Bad point... it's addictive!
Maybe look at getting something more powerful than a pi or perhaps run a pi with an SSD?
I use Node Red for most of my automations, although the ease of HA automations have come on a long way since I started.
You can keep stuff local by using zigbee or wifi devices flashed to tasmota etc.
You may wish to factor in the cost of Nabu Casa if you want to use the mobile app when out and link devices to google / alexa. There are free ways to accomplish this but Nabu Casa is easy ($5 a month ish)
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