Nice, Marty. Your commuter is a lot fancier than mine ;-)
My former commuter and current town/errands bike, bought 10 years ago in a clearout sale for $400. I think in those 10 years I spent about another $400 on wearables (tires, brake pads, chain, etc.), plus maybe $100? for the rack and fenders.
I enjoy riding it around town and on the occasional recreational ride to the lake or something like that. Panaracer semi slicks are nice for most surfaces I come across. Lots of little shortcut gravel and forest trails in the area to make an errand ride more interesting. I've taken the bike on some proper rooty singletrack too which was doable but not that enjoyable.
The drivetrain is Alivio (I think) with the cheapest 8 speed chain and cassette I could find. The 3X front derailleur is more or less rusted in place so effectively it's 1x8. Needless to say the "suspension" fork is a joke. None of it matters because the bike rides fine as it is.