About half of that cost ($40) is the 5 breadboards needed to connect the circuit together. Building it on something more permanent like veroboard would cut that cost down significantly.
If the purpose of the project is learning and experimentation, then there's not much to recommend veroboard. I have to think so carefully about how to place components, where to cut tracks to make connections, how best to route jumpers, etc. and after all that, it's difficult to change things when debugging or just to tinker.
Breadboards offer a huge amount of flexibility over veroboard, at the expense of size and permanence.
Breadboards offer a huge amount of flexibility over veroboard, at the expense of size and permanence.