Anyway....Don’t take this post so serious, it’s only an observation over months and months of zero contribution supplemented with uniformed advice. 

My goal is to either retire in my 40s, or supplement my income so I can take a less stressful and lower paying job.

With all of the activities affecting employees and employers due to COVID and the Great Resignation, I decided to reassess my current situation and look towards a possibility of a new career path in Real Estate or, at worst, just to supplement my current salary. 

I am looking to build a portfolio and eventually supplement my income through rental properties and would love to connect to learn from others who have done this.

Sell some houses here and there to supplement your income.

Its pretty rural so i'm not sure that would work very well but at the worst we would just be adding another bedroom/bathroom. should we just flip and try to find a new deal or two or should we hold onto this house and try and supplement the mortgage with house-hacking income?  

The whole point of investment properties is to PREVENT this type of situation, by having supplemental income.

IUL's and Fixed Indexed Annuities are great resources to help supplement your portfolio and help with optimizing taxable events. 

Maybe you could each work so part time easy job to supplement your life style for a while.

Policyholders may need to seek supplemental insurance for these additional protections.4.