It is very possible to make 1% a day as a day-trader if you ate disciplined and create a plan as outlined in those sources above.I can also cherry pick investments and numbers to show massive returns whereas you picked overweight tech stocks that were destined for a pull back. 

Over the course of a year my wife and I fixed it up, rented to friends, ate peanut butter and jelly, did everything we could.

Over the course of a year my wife and I fixed it up, rented to friends, ate peanut butter and jelly, and did everything we could.

I was lucky that I had some extra cash reserves to pay the turnover cost and that my property was cash flowing well so the extra property taxes didn't kill me, they just ate into my margins.

At one place the fees went up $80 to $100 per month which really ate into cash flow.

Having to do introductions all over again with another attorney wasn't ideal, and ate up some time and additional cost (paying prev. attorney bill was expensive even without completing eviction), but it still fit within our expense budget and timeframe for the note. 

I also had a property management fee and tenant placement fee that ate into the cash flow, which might be different if you were planning to self manage. 

Getting out at E-6 or E-9  Basically you get $3K a month  cash/medical until you die.

I just ate my $8-dollar Chinese buffet take-out dinner, the first eating-out expense I've had in the New Year.

Do you really care what that one chick from college ate for lunch yesterday?