“Working to help parents raise money-smart kids.”
Hello, friends!
I just finished Will Rainey’s wonderful book, Grandpa’s Fortune Fable$: Fun Stories to Teach Kids About Money. As luck would have it, the title character has “Three Rules of Wealth.” So, you guessed it, this week’s “3 Ideas to Share & Save” will feature each of those rules.
I read Grandpa’s Fortune Fable$ in preparation for the podcast conversation I recorded with Will last week. He has a lot of wisdom to share, so I’m excited to bring that discussion to you in a few weeks.
Until then, let’s dive into the three rules from the book.
— 1 —
“Keep One Out of Every Ten Seeds You Receive”: Throughout Grandpa’s Fortune Fable$, Will employs the tree as a wealth-building metaphor. It’s an effective, creative take on the money-smart concept of saving 10% of your earnings.
In the book, Grandpa travels to the island of Pucha-Pucha during a gold rush. While he doesn’t find the precious metal everyone is seeking, he does discover delicious fruit trees. So he makes the fateful decision to plant one seed from every ten pieces of fruit he picks. Soon, his “investments” begins to bear their own fruit. 🌳
In a similar fashion, Sam Renick and his character, Sammy Rabbit, sing the refrain, “For every dollar, save a dime.” You might enjoy my conversation with Sam, also a font of money-smart wisdom, in Episode 12 of The Art of Allowance Podcast.
— 2 —
“Plant the Seeds You Keep”: In Will’s book, Grandpa plants the physical seeds he keeps, which blossom into additional fruit-bearing trees. What’s more, he plants a figurative seed, explaining the power of investing to his precocious granddaughter, Gail.
Gail goes on to plant seeds of her own. She engages in entrepreneurial endeavors and turns the town’s rotten bully, Boris, into a Grandpa-style wealth-building believer.
Will also weaves in charitable giving by introducing us to “Happy Fairies,” who visit when we do good for others. These magical beings represent the warm, fuzzy feelings we experience when oxytocin (Who knew the book would get wonky! 😂) floods our brains.
And if you’re looking for more charitable inspiration, I think you’ll enjoy my conversation with Ellen Rogin in Episode 43 of my podcast. In this snippet, she talks about the concept of volunteer vacations:
— 3 —
“Let Your Trees Grow”: The final lesson of Grandpa’s Fortune Fable$ is both essential to understand and difficult to achieve. We live in a world that demands action: “Do this! Now!” Which is why burning this last lesson into our kids’ brains is so tough.
That lesson is the importance of patience.
To get this lesson across, Will tells us the story of Mr. Lazy. While many Pucha-Puchans busy themselves tending their trees, Mr. Lazy sits around doing nothing. He even tells Grandpa that he once considered pruning one of his trees but couldn’t find an axe. He took a nap instead.
Yet Mr. Lazy’s trees are massive. At first incredulous that this lackadaisical approach is so effective, Grandpa soon has an epiphany: The key to successful tree-growing (e.g., investing) is to do “absolutely nothing.” 🤯
This strategy aligns with the “boring investing” concept I’ve discussed with both Gene Natali on Episode 44 and Chris Browning on Episode 47. Here’s Chris with a video explanation:
I know from experience that preaching patience to a teenager is not easy. But just because something is hard doesn’t mean we don’t tackle the challenge. We should because it’s difficult. Think of the leg up we’ll give our kids when their friends start touting their investing wins while simultaneously ignoring the disasters that are inevitable with short-term outlooks. Yes, it’s hard to ignore the noise and remain patient. But the payoff is worth the effort.
I hope you find the lessons from Grandpa’s Fortune Fable$ useful. I’m looking forward to sharing my conversation with Will soon.
Until then, enjoy the journey!
John, Chief Mammal
P.S. Please consult with a financial or investment professional before engaging in any decisions that might affect your own financial well-being.
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