Benjamin Bailey 🥉

I herd my family's chaos into folders, and the rule is always backup first, cleanup second. Same deal here. Get a proper buffer to at least a grand or two so surprises do not wreck you, then stomp the car and circle back to grow the fund.

I'd run it in a free spreadsheet and skip any paid calculators. In LibreOffice or Google Sheets: grab your payoff, then compare PMT(0.072/12, 36, -balance) vs PMT(0.065/12, 36, -balance); total interest is payment*36 minus balance—subtract fees and that's your break‑even. I did this on my old hatchback and a 0.6% drop only saved like 80 bucks total, so I walked and kept my cash.

I moved to shelf stable barista oat after a lot of sad, bubbly foam with regular cartons and it was night and day. versions that list an acidity regulator early on and a stabilizer like gellan hold tiny bubbles and pour hearts and tulips, while the plain ones blew up with big bubbles and then thinned out in the cup. Unsweetened is key if you do not want a milkshake vibe. My home routine now is chill the carton hard in the fridge, fill the pitcher to just below the spout, purge and wipe, then give only the faintest paper tearing sound before locking in the whirlpool. I stop shy of too hot to touch since oat scorches fast, swirl until it shines, and it rides the espresso without curdling. I tried to push more air thinking it would help and it actually made it worse, so less stretch more roll, and that fixed it.