The prices seem kind of outrageously high to me, but I've played The Sims Mobile for a while without paying anything. It's definitely the mobile game model of Time vs Money for convenience.
You can earn in-game currencies like Sim Cash by just playing and doing quests and tasks, which you then use to speed up time or pay for things in the store like items and stuff. I think that's the currency they use to buy unlocks for stuff in the in-game store, so technically you can get all the stuff for free, it just takes ages to grind up that much Sim Cash. They hope people will be impatient enough to spend real money on buying sim cash or packs direct.
It's definitely reflected in the Roommate Rush event where you can unlock a new sim slot for free but there's no way you can complete the 100+ tasks in just 4 days unless you use speed boosts. But TAKE THIS EA, I'm just going to grind up Sim Cash for free over a long time and then use THAT to complete the event. I will get that third sim eventually!
