Survey: Optimism Up Among South Florida Small Business Owners

By CORA LEWIS and ADRIANA MORGA NEW YORK (AP) — With the end of 2024 around the corner, you might be reflecting on financial goals for 2025. Related Articles Business | Got money goals for the New Year? Stay on track with these tips Business | Landlords beware: Rent-shamers are calling out overpriced listings online Business | Free tax filing with IRS Direct File: What you need to know Business | Why car insurance prices are rising so much even though inflation is cooling Business | Gifting on a budget: 5 secrets to being generous without going broke Whether you’re saving to move out of your parents’ house or pay off student loan debt, financial resolutions can help you stay motivated, said Courtney Alev, consumer advocate for Credit Karma. “Entering a new year doesn’t erase all our financial challenges from the prior year,” Alev said.

Aspen Waste Systems, a Minneapolis-based company, has opened an office in Commerce City, making it the newest player in metro Denver’s competitive waste disposal and recycling market. A top 20 waste hauler nationally, with 350 employees and a fleet of 240 trucks, the company doesn’t own any landfills. Instead, it has focused on providing “premium” waste stream management and hauling services to clients using newer trucks and dumpsters. “We have watched Denver for a while now and we have been evaluating it,” said Alexa Kircher Fang, the company’s president and daughter of CEO Robert Kircher, who founded the company in 1990.

Denver’s explosion of dumpling restaurants wasn’t on anyone’s radar two years ago, and nixtamalized corn wasn’t on the bingo card for 2024. But both became notable trends in the restaurant industry locally. So what will 2025 bring? There’s no way to know, but here are a few predictions for what we’re seeing already and what might continue into the new year. Value menus and happy hours Restaurant prices are pushing people away.

BYD has been on a red-hot sales streak thanks to strong demand for its EVs and hybrids. Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesBYD posted its best-ever sales for Q4, turning up the heat on Tesla. The Chinese carmaker is competing with Tesla to be the world's biggest maker of EVs. Tesla is reporting its own figures this week, which will determine which company is on top.

Jennifer Love Hewitt in "I Know What You Did Last Summer."Columbia PicturesThese are the best movies to watch on Netflix in January. Watch Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" and "Inception."You can also check out 1990s hits like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Rush Hour."From Christopher Nolan classics to Jennifer Garner doing the "Thriller" dance, here are the best movies on Netflix in January."13 Going on 30" (January 1)Jennifer Garner in "13 Going on 30."Columbia PicturesThis fun rom-com never gets old.

The author (not pictured) attended a college class as a high schooler. Maskot/Getty Images/MaskotAs a low-income student, I didn't think college was for me. I then enrolled in a college class as a high schooler, and it changed everything. I could finally see myself in college, and the class helped me find the right school for me.