This. The arch wiki is a treasure trove of information. The more you do, the more you'll learn.
Also, don't blindly copy paste configs for editors or window managers. Just slowly build them up based on your own use. It'll be painful initially but worthwhile in the long run
I use the steam deck as my main computer running the stock steam os.
I'm currently using distro box to set up different programming environments. This is possible on steamos, which has the system directories as read only, by installing podman into the home directory. Distro box have a guide for steamos setup.
I run neovim but I would think you could run vs code if you use it. Haven't tried running a web server on it yet, but again, should be possible. Or, you can get yourself a cheap vps from digital ocean or linode if you really want to learn Linux the hard way!
Get a bump in pay and it immediately all goes to cover increases in bills/essentials. No better off than this time last year...