The CommunityAmerica Online Magazine lots to see | lots to do | it’s gonna be a scorcher Volume 11 + June 2010
let’s hear it for summer. What’s not to like? The warm weather. The ice cream man. Blowing bubbles in the park. A Saturday afternoon weeding the flowerbeds—well, even that’s not so bad when you invite your friends over for a backyard cookout afterwards. Summer’s here, so read up and let us help you make the most of it.
[ Savings tip ] shape up your finances It’s swimsuit season, and many of us are probably looking back and wishing we’d stuck a little closer to our workout plans. Like a solid physical workout regimen that takes time to show results, it takes about three months to form a solid budget and financial plan. Our Savin’ Mavens can help you create a fiscal regimen that ensures you don’t look back with regrets when you reach retirement age. Follow us on Twitter @savinmavens and visit our branches so we can put you on a path to financial prosperity that can help land you on that tropical beach you’ve been dreaming about!
event guide Let’s face it, when the sun beats down in mid-summer, it’s easy to just grab a cold glass of lemonade, crank up the AC and plant yourself on the couch. But you don’t have to become a sedentary pile of summertime boredom—you just need to know what’s happening out there. Here are some ideas to get you started thinking about ways to experience our awesome city.
sports JUN
10 JUN
16 JUN
21 JUN
26 JUL
6 JUL
16 JUL
20 JUL
25 AUG
3 AUG
7 AUG
17 AUG
21
concerts
Wizards vs. Philadelphia Union $15-$125 | CommunityAmerica Ballpark
Royals vs. Houston Astros $7-$27 | Free Hot Dog Night
T-Bones vs. Lake County Fielders $5-$14 | Kids eat free (first 2,000)
Wizards vs. New York Red Bulls $15-$125 | CommunityAmerica Ballpark
T-Bones vs. Winnipeg Goldeyes $5-$14 | Two for Tuesday
Royals vs. Oakland Athletics $7-$27 | Buck Night
JUN
Sugarland
18
$22-$49.50 | Sprint Center
JUN
Michael Bublé
26
$49.50-$89.50 | Sprint Center
JUL
Modest Mouse
6
$28 | Grinder’s
JUL
Chicago & The Doobie Brothers
18
$35-$250 | Starlight Theatre
JUL
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
13
$50.50-$126 | Sprint Center
AUG
Jack Johnson
16
$35-$55 | Sandstone Amphitheater
T-Bones vs. Schaumburg Flyers $5-$14 | Replica Jersey Giveaway
Wizards vs. Manchester United $15-$125 | Arrowhead Stadium
T-Bones vs. Joliet JackHammers $5-$14 | Mini-Helmet Giveaway
Wizards vs. Real Salt Lake $15-$125 | CommunityAmerica Ballpark
Royals vs. Cleveland Indians $7-$27 | T-Shirt Tuesday
Royals vs. Chicago White Sox $7-$27 | Royals Jersey Cooler
theater JUN
22-27 JUN
25-27
*
JUL
9-11
*
JUL
20-25 AUG
23-29 festivals + events JUN
19-20 JUN
27 JUL
2-4 JUL
3 JUL
10
Kansas City Chalk & Walk Festival FREE | Crown Center Square
Art of the Car Concours™ $12 | Kansas City Art Institute
KCRiverFest $6 | Richard Berkley Riverfront Park
Booms & Blooms Festival
Little House on the Prairie: The Musical $9-$79 | Starlight Theatre
Annie $8 | Theatre in the Park *Also showing 7/1-7/3.
All Shook Up $8 | Theatre in the Park *Also showing 7/15-7/18.
Dreamgirls $9-$79 | Starlight Theatre
The Producers $9-$79 | Starlight Theatre
free Friday Night Flicks Crown Center Square
First Sunday Family Fun Day Kansas City Museum
First Fridays Crossroads Art District
$5-$10 | Powell Gardens
American Royal’s Wine & Brew Ha Ha $22-$27 | Hale Arena
Pretty much everything going on in the KC area can be found at visitkc.com/events/index.aspx. Navigate on over to see what’s going on today, this weekend and all summer long.
Splurge’s onion bombs
There are burgers, and then there are BURGERS. Here are some recipes that will transform your backyard get-together from “A good way to spend a Saturday afternoon” to “The Most Legendary Cookout of All Time!”
The Stashburger There’s butter stashed away in them there patties.
1-1/2 lbs. ground beef 2 tbsp. butter, cut into 1/2 tbsp. pats Crisp lettuce leaves Sliced tomato Sliced onion
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Pickles
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Super-creamy, meet ultra-crispy. You’re going to get along famously.
1-1/2 lbs. ground beef 8-12 strips bacon, cooked until they’re crispy 4 oz. softened cream cheese, cut into four cubes
Grainy Dijon mustard
4 hamburger buns
4 hamburger buns Salt and pepper
Salt and pepper
Form ground beef into 4 balls. Press a dimple in the top of each one and place a pat of butter inside, and then enclose the meat around the butter and finish shaping into a patty. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side. Brush onions with olive oil and grill 1-2 minutes per side. With 30 seconds left, place buns on the grill until lightly toasted. Serve burgers hot on buns, topping with condiments as desired. Makes 4 burgers.
The stashburger
Cream Cheese & Bacon Burger
Form ground beef into 4 patties, and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place on grill at medium heat for 4-5 minutes and flip to grill for 4-5 minutes longer. With 2 minutes of grilling time left, place a cube of cream cheese on each patty. With 30 seconds left, place buns on the grill until lightly toasted. When you take the burgers off the grill, spread the cream cheese so it’s evenly distributed across the patty and top with bacon. Serve hot on buns. Makes 4 burgers.
cream cheese & Bacon burger
pineapple salsa pork burger
Splurge’s Onion Bombs Sure, they’re tiny. And after about your eighth one, you’ll understand why they’re Splurge’s favorite.
2 lbs. ground beef
Pineapple Salsa Pork Burger The next best thing to your backyard not being landlocked.
1 cup fresh or canned pineapple,
1 envelope onion soup mix
finely chopped
Swiss cheese slices
1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
Roma tomatoes, sliced thin
2 green onions, white part only,
Pickles
finely chopped
12 dinner rolls
2 tbsp. red onion
Combine the onion soup mix with the ground beef, and form into 12 tiny patties. Press a dimple into the top of each one – this helps the patty stay thin and not plump up into a meatball shape when grilling. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side. With 2 minutes left, place a slice of cheese on each patty to melt. With 30 seconds left, place dinner rolls on the grill until lightly toasted. Top each patty with a slice of pickle and tomato, and serve hot on rolls. Makes 12 burgers.
Cilantro, finely chopped 1 tsp. lime juice 1 tsp. white wine vinegar 1/4 tsp. ground cumin 1 1/2 lbs. ground pork 4 hamburger buns Salt and pepper Combine pineapple, jalapeno, green and red onions, lime juice, vinegar and cumin in a bowl. Garnish with cilantro and season with salt to taste. Form ground pork into 4 patties and season both sides with salt and pepper. Place on grill at medium heat for 12-15 minutes, flipping halfway through. With 30 seconds left, place buns on the grill until lightly toasted. Serve burgers hot on buns, topped with pineapple salsa. Makes 4 burgers.
2. Top quality buns make a big difference. Check your supermarket’s bakery.
1. Keep the grill closed as much as you can. Yes, we know this is hard.
3. Brush your burgers with olive oil or use cooking spray before you put them on the grill to make them easier to flip.
Part 3 of 3: TEENS During the teenage years, kids leave toys behind for more adult things like clothes, cars and (gasp!) members of the opposite sex. And while maturity is great, it also tends to get a little expensive. So how can you help your kids enjoy their teens without killing your budget? Easy—let them start paying for that wardrobe, date or car themselves. After all, your kid is closer to college than kindergarten, and now is the time for him or her to learn what fiscal responsibility really means. Here are a few tips to get started: [ Employment Enjoyment ]
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Most parents believe that for teenagers, education should be priority number 1, and a job just gets in the way of making the grade. But the truth is that a part-time job that works around your child’s school schedule can be good for his wallet and his grades. Why? Because in addition to providing a paycheck, employment helps school a teen on structure and responsibility—two concepts that can carry over to education in a big way.
6
[ Budget, Budget, Budget ] Now that your teen is drawing a paycheck, the next step is learning how to properly use it. Ask your child to create a budget in order to have money for entertainment while still making sure to save a bit for college, cars or other big purchases that may be down the road.
[ Prevent a Credit Crisis ] Once they turn 18, kids become eligible to use credit cards. For parents, this can be a little bit scary since most credit providers are more than willing to offer up that little piece of plastic—and a high interest rate to go with it. So before you sing “Happy Birthday” for the 18th time, be sure to sit down and educate your kids on the importance of using credit properly and finding the right card with a good low rate.
to help
fight world hunger, bake at 350 degrees.
At CommunityAmerica, we support many charitable causes around the Kansas City area, but there’s one that’s truly near and dear to our hearts—teaching financial literacy to students from kindergarten through grade 12. As a credit union, doing our part to help kids learn to make smart financial decisions is something that we’re passionate about. It’s kind of in our DNA. We love hearing about other people who are working diligently for the causes that they’re passionate about, too. That’s why we’re excited to share the story of Alex Wood and the Clean Hands Bakery. Alex is an 11-year-old Kansas City fifth grader, and since opening his bakery about a year ago, he’s raised more than $1,000 for charity by selling his delicious treats. And check this out for money smarts: one of the ways he’s built a better bake sale is by realizing a business truth that goes over many an entrepreneur’s head—volume is key. Why sell a slice of cake when you can sell the whole thing? It cuts down expenses and builds profits. The charity Alex has chosen to give his profits to is Heifer International, a not-for-profit organization that approaches the fight against global hunger by helping communities achieve sustainable food sources. For instance, instead of just providing a finite amount of food, Heifer International supplies recipients with livestock and agricultural resources coupled with education on how to use them to create an ongoing source of food. It’s one thing to say you want to make a difference, but another thing altogether to actually do it. We’re truly inspired by the positive impact Alex is making by putting his mixer to work.
Have a cookie. Help feed the world. Visit the CleanHandsBakery.com to order something from Alex’s kitchen. Here are some of the things you can get:
Spiced Pumpkin Cranberry Bread Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies Classic Chocolate Brownies Vanilla Sugar Cookies Banana Walnut Bread Lemon Pound Cake Super Shortbread Molasses Cookies Seven Layer Bars Cupcakes
chArt A coUrse towArd fUtUre fINANcIAL bLIss. Open new checking * and investment ** accounts to get up to
$150!
* For new checking accounts only, defined as new checking relationship with credit union opened between 5-17-10 and 10-31-10 with a minimum of $100. Individuals with existing CommunityAmerica checking account in household, or who have closed one of our checking accounts within previous three months, do not qualify. Available on the Free, Interest or Premier Checking personal accounts only. Limits: one per person, one per account, not valid with any other offers. Minimum age to open account is 18 years old. Other qualification requirements may also apply. The $50 bonus for opening checking account will be applied if the account has established a recurring direct deposit of $250 or more OR has had 15 or more transactions within the two calendar months of account opening. The following transactions do not count: debit card refunds, fees, interest postings, or account to account transfers. Account will be evaluated after these conditions have been met and bonus will be deposited in member’s share savings account within eight weeks, assuming account is open and in good standing. Any account closed within six months from open date will be subject to a $50 early closure fee. We will report to the IRS the value of any premium, and a 1099-INT will be issued at year-end of the year in which any bonus applies. Any applicable taxes are the responsibility of the applicant. Annual Percentage Yield is variable and subject to change after the account is opened. Annual Percentage Yield as of 5-1-10 on Premier Checking and Interest Checking is 0.15%. ** For new investment account relationships only, defined as opened between 5-17-10 and 10-31-10. Must open new qualified checking account, as defined above, during same period to qualify. An initial $50 bonus for opening an investment account will be deposited into the share savings account after an evaluation period of two months to ensure the investment account(s) has been funded. Additionally, CommunityAmerica will reimburse members up to $50 for investment account transfer fees, which average $50 to $75. We will report to the IRS the value of any premium, and a 1099-INT will be issued at year-end of the year in which any bonus applies. Investment accounts are not obligations of CommunityAmerica Credit Union. Investments and investment advisory services offered through CUSO Financial Services, L.P. (CFS), an independent broker-dealer and SEC Registered Investment Advisor are Not NCUA/NCUSIF insured, are Not credit union guaranteed and May lose value. CommunityAmerica Credit Union is affiliated with CFS. Financial Advisors are employees of CommunityAmerica Credit Union and registered through CFS. (Member FINRA/SIPC) This credit union federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration.
Visit cacu.com/financialfuture for more info.
800-892-7957