Patricia Evans

Co-signing the zinc frosting - pick a fragrance-free 20–40% zinc oxide paste with a short ingredient list and reapply at every change extra thick at night. If you want more natural, use a beeswax or shea butter balm (or lanolin) as the topcoat instead of petrolatum, and skip essential oils or heavy botanicals; patch test since sensitive skin can react. Also, don’t scrub the paste off each time - lift only the soiled bits, leave the rest, and add some diaper-free air plus unscented wipes/diapers.

I like your 3F plus replacement rule; to cut thinking even more set hard caps by category and pick favorites first - keep the best 5 tees, 2 mugs, 1 backup cable, and the rest auto-exits. For maybes, seal the box and write the date on the tape; don’t reopen it - if you haven’t broken the seal in 30 days, it goes which, yeah if you’re in a small town, allow one tiny “scarce items” exemption for things that are genuinely hard to replace, but everything else follows the cap.

With gig work, you're screwed if you don't plan for the lean months. Budget based on your worst-case income, cover rent and food first, then force yourself to save 10% of whatever's left and no excuses. Most people fail because they splurge on good months and don't be that idiot.

Proportional splits sound fair until reality boots them in the shins.

Costs are high; avoid them: no annual fee, no setup fees, no monthly fees. Prefer cards that graduate, report to all three bureaus, and have 0 dollar fraud liability and a 21-25 day grace period. Minimum redemption 1 dollar or less; foreign transaction fee 0 percent if possible.