Remember that 55% number is probably before the lawyer's cut, so you might have walked with even less than half of what was on the table. Not saying you made the wrong call, but it's worth checking the breakdown on your settlement statement to see what fees came out. In my experience, a lot of folks focus on that headline percentage and miss the fine print on costs and expenses. Either way, paying rent and getting braces beats a bigger check three years from now if you can't actually wait for it.

Quarter cup of oil in pasta water? That's not cooking, that's a biohazard drill. I once put a tiny splash in and still ended up with my stove looking like a foam party, and I wasn't even wearing flip flops. Cold water rinse for me, every time, even if it makes the noodles a little sad. My kitchen can't handle another disaster that requires a mop and a hazmat suit.

Losing cash in the laundry is real though, that's why I only do it for the two categories I overspend on every single time. It's funny how we treat money differently when it's physical, like the $20 in your pocket feels more real than the $200 on a screen somehow. I've noticed people do this with everything, not just money, we value things we can touch and see way more than things that just exist as numbers or lists.