diff --git a/backend/README.md b/backend/README.md
index 42ae4fd..ad37dec 100644
--- a/backend/README.md
+++ b/backend/README.md
@@ -67,6 +67,12 @@ Modify or add SQLModel models for data and SQL tables in `./backend/app/models.p
 
 Add and modify tasks to the Celery worker in `./backend/app/worker.py`.
 
+### VS Code
+
+There are already configurations in place to run the backend through the VS Code debugger, so that you can use breakpoints, pause and explore variables, etc.
+
+The setup is also already configured so you can run the tests through the VS Code Python tests tab.
+
 ### Docker Compose Override
 
 During development, you can change Docker Compose settings that will only affect the local development environment in the file `docker-compose.override.yml`.
diff --git a/backend/app/core/config.py b/backend/app/core/config.py
index 6ca888c..81a7df2 100644
--- a/backend/app/core/config.py
+++ b/backend/app/core/config.py
@@ -23,7 +23,9 @@ def parse_cors(v: Any) -> list[str] | str:
 
 
 class Settings(BaseSettings):
-    model_config = SettingsConfigDict(env_file=".env", env_ignore_empty=True)
+    model_config = SettingsConfigDict(
+        env_file=".env", env_ignore_empty=True, extra="ignore"
+    )
     API_V1_STR: str = "/api/v1"
     SECRET_KEY: str = secrets.token_urlsafe(32)
     # 60 minutes * 24 hours * 8 days = 8 days
@@ -77,7 +79,6 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
         return self
 
     EMAIL_RESET_TOKEN_EXPIRE_HOURS: int = 48
-    EMAIL_TEMPLATES_DIR: str = "/app/app/email-templates/build"
 
     @computed_field  # type: ignore[misc]
     @property
diff --git a/backend/app/utils.py b/backend/app/utils.py
index cceb547..4073146 100644
--- a/backend/app/utils.py
+++ b/backend/app/utils.py
@@ -18,7 +18,9 @@ class EmailData:
 
 
 def render_email_template(*, template_name: str, context: dict[str, Any]) -> str:
-    template_str = (Path(settings.EMAIL_TEMPLATES_DIR) / template_name).read_text()
+    template_str = (
+        Path(__file__).parent / "email-templates" / "build" / template_name
+    ).read_text()
     html_content = Template(template_str).render(context)
     return html_content