Because the legal protections afforded by the LLC goes out the window if you aren't able to stay organized and separate your personal and business expenses (i.e., pierce the corporate veil). 

In terms of living on the income my real estate generates (I have a job but not a very secure or reliable income job), would I be better off staying with the properties paid off or looking for similar good deals and mortgaging them ?

I'm a newbe who lives in California and I've been spending the last 4-6 months reading everything real estate related that I can, staying up to date on the forums here and listening to all of the BP podcasts that I can.

So staying all bills paid could be a bonus to your property.

I’m staying positive and reading my books and listening to the podcasts but still I feel like I have more questions the more I listen and learn.

Stay away from cars, trucks, boats...

He's a full time W2 worker and I'm a stay at home mom.

If your most important benefit is safety, then stay where you are.

So we adapted and accepted.

You can also listen to the podcasts and stay active in the forums.