Yeah blake322, it's wild how that "convenience" tax adds up. I bet they bank on people feeling too tired to do the small stuff after work lol.

Oh man, preach. Tbh, I did the same thing with a water heater for a bathroom remodel last year. The spec sheet from the supplier said it was a certain gallon capacity and had the right connections. Showed up, and the physical unit's inlet was on the opposite side. Had to re-plumb half the wall. Cost me an extra day's labor and a bunch of new fittings. Learned that lesson the hard way.

Saw a piece about how some contractors actually do this, framing extra work as resolving past issues. They call it a "project completion fee" on the invoice. Makes you wonder how many people just pay it without asking questions.

Ugh, that's the worst. We got burned the same way. Now we run a quick green compression test on a sample before we even unload the truck.

That "napkin budget" moment hits so hard. The cash envelope thing is legit the only way I can control my impulse buys now.