I'm pretty glad I got myself a Pi 4 for the normal price when it was relatively fresh on the market. I'm tempted to try and get a Pi 5 to replace it and use the Pi 4 for something else at some point. I'm not sure what that might be though, and I feel like the expected scarcity is what even makes me consider it at all. I use my Pi 4 for Kodi on my trusty dumb TV and have recently put my old 3B+ to use for my 3D printer. I'm now left with no spare Pi for whatever might arise.
Might as well add some picos to scratch that itch.
And the rabbit hole that micro controllers bring.... next thing you know, your work desk is also a solder station, a hot air station, PCB design, circuit design, and you've got two extra diy printers in various state of being built/rebuilt
I started out the same way and now my desk is cluttered with partially completed projects and devices in various states of taken apart. But for me the fun part is learning something new along the project journey. The microcontrollers were a game changer due to their low cost. I'm not trying to fry them, but hey if I screw up who cares it was a couple bucks anyways.
For circuits I design I've mostly been having them created overseas and I'll solder on the components but I'm really curious about hacking a toaster into a refry oven or whatever their called and soldering surface mount components. Not that I need the small form factor or I'm making enough circuits to warrant trying to save on cost, I'm just curious and want to try haha. Gonna need a bigger desk...
Honestly, get the flux and a hot air station instead, imo. Then again, I prefer being able to have control over where the heat is going instead of reflowing everything at once
I have pre-ordered one for delivery in October.
If you look at https://rpilocator.com/ you will find various models in stock at the official price.
The Raspberry Pi clearly isn't the tool for you