Things To Do In SW Florida

Stephanie Zito | Bankrate.com (TNS)

Although many analysts predicted that post-COVID “revenge travel” would peak in 2022, ongoing research suggests consumers are still prioritizing spending money on travel. According to a 2023 Bankrate survey, planned leisure travel was up from 2022 — even as many Americans still had less than three months of emergency savings in the bank.

This demand has led to record-breaking revenue for the U.S. car rental industry, according to Auto Rental News data. Although rental car companies were hit hard in 2020, total revenue soared to $36.1 billion in 2022 and $38.3 billion in 2023. But while this is great news for the rental car industry, it often means higher car rental prices and lower availability for travelers.

Usually, I almost never recommend using rewards for rental car bookings since you can almost always find a rental car deal through AutoSlash, Hotwire, Kayak or Priceline if you don’t care what company you’re renting from. When these kinds of deals don’t exist, however, here’s what you need to know about booking a car rental with miles or points. read more

By Eliza Haverstock | NerdWallet

On Wednesday, 153,000 student loan borrowers got the surprise so many others have been waiting for: total loan forgiveness. The White House said it approved $1.2 billion of student loan forgiveness for borrowers with low balances who enrolled in the newest income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE).

Impacted borrowers got an email addressed from President Joe Biden that read, “Congratulations — all or a portion of your federal student loans will be forgiven because you qualify for early loan forgiveness under my Administration’s SAVE Plan.”

To qualify for this wave of relief, you must have:

• Enrolled in the SAVE plan.
• Borrowed $12,000 or less in federal student loans.
• Spent at least 10 years in repayment, including the pandemic pause and other time counted under the one-time IDR account adjustment.

Next week, the White House will send out another round of forgiveness emails. Borrowers who sign up for SAVE now could be eligible for the upcoming forgiveness.

“This is something that will continue on moving forward, so it’s not a one-time thing,” says Sabrina Calazans, managing director at the Student Debt Crisis Center, a nonprofit group that aims to advance student debt relief. “It is something that is now basically part of the student loan system, and so folks will be able to continuously benefit from this.” read more