I believe it is where I am too, 36+ is full-time for benefits requirements. Apparently the insurance company asked my employer to please make sure I was working at least 36hrs a week, because for a month or so I was only getting to 32.

I agree, that was basically tapping. Still inappropriate but not like, damaging.

I feel like you’ll end up having to pick some compromises, or spend a lot of money. I think your best bet would be a desktop PC that has a bit more punch for less money than a laptop would be, and then also buy a laptop for your actual laptop needs, if you can find used options you might come in at budget. A laptop with integrated graphics can handle some games, you probably need to pick non-graphic intense games for gaming on the go.

There are some new laptops coming out from Qualcomm that have a Snapdragon X, and they are not as versatile or powerful as Intel or AMD, but they are incredibly power efficient and cheaper. (They are new so we’ll see how that pans out )

$1000 is not enough IMO for a catchall laptop with a modern GPU, AI capable, power efficient, repairable, and lightweight. A 800$ desktop and a $200 laptop/Chromebook/used thinkpad and SSD can probably cover your real use case of school laptop and also gaming/AI at home.

I wouldn’t buy a printer to try and be profitable per say, I would buy one for the things you cant/don’t want to buy. If you can use some 3d modeling software, you can begin to solve problems for almost no money.

Stuff like a vape holder and extended cup holder for my partners car, or a couple little shelf brackets for our IKEA cubes, or replacement closet rod supports. It takes a few minutes in CAD, a couple hours or printing, and 15¢ of plastic, and saves a trip to the store. Making custom, exactly how you want stuff is really nice.

Knick nacks are fun too, but ultimately your house will fill with things you don’t particularly want or use.

I’ve seen brass colored on some older plugs.