moment let ’ s think back to March 2020 when the first Covid lockdown occurred and many experienced a sudden negative impact on their personal incomes . I am certain that those with some savings put aside managed to sleep more soundly through that period than those with no savings at all .
Building a little reserve of cash should be the first financial priority of every household but there is a real challenge at hand . Recent research by the Building Societies Association indicated that there are 11.5 million people in the UK with less than £ 100 of savings to fall back on in an emergency . So how do we encourage more people to
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save ? Although the old adage of ‘ better late than never ’ applies to saving , like many things in life , there is no doubt that there are advantages from starting the savings habit when young . Many instant savings accounts
“ Someone ’ s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago ”
are traditionally opened for children by their close relatives and BBS offers its Junior Saver Account for this purpose . To encourage young adults to save , the Society offers its award-winning Junior ISA .
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As part of its investment into the social fabric of Bath , BBS sponsors financial education for young adults which includes sessions on the benefits of prioritising saving . In 2022 , the Society provided over 4,000 hours of training to 2,300 sixth formers in 11 Bath state schools and colleges . Like all education , a better knowledge of financial matters will hopefully provide our young people with the means to improve their futures .
There are sadly no quick fixes to solving environmental problems or the issue of the ‘ under saved ’, but given time , BBS ’ s efforts may make some difference within our local area . Our aim is to grow great oaks from little saplings and we are prepared to invest the required time , effort and money today and then have the patience to wait .
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