Programmer here too. Or at least, I was. Had a very well-paying job at a large software company on the West coast of the US. Worked there for 10 years. Was my dream job. Then I got into a major car accident (not my fault, rear-ended at high speed while stopped), ended up on lots of psych meds due to PTSD and pre-existing anxiety/depression flaring up after the head injury, and lost my job about a year later while on mental health disability leave. Was told they were doing layoffs and "my position no longer existed," but I'm sure they were just happy to get rid of me. Have only worked sporadically since then. Slowly draining my 401k and savings. Plan to CTB before I'm completely broke. Just recently moved to a cheaper area of the country to live so I've extended the inevitable by a few years at least.