Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?
2022 edition of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19712057
Always wondered this. Sometimes I feel the need to do something else outside my field, and possibly get some money out of it.
An open Ask HN community consultation from 2022 where @napolux convened hundreds of developers and bootstrappers to share real experiences, hard numbers, and tactics.
Core Principles for Independent Builders:
Participants share raw revenue figures, churn rates, and stack decisions that corporate PR never publishes.
Recurring answers reveal that distribution, not coding skill, is almost universally the rate-limiting step in developer businesses.
Practical recommendations on bookkeeping, payment gateways (Stripe vs Paddle), and freelance-to-product transitions.
Community Debate Themes:
Hundreds of active indie hackers contributed case studies, pricing heuristics, and pitfalls to avoid when moonlighting on side projects.
CATEGORY Ask HN Roundtables →
HISTORICAL ERA Pandemic Bubble (2020–2022)
COMMUNITY SCORE ★ 29 points
TOTAL DISCUSSIONS 26 comments
Rental properties. I have a portfolio of 15 properties across the US
``` - $7,000/month in gross profit after mortgages/taxes/expenses
``` Investing in low cost index funds and cash generating dividend ETFs and closed end funds,
``` - $13,000/month before taxes
``` Running a small blog discussing cash flow
``` - $500/month ```
I put the money I make from programming into Vanguard Total Stock Market index funds and that makes more money than any other project I've done.
Other projects are just for pleasure.
I've been self-publishing fiction. Only made a few thousand last year, but hopefully as I grow my backlist and build my newsletter the income will keep ticking up.
Sometimes I tutor high-schoolers in math and physics. I love it and if it payed better I would do it full time.
Of all my side incomes, the appreciation of my house is winning. Buy real estate in fast growing market.