Possibly you had everything connected to the receiver and then the tape rec out going into the cassette input and from the cassette tape out back to the receiver tape input. Edit - sorry with the EQ between that last connection

Presliced cheese is typically more expensive than block. Alfredo is cheap to make from scratch. The instant Mac that comes in the microwavable bowls are like 2.5x the price per ounce of the ones that are just packets.

It helps me to prepare things like my clothes I’m going to wear the night before. Then just get into a routine and it won’t matter it takes you a while to wake up fully, you’ll just get ready on autopilot.