Things To Do In SW Florida

Brian Baker, CFA | (TNS) Bankrate.com

Investing as a young adult is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for your future. You might think that you need a lot of money to start investing, but it’s easier than ever to get going with small amounts. Once you set up your investment accounts, you’ll be well on your way to saving for goals like retirement, purchasing a home or even future travel plans.

But before you dive headfirst into the market, it’s important to prioritize paying off any high-interest debt that might be straining your finances and then build up an emergency fund with savings that could meet at least three to six months of expenses.

Once that is handled you can get a jump on investing, even if you’re starting small. Developing a consistent approach to saving and investing will help you stick to your plan over time.

How to start investing in your 20s

Money invested in your 20s could compound for decades, making it a great time to invest for long-term goals. Here are some tips for how to get started. read more

By Chanelle Bessette | NerdWallet

If you’ve ever lived off of tips or commissions, you may be familiar with the up-and-down paychecks common in certain industries. Service jobs, sales jobs, creative careers and project-based work can all have fluctuating income, where seasonality, events or the general economy might affect your earnings.

When you can’t depend on a regular paycheck amount or paycheck timing, it can be hard to know how you’ll make ends meet when money isn’t as abundant. With some planning, budgeting and creativity, however, it can become easier to weather a varying income.

Create a budgeting plan

Lawrence Sprung, a certified financial planner and author of the book “Financial Planning Made Personal,” works with several financial clients who are romance novelists. These authors live off of book deals and royalties and often have to budget differently depending on their publication cycle. Sprung and his firm help these clients determine their expenses so they can figure out how much they need to save, he says. Even without the help of a CFP, there are steps you can take on your own to get your budget on the right track. read more

What will be the world’s largest cruise ship doesn’t debut until January, but already demand has prompted Royal Caribbean to open up its 2025-2026 itineraries three months earlier than planned

The seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean voyages from PortMiami have proved a popular money maker for the line, which said it saw its single largest day of booking for cruises and highest volume week when the new ship’s 2024 sailings were made available last October.

The new itineraries will be open for sale to the public on Wednesday and feature visits to new destinations including Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and San Juan, Puerto Rico in addition to stops at Royal’s private Bahamas island Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Royal Caribbean cooks up new venues for world’s largest cruise ship Icon of the Seas

“Since Icon of the Seas was revealed almost a year ago, the response has been unprecedented by every measure,” said Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley in a press release. “Families and friends are looking for vacations where everyone can make memories their way without compromise, and that’s what we set out to create in its best form with Icon more than five years ago.” read more

Axiom Space on Tuesday announced its third private mission to the International Space Station will send up three astronauts from three European nations while still commanded by a former NASA astronaut.

The Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) flight, once again using a SpaceX Crew Dragon launching from Kennedy Space Center, is slated for no earlier than January 2024. It will be flying up one astronaut each from Italy, Turkey and Sweden while the mission is led by Axiom’s chief astronaut Michael López-Alegría who will be making his sixth trip to space.

The customers are Italian Air Force Col. Walter Villadei, who will act as pilot. In the two mission specialist roles are Alper Gezeravcı of Turkey and ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden. All three have served in their respective nations’ air forces.

Gezeravcı will become Turkey’s first astronaut. The flight is also the first time Axiom has partnered with the ESA. The use of commercial visits augment the seats it already earns as a primary partner with the U.S., Canada, Russia and Japan for the orbiting station. read more

Mermaids are returning for appearances at Sea Life Orlando Aquarium, the Icon Park attraction on International Drive, next month.

Visitors will be able to spy the performers swimming inside the large tanks alongside sea turtles, stingrays and sharks. There will be on-dry-land encounters and photo ops with the mermaids as well. The experiences, produced for the fourth year at the I-Drive attraction, are included with regular Sea Life admission.

“Our mermaids are ready to dive in and give all who venture into their habitat a magical experience they’re sure to never forget,” Rachel Burden, Sea Life’s marketing manager, said in a news release.

The mermaids will be at Sea Life on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between Oct. 6 and Oct. 29. Shows will occur at 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 2-4 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m. The out-of-tank meet-and-greets will be 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

Golden Ticket Awards: SeaWorld lands ‘legend’ status; Disney, Universal, Fun Spot take titles

Folks who show up dressed as their “favorite mermaid,” the news release says, have a chance to win a mermaid-themed prize. read more