Hide that fee in the fine print or ask them to waive it.

Tbh same thing happened to me with a grinder, now I'm super paranoid.

Margareth is close but not quite right with that one. Stale bread works way better for croutons if you dry it in the oven, not just toast it. Toasting makes them too hard on the outside and soft in the middle, uneven crunch. Oven dried at 375 gets them all the way through crispy and they hold up longer in salads. Tortillas in the microwave trick is smart though, saves a trip to the store.

Bought a "kaleidoscope" brush pack once thinking it'd make my art look magical, then realized I was just drawing the same squiggly lines over and over by accident.

You mentioned you sat there for 'an extra 20 minutes while everyone else boarded' - just a heads up, Priority Boarding usually loads before general boarding, so the 20 minutes after you sit down is just normal waiting time before the door closes and pushback. The real win is getting your bag in the bin and not having to check it, which saves you a hassle at the gate if the flight is full. If overhead space isn't tight on your route, then yeah, $40 feels like you're paying to be bored at your seat instead of the bar.