Oh I experience stuff like that on a very frequent occasion. So does a friend of mine. I have definitely had dreams confused with memories. The most frustrating ones are dreams in which I gain money... and I wake up still broke. lol

I've learned tricks though to figure out if something is/was a dream. However it takes practice to end up questioning a dream while still dreaming. If in the dream you try to change the light levels (i.e. flicking a light switch), the light level won't change. If the light is on, when you try to turn it off it should stay on in a dream.

Also often in dreams things can be out of proportion.. Or if you're reading something, look away, and go back to reading.. The words can have changed. Eventually you might find something unique to your dreams in particular. Like... wearing red shoes everytime when you don't own any red shoes.

Good luck! lol, there should be a club for people with realistic, life-confusing dreams.