if TRMNL is too expensive, get a cheaper 3rd party option then:
1. flash our* OSS firmware (https://github.com/usetrmnl/trmnl-firmware) 2. spin up an OSS server client (https://docs.trmnl.com/go/diy/byos#implementations) 3. install the Home Assistant plugin (https://github.com/usetrmnl/trmnl-home-assistant)
no need to write any code or give TRMNL a penny, while still benefiting from a few years of deep dev in this area.
* i'm on the team