5 Days of Vibe Coding. $12,000 Saved.
Evolve. Adapt. Lead.
Last week at Speedlane, we canceled four SaaS subscriptions: HR suite. Credential storage. Performance reviews. Staffing management.
In five days, I vibe coded one internal tool that replaced all of them.
Savings: ~$12,000 per year.
Impact: Full control. Zero bloat. Built exactly for how we operate.
This wasn’t just cost-cutting.
It was a glimpse of what software building looks like now.
The Tool & The Process
I used Cursor (Team plan) to build the app – about $150 in extra on-demand usage.
It has matured a lot. They built a solid framework around LLMs that enhances prompts and usually pulls the right context to improve outputs. The Auto mode is smart – it switches between cheaper and more expensive models based on task complexity.
You still need a senior developer to properly handle security, encryption, performance, complex reporting, and other advanced areas – but that’s maybe 10% of the work we used to do.
Honestly, the biggest win? Shipping updates no longer breaks the app. And if you follow strict methodology and discipline, you can switch to manual development anytime without friction.
The Duality of Progress
We are living in a period of intense transition. Fear is a natural response to change, but history reminds us that every major technological leap serves two masters:
Atomic energy destroyed cities, but it also generates power for entire continents.
Cars contribute to pollution, but they also save lives by getting loved ones to the hospital in minutes.
Embracing the Shift
There is no progress without a price. Every major shift brings its share of damage and casualties in the marketplace, but that doesn’t mean the future isn’t bright. We are moving toward a world where software is personal and immediate. It’s going to be okay; we are simply learning to harness a new kind of power.
It’s going to be okay.
The World is changing.