It depends on your budget OP but a used Switch lite might be in your price range if you don’t mind it being portable-only. I couldn’t afford the original Switch at first either and got a lite with the idea to upgrade later if I vibed with it once I had more cash. I ended up doing that as soon as I could!

That said, Nintendo e-shop sales are decent enough, but first party games rarely go on deep discount, so game price might also be something else to factor in. I’d plug a 3DS/New 3DS XL as a super viable alternative, since you can easily jailbreak it and download ROMs for the whole game library as well as a ton of Nintendo emulation (GB, GBC, GBA, original DS, etc.). I have a Switch and a Steam Deck but my trusty 3DSXL is still what I bring for my long commutes – it’s in my bag right now! It has so much to offer and is highly underrated these days IMO.