I find $200/month for the pro/max subscriptions cost prohibivitve, but as a software enginere $20/month is just lunch.

And with a Claude or GPT $20 Subscription, i can do other fun things too like using it for real things (emails) or image generation.

A Mac Studio or AMD395 is neither of it. And its not just a basic setup either. I need to buy it, configure it, put it somewhere. That alone is a grand and more + a whole weekend.

You need to factor in the constant value proposition that cloud providers will absolutely drive you to in the next 2 years; even if you're not an AI hater, you should listen to ed zitron's description of the value props these clouds require to make a profit for their VC backers.

This means oyu may be opinionated today on something you will not have tomorrow, 6 months, a year. All that work flow you salivate over can be ripped away.

If you're fine with that, and you've "escaped the permanent underclass" congrats, this opinion is not for you.