I think the budget play is to get a cheap refillable fountain pen and some cheap fountain pen ink (I bought some Diamine bottled ink about 10 years ago and I've still got plenty left).

More expensive fountain pens are indeed luxury products - replicas are often available on places like aliexpress.

I think it probably feels like bullshit if you don't think you'll gain any satisfaction or derive any pleasure from the act of writing or the aesthetics of your writing instrument.

I'd been using the much cheaper Lamy Al Star (admittedly also a step up from the plastic Lamy Safari) for a while, and I really liked the feel of them. To be honest, I kind of just wanted a nicer version of that, and the 2000 did not disappoint.

The nib feels much, smoother. Mine is fairly wet without excessively showing through low quality paper. The refilling mechanism is a lot nicer than the cartridge-pump I'd been using on the Al Star.

Is it better? Yeah, but it's not 10x better than the Al Star which is what the price would suggest. So it is definitely a luxury product from that point of view.

Ever buy yourself something nice that you use often? A nice belt, a nice comb, or a nice razor? A nice kitchen knife arguably does the same job as a cheap Walmart special.

Sometimes it's nice to splurge on high quality items - especially when you use them every day, like a pen. It's a little thing, but it brings pleasure every time you use it.

Not everything is about cost efficiency. You'll never regret buying quality.