I dream of financial freedom (as I would think all of you mostly do LOL) but I also want to start my REI adventure because I'm tired of the 9-5, I want more time with my family, and I want more purpose in life than just delivering pizzas.

Beware when reading that the Canadian/Ontario real estate/financial environment here is nothing like that in the US.

The economy is turning around and we are in a better financial place as well as a returning market.  

The one other applicant has an average score of 653 but his income is only $35K so he doesn't have the greatest financial stability as well (he is current on all payments though).

My husband says he trusts me and supports me (knowing that I am the financially savvy one in the family), but he is a quite pessimistic given that he is a police officer and only sees the worst in people (think tenants pouring cement down the toilet, taking the water heater with them when they leave, or landlord/tenant eviction calls).

I wish I had been as aware and financially advanced as you are now when I was that age!

Needless to say that anyone that had purchased in the last 5 years has done well as long as they were in areas that moved up with appreciating rents and values.Unfortunately, not all of America had done that.I still have a friend of mine that bought in Bristol, CT that have not seen much value or rent appreciation although it had maintained it's consistency.The problem is that he totally missed the boat on the appreciating areas which was where he lived.Unfortunately, investing in non-appreciating areas but living and not owning in the appreciating area is a formula that spelled disaster for him.

Sounds like you've already took some great steps towards building your financial wealth.

#1 Create a Strategy and Plan Your GoalsOne of the most important things to do when you start thinking about real estate investing is creating an overall strategy.Begin by understanding your financial goals.

Accruing debt by a person who is irresponsible and has a low financial iq is like giving the town drunk a loaded pistol