The honest starting point: here's what I made in June 2026.

This is the first issue, so let me start where it's least flattering: the total.

In June 2026 I made $129.89. Across five income streams. While working a full-time job as a software engineer.

That's not a teaser for a bigger number coming. That's the number. I'm going to show you exactly where every dollar came from — because the whole point of this newsletter is that you get the dashboard, not the highlight reel.

The breakdown

The book — $60.64 The Real AI Side Hustle went live on Amazon on June 24. By the time this issue lands: $60.64 in combined Kindle and paperback royalties. The first 48 hours alone were $47.93 — $36.17 in paperback (5 orders) and $11.76 in eBook (3 orders). There are also 12 KENP pages read, which is $0.05 in Kindle Unlimited page-read royalties. Not zero, but close. The book took the longest to build of anything on this list. It's also the biggest line by a wide margin.

PaddlersPick.com — $29.96 A beginner-focused pickleball site covering rules, strategy, and gear recommendations — affiliate commissions on equipment through Amazon Associates.

AvailSim.com — $27.25 An eSIM comparison tool for travelers: pick your destination, get a side-by-side of providers and data plans. Two affiliate programs this month: $19.57 from one provider and $7.68 from another.

BourbonProof.com — $9.55 A bourbon content site — gift guides, Kentucky Bourbon Trail travel coverage, and learning articles for people who want to understand what they're drinking. Nine dollars on a site that's been live for months — that's not a win, and I know it. It's the number I'll be diagnosing in July.

Etsy — $2.49 One digital product, one sale this month. This is the stream I've put the least effort into, and the results reflect that exactly.

Supapoints.com — $0 A credit card points-and-miles comparison site. Zero in cash affiliate revenue this month — and realistically every month for a while. Cash affiliate programs in the financial products space have approval thresholds I haven't hit on traffic yet. So the site currently earns me points and miles through issuer "Refer a Friend" links rather than dollars. I'm including it because it's part of the portfolio, and leaving out the zero would make every other number a lie by omission.

What I actually learned

• The book out-earned four websites combined in its first weekend. A single launch beat assets I've been running for months. That's worth sitting with — not celebrating, because a launch is a spike, not a floor. The question is whether June's number is a cliff or a landing.

• BourbonProof at $9.55 is the number I'm watching. It's the most established site on this list and the second-lowest earner. Something isn't converting. July will either tell me what, or tell me to cut my losses.

• $129.89 is not a side hustle yet — it's evidence. Evidence that the pipes work end to end: traffic, product, payout. The number is small. The system is real.

What comes next

A note on format before you go.

The income report is monthly — my full dashboard, every stream, no omissions, every 30 days. That's the accountability layer and I'm not skipping it.

But Real Numbers publishes every two weeks, so the issues in between cover the other half: honest reviews of the tools and services I’m actually using, what’s working and what I’ve quietly dropped, AI workflows that ship real product (not polished demos), and lessons I’d rather have learned a different way.

And it won’t only be my numbers. The goal is to make Real Numbers a record of what building looks like across the spectrum — not just one person’s dashboard, but the $47 months, the $0 months, the slow growers, the pivots. If you’re building and want to share the real numbers, reply and let me know. The door is open.

Issue #2 goes out in two weeks. If there’s a number in here you want me to dig into before then, reply. I read every response.

— Charles

Real Numbers · realnumbers.online · @cjmcquain