Do you have any tips on how to get from barely being able to stick to a budget to the level of sophistication @Ben Leybovich is talking about?

Wholesaling or rental arbitrage may be good fits for your situation, but both take a lot of time, dedication, and perseverance to bare fruit.

Tall table, barely fits two people, with some tall chairs up against a wall.  2) a folding table mounted on the wall.

My duplex we live in BARELY cashflows without us in it bc the taxes in our court went up.

Not sure the rental market will bare the prices you need as an investor with single family homes at the moment.

This is my first timeThe apartment is livable and has the bare minimum—carpet, normal closets etc.

But your post sounds like an advertisement based on the idea that if you own anything else you're going to be catching mice with your bare hands.

But a skinny cabinet like a spice cabinet can be less expensive, but since it barely takes up any space - it ends up costing more per unit of area covered.So, that's why I suggest you get a "typical 10x10 layout" and compare prices for those.

I enter everything into quick books at the end of the year and analyze but to be honest I barely look at the monthly statements.

I own a bare parcel of commercial property in Montana that is unencumbered.