He said "for what, I had to pay for parking by the courthouse, lost a day of work, and the guy who was my witness, I treated him to a meal, all in all, it cost me well over $100.00" So I said "you spent $100 to s.ave $50"?

@Donald Thomas, congratulations on your first meal.

I know the rehab costs get added to the cost basis of the property and will be depreciated rather than discounted as operating expenses, but I want the real estate professional status for two reasons.1) I can't use depreciation to offset income tax without it, as our household income exceeds the IRS limit for real estate deductions.2) There are many other things to write off, such as taxes, insurance, subscriptions, meals, books, phone & internet bills, miles driven for real estate errands, office supplies, home office deduction, etc.However, maybe it's not that important for me to achieve the real estate professional status this year, as I have just learned that I can carry the losses forward into next year and stay focused on achieving the status by the end of 2021.

Every once in a while we start to get lazy and eat out almost every meal.

I am curious to see what are some innovative gift ideas other than gift cards and/or meals.

Banks who have a greater percentage of borrowers in default are more likely to want to provide a greater discount than are the healthier banks.However, just because MLS is marketed as full retail does not mean deals can't be found.

We had a great trip to DC to see the sights and a few nice meals both at home and out.

You have to grab, eat, taste, and live life today, because chances are today you will be healthier and more energetic than 10 years from now.

I know I will be paying for the meal and whatever we do going to a movie or shooting at the gun range etc. 

The more mistakes we make as we go the more we adjust and decide to have healthier reserves or what ever system in place because we do not want to be bitten again.