If you look into anthropological literature it is very clear to me that our ancestors have used altered states of consciousness to heal and move trauma for hundreds of thousands of years.

I chose to take long pauses so I can spend time with the family.I think everyone needs to be reminded that there should always be a conscious effort made for work/life balance. 

@Dominique Dickens Welcome to bigger pockets and congratulations on making a conscious decision to build wealth and break the 'generational curse'.

There are also environmental and ecological impediments as well.

After several no's, being beat out by cash offers, going in above asking and not getting contracts, going thru HORRIBLE contractors, finally securing a property but realized it was a disaster and having to pull out, not being able to find a stable property manager and a million other things that happened during the last few months - I was able to leverage the fact I was home, get lost in Biggerpockets books and podcasts ( as well as other articles, news) and will now have two doors bringing me income starting next month.Both of my properties needed work to get going, but I was very conscious of budget and tried to limit additional debt that I took on (although I put it on a 0% interest card) - to allow more funds for a potential future purchase of an investment property. 

I would consciously put yourself in your own shoes in both scenarios.

Hey everyone,I am just starting out and want to do a basic house hack, before this month I was not very money conscious so I do not have the capital for a down payment at the moment but I don’t want to wait another year.

According to University of California Davis’ “Road Ecology Center,” Los Angeles traffic patterns changed dramatically during the pandemic.

@Matt Sullivan If you're particularly cost conscious, there's plenty of software out there that's free and will likely offer everything you need.

If you plan on refinancing the property within the 8.33 years, selling it etc, then paying the $4k up front may not make sense Just another thing to be conscious of when considering paying points or not