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It's a good thing to have some savings. When you put the money in a low-risk account, you can be pretty sure it will be readily avail- able when you need it. Nonetheless, "saving" is not "investing" — and knowing the difference could pay off for you far into the future. Think about it this way: Saving is for today, while investing is for tomorrow. You need your savings to pay for your daily expenses, such as groceries, and your monthly bills — mortgage, utilities, and so on. In fact, you might even want your savings to include an emer- gency fund containing six to 12 months' worth of living expenses to pay for unex- pected costs, such as a new furnace or a major car repair. These are all "here and now" expenses — and you could use your savings to pay for them. But in think- ing of your long-term goals, such as college for your children and a comfortable retirement for yourself, most individuals typically can't simply rely on their savings — they'll need to invest. Why? Because, quite simply, investments can grow — and you will need this growth potential to help achieve your objectives. To illustrate the differ- ence between saving and investing, let's do a quick comparison. Suppose you put $200 per month into a savings account that paid hypothetical 3% interest (which is actually higher than the rates typically being paid today). After 30 years, you would have accu- mulated about $106,000, assuming you were in the 25% federal tax bracket. Now, suppose you put that same $200 per month in a tax-deferred investment that hypothetically earned 7% a year. At the end of 30 years, you would end up with about $243,000. (Keep in mind that you would have to pay taxes on w i t h d r a w a l s . Hypotheticals do not include any transaction costs or fees.) This enor- mous disparity between the amounts accu- mulated in the two accounts clearly shows the difference between "sav- ing" and "investing." Still, you might be thinking that investing is risky, while sav- ings accounts carry much less risk. And it is certainly true that investing does involve risks — investments can lose value, and there's no guarantee that losses will be recovered. Nonetheless, if you put all your money in savings, you're actually incurring an even bigger risk — the risk of not achiev- ing your financial goals. In fact, a low-rate savings account might not even keep up with inflation, which means that, over time, you will lose purchasing power. U l t i m a t e l y, the question isn't whether you should save or invest — you need to do both. But you do need to decide how much of your financial resources to devote toward savings and how much toward invest- ments. By paying close attention to your cash flow, you should be able to get a good idea of the best savings and invest- ment mix for your particu- lar situation. For example, if you find yourself con- stantly dipping into your long-term investments to pay for short-term needs, you probably don't have enough money in savings. On the other hand, if you consistently find yourself with large sums in your savings account even after you've paid all your bills, you might be "sitting" on too much cash — which means you should consid- er moving some of this money into investments with growth potential. Saving and investing — that's a winning combina- tion. This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones financial advisor. Tyler Smail is a a financial advisor for Edward Jones, his office is located at 733 Washington St. in Red Bluff. He can be reached at 529-3627 or tyler.smail@edwardjones.c om. 4B Daily News – Wednesday, February 19, 2014 Commerce business&enterprise Free Business Expo set for Thursday The Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Com- merce is proud to announce Red Bluff's return of B.E.A.M., the Business Expo and Mixer 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20 at the Red Bluff Com- munity Center, 1500 S. Jackson St. This trade show, in partnership with Dignity Health and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital, is an excellent opportunity for all local businesses to showcase what they have to offer to the Red Bluff and Tehama County com- munity. This event will feature over 70 vendors from all categories of business, organizations and events. Appetizers will be included in the event with a no host bar. All can be eligible to enter to win a flat screen television or an X-Box. There will be door prizes and a 50/50 raf- fle. The regis- trants will b r i n g props, tell their story and will make it fun. The sky is the limit for this event. Set-up will be 3-4:30 p.m. Questions, call the chamber at 530-527-6220 ext. 301, or send an email to jason@redbluffcham- ber.com. Chamber ambas- sadors The Chamber Ambas- sador's met at Luigi's Pizza, feasted on an appetizing meal, chatted with friends and fellow business asso- ciates, and, m o s t important- ly, set goals in motion for the month ahead. Togeth- er, we have instituted a program that allows for each of us to make face to face contact with you, our Chamber members. Incen- tives were revealed and commitments were made. If you are interested in becoming a Chamber Ambassador, we would love to make it happen. Contact the Chamber on how you can be involved. Our next monthly meeting is planned for Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the Countryside Deli at 1 p.m. Your Cham- ber Ambassadors are working hard for you. Renewing members Aaron's Sales & Lease, American Cancer Society, Aramark Uniforms Ser- vices, Back to School Pro- ject, Comfort Inn, Human Bean, John Thomas, M.D., Louisiana Pacific Corporation, Northern California Property Man- agement, Raymond James Financial Services, Re/Max Top Properties, Red Bluff Round-Up Assn., Sunrise Rotary of Red Bluff, Tehama Dis- trict Fairground, Today's Senior Magazine, Truman Christ Insurance Agency, Wal-Mart Distribution Center, #6026. Good Morning, Red Bluff Good Morning, Red Bluff is scheduled for 7:50-9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 27 at Durango RV Resor, 100 Lake Ave. behind Food Maxx, in Red Bluff. All are invited to this free networking opportunity. Courtesy photo Picrured are Rotary District Governor Steve Lack and Corning Rotary President Darryl Stewart at the Corning Chamber of Commerce's Valentine's Mixer. Mixer impresses visiting Rotarian • New Member – The Corning Chamber welcomes Mama Roselli as a new member. Susanna Roselli bakes biscotti and her products can be found at several busi- nesses in town.She can be reached at (530) 586-2113 or mamaroselli32@yahoo.com. • Annual Spaghetti Dinner – March 9, from 4 -7 pm at the Veterans Memorial Hall, Our Lady's Guild of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is having their annual spaghetti dinner. Dinner consists of spaghetti, bread, salad, dessert and beverage. Adults $10, ages 5-12 $5, and under 5 free. Everyone is invit- ed. • Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner - Saturday, March 15, you are invited by the Paskenta Community Hall to the Annual Spring Fundraiser which includes a Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner, Auction & Gun Raffle, They are now accepting donations for auction and raffle. For more information please call 833-5308. • Mixer – The first ever Valentine Mixer last Thurs- day was a great success. The Chamber would like to thank Rabobank and Corning Rotary for hosting this event. Rotary's District Governor came from the Bay Area to attend the mixer and was very impressed. There was an Italian theme with red and white checkered tablecloths and décor with tasty appetizers and refresh- ments besides some nice raffle prizes. There was a very good turnout for this first ever event and many would like to see it become an annual event. Company announces FFA scholarships Following a successful initial campaign in 2013, Tractor Supply Co. has announced the second annual Growing Scholars program in partnership with the National FFA Foundation. Last year, Tractor Supply customers donated $362,324, resulting in 284 scholarships awarded to FFA members in their pursuit of a college degree. The program will be supported nationally by each of the more than 1,245 Tractor Supply and Del's Feed & Farm Supply stores Feb. 14-23, which includes Nation- al FFA Week. Customers can donate $1 or more at store registers during the checkout process to support local FFA chapters and their members. Ninety percent of funds raised through the program will be utilized to fund scholarships for FFA members. The remaining 10 percent of donations will benefit state FFA organizations. To be eligible for the scholarship program, students must be FFA members and either high school seniors or a freshman, sophomore or junior college student seek- ing a two- or four-year degree or other specialized training program. Major areas of study will also be con- sidered when determining scholarship recipients. Introduction to Search Engine Optimization NEC Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Butte College is presenting a workshop on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 8:30-10:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 11 at 2480 Notre Dame Blvd., Chico. The cost is $40 per person pre-paid or $50 per per- son at the door. Most business owners assume they simply need a website, but having a website is not sufficient to reach your customers. Search Engine Optimization is the process of getting your website seen by Search Engines. In this training we will review the various techniques to effectively Search Engine Optimize your website. Topics will include Site Maps, Google Devel- oper Tools, Google Analytics, Content Writing for Keywords, and The proper coding techniques for SEO. For Businesses With Website Tools and/or Presence. Pre-registration is required. Please register online, call or stop by, NEC Small Business Development Cen- ter (SBDC) at Butte College, 2480 Notre Dame Blvd., Chico, 530-895-9017, www.bcsbdc.org to register and for information. Saving is good...But it's not investing Tyler Smail