I think as John pointed out, it depends on your level of financial discipline.

There are many ways to be involved in REI.Third, with your military discipline, you can do anything, or be anything, you want to be. 

That being said, proper underwriting and discipline must be present.

But as with all types of investing there is a diligence process that if executed with discipline will give you a much higher probability of avoiding laggard deals that are capital destructive or slow growers.

The key is buying a GREAT DEAL keep your debt low, and your amortization short, I know this is contrary to what all the podcasts preach, but when this market falls I will be safe, I currently owe about 35% LTV  all commercial notes at local banks, its not that hard to do if you are disciplined 

I am aware that it is pretty much entirely lack of discipline but I was hoping for a few tips on how to make sure I don't spend on things that I don't need to, tips on whether I should pump any spare money in to my debts or if I should invest them in to an Index Fund.I want to have savings and goals and a real feeling of worth before my new baby arrives in September 2019, I want to be better than my folks and everybody around me.Thanks for reading!

It takes discipline and sometimes it takes sacrifice.Give some details of your situation and the community will give you some suggestions.

Sounds like creating a lifestyle that incorporates the disciplines of real estate investing feeds your personality.

I don't actually have anything yet, but I was looking for references to begin connecting with people in different disciplines, so I have some contacts for when I need them. 

Please note that there is plenty of opportunity out there and if you try to do it all, you may very well end up scattered & eventually burned out.There's an awesome book/philosophy out there called Essentialism: The disciplined pursuit of less (versus the undisciplined pursuit of more) by Greg McKeown.I personally only invest in Self Storage.