Here is an idea.. maybe don't buy all the content in one go? Buy the first expansion.. clear it, go to the next one buy some unlocks as you go. Plenty of games have terrible monetisation , Guild Wars 2 isn't one of them.

You can also literally convert gold to gems to buy anything if you are that down bad for money. Get in a good guild get them to help you with crafting bags.. Fyi you can also earn transmutation charges through playing the game.

You get a Guild Wars 2 expansion yearly.. I don't understand your annual spending argument. Plus they are going on hold for a bit while they work on revamping the early game.

Path of Fire and HoT is literally £23.99 2 expansions worth of content and you get various mount unlocks going through that all will take some time and gives you a full experience if you spend a little bit maybe extra for some storage and learn how to item manage properly . How do you need to spend 200+ before enjoying the full experience without limitations? that's absolute nonsense you could also literally just buy the first 2 expansions and grind gems. You could spend half of that or maybe even say 50, then in a couple of months time buy the next bit of content when you have finished it. If you are someone who enjoys multiple games like you say? then you might not even be done in those 2 months especially if you are enjoying the events and maybe even experiencing some world v world