William Brown 🥉

Keep it simple. Student grade with medium body, 12 to that model colors, and larger tubes for the workhorses like white will serve you well. Look for pigment names and lightfast info in the photos and skim recent reviews for notes about tubes arriving gummy or drying in the cap. If multiple people mention that, skip it. Otherwise you will be fine in the 20 to 30 range and can upgrade later once you know what you burn through. Works great.

Hey Sami. Buzzing and weak cooling usually point to airflow or defrost issues, not just dirty coils. Do a quick reset test before buying parts. Pull the fridge out, make sure there is a couple inches of space behind it, set temps to mid, and listen to where the buzz comes from. The condenser fan is behind the lower back panel near the compressor and should spin freely and run when the compressor runs. Inside the freezer, look for a sheet of frost on the back wall which means the evaporator is iced over and airflow to the fridge is blocked. Unplug the fridge and prop the doors open to fully defrost for 12 to 24 hours with towels down. If it cools normally again for a few days then warms up, the defrost system is the culprit. If your fridge is Frigidaire, Electrolux, or Kenmore, the Defrost thermostat is a common fix because when that thermostat fails the coil ices up and the fan can buzz against ice. It is a two pack and is made to fit those brands, and it simply clips to the evaporator with two wires. If the manual defrost does not help or you have another brand, check the compressor start relay next. Unplug the fridge, pull the little plug on the side of the compressor, and if the relay rattles when shaken or looks burnt, replace it. Also make sure the evaporator fan in the freezer spins quietly and freely once defrosted. Level the fridge so it does not vibrate, keep food from blocking the rear vents, and give the condenser fan a thorough clean so it can move air. These steps usually get an older fridge stable again without a big spend.

I want it to be easy money, but banks love gotchas. My last bonus took five months and two phone calls, and they tried to ding me for a fee because a transfer posted a day late. Expect a 1099-INT next year, so the $400 becomes something like $300 after taxes plus whatever your $1,500 could have earned elsewhere. If you do it, set an automatic transfer to keep a $100 cushion & keep screenshots of the offer and chat logs, and write the exact payout date on your calendar. Worth it once in a while, but if you stack a few at once you'll run into ChexSystems delays or frozen accounts and it stops being fun.

With variable freelance income, set your emergency fund as months of bare bones expenses, not a fixed dollar tied to your average spending. Bare bones means rent, utilities, groceries, insurance, phone, transit, and basic healthcare while cutting dining, travel, and extras. Long term, aim for six months of bare bones because your income can dip, but make it bite sized with milestones of one month, then three, then six. With rent already 40 percent of your average income, your bare bones number will be heavy on housing, so one month of bare bones is a realistic first target. Here is a simple ramp that keeps cash flow calm. Open two savings buckets in a high yield account, one called Income Buffer and one called Emergency Fund. Calculate your last 12 months of net income and pick a conservative monthly paycheck equal to about 80 to 85 percent of that average. Send all client payments to the buffer and pay yourself that fixed paycheck on the first of each month to smooth swings. Build the buffer to one month of that paycheck first, then send overflow to the emergency fund until you hit one month of bare bones, then keep going toward three and six. To avoid straining good months, skim 10 percent off every deposit automatically and also sweep 50 percent of any month above your paycheck into savings while leaving the rest for living. Keep taxes and predictable big bills in separate sinking funds so you are not raiding the emergency fund for known expenses. Once you reach three months of bare bones, you can pause and reassess based on how steady your clients are and how quickly you could replace work.

If you want a shelf stable oat that actually microfoams on a basic steam wand, go for Califia. It stretches evenly into fine, glossy foam that holds latte art and it stays stable in espresso instead of breaking. The taste is balanced and not overly sweet because it is unsweetened, and the 32 oz shelf stable cartons are easy to keep on hand. A couple of dialing tips that help at home. Start with milk straight from the fridge, keep the tip just kissing the surface for a few seconds to add a little air, then sink the tip and create a whirlpool. Stop around hot to the touch which is roughly 140 to 150 F to avoid splitting. Swirl and tap before you pour, and pull the shot right before steaming so the crema does not get more acidic.