Things To Do In SW Florida

By Craig Joseph | NerdWallet

The most avid travel hackers often shoot me a skeptical glare when I utter the words “timeshare presentation” as a way to get discounted hotel stays and piles of points to use toward future travel.

The deal is pretty simple: receive a heavily discounted hotel or resort stay and other perks in exchange for attending a timeshare presentation — better known as a sales pitch.

The last email offer I received was in March 2023 from Hilton Grand Vacations. It dangled a three-night stay in Las Vegas plus 50,000 Hilton Honors points in exchange for $149 and sitting through a 90-minute talk.

Having attended four timeshare presentations over the last decade, I find that the discounted hotel stay and extra perks — like hotel points and discounted spa treatments or amusement park tickets — are worth my time. All you have to do is attend the presentation and say “no” (sometimes several times) if the timeshare is not right for you.

Here’s how to get nearly free vacations with timeshare presentations. read more

Q. My mother passed away in 2019, but the estate has not been settled. I believe I inherited some of her estate. Will I be able to use the “stretch” option (for an inherited IRA)? How do I know what regulations apply to the inheritance?

A. I ran the question by the staff of IRA expert Ed Slott’s group. They responded as follows:

“The year of death is always the key when determining the payout structure from the inherited IRA. If you inherited in 2019, then the old rules would apply, and stretch would be possible.This assumes you were named in the beneficiary form. Were you? If the estate was named as the IRA beneficiary, and you were not named on the beneficiary form, then the stretch would not apply, and the estate would use either the five-year rule or use the remaining single-life expectancy of your mother as the payment requirement.”

I think this explains the situation. You should be able to determine from the attorneys whether you were named on the beneficiary form. Only if the attorneys indicate that you were named on the beneficiary form, and you inherited the funds in 2019, will you be able to use the stretch option. read more

Emma Nelson | Star Tribune (TNS)

Emily Franks and her husband were making enough money to get by but were still living paycheck to paycheck and struggling with debt.

After learning their church was hosting a financial literacy class, they decided to take action. Through several weeks, they learned to craft a budget and make it stick, using cash-filled envelopes as a budgeting system to plan and control expenses.

Fast-forward seven years, and Franks has built a career around “cash stuffing” as founder of the Aesthetic Dollar, a Twin Cities-based online store selling minimalist budgeting tools including envelopes, wallets and planners. Franks also posts regular YouTube videos — initially an accountability tool for her own budgeting efforts — with business updates, budgeting tips and calming overhead shots of her organizing piles of cash.

Similar videos have flooded the internet as cash stuffing — a familiar idea repackaged for the social media age — has gained traction with a new generation, even as digital currency has become the norm. read more

Andrew Dehan | Bankrate.com (TNS)

How would you feel to learn that every time you communicate with your lender, AI is also on the line, taking notes?

While that’s not happening with all lenders today, it could become a widespread practice in the future. Several major mortgage lenders have begun touting artificial intelligence as a tool to help make the mortgage process quicker and easier and to help them write more loans.

But how do we define AI? How can it help you in the mortgage process, and are there regulations put in place to protect you? To get the facts straight, we spoke with experts at some tech-focused mortgage companies.

The difference between generative AI and automation

Today, underwriting for most mortgages is largely automated, with lenders using tools like Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter. When it comes to talking about AI, it’s important to differentiate between more commonly used automation technologies and the latest craze of generative AI, spurred on by products like ChatGPT and DALL-E.

“I think a lot of people are using the AI term, but they’re not using actual generative AI,” says Brad Seibel, president of Sage Home Loans. Much of the technology driving things like online lending and fast preapprovals has been around for a while, according to Seibel. (Editor’s note: Sage is owned by Bankrate parent company Red Ventures.) read more

Royal Caribbean announced Friday it had chosen singer Meghan Trainor to be the godmother of its new Port Canaveral-based ship Utopia of the Seas.

Trainor, who this year is celebrating a decade since her hit “All About That Bass” came out, will be on board the ship during a preview sailing and naming ceremony later this month.

Royal also announced a contest to give away to 52 winners free sailings on the July 15 departure of Utopia on that three-night cruise that will visit Royal’s private island Perfect Day at Castaway Cay. Promotion of the contest, which runs through Sunday, can be found on Royal’s Instagram account at instagram.com/royalcaribbean.

Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas on its way to Port Canaveral

The sailing is the final shakedown cruise for the Oasis-class vessel before it begins regular three- and four-night voyages with paying customers beginning July 19.

Utopia of the Seas is the second largest cruise ship in the world, only trailing Royal’s new Icon of the Seas that debuted in Miami this year. read more