This is a terrible attitude. If you don't write maintainable code then the price you pay for it later is that your project eventually ends up permanently stuck

This is a terrible attitude. If you don't write maintainable code then the price you pay for it later is that your project eventually ends up permanently stuck in the mud. There is a line that you can cross where no amount of refactoring will rescue you from the mountain of technical debt you've accumulated. Once you're on the other side of that line, your project is 'bankrupt' and other than putting out fires you're never going to get anything done ever again.