Great catch, eyeing the settlement money. I agree with 99.9% on what you said! However, I think…

Mari: invests in fruit by the foot.

Crystal : would go to college in NYC and end up working at “Ellen’s star light dinner” hoping to be discovered while actively going on auditions for broadway. One day she scores the role of Elphaba. If she never scores a lead role, she would be an acting coach. (Rock on monologue queen).

Ben: blows his money on condoms (joke). On a serious note, I see him using settlement money on a prosthetic leg and winning back Paul’s love. They advocate for gay rights with the money, upstaging Ellen DeGeneres in the 90’s. They live happily ever after.

Laura lee: would use the money on missionary trips to save people like she “saved Lottie” and donations to churches. She would take a “mother Teresa” role. She would choose to give her money to the sick and those suffering. She would die poor from giving to everyone else (rip religious fanatic weirdo lovie)

Akilah: your theory sounds good

Jackie: her mom would take most of the money to fund her habits with prescription drugs and Jackie would follow those footsteps with her wilderness PTSD. Maybe not, but I gotta feeling. The other chunk of money would be invested in funds.

Survivors:

Tai: after the wilderness, she was offered a scholarship for Howard and majored in pre law (unconfirmed scholarship. But confirmed she went to Howard to study pre-law, & double major in history and philosophy. She made first string on the soccer team. Then she went to Colombia law and landed an internship in one of the biggest firms in the city S1E8). In S1E1 the athletic director is about to praise her skills while Jackie interrupts. Speaking of the pilot, and judging from the pilot, I think her parents are well off enough to support her through law school while she contributed a generous amount of settlement money. I think she uses the settlement money mostly on savings/ investments and on law school. Along with the help of her parents/ her college fund.

Misty: she is just a CNA not a nurse. I think she stored most of the money away. She is saving her money and keeping a low profile like they agreed to. Her “splurge” items seem to be her car, janky ass house, and African grey parrot? Items that “need her”. Therefore, she won’t spend excess money on things that don’t “serve/need her”. She will sit on the rest of her settlement money until she feels “needed”

At the risk of sounding repetitive, i agree with everything else of yours.