New here and have cash...what should I do?

[Greg Pasquale]

Been reading during the quarantine like a madman about all sorts of real estate investing.  I'm glad I found this site.  Been lurking a few weeks but now have a genuine albeit novice question...

My day job is a decent 6 figure salary.  I live however in one of the more expensive parts of the US.  I'm also divorced and pay a nice chunk of child support.

In order to rent a decent place until my kids are a little older (14 and 17 right now) I rent a 3 bedroom unit in a rental complex.  Its more than a mortgage.  But over the last 3 years my side gig has allowed me to pay for the apt.  Annually my side gig can bring me an extra 30k to 60k.  30 to 40 each year has gone to the rent.  This year I'm guaranteed at least 60k probably more from my side gig.  By August I potentially may have 60k in cash.  I'd need about 30k of it to live in this apt for another year (if I had to).  I can't make the same mistake and use it just to live here.  The other years I spent it on rent and the rest on trips and crap.  If this side gig ever dried up   I'm screwed.  I put into stocks, gold, and other paper investments.  But I want to do something with my excess funds and real estate seems to make sense.  I'm still learning and expect to make mistakes.  Whether it just creates some cash flow so I don't need to rely on my side gig or I can do more...I just don't know.  So what in your opinion should I do with at least an extra 30k, probably 10 to 20k more?. I can't squander it again.  Or even though it buys me another stress free year or two...it could dry up after that and I don't want to live year to year when I have that kind of cash on hand.  Any ideas would be appreciated.