I just have a question on if it's possible to edit the save files without the use of a decryption tool
(no nefarious reasons whatsoever for this question)
Not really. One of the options in the options menu is "open save data path" From there, you can edit the .es3 files with notepad or any text editing software. Before you edit, you should make a copy of the current save just in case something bad happens. The code should be somewhat easy to read. I'd recommend not touching levels as that causes the save to be glitchy.
I didn't figure out how to do that. I would assume it would be in the inventory save file but I didn't touch it. Instead I made some random character and gave them 60 level up lollipops and put it all on happiness generation. For the badge coins, I gave that same resident 40 levels into storage and got a savor it badge and made the character a sweet tooth and spammed cheap sweet items