Blake,Think about starting your journey with Wholesaling.Not only will Wholesaling will allow you to consistently locate the most discounted properties in your community, it will also give you the fastest infusion of cash.Be careful of education.

I've been a member for two years and have found the education and networking invaluable.

You may however still want to go the TK route for your first investment and think of the TK process as an education cost.

Consider joining the local investor group, CFRI...Lot's of great people and terrific education opportunities...www.cfri.net

Believe me when I say I am committed- I signed up with RD education (learning experience in itself and maybe I can share that with you all one day) last month. 

My main question that I'm hoping to get some advice on is if it would be smarter to use the money we've saved up to purchase a primary residence here in Los Angeles so we're no longer throwing money away on rent, or if we should use that money to invest in a rental property, either locally or some place like Atlanta, where I'm familiar with the market and is definitely more affordable.We're trying to educated ourselves and gain as much advice as possible before making any serious decisions.Thanks in advance for any advice!

I'm a agent and I spent most of my time studying the market and self education. 

There are plenty more resources you can find under Education from how to's, blogs from our experts and podcasts.

Go to the education tab and look for the free guides. 

Make sure to check the Education tab on top, you should be able to find tons of great info there.