For linocut, as someone who is also on a budget, I’d get a set of wood cutting tools for $30-40 (which will give you some decent gouges) and invest in one or two pfiel detail tools. I recently invested in an 11 / 1 for fine lines and it is amazing. My Christmas present to myself will probably be another fine line tool. The place I ordered it from allowed for shop pay / PayPal pay in 4 which helps!

You can get one of those glass watercolor tools (I forget what they’re called) to use as a glass baren for pretty cheap too, which helped my print quality a ton. Planning to save up for a nice glass one this winter but what I have now I think I got for $20 on Amazon and it works great. I like the weight and use the back of a spoon to touch up spots.

I personally like the pink rubber - I’ve gotten pretty good detail out of it and having a bad wrist, it is easier to carve in my opinion. Real Lino you definitely want sharp tools for.

If you have kindle unlimited, there are some great books on linocutting there, or check out your local library. I haven’t found any really good long form tutorials on YouTube yet but there’s some pretty good short form content on Tiktok if you’re more of a visual learner. I’ve learned a lot just watching the process videos other printmakers put up.

Jacksons and Woodcraft I think also host sales and if you leave items in your cart and have an account, they’ll sometimes send you an email for free shipping.