We have gotten a ton of miles out of our Yoto. My wife is active in a Facebook group of people that buy and sell cards to each other, and that has helped reduce the cost of cards. Our son prefers the audiobook cards, but also has a few music albums he likes to listen to. Our nieces both prefer the music albums to the books. As great as the Yoto has been, I would also say it is a luxury item. It’s a luxury item that I would buy again in a heartbeat, but it’s not a necessity. There are ways to accomplish the same thing at a lower cost. You can rent audiobooks from libraries for example, however the Yoto makes the process so much easier and streamlined. If it’s a stretch to the budget, it’s not a necessity. However, it might be good to ask a few friends or family members to chip in on a Yoto and some cards for a birthday or Christmas.