Quick answer
The short route
For a clean noob-to-pro start, finish one normal leaf-clearing cycle before spending, redeem only the two currently reported exact-game codes, and time a repeatable one-minute route. Spend next on the bottleneck you can see: clearing speed, collection range, carrying capacity, the sell trip or access to the next area. Treat the Shed, rake, leaf blower, Fountain of Rebirth and Secret Star routes as dated public leads unless your current server shows the same prompt.