But I left the farm and worked in industry, where I earned money from my labor (time --> money) to buy the 2,000 calories a day.I knew that if I saved a portion of my income and invested it in income-producing assets (money --> money), the day would come when the income from those investments would be enough to buy the 2,000 calories a day I need to stay alive (my parents were struggling farmers in what is today the Rust Belt and were always looking for innovative ways to survive financially).

I also only take 15 year loans since I want to retire my 9-5 job ASAP so that means my expenses are much higher then 30 year terms@Nick Conway & @George Blower I will look into the 401K Solo account. 

Its in the belt line area.

@George Blower Thank you!!!

I’m a Realtor with three flips under my belt.  

Keep doing your thing, but FYI often commercial financing gets a lot easier once you have one or two residential 1-4 unit properties under your belt. 

I'm not super familiar with hard money so I will probably take your advice and stay away from it for now until I have more experience under my belt.

@Steve Vaughan I think you make a great point and agree that tightening the belt and making sacrifices should be a part of any path forward.

My hometown is effectively a rust belt city. 

Holding tanks are cinder block. 1 aeration pump a blower and the lagoon is actually across a business highway into a farmers field.