Read somewhere that a tool that cuts a regular cost pays for itself, so that waffle iron counts as a win in my book.

Wait, that jump from $110 to a flat $100 is barely any savings, so is it really the money that changed your trips or is it more that swiping a card every time made you feel the cost in your gut? Like with the pass it becomes a sunk cost you already swallowed, so the next ride feels free. I wonder if you had a pass that was the same price as what you were spending, would you still ride more? That would tell you if it's the prepaying itself or just the fact that you stopped noticing each $2.75.

That line about dumping in 380 grams when you thought it was 300 is wild because the scale number is the easy part. The sneaky one is your water temp dropping while you're busy staring at the scale. A gooseneck kettle loses heat the whole time you pour, so if your brews run long the water hitting the bed is cooler than you'd guess, maybe 10 or 15 degrees below where it started. That alone can push a cup sour or flat even when your ratio is perfect. Try sticking a cheap thermometer in the kettle right before you pour and again at the end. Easy to check and it costs nothing.