But until that happens, I would like real estate to help me with savings (wholesaling and househacking) and my ability to have "mini-retirements" in the meantime.Hope to make some great connections here! 

I have great relationships with some lenders that have interesting strategies for property acquisition at all income and savings levels and some great experience working with a team of Los Angeles flippers that comes in handy when making big decisions about a new investment. 

I prefer good service over saving 20 bucks a month.

We know that this isn't going to be a home run from a cash flow point while we're living here; however, it should help us save about $800/ month extra so that we can buy our first non owner-occupied investment property in the next 6 months or so. 

Obviously the ultimate goal is to have it in complete passive mode where I'm not even looking at maintenance items except for once a month.

I currently have a part-time job which allows me to start saving up for it and I have been able to save up a meaningful amount since I started working a year ago which I put in the stock market for now. 

I currently have enough money saved up to purchase a 3-4 family using an FHA/FHA 203k loan in my desired location, which is Worcester, MA.

The performance of any new investments the saved funds would be used for does not have to be great to far surpass the rate on a conventional home loan. 

@Joshua Paul pick up some side jobs to help save money.

So what I was truly asking is if it is possible to start that small or should I keep working on saving every dollar for another 6 months and amass more savings before I even think about getting a rental property?