Anna Maria Island is the definitive representation of Florida island life, and the definite way to experience island life is from the seat of a scooter or a bike or in the Gulf waters. The place to make this experience happen is Island Scooter Rentals in Anna Maria city that has everything you need to make your definitive island life come to life.

Victoria Sweeney knows something of island life. She originally came to Florida from Chicago via Key West for a five day dive vacation and never returned.

After living in Key West for a number of years, she moved to Anna Maria investing in a scooter rental business starting with an inventory of only 10 scooters. This summer she is celebrating her 15th year in business with an inventory of 25 scooters, 20 bikes and water sports equipment, easily quadrupling her business.

Island Scooter Rentals moved this year from their original location at the Silver Surf Resort in Bradenton Beach to the old post office plaza one block before Pine Avenue in Anna Maria. But that wasn’t the only change. Sweeney has added a large assortment of water sports equipment to compliment her fleet of scooters and bicycles, including custom, super light weight paddle boards, kayaks and boggie/body boards with complimentary training included.

Kayaks are either single or double and there are wheels available to conveniently wheel them right down the street to the beach or they can be delivered. Shortly Island Scooter will also be offering all in one beach accessories with coolers, chairs and tote bags.

Sweeney is very proud of her new Keeway four-stroke scooters that get 100 miles per gallon. She is very conscientious about maintenance of the scooters and has new and used scooters for sale as well as rentals. A driver’s license is required to drive a scooter per state law, however, anyone can be a passenger and you can be certain Sweeney makes sure both you and she are comfortable on the scooter before handing over the keys.

Island Scooter stocks Phat bikes for rent for both adults and kids and provides helmets, locks and maps for all of their rentals. You can also pick up a SPF 50 shirt to help protect you from the sun.

Victoria Sweeney says her rates are very competitive with hourly, weekly and monthly rates available.

To celebrate her 15-year anniversary she is offering Sizzle Specials with reduced rates on bicycles starting at $10 for 24 hours, four-hour paddle board rentals for $50, four-hour double kayaks for $50 and body boards for $20 for the day. Motor scooter rates start at $25 for an hour for singles and $35 for double.

Sweeney loves her island life and especially her new location right in the heart of Anna Maria. She wants to thank all islanders, visitors and friends and family for helping her to develop and maintain a successful business for the past 15 years.

Island Scooter Rentals will arrange for you to ride the Island and the waves in style. Walk, drive or take the trolley to Island Scooter Rentals located in the courtyard of the old post office plaza in Anna Maria. When you see the big colorful umbrella you’ll know you’re in the right place.

ISLAND SCOOTER RENTALS

Old post office plaza
9908 Gulf Drive, Suite B
Anna Maria

941-726-3163
www.IslandScooters.com

10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Every day

Visa, MasterCard, Discover
Reservations accepted

 

My father and mother are 89 and 84, respectively. Dad’s never spent a night in the hospital in his life, even though he was wounded a couple times in a minor way during World War II. He was born at home, and his tonsils were removed on the kitchen table sometime during the Great Depression. Mom had heart surgery, certainly extending her life. Despite the other aches, pains, and inconveniences of getting older, they are a great illustration of the relationship of health and wealth.

On an individual basis there are exceptions, but across the population we are tending to live longer due to advances in healthcare, more knowledge about diet and staying physically fit. While it is a great goal to live a long, happy and healthy life, there is a stress created by living longer. The stress is on your retirement income plan.

For those who work for the government or a corporation which offers a guaranteed pension benefit, this may be less of a worry than for those who use 401Ks, IRAs and funding of personal wealth through savings and investment. With less and less companies offering guaranteed pension programs, more retirees will be on their own to convert the capital that they are a ble to accumulate and invest during their working years into retirement income to supplement their Social Security benefits and possibly some supplemental income from working while in retirement.

Planning for the creation of this income is not something you should do the day after your retirement party. Ideally, the process should start years in advance, with some reasonable assumptions of investment returns and calculations of savings and investment goals during your accumulation years so that you can be comfortable in the distribution years that you won’t run out of money in retirement, even if you are fortunate enough to live into your 90s and become great-grandparents.

Fortunately, advances in technology that have benefitted us in many ways, including helping us live longer, allow us to perform a retirement plan analysis using realistic assumptions for savings, investment returns, and inflation. Many mutual fund and brokerage firm websites have some simple tools available for free. Charles Schwab & Company has one at: http://www.schwab.com/public (click into the Retirement Planning section from this page).

The Blackrock Funds group tool also looks interesting at www.blackrock.com/cori

More sophisticated analyses may be available with the help of an investment adviser or representative of a brokerage firm, but may involve fees to compensate the representatives for their time. Ask about fees before engaging them for help.

I’ve written often in recent months about planning for Social Security to maximize your benefits as a married couple, before engaging an advisor for help.

I’ve written often in recent months about planning for Social Security to maximize your benefits as a married couple, divorcee, widow or widower. That process is a part of the overall retirement income planning process, which should be accomplished in a holistic approach to planning for household income in your golden years.

Tom Breiter is president of Breiter Capital Management, Inc., an Anna Maria based investment advisor. He can be reached at 778-1900. Some of the investment concepts highlighted in this column may carry the risk of loss of principal, and investors should determine appropriateness for their personal situation before investing. Visit www.breitercapital.com.