I use vim and reasonably happy with it, but honestly 70$ is little more than a new console game, or a dinner for two in a decent restaurant... we are not really

I use vim and reasonably happy with it, but honestly 70$ is little more than a new console game, or a dinner for two in a decent restaurant... we are not really talking about a license for Photoshop or professional CAD software. If you are a professional developer living in a reasonably modern country and cannot afford 70$ for what is supposed to be to be your primary tool, then you are not underpaid, you are being scammed. That the features it offers are not worth 70$ compared to free editors is another matter entirely, and a purely personal matter.