I was recently reminded by nostr:nprofile1qyfhwue69uhnzv3h9cczuvpwxyarsvpcxyq32amnwvaz7tmpvanhytnwdaehgu3wd3skueqqyqvfqhg2t43r4wq6nzaf33vzh4040ujsd34cpzg9l3ve6ksty2dss3e99mm of how frustrated I was with vibe coding about eight months ago. I had already spent hundreds of dollars on a project, and it was still full of bugs and half-baked features. The idea was great, but it clearly needed more work, which meant more time and more money. I was close to giving up. I was genuinely close to walking away from vibe coding altogether.

But I’m not a quitter.

I kept going and invested even more, eventually spending around $800 on my first serious project using Goose and Gemini 2.5 Pro. Since then, the tools have improved dramatically. The models are better, faster, and more capable. But more importantly, I got better.

I now see that phase as a learning and teaching experience. I learned how to communicate with AI effectively, how to guide it, correct it, and push it toward better outcomes. I learned the tricks of the trade and how to actually use AI as a real development partner. I kept building and I eventually won. That frustration wasn’t wasted at all. It was the cost of learning how to build in a new way.