Things To Do In SW Florida

By Holly D. Johnson, Bankrate.com

In a perfect world, no one would need to take out a loan to consolidate and pay off debt. In the real world, however, sometimes borrowing money is the only way to dig your way out.

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This is mostly due to high interest rates on credit cards. With the average credit card APR (annual percentage rate) at 20.01 percent as of October 2025, consumers are stuck paying significant sums of money in interest. Because of this, a small amount of their minimum payment actually goes towards paying down a credit card balance.

These challenges are why many people consider consolidating their credit card debt with a personal loan. read more

Hollywood resident Peter Cicale says he was heading to the beach in January 2024 when he parked in an open parking space in a nearby lot.

He didn’t expect to open the mailbox at his home four days later to find a “parking charge notice” from a company called Professional Parking Management Corp. stating that he owed $90 for failing to pay. The document included photos of his license tag and an offer to reduce the charge to $55, plus tax, if he paid within 15 days.

And while the invoice looked like a parking ticket, it did not say that failure to pay would jeopardize Cicale’s license or registration status or ding his credit score.

“There was no signage or attendant,” Cicale recently told the South Florida Sun Sentinel about his decision to use the parking lot at 915 N. Ocean Drive. “When I came back, I just drove off. I didn’t know I was being surveilled.”

Cicale, who paid the $90 bill, is the lead plaintiff in a civil lawsuit filed against Professional Parking Management Corp., a Georgia-registered company headquartered in Fort Lauderdale that manages privately owned parking lots in several states. read more

Just four years after Virgin Voyages’ first ship sailed its inaugural Caribbean itineraries, the cruise line is bringing online its fourth ship while continuing to challenge the norms of the industry.

Brilliant Lady, which is calling PortMiami home for the winter, arrived in October from New York City to sail adults-only cruises to the Caribbean and Bahamas, ranging from six to 12 nights. While closely resembling its sister ships, the 110,000-gross-ton Brilliant Lady features “software” updates to its dining menus and entertainment offerings. It’s also the first Virgin ship capable of a Panama Canal crossing, with its lifeboats now tucked into the ship rather than hanging over the side.

The ship’s slate of entertainment offerings includes the roaring ’20s-inspired “Up With A Twist” dinner show, which features a four-course meal and five cocktails, a “Murder In The Manor” interactive mystery show, the “Out of Time” musical comedy and “Red Hot,” a show celebrating the “playfully rebellious spirit” of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson. read more

By Katie Kelton, Bankrate.com

The winter holidays are a time for dusting off decorations and observing traditions — but they’re also rife with money decisions.

Americans are choosing how much to spend on travel, gifts and decorations in today’s economy, along with how they’ll make those purchases. Some holiday shoppers and travelers plan to use credit cards, but debit cards; buy now, pay later services (BNPL); and rewards points are other popular payment options.

Bankrate’s key findings on holiday spending

Fewer Americans will travel for holidays this year, compared with last year: 21% plan to fly or stay in a hotel or short-term rental for Thanksgiving or the December holidays, compared to 27% in 2024.Source: Bankrate’s 2025 Holiday Travel Survey

Around 2 in 5 holiday shoppers expect higher price tags this year: 41% say they’re concerned winter holiday gifts will be more expensive this year. But only 24% will budget for holiday spending.Source: Bankrate’s 2025 Early Holiday Shopping Survey

Roughly half of holiday shoppers will begin before the end of October: That includes 13% who started shopping or planned to in August, 11% in September and 25% in October.Source: Bankrate’s 2025 Early Holiday Shopping Survey read more

If you need a reminder to turn your clocks back at 2 a.m. Sunday, maybe the boom you might hear less than an hour before could assist.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to lift off on the Bandwagon-4 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 targeting a 1:09 a.m. liftoff during 1-1:20 a.m. launch window.

The first-stage booster for the flight is making its third trip to space, with a planned recovery back at Canaveral’s Landing Zone 2, which could mean an overnight sonic boom in Central Florida.

SpaceX warned that about eight minutes after liftoff, the return of the booster could bring one or more sonic boom for residents of Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee counties.

A launch earlier this year sent the boom across to as far as Lake County.

The increase in frequency, intensity and timing of sonic booms from SpaceX launches is the subject of some concerns for its plans for its future Starship rocket launches from the Space Coast. read more