- I would definately buy a new lead asap, the standard lead you get in the Squire set is very very low quality and I would be surprised if it lasts you more than a month or so any way. I've found that when buying leads you get what you pay for, for years I would buy cheap leads which would break after a couple of months. I've now invested in a decent set of the gold plated vacuum sealed ones and they have lasted very very very well, and they didnt really cost that much.
- Invest in a decent set of strings, the ones I got on my Squire years back were pretty awful and getting a new set made a vast difference. I myself prefer Ernie Balls but try some different makes until you find some that suit you.
- Buy a Gelwinder (a device for quickly winding strings). You can buy these in the UK for about £1.50 which is about $1 and save you so much time and sore fingers when you are actually restringing your guitar.
- Try out some different picks as well, I'm pretty sure you only get the standard Fender Medium Gauge picks with the Strat set so you might want to go to your local music shop and try some other shapes/thicknesses/materials to see if there are any others you prefer.
All these bits and pieces shouldnt cost you more than £30 ($25) at the very most.
In my experience Squire guitars range vastly in quality, some can be utter crap (going out of tune instantly etc) however one I've got will stay in tune for weeks despite alot of playing. If you are happy with your Squire then simply buying some low cost but decent pickups (i.e. Kent Armstrong ones etc) will only cost you around the £35 pounds mark and will add a lease of life to your instrument. There are alot of good websites around which will show you how to change pickups (in fact this months issue of Total Guitar has a feature article on how to do it!) Dont feel you have to spend vast amounts on your equipment as long as you feel comfortable playing the guitar and it sounds ok I wouldnt be re-mortgaging your house for the latest stuff!
Hope thats useful
Neal
