Build something this Christmas break
A small challenge (and what I built)
Hi, Dimos here.
It’s been 2 years since our last developer conversation. Somehow, although there were no new posts, most of you joined over that period.
If you haven’t read any of the previous posts, I’ll boil it down for you. Every developer I interviewed for Dev Tales gave the same advice:
Build side projects.
So here’s your holiday challenge: ship something small.
It can be anything. You can publish it for free on Vercel, buy a cheap domain and put it on your CV. Keep it ugly, keep it simple—just get it out.
Because building things doesn’t just increase your skills. It gives you proof. And proof increases your odds of getting hired. Even in this market.
A few constraints if you want them:
Pick one problem. Bonus points if you can relate.
Timebox it. A weekend is enough.
Ship v1. Then iterate later.
What I built
Over the last 2 years I got obsessed with tracking my expenses. Every single transaction. I started with Excel but quickly got tired of manually logging and categorizing everything.
Looking around for an app I realized they were either too complicated, not private enough, or just too expensive. So I built wealthsync.
It’s a simple personal finance tool that:
syncs with thousands of banks across the US, UK & Europe,
auto-imports and categorizes transactions,
and is end‑to‑end encrypted (which means I literally can’t see your data).
If you want to try it, there’s a 7‑day free trial. Early access is $6/mo:
That’s all for today.
If you want Dev Tales to come back, reply with one topic you’d like me to cover next (side projects, hiring, freelancing, burnout, money, etc).
And if you give wealthsync a spin, I’d love your honest feedback.
Dimos
P.S. I read every reply, so feel free to share what you’re building this break. I might share a few in the next email.