I think the persuasion skill is really useful through out the gameplay, espacially at the beginning. you can gain time and save ammo. Security and wealth were useful to have. A point in boost pack is fun too. I did not invest in exploring or crafting since I didn’t engage much in them. Later, investing in pure DPS was profitable too (ballisitc/energy, pistol/rifle, etc). If ship building is your thing, piloting and ship design later on is also nice.
Consumables can be handy if you know a big persuasion is coming. I just check how many “points” it takes too convince the npc and don’t take any unnecessary risks. I’ve done a quest line pretty early on that unlock me the manipulation skill early. It gives you an additionnal choice sometimes with safe-ish big points. There’s also a skill to unlock the choice to bribe I think. didn’t invest in it (i want money!) but it is still a possibility.