Book Review: Pulling Weeds to Picking Stocks

It is always great to see young people adopting a lifestyle of Savvy Frugality at an early age, and doing what they can to earn, save and invest money. Such is the case with The Beatty Boys, three teenagers who have written a book sharing what they have learned called "Pulling Weeds to Picking Stocks".

In their book, young authors David, Devin and Deric Beatty share their nine tips, or "financial layers" for becoming, in their words, rich. Heeding their parents' advice, the boys started pulling weeds for cash, which they then used to purchase stocks and prepare for their future.

The nine financial layers recommednded by the boys include:

Accountability: When you believe in something, you are giving yourself a goal to strive toward.

Yahoo! Finance: Their father set up a Yahoo! Finance porfolio and let the boys pick stocks and "invest" $1,000 in imaginary cash. They boys stuck with companies they knew: Pepsi, Hershey's, Ford Motors. This game gave them the basics of investing in stocks.

Guilt: Differentiate between "wants" and "needs" when spending money. Do you really need it?

Tithing: Giving back to the community, whether through a monetary contribution to your church or charity, or by giving of your time.

Debt: Here, the boys illustrate a simple budget they learned as Boy Scouts, and the importance of paying off credit card debt.

The Refrigerator Job Board: The teens explain not only the importance of hard work, but also in doing a good, quality job for the money you earn. Smart kids!

Pulling Weeds: The kids talk about going into business for themselves, and the importance of a business plan.

Emergency Preparedness: Saving for a rainy day and establishing an emergency food pantry in your home, which are common themes here at Savvy Frugality.

Believe in Yourself: Again, this chapter deals with self responsibility, rather than expecting others to do something for you.

The Beatty Boys have learned some very valuable lessons at an early age, lessons that many adults still struggle to learn. While Pulling Weeds to Picking Stocks is aimed toward a young audience and is an excellent primer for kids and teens with questions about money management, there are some good basic lessons in the book that would benefit people of any age.

As a bonus, a percentage of every book sold by the boys goes to support the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation.