That's basically my model (plus Patreon). I think if I had enough traffic, it could actually support me. I don't know how to get there from here and it's crazy making to keep struggling so much every month, but I'm slowly seeing more traffic and more money.

For me, I think it is hard for me to monetize the content that I really enjoy producing. There's tangentially related things that would probably make a bit more money (native youtube ads, teaching, t shirts), but since I am fortunate enough to have a good day job, I am able to make the content available entirely for free, uninfluenced by profit motives.

Life is just a big navigation of trade-offs, it seems.