amiibo scanners sell for about ~25 bucks on amazon. its a big commitment which is why i didn't have access to one until my friend bought one with an amazon giftcard for his birthday earlier this month lol. one figurine sells at stores for like $7-15, but you can order specific cards off of ebay or from people on the forums (in the amiibo trading card thread) for $1-$5 each. character cards can be scanned into your game, and you can pick and choose which villagers live in your town (you can even kick the villagers you don't want in your town out with the cards, and they leave the next day). if you want more RV's, there are RV cards and special NPC cards that bring people to your campsite.
if you have the means, i would recommend making the investment, however if you don't have the $ which is understandable i don't either, you could search the forums for people who offer RV visits. unfortunately instead of 3 MEOW coupons items will cost 5, but that's a good way to get cool new items! alternatively alternatively, you could order special items from forum shops with tbt. :^)