Things To Do In SW Florida

Christi Carras | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — When Hollywood writers went on strike in 2007 and 2008, unscripted TV production soared.

Scripted projects stalled during the work stoppage, and studios turned to reality TV — a cheaper, faster format that didn’t rely on writers — to fill the airwaves. Audiences began keeping up with the Kardashians and saying yes to the dress, and a new era of television was born.

But around the time writers walked out again in 2023, something strange happened.

“I thought because of the strikes there might be an uptick in reality TV because most of my jobs haven’t been union,” said Celeste Diamos, a TV editor who has worked on “House Hunters,” “Property Brothers” and “The D’Amelio Show.”

“In fact, it was the opposite.”

From April through June, reality TV production in the Greater Los Angeles area plummeted by 57% compared with the same period of time last year and 50% compared with the five-year average, according to FilmLA, a nonprofit organization that tracks on-location shoot days and filming permits in the region. (The five-year average excludes three months in 2020 when production shut down because of COVID-19.) read more

Karen Bennett | (TNS) Bankrate.com

Logging onto your bank account and seeing a low balance can be stressful, especially if you’re nowhere near your next payday. If you’re struggling to stay afloat — or even if you’re doing OK but want to be more disciplined with money — a spending diet may help you get on the right track.

Currently, around 1 in 3 (34%) Americans say they’re living paycheck to paycheck, according to Bankrate’s Paycheck to Paycheck Survey. If you often find yourself short on money, trimming extra fat from your expenses through a spending diet can help free up funds for savings or other financial goals.

Here we’ll delve into the ways you can put a spending diet to work, along with the potential benefits and drawbacks of following this type of money management strategy.

What is a spending diet?

Similar to watching what you eat to improve your health, a spending diet helps you improve your personal finances in order to live within your means and keep money in the bank.

A spending diet can be defined as taking steps to decrease your expenses. One way to do this is by following a monthly budget that ensures your income exceeds your expenses. A budget can help free up some of your dollars for other wants or needs, or simply to build up savings. read more

By Kimberly Palmer | NerdWallet

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

Summertime often coincides with big spending on summer camps, travel and other seasonal fun. That can make fall the ideal time to focus on money management.

There’s still time to make adjustments before the end of the year, says Carla Adams, a certified financial planner and founder of Ametrine Wealth in Lake Orion, Michigan. “As you are getting out of the summer haze, you can make sure that all of your finances are in shape,” she says.

Here are some ways to get finances on track as the days shorten and temperatures cool:

Review summer spending

Before making decisions about future spending, Adams suggests looking at where your money went over the summer. She says tracking your spending is effective because, “you start noticing how much money you’ve spent on things like takeout and clothes.” read more