The thumb test works great but there is a catch with the 2019 Ski-Doo models specifically. Those clutches had a batch of softer springs from the factory that mask belt deflection changes. So using the gauge cold might show you need to tighten it up but the thumb test catches the real slack once everything warms up. Al from Ely might have saved you from burning up a belt that would have looked fine on paper.

Oh man, "lifesavers" is right. I fought with a big trowel on a tiny patch job last week and almost threw it out the window.

Target the envelope system to specific store aisles not just categories like @cole_patel41 does for snacks.

Read somewhere that cheap blenders have like a 50% failure rate with the lid after a year. The plastic gets brittle from the cold and the spinning. Personally I toss anything that already gave me a scare like that. The cleanup alone costs more time than a new blender is worth.

That idea that staying loyal just hurts your paycheck really hits home. I think the big thing people miss is that switching jobs forces you to renegotiate your value from scratch, while staying put just gets you a pat on the back. At my old place, I watched people who left come back two years later as managers making way more than me, and they said the same thing. The "long game" really only works if your company has a clear path for growth and actually follows through with raises that beat inflation. If you're getting 3% while rent goes up 8-10%, you're basically taking a pay cut each year. It might be worth checking what you could get elsewhere, even just to see if your loyalty has a real price tag attached.