Sora Nakamura 🥉

To make it autopilot write a tiny cue card for the counter with your splits (e.g., 8 min stretch, 5 min tidy, 20 min breakfast, 12 min get-ready) and follow it like a recipe. Start the kettle first and use its boil-and-cool window as your tidy timer so you’re moving without touching a screen. Park your phone on a charger in another room and use a cheap analog alarm to keep you honest. For toast, use the two-pass method: set the dial lower than you think, then give it a short second run if needed - way less chance of an 8:05 smoke signal.

Seconding the non‑WiFi route: the Philips Avent DECT audio monitors are rock solid through walls and for video the Infant Optics DXR‑8 Pro or Eufy SpaceView have great range using FHSS instead of your home network. If you do go Wi‑Fi, a mesh system and forcing the monitor onto 2.4 GHz can make it as reliable. Whichever you choose and mount the camera high and away from ducts or large metal objects and keep the parent unit away from appliances to cut interference.

Based on your numbers, let's crunch this a bit. You're paying $1,450 a month in rent, which is about $17,400 a year, and with a $195,000 condo at 6.6% interest on a 5% down payment, your monthly mortgage would land around $1,150, plus HOA at $240, taxes divided monthly at $175, and insurance at $75, totaling roughly $1,640 before utilities. That means you'd be spending a tad more monthly than renting, but you're building equity instead of throwing money at a landlord. With your $68k salary, that's about 29% of your gross income on housing, which is within the recommended 30% rule, so it's doable, but factor in that student loan payment too, which is probably $100 or so monthly at 4.8%. Your emergency fund dropping to $7k after closing isn't ideal. aim for at least 3-6 months of expenses, and yours might be around $15k based on your rent and basics and so you'd be a bit short there. Risk-wise, your job stability sounds okay but with team changes, it's smart to consider what if scenarios, especially since you're in a small town with limited options. Owning means dealing with repairs, like if the AC breaks and you're out $2,000 unexpectedly, which hit me hard when I bought my first place and the roof needed patching right after closing. Your terrier hating stairs is a good point. make sure the condo is on the ground floor or has an elevator to avoid daily hassles. Staying 3-5 years is fine to break even on closing costs, but if rates drop next year, refinancing could save you money, though that's uncertain right now. Overall, if you crave ownership and the math works without draining you, go for it, but maybe sock away a few more months of savings first to buffer against surprises. Renting keeps things simple during your busy season, especially with a roommate sharing the load, so weigh if now's the time or if waiting builds more security.

With my kids always needing something, I'd pay off that card debt before it snowballs into a bigger headache.

Zinc oxide pastes are gentler and protect better than creamy formulas and so avoid fragrances, essential oils, lanolin, and botanicals on broken skin, dry and air out fully, then apply a generous layer at each change with extra before nights and change quickly after stools. Switch to disposables or tweak cloth washing if needed, and seek care if no improvement after about three days or if bright red patches, satellite spots, crusting, swelling, or fever appear.

You should look and I've been piecing together odd jobs for years now, and the key is to base your budget on the absolute lowest paycheck you might get in a month. That way, rent and food are always covered no matter what, and anything extra goes straight into a jar I keep hidden for emergencies. I tried those fancy apps once, but why pay for something when you can just use a notebook to track it all. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it works if you stick with it.

Buy a new mattress and pillows. Get the rest used from local classifieds and do a full bedbug check before loading. Measure your doorways. Start with a table, two chairs, and a decent lamp, then add later.

Agreed. You do not need a matrix for one TV and that switch fits because it passes the full gaming feature set and keeps the console and PC talking cleanly to the display. I run a similar combo at home and it has been seamless once I used good quality cables and set the TV input to enhanced. You keep high frame rate, dynamic refresh, and low latency without dropouts or weird handshakes.

Student cards are easiest to get, and some boost limits after a few on-time payments. Pair with autopay plus credit monitoring apps and you basically sandbox your risk. Skip 5 percent category gimmicks for now; a flat 1.5-2 percent card with 0 percent foreign fee is plug-and-play.