It's funny how you can have a B.Tech in Computer Science, understand complex data structures,
and write production-level code, but completely fail at basic personal finance.
A few years ago, at 22, I landed my first real full-time job. I was managing digital marketing,
technical SEO, and Meta ads. Coming from a middle-class family in Panipat, Haryana, seeing a
regular salary hit my bank account gave me a false sense of invincibility.
I fell into the classic entry-level tech trap: lifestyle creep.
I started swiping my new credit card for weekend dinners at Hangries. I bought a premium Fossil
watch just to "look the part" in client meetings. I bought SaaS subscriptions I didn't need.
Before I knew it, I was sitting on ₹15,000 in credit card debt. I had zero savings, and the
anxiety of living paycheck-to-paycheck was destroying my productivity.
Here is the story of how I coded my way out of it, why I pivoted to "vibe coding," and how my
financial mistakes led me to build my own fintech side project.
The Turning Point: Engineering a Way Out
As developers, when we see a bug in our code, we debug it. I realized I needed to debug my
finances.
I stopped swiping. I listed out every single rupee I owed. I decided to leverage my existing
9-to-5 skills — SEO, coding, and digital marketing — to build local side hustles. I started
walking into local shops in my city, offering to set up their Google My Business profiles and
build them micro-tools using simple HTML/JS.
I used the extra income to attack my debt using the Snowball Method — paying off the smallest
balances first to build psychological momentum.
I actually wrote the exact mathematical breakdown of how I cleared my debt using the snowball method, which inspired me to build the Debt Payoff Calculator
for my new project.
The "Over-Engineering" Trap
Once I was debt-free, I wanted to share my frameworks with other young professionals in India
so they wouldn't make the same dumb mistakes I did. I decided to build a personal finance hub:
MonuMoney.in.
But like any developer, my first instinct was to over-engineer it.
I started planning a massive Next.js architecture with a heavy backend, user authentication, a
PostgreSQL database for saving calculator states, and complex global state management.
Two weeks passed. I hadn't shipped a single thing. I was stuck in "tutorial hell" and
architecture paralysis.
Embracing "Vibe Coding" with AI
That's when I decided to completely change my approach. I had been hearing about "vibe coding" —
the process of using AI tools like Claude and Google AI Studio to write the boilerplate, while
you focus purely on the logic, architecture, and "vibe" of the product.
I dropped the complex backend. I realized users don't want to log in to calculate their debt;
they just want a fast, client-side web app.
Here was my new stack:
- Framework: Next.js (App Router)
- Styling: Tailwind CSS (for rapid UI prototyping)
- Deployment: Vercel (push to ship)
- The Secret Weapon: Prompting AI for component generation
Instead of writing a complex amortization formula from scratch in JavaScript, I prompted the AI:
"Write a React component using Tailwind that calculates the debt snowball method. It needs
to take in an array of debts (name, balance, interest rate, minimum payment) and output a
month-by-month payoff table."
Within seconds, I had the core logic. I spent my time doing what human developers do best:
refining the UI, fixing edge-case bugs, adjusting the layout for mobile screens, and ensuring
the local context — like using ₹ instead of $ — was perfect.
By vibe coding, I built and deployed three complex financial calculators in a single weekend.
The Takeaway for Indie Hackers and Devs
Building MonuMoney has taught me a few massive lessons that I want to pass on to the Dev.to
community.
1. Solve Your Own Bugs (In Real Life)
The best side projects come from personal pain. I built a debt payoff calculator because I
literally needed one when I was ₹15k in the hole. If you build a tool that solves your own
problem, you automatically have a target audience of at least one person.
2. Don't Over-Engineer Version 1.0
Nobody cares about your database schema if the product doesn't exist yet. Vibe code the MVP.
Use AI to write the boring boilerplate. Ship it as a static client-side app first. You can
always add a database later when people actually start using it.
3. Your Day Job is Your Superpower
Don't try to build the next Facebook on weekends. Look at what you do from 9-to-5 and figure
out how to spin that into a localized micro-SaaS or a side hustle.
When I recently tested 5 different side hustles to see what actually works,
the highest-earning ones were directly tied to my existing professional skills in SEO and
digital marketing — not some random trend I found on YouTube.
Where MonuMoney.in Stands Today
Today, my credit card balance is zero. I have multiple income streams running simultaneously.
And I'm building out MonuMoney.in in public — sharing every real number, every failed
experiment, and every win.
The tools I've shipped so far:
- A Debt Payoff Calculator (Snowball + Avalanche methods)
- A Side Hustle Income Tracker
- A Monthly Budget Planner built for the Indian salary structure
Everything is client-side. Everything is fast. Everything is built for the Indian rupee and
Indian financial context — because most personal finance tools online are built for Americans
and don't translate well here.
If you're a dev sitting on an idea — stop architecting it in your head. Spin up a Next.js app,
use AI to vibe code the boring parts, and just hit deploy.
The best time to ship was last week. The second best time is right now.
Top comments (2)
This was a really honest and motivating read. I appreciate how you shared both the financial struggles and the practical steps you took to overcome them. The idea of “debugging” personal finances and using your existing skills to build side income is super relatable. Also, the concept of vibe coding and focusing on shipping instead of over-engineering really stood out. Thanks for sharing your journey and insights—it’s genuinely helpful for anyone trying to build something while figuring life out.
❤️😇