[1123581321]

Frankly if it's important to you you two should have already talked about this to make sure your spouse supports the hours and the craziness of it. If you haven't you need to start talking about that now. And you need to be sure you're serious about it and not just messing around.

[dougbarrett]

This is the best advice here. I just got married in November, and my wife and I discussed my programming habits outside of work. I have a few hours of downtime during the week and weekends where my wife is off to work before I begin work that I am able to hack around with stuff, and for me, that is enough time.

Your priorities change when you're married though. You're wife wants, and deserves your attention. She has given her life to you, and the well being of her life and the family you are starting falls on your shoulders.

Once I got married, if I wasn't able to somehow profit off of the little projects I was working on, I dropped them. If the project was a dream of mine to finish, and I really wanted to do it, I figured out how to do it in such a way that it'd be financially wise to finish it so I could make a profit off of it in the future.

Since being married and having this state of mind, I am bringing in some extra money every month by still doing what I love to do.

[danellis]

There's something wrong in a marriage if you can't maintain a hobby unless it makes a profit.

[zubr1768]

Agreed. And something wrong with the hobby as well. Hacking is one of the least cost-intensive hobbies that one can pursue. Try sailing...