Why do you feel you need to "move fwd" ? Is your current machine slowing down ? Some clean up, maybe some more memory and a solid state disk (SSD) will turn it into a barn burner for half of your budget. I am typing on an 8 year old laptop that I performed the above steps on. It boots in about 30-45 seconds and is faster for "typical" taks than many new laptops.
If you are not "dead in the water", but still want a newer machine, I suggest you wait another 3-6 months. AMD (not Intel) has a new family of processors that are just hitting the streets. They are VERY "cost effective" and will give better performance for a similarly price Intel based machine (or you can spend less and get equivalent performance).
Windows 10 like lots of memory. 8Mb is an absolute minimum. Make sure the memory CAN be upgraded later (some of the very inexpensive models can not be). It will "blow your budget" but a M.2 SSD will make any laptop feel mike a rocket ship.
