Now is def a good time to buy with rates being where they are. If you think your going stay in your home more than the points your buying down then go for it, i say. The money saved pays for itself long term. Also, you don't have to buy down as many points as your budget allows go for a compromise.

Foreclosures are ok if you don't mind getting your hands dirty and can make it livable within a short time.

As far as making your money work for you. Go with what you feel comfortable with. For me, i'd rather work and invest in my 401K( free money), IRA, and brokerage account. Buying a foreclosure to rent is great just be prepared for the initial up front start up costs and mgmt time. Clark Howard did it for years and i think he still has his first rental property from decades ago. He may have sold it by now but i wanna say he still has it.

No matter what path you take cash is king, and let your money work for you. Some friends of mine have about 300k each in retirement savings. One doesn't work and the other two have regular jobs. They live modestly, and by that i mean they don't by "stuff", regular 200k houses with 30 yr mortgages. Drive regular cars and keep them for a long time, I.E. 2003 Honda civic , 1999 BMW 325i. And they look for deals and cost cut when it makes sense.
Sounds like old how old ladies live, but if you can go on multi trips a year and still have 300k and growing with a regular job then financially your doing ok. I actually go to vegas with them plenty of times and we still have our retirement accounts, lol. It's actually better to keep your mortgage and take the extra money each month and invest or whatever. The gains you make is typically higher than paying down the mortgage quicker. Think of a mortgage as cheap money with the way rates are. Plus with a mortgage you typically itemize your deductions, get refunds if you set it up that way, and donations you get around .25 on the dollar.