Things To Do In SW Florida

Michelle Black | (TNS) Bankrate.com

Debt consolidation can make repayment easier by consolidating multiple accounts into a single one. Consolidating debt also can save you money on interest and help you get out of debt faster, depending on your situation. Here are four ways to do it:

________

You can consolidate credit card debt

Paying down your monthly credit card balance on time and in full is the best way to improve your score and avoid paying interest.

However, those who have multiple high-interest credit cards and borrowers who have a hard time meeting all of the monthly payments may benefit from debt consolidation.

Consolidating your credit card debt simplifies your repayment process. It can also save you thousands of dollars in interest accrual, as personal loans have an average interest rate of 12.18%.

Due to high inflation and historic interest rate hikes, the average credit card interest rate has climbed to nearly 21%. Now more than ever, borrowers in good credit health should consolidate their debts if they’re offered a lower interest rate through a personal loan. read more

MIAMI BEACH — Carnival Cruise Line has released another round of updates on what travelers can expect when its new private destination Grand Bahama Celebration Key opens.

Debuting in summer 2025, the port of call will be welcoming ships from Florida ports Port Canaveral, PortMiami, Tampa and Jacksonville as well as six other U.S. ports.

The 369-acre site less than 20 miles east of Freeport will be the first dedicated to Carnival Cruise Line, although Carnival ships have used sister line destinations Princess Cays and Half Moon Cay for years.

The largest port construction project in the line’s history will be carved into five segments the company calls portals, and Carnival released details about the third one tied to retail, an artisan village called Lokono Cove.

Named in deference to the native Lucayan language, “lokono” means “the people.” It was the winning selection from Grand Bahamas resident Deidre Rahming, who was on hand in Miami Beach with an entourage from the Bahamian government on Tuesday at the Seatrade Cruise Global conference. read more

By PAUL WISEMAN, GISELA SALOMON and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — Having fled economic and political chaos in Venezuela, Luisana Silva now loads carpets for a South Carolina rug company. She earns enough to pay rent, buy groceries, gas up her car — and send money home to her parents.

Reaching the United States was a harrowing ordeal. Silva, 25, her husband and their then-7-year-old daughter braved the treacherous jungles of Panama’s Darien Gap, traveled the length of Mexico, crossed the Rio Grande and then turned themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol in Brownsville, Texas. Seeking asylum, they received a work permit last year and found jobs in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

“My plan is to help my family that much need the money and to grow economically here,” Silva said.

Her story amounts to far more than one family’s arduous quest for a better life. The millions of jobs that Silva and other new immigrant arrivals have been filling in the United States appear to solve a riddle that has confounded economists for at least a year: read more