Things To Do In SW Florida

By Jackie Veling | NerdWallet

While the holidays tend to be a reflective time, the definitive flip of the calendar into a new year can inspire you to set your sights high.

Go to the gym more. Be on your phone less. And — if you’re like many Americans — get your credit card debt under control, once and for all.

Summer 2023 marked a new high for Americans’ total credit card debt, with balances passing $1 trillion for the first time in history, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

This type of debt can feel uniquely stressful, like something you can’t get ahead of no matter how hard you try. Though there’s no quick fix for credit card debt, consolidation can be a smart financial strategy that simplifies your debts and lowers the amount of interest you pay.

Here are five signs that consolidation may be the right financial move to make in 2024.

1. You have a pretty good credit score

Your credit score is one of the most important factors when consolidating credit card debt, because strong credit will help you qualify for a debt consolidation product. read more

NASA announced Tuesday it has delayed both the crewed Artemis II mission to fly around the moon and the Artemis III launch that aims to send the next humans, including the first woman, to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.

“We are doing something incredibly different,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “In the process of all this, as we remind everybody at every turn, safety is our top priority. And to give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges with first-time developments, operations and integration, we’re going give more time on Artemis II and III.”

Artemis II was supposed to fly as early as November this year but now won’t until at least 10 months later targeting September 2025.

Artemis III was on NASA’s roadmap to fly as early as December 2025 but now is targeting September 2026. Both missions will embark from the Kennedy Space Center.

Nelson said Artemis IV, which aims to be the first flight to support NASA’s lunar Gateway space station, is still tentatively set for September 2028. read more

TALLAHASSEE — For years, insurance companies and state lawmakers have blamed lawsuits for driving homeowner insurance premiums in Florida to the highest in the nation.

A new long-awaited study commissioned by the Legislature supports that — somewhat.

An analysis of 58,395 insurance claims that led to lawsuits in 2022 found that a disproportionate number were filed in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, an indication of potentially fraudulent or abusive practices there.

And those litigated claims were more than six times more expensive than claims that did not lead to a lawsuit, which could contribute to higher premiums.

“We clearly had a litigation issue going on in this state,” said Florida Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky, whose office collected the data and issued the report. “This high disparity exists that ultimately everyone in the state is paying for, or has been paying for.”

But the report does not match the rhetoric from Gov. Ron DeSantis and insurance companies that frivolous or abusive lawsuits were causing record losses and soaring premiums. Lawmakers in four legislative sessions have made it successively harder to sue insurance companies, which has not resulted in lower premiums. read more