First Stock Series: What will I buy with $3000?

I decided to start a new series called "What will Ï buy with $3000?" The plan is that every month, I will pick 5 stocks (ball park) that I will consider buying with $3000. This is to cater to my friends who have about 10-20k of savings and would like to start investing. Don't ever showhand in one transaction... please. $3000 is a reasonable amount for 1 transaction so as not to overpay the commission charges to the brokerages.

While reading blogs, I also find it difficult for a person to pick the first stock. Of course, it can be as brainless as buying Singtel. If it's a stock review, it's a rather in-depth analysis, else it will be a show and tell about how much the writer has earned from a certain stock. I thought that one approach is to help the person focus on a few stocks to study first, hence I decided to write a First Stock Series.

I am merely documenting my thought processes as I am also on a constant lookout every day for value-for-money buys.

The writer owns shares in Singtel.