In the lush Savanna Kingdom, animals of all kinds live together. The sun rises over golden plains and green forests, where Zuri, a clever and ambitious lioness cub, dreams of creating something that will make her life, and her friends’ lives, better.

Zuri loved eating mangoes, but every time she collected some from the tree, they didn’t seem to last long. One day, she realized she had nothing left to share with her friends or save for the next day.

“I can’t keep running out of mangoes!” Zuri said. “There must be a better way to make sure I always have enough.”

She went to Tumbo the elephant for advice. Tumbo smiled and said, “Zuri, what you need is a budget. It helps you plan how to use your mangoes wisely, so you never run out.”

“What’s a budget?” Zuri asked.

Tumbo said, “Let me teach you. But first, you’ll need help from some friends.”

Tumbo handed Zuri three small baskets.

“These baskets are your budget buckets,” Tumbo explained. “When you collect mangoes, you’ll split them into these three parts:

1. Needs: This is for the things you must have to survive, like food or water.

2. Savings: This is for keeping mangoes safe for the future, in case something unexpected happens.

3. Growth: This is for planting mango seeds to grow more mango trees later.”

Zuri nodded. “So, I need to plan how to use every mango I collect?”

“Exactly,” said Tumbo. “Now let’s practice!”

Zuri went to her friend Kito the monkey, who was juggling shiny stones instead of working.

“Kito, do you ever save your mangoes?” Zuri asked.

Kito laughed, “Why save when I can trade them for fun things like shiny stones?”

“But what happens when you need food and don’t have any mangoes left?” Zuri asked.

Kito scratched his head. “I guess I’ll borrow some from Tumbo. But then I’m always behind.”

Zuri explained Tumbo’s lesson: “If you use all your mangoes for fun things, you won’t have enough for what you really need. That’s why you need a budget to balance what you spend and what you save.”

Kito promised to try using Zuri’s three-basket system.

Next, Zuri visited Bora the tortoise, who was slowly counting mangoes and storing them in a clay pot.

“Bora, why do you keep so many mangoes in that pot?” Zuri asked.

Bora smiled. “Because life is full of surprises, Zuri. What if a storm knocks down the mango trees? I save now so I’m prepared for hard times later.”

“But how do you save so much?” Zuri asked.

“One at a time,” Bora replied. “Even if you can only save a little each day, it adds up over time.”

Zuri decided to start her own savings pile by putting mangoes in a secret spot near her den.

Finally, Zuri visited Pesa the meerkat, who had a stall at the trading market.

“Pesa,” Zuri said, “I want to grow more mangoes, so I never run out. How do I do that?”

Pesa handed Zuri a mango seed. “The answer is growth. Use some of your savings to plant seeds, and in time, you’ll have more trees that give you mangoes every season.”

“But planting seeds takes a long time!” Zuri said.

“True,” Pesa replied, “but the best time to plant a tree was years ago. The second-best time is today. Investing in growth takes patience, but it creates wealth for the future.”

Zuri planted her first mango seed and realized how important it was to balance her baskets: Needs, Savings, and Growth.

Months later, Zuri’s mango grove began to grow. She had enough mangoes for her needs, plenty saved for emergencies, and even more trees growing for the future.

Her friends noticed her success and asked how she did it.

“It’s simple,” Zuri said. “I learned to budget:

• I only use what I need.

• I save for surprises.

• And I invest in growing more.”

Kito finally stopped spending all his mangoes on shiny stones, Bora’s clay pot overflowed with mangoes, and the savanna animals began sharing budgeting tips with each other.

Tumbo smiled proudly. “Zuri, you’ve learned the secret to wealth creation: plan, save, and grow.”