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If you are a parent, grandparent or caregiver of kids, especially those 0-12, you need to know about Macaroni Kid for Johnson County!  This locally owned company is part of the national Macaroni Kid media brand with over 350 e-publications nationwide.  The concept is simple.  We provide a hyper-local e-publication of everything to do with kids in and around your neighborhood.   Every inexpensive and free child activity and family event in Johnson County, KS is listed for no charge.  Theater, music, arts and other cultural and live events which require advanced ticket purchase are also listed.

You can subscribe on line or in person by visiting one of our many community friends.  We would love for you to visit and support these local businesses! We will reward one lucky new subscriber who visits one of these locations to sign up with a $125 gift card to her/his favorite grocery store.

Monkey Bizness – “Where kids monkey around.” Offering open play, birthday parties, and special events. Located inside the Great Mall of the Great Plains,20080 W. 151st St, Olathe, KS 66061.

Debbie Howard’s Gym – “We want to teach the kids how to believe in themselves.” Offering gymnastics classes, open gyms, birthday and sports parties, and gym rentals. Located at 655 North Somerset Terrace, Olathe, KS 66062.

Stephanie’s Wonderland – “Every little girl should have a tutu or pettiskirt and be a princess for a day.” Find their amazing products at 115 N. Parker St, Olathe, KS 66061 (Wed-Sat), online, and also inside Mommy Shop (see below).

Mommy Shop – “Get the basics, stay unique.” 60+ vendors in one location offering unique items for maternity, gifts, infant, and children. Catering to moms with free gift wrapping, a play area for the little ones, and frequent in-store events.  Located at 14870 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66223.

Little Monkey Bizness – “Where little kids monkey around.” Offering open play, birthday parties and special events for crawling babies on up and a separate dining area with a full menu of snacks and beverages. Located at 12219 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Shawnee, KS 66216

Ceramics & Coffee House @ Paint, Glaze & Fire – Offering drop in ceramic painting, glass fusion, birthday parties, girls night out, special events, paint/story time, camps and a full service coffee bar and free Wi-Fi. Located at 12683 Metcalf Ave, at the south end of Metcalf 127 Shopping Center, Overland Park, KS 66213.

If you have a Johnson County, KS business and are interested in hosting our subscription box, please contact Gail at info@gailsscoop.com

Guest Post from John Chladek:

Many times when I’m analyzing cash flow situations, clients feel like they are doing everything they can to save money.  However, one area that most people don’t know about is the fine art of negotiating. I’ve listed several examples below that I have used myself.  The more you realize how negotiable prices really are, the more you start asking and looking for those opportunities.

Credit Cards: If you are in the process of paying off credit card debt, you may be in a position to negotiate a better interest rate on your current balance, if you’ve been making all your payments on-time.  This isn’t quite as easy as it used to be with the tightening of credit the last couple of years, but you can still save.  The first step is to call your current credit card company and tell them that you’d like to cancel your card because you can get a better interest rate somewhere else.  The phone representative will immediately transfer you to a special department that will try everything they can to get you to stay.  You should have an interest rate in-mind that you would like the company to match.  Ask for this rate, and see what they tell you.

Trash Service: When my family moved into a new neighborhood a few years back, we noticed that there were two different companies picking up trash during the week.  One of the companies was a reliable company that we had used previously in our other neighborhood.  However, it turns out that their rate was $10 more than the other company’s rate.  When I spoke to a representative about that, she said they would be happy to match that same rate for me.  So, if there’s ever a specific company that you would like to work with, whether it’s trash pick-up or anything else, but they charge more, make sure to ask if they will match the price of their competitors.

Cable/Internet/Phone: With the popularity of satellite tv, and a few different cable providers around town, this is a very competitive market.  Chances are you’ve noticed your current provider offering promotions for ‘new customers only.’  Why shouldn’t current customers get the same deal?  Especially considering that you could cancel your service and switch to a competitor to become a ‘new customer’ and receive a special promotion.  Within the past couple months, I was able to upgrade my phone service and internet speed, and am paying less than I was before.

Tires: Buying tires can be a very expensive purchase.  Unfortunately, most people don’t know that tire prices are always negotiable!  The average person walks into the store, receives a quote on a few different types of tires, and picks one.  I needed to buy four new tires last month.  After receiving the quote, I asked if they could take $100 off.  Not only did the manager agree to that, he also included free lifetime balance/rotation, as well as a free road hazard warranty.  In addition to trying to negotiate a lower price, it never hurts to try and get a few extra perks thrown in as well.

Hopefully this article will give you a few ideas on how you can save with some of your expenses.  It definitely takes some practice to get comfortable with negotiating, but if you knew you could save a few hundred bucks by just asking, wouldn’t you want to?

Visit our website for more information, www.chladekwealth.com

John P. Chladek, MBA, CFP® is the President of Chladek Wealth Management, LLC, a fee-only financial planning and investment management firm specializing in helping families and couples who are not yet retired realize their financial goals.  For more information, visit http://www.chladekwealth.com. He also writes a regular financial planning and investment management blog at johnchladek.wordpress.com.

All written content on this site is for information purposes only.  Opinions expressed herein are solely those of John P. Chladek, MBA, CFP®, President, Chladek Wealth Management, LLC.  Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and we make no representations as to its accuracy or completeness.  All information and ideas should be discussed in detail with your individual advisor prior to implementation.  Investment Advisory services are offered by Chladek Wealth Management, LLC, a registered investment advisory firm in the State of Kansas.  The presence of this web site on the Internet shall in no direct or indirect way be construed or interpreted as a solicitation to sell or offer to sell investment advisory services to any residents of any state other than the State of Kansas or where otherwise legally permitted.