Comment by rhesa
Under $100: A carbon steel wok, along with a Youtube subscription to Chinese Cooking Demystified and to Souped-up Recipes. I always liked cooking, but this has increased my enjoyment 100x. My kids love stir fry, and they eat a lot more veggies this way.
Under $1000: A Kino hand grinder and a Cafelat Robot manual espresso maker. Bought this at the start of lockdowns as a gimmick, but I'm actually using this several times a day. Found an excellent roaster locally, but even store-bought beans taste pretty good this way.