ELIF: What do you do for fall/spring coats?

I'm starting from scratch, as I have no coats that fit beyond my winter down puffer. Every time I try to figure out what coat to buy for the upcoming season, I end up paralyzed by how many options there are. At this point, I'm starting to feel like an alien who doesn't know what a coat actually is 😅 👽

So, I've come to you guys looking for a starter guide. What do you do for spring and fall coats? What exactly are all of my options? What are your pieces, what scenarios do you use them in, and what was your thought process for getting them?

If you were starting from scratch like me and had a mid-tier budget (want something decent quality, but with size fluctuations from health stuff I'm not comfortable spending $300 on one piece right now), how would you go about choosing?

Some more specific questions - Do you have one or multiple? - If multiple: How do you decide which one to wear? What's the minimum number of coats one person needs (not counting snow weather coats)? - What materials do you lean towards? - If your default isn't a rain coat, how do you deal with rain? (Umbrella, have a rain coat you swap to, tough it out?) - Temperature vs jacket style and material? How does that work? - I'd especially like to hear how you handle temperature and rain if you're someone who (like me) is very bad about checking the weather before you leave - Where do you look for decent quality that isn't insanely expensive? (Outside of thrift stores, obviously-- thrifting is hard enough for me already and looking without knowing what I want has been rough)

Happy to give more info about me/my climate/my style in the comments if you want to offer specific suggestions, I'm just not sure what was allowed here vs daily questions thread.