FWIW,
@Zikoris is welcome to criticize my spending whenever she wants. She's a personal inspiration to me as she's one of the only Mustachians out there in the media that I really relate to in terms of core lifestyle.
That's why I didn't mind expanding on my cooking routine, because I don't mind clarifying that I wasn't just casually brushing off a smart suggestion that she made.
I don't come here to have my spending decisions supported, I come here to have them challenged with useful information and creative alternative solutions.
Truthfully, knowing myself, I'll probably not buy any pot for months, try a few more permutations of cooking with what I already have to see if I can maneuver a better system. This kitchen is still new to me and I'm still learning her quirks.
Thanks to this thread, I now have a much better understanding of what I'm looking at in terms of high end vs budget enameled cast iron, and I'll let that info percolate for awhile until the answer seems obvious.
In the meantime, all suggestions and input are welcome, even those that are just people telling me that I'm imagining things, lol.