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Right now, zero (I'm at  college, and they frown upon soldering irons in the dorms....). When I'm home, I don't tend to spend a lot (maybe $20 per month)  because I build more circuits than I box.

Biggest secret in short is a compressor and a lot of power. I've found on bass, the more power you have the clearer your tone. Doesn't have to be loud, just a lot of watts into a speaker that can handle it.

I agree with the compressor. I don't really consider a compressor to be an  effect  as much as a necessity on bass (I never turn mine off).
Finding a good compressor has been tricky. I'm using Mictester from FSB's Really Cheap Bass Compressor. It's perfect for slap, but the attack envelope is all wrong for fast fingerstyle stuff.  I used to use a BYOC 2-knob comp, which was too noisy and seemed to suck lows and highs out.

My secret's my amp rig (on bass). 1986 Gallien-Kreuger 400RB into a Hartke 4x10 of about the same vintage. The vintage Hartke cabinet has 60 watt aluminum cone drivers (as opposed to 100 watt drivers in the newer cabs). You get the most incredible midrange snarl.