I actually love using Falstad, it's fairly simple which is great because usually I just want to look at the ideal behavior of things to get the circuit working before I worry about the exact characteristics of every part.

This link will take you to that crosspoint switch demo. https://tinyurl.com/yr34sym6

https://wokwi.com/ is great for simple, digital only stuff.

https://fritzing.org/ will kind of lay out the PCB for you, but it's kind of a pain in the ass.

Wokwi and Fritzing are more "Breadboard Simulators" than real circuit simulators, but they do have their place.

I don't have a simulation software recommendation, though /u/type0 might.

I would recommend just using an "expensive" prototype board, that costs maybe $20 USD, instead of over that costs $4. There are different levels of quality with regard to the little clips that grip the wires and components.

The wires are really the least problem in experimenting with electronics.