The cost of the laptop is displayed in a mouseover (hover over) if you leave your mouse on the items for like 0.5 of a second.. (not sure if that is too much grind for u?)
The Paper round is by far not the only way to earn money.. and you should have been given enough money at the start of the game to buy the mobile phone (during the intro quest).
If the player had all the stats needed at the start of the game then why have stats ? and then we are back to being a visual novel, where the player is just taken through a series of "next"s from start to finish.
There are many many (good) games on here that are more like that.. This game is not trying to be like that..
However, I am improving the grind, and making it more purposeful and enjoyable.. This I would hope has improved from early versions, but is not completely where I want it to be for all stats yet.
So I dont completely disagree with your comment that there is too much grind...
I will mention that patreons do start with some boosted stats as one of their perks.. again that is not for everyone and thats fine.. but for people who want a leg up, there is that option..
Hopefully I have been able to explain a little about what the game is / trying to be.. and help...
Thanks for your comments