I think (for what its worth) that it depends to a large extent on your field of endeavour.

To make my music. I've used about seventy different guitars over the last 60 years; microphones; PA systems; recording studios, etc.

And that doesn't just apply to pop/contemporary stuff, I've never spent as much on a guitar as my concertina squeezing mates spend on Wheatstones and Anglo's.

Its a personal sort of thing. You don't decide. The music decides what you need to make it. And that decides what you need to do to afford it.