I'm realizing that in order to pick out the best financial strategy to undertake - I need to first sit down and think about my goals.

I was thinking SERIOUSLY about selling the houses and not having any rentals.

But that leaves me with a further dilemma.

I'm about to go back to school for my master's degree in accounting. And I'm thinking, do I REALLY want to be a business woman? The idea is nice, but in about 3-6 months, working 50-60 hour work weeks would become a burden to me. I wouldn't want to do it.

Now I still want to get my master's degree because if I NEED to be that business woman, I can and it will meet our needs so that I can support our family on my income alone. But I've decided I'm not going to seek that out. I'm happy at my work-at-home job till whenever the time comes I should leave.

So that leads me back to why I purchased the homes in the first place.

It was because I didn't want to work till I was 50 or 60, because I wouldn't have a pension in retirement... being a landlord would allow me to have an income without having a traditional job.

I'm still considering selling the other house though just because the area is changing & I don't believe in that house as much. ALTHOUGH it is at a good price point.

I don't know, but I need to think about my goals. If we kept both homes I could have them conceivably paid off in 15-20 years. If we don't keep them, that means I have to work for longer (I was planning on having the rental incomes from both homes to allow me to pay off our final home but if we don't have those I have to work to pay off the mortgage).

That and... I know no one likes to work... but I really don't want to. This has also made me rethink getting my master's. BUT my master's will only cost $9K more and although I may never NEED it... I would rather be in the position of having it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

So I still need to think about this. The easy solution in the beginning of this thought process was to immediately sell the other house, but now I'm remembering why I bought it in the first place.... the original plan.

So, still thinking.