Budget. The word conjures up feelings of grief and doom to teenagers and families everywhere. And when Jimmy, Donna, and Mary Barclay keep cornering George for money, he decides a budget is just the ticket. Donna is especially unhappy about having a budget. She believes that it will spell the end of her fun. She tells Whit this before she heads home to learn about her father's plan. Whit tells Donna to keep an open mind-it might not be as bad as she thinks.

That night, George and Mary present the budget to the kids. Though it is strict, the plan allows Donna the flexibility to spend and save. It teaches her and Jimmy responsibility in the process. Despite that, Donna still isn't very thrilled about the idea.

After three weeks of being on the plan, George and Mary decide to test the budget and let Jimmy and Donna shop by themselves at the mall. After shopping, the family will meet up at Whit's End.

Later, while waiting for the kids, George and Mary tell Whit about the situation and wonder how their daughter and son-as well as their financial experiment-fared. They don't have long to wait. Jimmy enters and says that he only purchased a small tank for his soldier collection. But the big test is Donna. A few moments later, she enters. To the Barclays' surprise, Donna has purchased nothing!

Donna explains that while shopping, she was reminded of something Whit said: Christians are God's stewards-all things are God's gifts to us, and they should be used wisely. So instead of spending money on herself, Donna went to church and put part of her money into the missionary fund. Her parents and Whit are pleased, Jimmy is impressed, and Donna has learned an important lesson about stewardship.