If you really looking to get into the series, I would acutally recommend Yakuza 0 to you.

It is a prequel to the whole story that was released for the ps4 a while ago and it gives you a nice starting point to get into all those stories and characters and their relationship with each other ^^

Yeah, I feel you.. I have the pleasure of playing games together with my husband which saves at least a little bit of money and we can enjoy the experience together.

But I hope you can get your hands on one of the Yakuza games on day ^^

Or maybe try looking at some let's plays, maybe there are some on Youtube :3