Overrated small purchases [v3]

There is a lot of conflicting advice online and most of it is from 2019. I tried three different approaches and none of them felt quite right.

Quick context: I am relatively new to this and trying to find my footing. I tried three different approaches and none of them felt quite right. Been thinking about this for a while and curious what the community thinks.

Quick context: I am relatively new to this and trying to find my footing.