How often do you upgrade your turntable?

I changed from my AR ES-1 after 30 years. During that time I tricked it out with almost every improvement ever made for it, but as the rest of my system gradually improved over that length of time the day came when I felt like it was time to move on to something that could improve on one or two small areas and give me a bit more flexibility. It otherwise is still a pretty darn good sounding table.

I have been upgrading every few years but since I got my VPI Aries 3x3 I will be set for life.

I used an entry-level turntable for almost 30 years before I replaced it with a (better) entry-level turntable. And then I upgraded turntables twice in 5 years. For the first 30 years I was a real vinyl cheapskate and wouldn't spend the money on a new turntable. I upgraded the speakers several times and upgraded the amplifier, but never the turntable.

I came to realize that the turntable (and the cartridges I used) had been limiting the quality of sound I was getting from my stereo; that is, the vinyl setup wasn't in the same category as the rest of the system. So after replacing the first turntable, and enjoying the sound from the improved entry-level turntable, I decided to find out what was possible from vinyl. I bought a turntable and a decent cartridge that was a few steps up from the entry-level setup. Wow, what a difference. And then I bought a decent phono preamplifier. Now we're talkin' great sound! I couldn't believe how much better the whole system sounded. I finally got it;

I listened to that setup for a few years and then I made some extra cash one summer (working lots of overtime) and

... bought a good vinyl setup that I'll probably keep for as long as my first entry-level turntable.

Regards,
Tom

I too don't plan to upgrade my Nottingham Spacedeck any time soon, and unless I am ready to go over $10k or so I would only upgrade to another Nottingham.
Theoretically speaking, if I had , say, $3000 for upgrades right now, what would I do? Would I upgrade the table, the arm plus cartridge, cartridge plus phono or integrated amp?
That would be tough. Probably either cartridge plus phono or the amp, also depending on opportunity.