A term that I have commonly encountered when talking about finance with people here on and hive and discord is "Financial Freedom." Different people can have different definitions of what it means to them but the one that is common to most people is the "dream" to be able to buy whatever whenever one wants. This is a concept I personally dislike. It sure sounds fantastic, but to quote you it is becoming "fantasy and pipe dreams" at best.

You concept of "Financial efficiency" is something I liked very much compared to the concept of financial freedom. If we really think about it, these two concepts are not very different. Fine lines and all that!

but I'm saving gas money (at $65 a store run)

Outrageous, really!

I myself resort to delivery services quite a lot these days to save on the transportation cost and very often the delivery charges are usually "at least" 3 times cheaper.

$10 in author rewards a day

Where I live, that will be enough to live comfortably, all expenses included! Funny how the actual "value" of money changes from place to place eh?!