I've also come to realise that technical debt is everything. Anything that is resistant to change is technical debt, which includes the code you are writing "no

I've also come to realise that technical debt is everything. Anything that is resistant to change is technical debt, which includes the code you are writing "now", whether you anticipate its need to change in the future or not. There's the stuff that you know is painful or messy, but then there's the stuff that is suitable for today's needs but those needs may change in the future. Nothing is free from debt.