My goal with real estate is to eventually create a lifestyle easier to control (Flexible with Time & Money).  

Spending money to lose money.

You will not recover the time, money and energy you spend chasing them. 

For example, spend $50k to pay off your remaining loan or use that money to acquire more assets?

We own 3 and spend less than 10 hours per week managing them.

I am spending my dollars in suburbs right now.

I look forward to spending more time on these forums.

That said, I wouldn't spend it on Zillow, Trulia or Realtor. 

This is a great vehicle for retirement wealth building, where the investor has more control over what they are invested in compared to traditional investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

@Matt Castle  I wish I knew that smaller spends on Zillow, Trulia and Realtor are a colossal waste of money.