"debt" is way too broad,,'debt' would include the payments on a $20k sound system/tv and debt on a house that is actually putting money in your pocket.Is a mortgage on a cash flowing property 'bad debt', not in my book,,is debt because you went out and blew a lot of money on 'toys'  bad debt, I would say yes.Now, you can't say all credit card debt is bad, if you've ever purchased a house needing rehab with a hard money loan, you may charge things that you will be reimbursed for when you get the escrow money put up for repairs.  

Point is you CAN start and get the ball rolling...here's some idea..Lady i pay who put out signs(i don't do this method anymore) $175-300 for like 50-75 signs she supplied them, wrote them, put them out and took pictures of every one.200-400 letters, stamps are like 50 cents, so that's what, $200Paper, envelopes(i like the colored ones)Bought my daughter some "Frozen" toys to help me put on stamps...$15That's it dude...i mean you can do SEO website stuff too, or pay one of the guys on BP who have postcard services to do it for you, as it gets old QUICK.I now pay a lady from oDesk $4/hr to do my research for my list and mail merge list to Word, so all i gotta do is print, sign, stuff and mail.if you do those #$@&** yellow letters by hand you will hate life.

They seem to enjoy leaving the children's toys behind. 

My PredicamentI live in markets with pretty high barriers to entry (grew up in SF bay area and now living in LA) and have found it hard to land that first deal.I'd like to learn from experienced investors but also need an income.From what I've read, a common complaint among fix and flip / fix and hold investors is the difficulty in dealing with contractors.With my background I believe I can provide value to investors looking for someone to manage their projects.Advice I'm SeekingI am toying with the idea of quitting my day job to start a business that provides project management services tailored to investors. 

Some times there was no bonanza but sometimes I could help them get restarted if they had the character to stand up and "hunker down" There are a few times I surprised a seller showing up at escrow by saying M/M seller, things didn't go as I expected and I want to change the sales price from x to y.

I am toying with the idea of retiring there when my kids have grown.

I really wish I could use it here in NYC to invest but for now this doesn't seem like the way to go for me.I have been toying a lot with investing, learning a lot about it... but many changes in my life have prevented me from actually doing it.

Here are some that helped me, too:Getting Past No by William WryGetting to Yes by William Wry, Roger Fisher and Bruce PattonHope that helps!

Its an expensive toy little different than any other toy we buy.

My brother and father live in Delaware and have been toying with the idea of becoming real estate investors for STR for beachfront in NC or Vacation Rentals in DE.