1/ It is vital to know all about what you are about to practice, with adequate ground briefing, otherwise you are wasting money.
2/ You will increase your skills lots quicker and cheaper in a good simulator, providing you have a good IFR instructor, otherwise it will be a major exercise in frustration for you. If you find yourself continually behind the simulator chasing the instruments with the work load getting out of hand, its because the instructor himself has never been taught, or is too lazy to teach you, what instrument to look at and when. (I found the same ignorance shown to me when I was being taught in the airlines to be an airline sim instructor)
Don’t blame the simulator when you find yourself over controlling, as it also happens on a 40 million dollar B747 flight simulator. (It also gets worse when you are stressed).
3/ The quickest way I have found in IFR teaching to improve to fast correct instrument scan (once you know what instruments to look at & when, is coping with an engine failure in a twin simulator, at rotate, on instrument takeoffs, one after another. Don’t try that in a light twin though, as many a good pilot has wiped themselves out trying.
I was also able to prove to CASA, that less than 1 in 10, current, twin engine, general aviation pilots could cope with an engine failure on rotate, because they never had regular practice in a good sim (Most in fact, have never had that essential practice at all).
4/ So then having got completely on top of all the exercises in the sim, the flying will be easy and you will finish it in minimum time, with a far higher standard. (The airlines call it nil flight time training).
5/ E-mail me if I you need further help.