Did you ever have a friend who just had the worst luck with this kind of thing? My buddy Mike tried a similar system but he kept messing up the 50% part because he lived in a pricey area and his rent was just too high. He'd always tell me "I got the savings part down but my needs are eating everything else up." He finally moved to a cheaper place across town, and honestly it was like a switch flipped for him. Now he's the one telling everyone to just be realistic about that 50% rule from the start, or you're setting yourself up for frustration. I think your point about autopilot savings is key too, Mike's problem was he'd forget to transfer the money on payday and then it was gone.

Ray was just trying to keep you from forging a third tong out of pure frustration... solid advice though, I've had plenty of "conversations" with steel that ended in me throwing it in the quench bucket.

Hit those truck stops in the boonies, same peace with a book and a thermos.

Oh man, I had to laugh reading this because I did the exact same thing! I was probably 150 briskets deep before I realized my cheap thermometer was off by almost 30 degrees. All that time I thought I was running 275 but it was really closer to 245. I kept wondering why some cooks took forever and others flew by. Makes me wonder how many other little things I've been missing without even knowing it.

Notice how the same principle applies to almost everything - cold tools grab better and hot ones just slide around and make a mess.