I am passionate about real estate investing and I am particularly passionate about commercial, small multifamily, single family houses, apartments, notes, condos, mobile home parks, self storage, wholesaling, development, short-term rentals, flipping, rentals, BRRRR, and house hacking.Outside of real estate, I enjoy helping fix the financial goals towards retirement, help people looking for health Insurance, Life Insurance and annuities.

I don't think the average couple with two kids can live off 5 rentals for the duration of their lives if they're 37 years old. 47 years old-50 years old with 7-8 rentals and two other streams of income later(401k, pension, IRAs, annuities, equities, etc.) and the kids already in college then maybe.People need to remember every 12-15 years, costs will slowly accrue to 40-50% more than today.

If all you want is to calculate cash flow you might be better off investing in an annuity.

At the current moment, I am following option 3, I have placed the money in different investments, cd's, annuities, mm, etc. 

However, there is such a thing as a self-directed solo 401k plan which is very popular for those who are self employed.Following are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Similarities Both were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions;Both are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m); andNeither may be invested in your own business.  

No more payments, the policy stands, and later becomes an annuity we can drawdown in retirement.

They've got annuities.

A perfect example would be the "old" Private Annuity Trust (PAT). 

Selll it as an annuity?

The loss of a lifetime annuity is a truly amazing incentive you’ll be surprised.