How weekend plans that changed my mind [v3]

For context, I am working with a pretty modest budget so high-end suggestions probably will not land. 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. Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I tried three different approaches and none of them felt quite right. There is a lot of conflicting advice online and most of it is from 2019. This came up at a meetup recently and the room was split, so curious what the broader community thinks.