430-Should A Retiring Naval Officer Invest in Real Estate or Do Something Else?

Today, I answer this question from a listener:

Joshua- Fan of the show and a Naval Officer. I have some questions on overall investing strategy.  I have close to 17 years in the Navy and will likely retire at 20 with a full pension (about $55k/year before taxes), currently have $440k in retirement savings for my wife and I split between Roths and TSP, have over $140k in college savings for my 2 kids (8 and 10 year old, plan on also transferring my GI Bill which will essentially pay for one of their college educations), and have about $30k in taxable accounts.  We are selling our house in Norfolk, VA this year-- been a rental for 5 years but we are moving from Tampa to Jacksonville where I will take Command of a Destroyer there.

So- my question-- I am looking at getting into real estate investing and slowing down retirement savings over the next 5 years (from about $25k/yr to $12k-- maxing out Roths and minimum to TSP).  Curious to hear your take on my overall situation and real estate investing writ large.  Ideally we'd put about $40-50k into things this year-- either buy and hold type rental properties or a flip- and then snowball any earnings plus about $30k annually over the next 4 years until I retire to setup passive income sources.  Thanks!

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