The Progressive Rancher April 2008

F i n a n c i a l Focus
Presented by Sonny Davidson, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones in Elko, Nevada
Teach Your Children Well …
About Saving and Investing
Any day is a good day to start teaching children about saving and investing. But the
“official” Teach Children to Save Day is April 29 - so you may want to take this opportunity
to launch your efforts toward helping your children develop solid financial habits.
The American Bankers Association Education Foundation established National Teach
Children to Save Day to highlight the importance of teaching children to save and plan
for the future.
But as a parent, what steps can you take? Here are a few suggestions:
• Explain the “three pools” concept. Encourage your children to divide their
money into three pools: one for saving, one for spending and one for giving.
The “spending” pool should be for fairly inexpensive purchases, such as small
toys, whereas the “saving” pool should be earmarked for bigger purchases they
may want to eventually make, such as video games or a new bicycle. You may
want to suggest that your children use the “giving” pool to put aside money for
birthday presents or contributions to charitable groups.
• Exhibit appropriate behavior. Children may learn best by imitating their elders,
so it’s important that you set a good example in the area of smart financial
behavior. Take the time to explain to your children that, for instance, you’d
like to buy a new car, but you can’t afford one now, so you are saving up for
it. And look for similar opportunities to stress the connections between saving
and reaching goals.
• Simplify the concept of investing. You might think that young children can’t
grasp the meaning of investing, but that’s not really the case. Just use simple
terms and concepts, and they’ll get it. You might say: “Anyone can buy little
parts of a company. These little parts are called stocks, and the more that people
like what the company makes, the more stock they will buy, and the more the
stocks have the potential to be worth.” You can then connect the potential
growth of stocks with the achievement of very long-term goals, such as a new
home or the chance to retire comfortably.
• Make investing fun. You can make investing seem more real to your kids by
playing a “stock-picking” game. Each member of your family could choose to
follow the stock of a company with which the kids are familiar.. You can create
a daily chart of the stock’s prices, and at the end of a given period of time,
such as three months, award a prize to the person whose stock has gone up the
most. During this time, make sure to point out to your kids that stock prices
will always go up and down and, in as “child-friendly” a way as possible, try
to explain some of the key factors - demand for products, competition, basic
economic forces - that cause stock prices to fluctuate.
Teach Children to Save Day only lasts 24 hours - but the financial lessons you can
impart to your children will stick with them for a lifetime.
Weed Identification
Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org
Rush Skeletonweed
Asteraceae
Chondrilla juncea L.
The Rush Skeletonweed, a perennial that originated in Eurasia, grows 12 to 48
inches tall and has a deep extensive root system. Its stems have coarse, red
hairs that bend downward 4 to 6 inches up their base. The stem is hairless and smooth
above. Sharply-toothed leaves form a dandelion-like rosette that withers as the flower
stem develops. Leaves up the stem are inconspicuous, narrow, and entire. The green stems
photosynthesize. The plant exudes a milky latex when cut or damaged. The flowers
are scattered on the branches, are approximately 3/4 inch in diameter, and have 7 to
15 yellow, strap-shaped petals. Flowers and the pale brown to nearly black, 1/8 inch
long seeds are produced mid-July through frost. The seeds are ribbed with tiny, scaly
projections on top and a long beak with soft, white bristles at one end.
It inhabits well-drained, light-textured soils along roadsides and in rangelands, grain fields, and pastures. This plant
prospers in disturbed soils and with 9 to 59 inches of annual precipitation. It is growing in Elko and Douglas counties in
Nevada and infest millions of acres in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana, and California.
Hand pulling and grubbing are effective in small, young infestations, but new plants will emerge from severed
roots and buried seeds. Mowing and cultivation are ineffective; they increase infestation. Planting competitive
legumes can reduce the populations. Early, repeated grazing by sheep can reduce or prevent production of rosettes
and seed. Herbicides are ineffective due to lack of leaf surface; use surfactants to improve uptake of the chemical
into the stems. Three biological control agents are available that reduce its competitiveness with other vegetation.
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension “Invasive Weed Identification for Nevada”
by Wayne S. Johnson, Robert E. Wilson, and Jessica Graham
Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org
Utah State University Archive, Utah State University, Bugwood.org
30 April 2008
The Progressive Rancher
www.progressiverancher.com