With all of Betty's male friends out of town, she does not have a date for the town fair. Since a new neighbor's daughter talks Bud into taking her, Jim and Margaret tell Betty to talk the neighbor's son into taking her.
Jim's boss John asks Jim if he can show John's son how to sell insurance. Jim agrees, and John is sociable enough to work with clients. However, John does not like insurance and wants to be an actor.
A classmate has a crush on Bud, but he thinks of her has just a friend. Bud develops a crush on a woman who is older, but she does not think of Bud that way. Bud now feels the pangs of unrequited love.
When there is nothing to eat for breakfast, the kids think Jim should get upset. They think he is just too reasonable. However, when it is time to teach Margaret to drive, he is not as reasonable.
Betty is excited about a date with a popular guy at college and wants to make sure the family looks their best. That includes making Bud clean up and moving his old jalopy. Turns out Bud already met the family and did them a favor.
Betty accepts a date for the same night she has a baby-sitting job. Margaret and Jim say they will babysit so she can go on the date. When the baby arrives, Margaret and Jim enjoy having an infant in the house again. Kathy gets jealous.
After attending a lecture at school, Betty is enthused about making a difference in the world. Betty's decides to help the neighborhood by getting one neighbor to cut a hedge that is a blind spot and causes accidents.
Bud feels he is being underpaid in his allowance, and he has to work to earn it. Jim decides to teach him a lesson by giving him $10 a week and the stipulation he has to only use it on himself. Bud finds having money does not buy friends.
A friend of Betty's seems to juggle boyfriends all the time, and Betty feels bored with her constant boyfriend. Betty gets asked out by another classmate and decides to try the exciting life with two boyfriends.
Bud interviews a business man for a school project. He finds out the owner never finished high school and yet is a successful man. Bud decides he can do what the man did, and wants to quit school. Betty is running for class president.
Bud is convinced to join the school committee for a yearly picnic. He ends up being up in charge. When others do not pitch in, Bud ends up having things go wrong.
