What fun is getting paid a lot if you have no time to enjoy it?

The “other stuff” is where my offers on short-sales and fork-lost homes come in. I intend to have enough rentals to pay basic living expenses (food, housing, health insurance) within the next 1.5 years. If I get any one of the properties I’m on offer with and am able to rent it out at market, my housing expense will already drop to no more than a couple hundred per month. Anything additional that I get from contracting or stock market gameplay will just be icing on the cake.

If I can’t live like a European in the US, while having the benefits of living in the US, there’s no point in remaining here.