Things To Do In SW Florida

Sarah Foster | (TNS) Bankrate.com

From stubborn inflation to rising interest rates, it’s exceptionally expensive to have a shaky personal financial situation in 2023 — but in today’s era, it costs a lot to be financially comfortable, too.

Americans feel they’d need to earn approximately $233,000 a year on average to be secure or comfortable with their finances, a new Bankrate survey finds. To be rich and achieve financial freedom, Americans say they’d need to make about two times more: roughly $483,000 on average, according to the poll. Both numbers are significantly larger than the average earnings full-time, year-round workers made in 2021 ($75,203), according to Census Bureau data.

Americans’ income needs highlight mounting affordability challenges that households are facing when it comes to growing their wealth — a problem many were navigating long before inflation skyrocketed in the aftermath of the pandemic. More money seems like it may beget more financial success at a time when college tuition has more than doubled and the median home price when adjusted for inflation has climbed 40% over the past 20 years. On the flip side, Americans’ buying power judged by their personal income has climbed a smaller 21% pace since 2003, according to the Department of Commerce’s per-person measures. read more

By Tommy Tindall | NerdWallet

Amazon Prime Day is July 16-17. It’s like Black Friday, but in July and with less burden to buy for others.

Some people may already have holiday gift-buying in mind, but most are likely shopping for themselves, says Jane Boyd Thomas, a professor of marketing at Winthrop University.

More emphasis from retailers on summer deals has shifted trends on Google. “In recent years, searches for ‘deals’ have spiked in mid-July, even surpassing search interest in ‘vacation,’” said Sean Scott, vice president and general manager of consumer shopping at Google, in a blog announcing Google’s enhanced shopping tools. Its updated “deals destination” is intended to make it easier to shop for deals across retailers in one place.

Whether you start on Amazon or Google, the key is to nab deals on planned purchases over impulse buys. Keep this list in mind as you decide what to buy (or skip) on Prime Day.

Buy: Electronics

Thomas says electronics will be the best category for Prime Day deals, which will likely include Apple products. She chuckled when mentioning an Apple Pencil she recently paid full price for ($129.99), only to hear later that it’ll likely be cheaper on Prime Day. In fact, it is $79 on Amazon at the time of this writing, before Prime Day. AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) ear buds were down to $189.99 in late June (Apple’s price is $249, but Amazon regularly sells them for $199), and could go lower during the sale. read more

SpaceX is rolling a booster that was part of a scrubbed launch attempt last month back to the launch pad for an early morning mission on the Space Coast.

A Falcon 9 rocket on the Starliner 8-9 mission carrying 20 Starlink satellites including 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities aims for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 2:57 a.m. during a window that lasts until 5:59 a.m.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts an 80% chance for good conditions. Additional opportunities fall to Sunday, July 7 during a window that opens at 12:28 a.m.

This is the 16th flight of the first-stage booster, which was previously on the pad for the Starlink 10-3 mission, but was changed out after an issue when it hit T-0 during a launch attempt on June 14.

The flight eventually took off with a new booster while SpaceX reconfigured this for Wednesday morning’s attempt. SpaceX never revealed the reason behind the scrub or the booster switch.

It will attempt a landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic. read more

Three Central Florida restaurants shut down the week of June 25-July 1, according to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Volusia

Twin Peaks at 1571 Outlet Blvd. in Daytona Beach shut down on July 1. Inspectors found 16 violations, five of which were a high priority. Those violations included food held at the wrong temperatures, tracking powder pesticide used inside the establishment, roach activity and flying insects. A second inspection the same day found two violations. None were a high priority. The restaurant met inspection standards.

Brevard

Steve’s Family Diner at 2900 S. Washington Ave. in Titusville shut down on June 25. Inspectors found 18 violations, nine of which were a high priority. Those violations included food contaminated by employees, flying insects, rodent activity, a missing vacuum breaker and a stop sale on food due to it not being in sound condition. Officials conducted a second inspection on June 26. They found four violations, only one of which was a high priority. The restaurant received a time extension for the missing vacuum breaker. Officials said the restaurant met inspection standards. read more

Walt Disney World has announced the lineup for this year’s Eat to the Beat concert series, the musical component of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.  It includes first timers such as David Archuleta, Yellowcard, The Wanted and Aloe Blacc as well as frequent fest participants 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men, Hanson and Tiffany.

The announced schedule is primarily Fridays through Mondays, though Disney says more acts will be revealed later.  Most artists have two-night gigs at the theme park’s America Gardens Theatre, although Hanson is on stage for four nights in late October.

The Eat to the Beat lineup for 2024, subject to change, includes:

Aug. 30-31: The Fray.

Sept. 1-2: Sugar Ray.

Sept. 6-7: Hoobastank.

Sept. 8-9: Yellowcard. (New to festival)

Sept. 13-14: Tiffany.

Sept. 15-16: MercyMe.

Sept. 20-21: Sheila E.

Sept. 22-23: The Wanted. (New to festival)

Sept. 27: Luis Figueroa.

Sept. 28-29: Mau Y Ricky. (New to festival)

Sept. 30: Jesse & Joy. (New to festival)

Oct. 4-5: Aloe Blacc. (New to festival) read more