I'm now old enough to have experienced being around a lot of retired boomers.
You really need to understand the distinction between the state of being retired and the lifestyle that being retired enables. This lifestyle was previously only available to non-retirees if they were independently wealthy or self-employed in a small subset of industries.
I know many retirees that are now busier and happier than they were when they were working!
Some people will pursue FIRE and be unsuccessful (or it will take a really long time). And they will be miserable during that time.
Some other people will quickly succeed, scratch that traveling itch, and then find themselves bored with no idea what to do next.
The article merely points out that building a lifestyle in which you are happy and fulfilled without retirement is now possible for a larger group of people. It's excellent advice. Go spend some time around retirees - you will definitely find that a LOT of them are unhappy, even if they have plenty of money.
> you will definitely find that a LOT of them are unhappy, even if they have plenty of money.
I definitely know one of those. She complains about being bored.
And I just...don't know how. I think many of them just never got into anything. No hobbies. No activities outside the home aside from the occasional vacation. They spend their weekends passively watching TV, but not really interested in what they're watching.
Me, I have a Steam game backlog pages long. I have an RC car that I'd like more time to play with. I want to become a better drone pilot. I'd like to have a better kept house.
Most importantly, I want to live without needing an alarm clock 5 days/week.
But with limited free time, I feel like I need to min/max my time spent not working. Like...I don't want to do the dishes, I've only got 3 hours until I need to go to bed if I want to get 8 hours of sleep!
And? This is the second time I've seen this sentiment. Are you really trying to imply that because some people escape the American Rat Race with virtually no concept of self, or no social life, or no hobbies, that we should... what? Just accept that? Embrace it?
Macaroni and cheese.
Bloomberg and being completely out of touch and deliberately misunderstanding the younger generations to please Boomer readers.
Salt and papper.