Pay off your debts, put some aside, and practice living cheaply. Learn to cook, specifically learn to make hearty meals with cheap ingredients. Re-sole your shoes rather than buying a new pair. Put off a new laptop, phone, etc for an extra year. Specifically as s programmer, look at your skills, and make sure you are good at something that has high barriers to entry and sustained demand. Some people call this "legacy", but I call it "bread and butter".