I just bought all the drywall, cement board, and a 3/4 full thing of red guard water proofing that I need for my entire bathroom remodel for no joke $110, that would have cost me $400+ at the store but someone else who already finished their bathroom just had a ton left over.

If I can't find what I want second hand then purchase from local furniture store for heavy use items like beds/frames, dressers, dining sets.

I'm currently going through Pace Morby's book and video companion guide from the Bigger Pockets Store.

Does anyone have any excel/spreadsheet templates they use for organization and having a place where you store that budgeting and timeline information?

Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books on this topic, or you can learn about it by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum.

Need a place to store it and this place looks awesome!! 

Also, I have heard success stories of folks finding good contractors at the home improvement stores early in the AM.

I'm a civil engineer, and for example, I do the civil engineering/permitting for many Gas-Station & Convenience Store.

The first neighborhood I would look at is anything next to infrastructure - if it has grocery stores, malls, gas stations.

If so, make sure to visit/know of the grocery stores, restaurants, things to do, etc around the area even if just driving by.