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kwkids.com Newsletter - August 2008
Featured Activities & Outings for August
- Check out the August At a Glance page if you'd like to see a quick overview of events taking place during the month of August.
- The season for eating freshly roasted corn and walking through corn mazes has arrived! Check out our Corn Maze page for venue ideas for this exciting time of year!
- The festival season is still going strong offering entertainment for local families. This weekend you can still join in the 4th Annual Ice Cream Festival at the Westfield Heritage Village, the Pirate Festival at the Country Heritage Park in Milton and/or the Millrace Festival of Traditional Folk Music in downtown Cambridge. The Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games will provide weekend-long entertainment next weekend, and the Waterloo Busker Carnival will amaze its audience in Uptown Waterloo from August 21 – 24. On August 31st, you August want to visit the Laeple Organic Farm for their Annual Potatofest. Details on all these and other upcoming festivals and fairs can be found on our Festival & Fair page.
- The annual children’s festival – KidSpark will once again for the 20th time take place at Victoria Park in downtown Kitchener. This year it will be a one day event happening on Sunday, August 17th from 11am to 5pm. This is a not to be missed event featuring hands-on fun activities put on by local organizations, and an entertainment stage. Come visit the kwkids.com booth and create crafts and play games with materials from Nature!
- A Day in the Life … 1914 at Doon Heritage Crossroads truly feels like a century back when you are greeted by costumed interpreters who welcome you into various houses. Throughout the day special activities are planned. You can help do laundry 1914 style, play a game of horseshoes, learn to weave at the Detweiler Weavery or help with the farm chores at the Bricker Barn. If you are lucky you might get a chance to bottle-feed baby goats.
- KW is a fantastic place to live. Everything is nearby – art and entertainment, nature trails, farms, all of the conveniences without the nuisances of very large cities. There are plenty of hiking trails in our city and a short drive away. At this time of the year you can pack a picnic lunch and explore one of the local conservation areas that provide year-round fun. Hiking, biking, canoeing are just some of the options. For only $22 (includes full rental of equipment) a day you could enjoy some adrenaline-rushing fun tubing through the Gorge at the Elora Gorge Conservation Area. The course is approximately 2 km long and is especially refreshing on hot summer days. For more information on other local conservation areas, please visit the grandriver.ca website.
- If you are looking for some day trip ideas, please visit our Daytrip page. We are in the process of updating this page. Please email us your daytrip ideas by August 31st and we’ll enter your name in a draw to win a kwkids.com t-shirt and a Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottle.
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Ask the Pro - Family Finances Specialist
 The kwkids.com Family Finances Pro Steve from Bentley Financial returns with important information for parents. Visit the Family Finances & RESP page for more questions and answers on family finances.
August 2008 Question: We never seem to get ahead living. We live from pay cheque to pay cheque. Do you have any strategies on how we can reduce our monthly expenses?
Answer: If you look closely at your spending, you might be surprised how many opportunities you can find to save money without making any major lifestyle changes. Here are twelve tips on saving on your day-to-day spending.
Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my morning coffee – If your morning trip to work involves a stop for that large double-double, your caffeine fix is costing you about $330 a year. Consider brewing your own. Put that automated coffee maker on your wish list.
Let’s just grab a quick bite on the way – If the majority of lunchtime conversations include 'would you like to make that a combo?' consider packing your own lunch. Grabbing lunch on the go four times a week could cost you $1,400 a year or more.
You can’t win if you don’t play! – Everyone’s talking about tonight’s monster jackpot? Play it safe and I guarantee that you’ll be the big ticket winner by pocketing the $416 you’d spend buying two tickets a week for a year.
I have to stop at a bank machine – Stopping at another bank’s ABM August seem small at $1.50-$2.00 in extra fees, but paying for even one additional ABM fee a week could add up to $100 in service charges per year.
Pick a card …any card – If you have enough credit cards in your wallet to deal out a hand or two of Texas Hold’em, it’s probably time to think about consolidating your debts. Cancel all but one of your credit cards and make sure you pay off the balance each month. Or, look into a debt consolidation loan to lower your interest payments further.
300 channels and still nothing to watch? – Ask yourself whether your $800+ a year 'VIP' cable television package really stands for 'very inflated pricing?' If so, re-visit your cable package and, if you can get by with fewer channels, streamline your selections to make sure you’re getting better value for your money.
Now paying at a theatre near you – Take the family for a night out at the movies and, after ticket prices, drinks and snacks, you could easily be looking at $60 or more. Do that once a month over the year and you’ve spent $720. Consider going to a matinee performance and grab a snack at home before heading out, or stay at home and rent a movie – you’ll be guaranteed to have the best seats in the house.
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! – If you find yourself buying 2 or 3 magazines a month from the store, it can cost your upwards of $200 a year. Consider purchasing subscriptions for the magazines your read most and you’ll realize savings of 50%, 60%, even 70% or more. Now that’s a good story!
Water, water, everywhere – If you thought gas was expensive, just be thankful your car isn’t running on bottled water! At vending machine prices, you’re paying around $2 a litre and, even if you buy just one bottle a day, you’re still pouring over $300 a year away. Fill up at your tap instead, buy in bulk, or bring your own water with you.
Getting ripped (off) – Getting in shape is great! Getting your annual $600 gym membership renewal isn’t – especially if you only used it for a few months after last year’s resolutions. Consider looking for other, less expensive opportunities to get fit. Working out at home, or getting out for a walk with your friends or family is a great way to slim you – and your expenses – down nicely.
You call that a calling plan? – Charges for long-distance calls, cell phone usage, texting, and system fees can all add up quickly. While each plan is different, yours could be costing you many hundreds of dollars a year. And, if you have a teenager in the house – look out, you August need to take out a loan to cover your annual billing! Look for more affordable alternatives: consider pay-as-you-go plans, call outside of peak hours, get a family plan, or whatever it takes to bring your costs down.
The eastbound lanes are gridlocked, as are the collectors – Leave your car at home just once this week and find an alternative way to work. Take transit, car-pool or even walk if you’re close enough. And, while you’re enjoying that new-found quiet time on the way in, think about the $1,000 or more a year you’d otherwise have spent on gas, parking, and maintenance on your vehicle.
Spend your savings wisely:
Try monitoring your own spending habits for a week to see where your money is going. It would be easy to save an extra $1,000 a year without any significant lifestyle changes. For more ideas or if you would like further information, please email Bentley Financial at info@bentleyfinancial.ca or call us at 519-404-4864 (1 888 88 BENTLEY toll free).
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Ask the Pro - Naturopathic Doctor
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 Dr. Joanna Thiessen George Street Naturopathic Medicine answers another question asked by one of the kwkids.com visitors. Visit the Ask the Naturopath page for more questions and answers on naturopathic medicine.
August 2008 Question: My 5 year old broke her arm when she fell off the climber. She has a cast on and the doctor said it should heal well on its own, but I'm wondering if there are any natural things that can help with the healing of the bone.
Answer: Here are some things to keep in mind. You want to support the healing process by providing your child with plenty of lean protein, plus bone-building foods containing calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D. Calcium-rich foods include dairy products, tofu, soy milk, fortified rice milk and almond milk, sesame seeds, green leafy veggies and seaweeds such as dulse. Phosphorus is found in bananas, whole grain breads and cereals, nuts, eggs, fish and poultry. Vitamin D is made in the skin from exposure to sun and is also present in fortified dairy products, eggs and saltwater fish. Obtaining these nutrients from food is important and you can also give your child a calcium/magnesium supplement to help rebuild bone tissue. This comes in liquid form which would be easiest for a child her age. Your child should definitely not consume any sodas/pop, as these contain phosphoric acid which will deplete calcium from the bones. The herbs horsetail, nettle and oatstraw are also helpful for rebuilding bone as they are high in trace minerals including silica. Use 1 tsp dried herb for 1 cup boiled water, and let the tea steep for 10 minutes. You can then mix this tea 1/2 and 1/2 with juice so that she likes the taste. I would have her drink 1 cup per day for 2-3 weeks.
Good luck!
In health,
Dr.Joanna Thiessen (ND, Doula)
Disclaimer: The information presented herein is not a prescription and does not substitute the consultation of a health care practitioner. |
Have fun this summer!
Jana
Tel: 519-571-8827
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