Recommendations for small purchases that nobody talks about [v5]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Quick context: I am relatively new to this and trying to find my footing.

There is a lot of conflicting advice online and most of it is from 2019. Quick context: I am relatively new to this and trying to find my footing.

Looking for honest feedback, not validation. Not sure if this is the right place to ask, mods please remove if it is not.