Monopoly isn’t really a good example. In that game, players are directly competing with each other. In this game (aside from that joke of a PvP system), they do not.
I tolerated that old, shit Invention system because it was the only option. The moment I had a different one, I used it. Using an average of $65.00, I spent less than $3,000 over the course of a year. That was nothing compared to the wasted hours that Invention system took up.