A few questions: 1) From what I understand, investment loans do not allow what would be considered a "gift" from them for their cash towards a deal.

So bring a gift, could be small.

The right people helping is a gift fromHeaven.

I have adjusted my settings very intricately and it’s served me well.

For big box stores I try to stack discounts - cashback, discount gift cards, rebates, etc.I do not buy used refrigerators or dishwashers. 

I really want to get this in my head so that I can use my gifts to build up cashflow and certainly help others when I really get it together and have some clarity.

I saw the 2008 financial crisis as a once-in-a-lifetime gift (I was able to Rothify a Traditional IRA for 50 cents on the dollar in terms of the taxes I had to pay).

Get to know some Realtors, get on their radar, take them out to lunch, send them a Starbucks or Wawa or Panera gift card with a note thanking them for their time on the phone or talking to you at lunch. 

Picture yourself trying to tell your child that you could not buy him or her an item or send him or her to college because you had to pay a stranger's rent so the stranger could buy gifts for his or her child.

I'll probably give them a gift card around a Christmas if it doesn't happen again.