Real Numbers: a newsletter for engineers building on the side
I launched Real Numbers — the newsletter that replaces my original one here. It documents my side income publicly: every stream, every two weeks, no omissions. First issue: July 1, 2026.
Real Numbers is the newsletter — a sharper version of what I’d started here, relaunched with a tighter focus: documenting the income side publicly. Every stream, every two weeks, no omissions. Real dashboards, real failures, real numbers. Not a highlight reel.
What it actually covers
The income numbers are the accountability layer — publishing them keeps me honest. But the more useful part of each issue is what’s inside them: which tools I’m using, which services I’ve dropped, which AI workflows are actually shipping product versus just looking good in a demo.
If you’re an engineer building on the side with a day job, going full-time solo, or building in public — that’s the audience. Not passive-income tutorials. Practical field notes from someone who’s still in the codebase.
What changed
This site (charlesmcquain.dev) will keep running as the craft layer — AI tooling, workflows, build logs, the book. Real Numbers is a dedicated home for the income documentation and builder field notes, with its own brand, its own archive, and a sharper editorial frame.
If you subscribed to the old newsletter here, the new home is realnumbers.online.
What I’m tracking
Five income streams as of June 2026:
- The Real AI Side Hustle — my book, live on Amazon since June 24
- PaddlersPick.com — pickleball content site, Amazon Associates
- AvailSim.com — eSIM comparison tool for travelers
- BourbonProof.com — bourbon content: gift guides, Kentucky Bourbon Trail, learning articles
- Etsy — one digital product
- Supapoints.com — $0 this month, and I’m including that
The first issue covers June 2026 — the full breakdown, one number per stream. Totals, deltas, and what I’m diagnosing.
The free guide
Every subscriber gets the Software Engineer in the AI Era Survival Guide instantly — 45 pages on the honest state of the field in 2026, sourced from BLS, SignalFire, and Anthropic data. Not the doom post, not the hype.
If this sounds useful, subscribe at realnumbers.online. Biweekly. Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Real Numbers.
Honest tool reviews, AI workflows that actually ship, and the full income breakdown every two weeks — from a senior SWE still doing the day job. No omissions.
Subscribe free →Biweekly. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.