I went through my own *getting into woodworking* phase about 5 years ago. I started in almost exactly the same place where you are right now. I didn't have anything really but I wanted to build a bed for my son. I had very little space at the time.

My Original Purchases were:

1/ Bosch job site table saw with gravity base ($500-ish)
2/ Dewalt 735 Planer with base table and outfield tables ($700?)
3/ Porter Cable 693 plunge router ($350?)
4/ Festool Domino XL ($1250). It makes doing quality joinery a reality. I wanted to make a bed that I was proud of and that would last. Was totally with it.
5/ Festool knockdown hardware kit ($400) Build beds that can be knocked down/taken apart for transport or storage. Awesome.

Anyway, I made the bed for my son and it was awesome. It came out so well that someone will be sleeping in that bed in 200 years. It was awesome to be able to create a REAL piece of furniture, not something that will only last 20 years. It really is a forever bed.

Unfortunately, the results were so good it lit a fire in me lol. Since then I built a heated and cooled 1100 SF shop with 10' ceilings, heated floors, and AC ($ a lot), bought a Felder/Hammer sliding table saw combination machine with shaper, jointer, planer, saw ($13k), got an 18" Laguna Bandsaw ($2k), got a full shop dust collector from Clearview and 6" piping ($3.5k), and bought just about every tool Festool makes ($a shite-ton). But to be clear, I made that first bed with less than a $3500 investment. It can be done but making anything with that kind of kit takes 5x longer to complete competently. If you just want to get into it and see if you like it (which I totally recommend) then you can make really good stuff.

The good news after all of the expense is that anything I make now will be around for a really long time. I got started because I wanted to make things that my great grandchildren would sleep on / use and I have made so many things that both make me proud and I know will be around for a really long time that I feel like it is totally worth it. They will be antiques in 200 years with other people enjoying them. I love that.

So, if my budget limited me to ONE TOOL that would make creating real furniture accessible (and I had a tablesaw already) it would definitely be the Festool Domino. Being able to do quality joinery is everything to making things that you are proud of making.

Anyway, be careful lol. Your $2k idea can turn into a $200k obsession. For me, making things that can be passed down and used for many generations is worth every penny. I don't even care about the costs anymore but am also now done in needing anything; I can make literally anything to a really high standard and I love it. My tools work for me. It is so gratifying. Good luck. Making furniture is such a gratifying experience.

This post was edited on 7/16/20 at 8:58 pm