I do not have a Cricut. I have a Silhouette Cameo 3. My sister, does however have both a Cricut and a Silhouette and pointed me in the direction of the Cameo as the design software that comes free allows for free design. I can take literally any JPG and convert it a cut file as well as use fonts from free online sources versus playing for them in the Silhouette shop.
What do I use it for? Practically everything. I used heat transfer vinyl (HTV) to cut custom iron ons and label DD's softball bag. Stencil material to make stencils for silk screened t-shirts. Cardstock to make gift card holders and signage, as well as assist DD with the odd school project. Right now, I'm weighing my options on Amazon as far as what material to use to make custom cookie stencils.
ETA: figured out how to compress pictures.