• I've been saving for retirement for most of my career and should be on track by retirement age.
• However, I'm not sure I'll ever want to stop working.
• Not only do I love my work as a writer, I also think I'll have a hard time spending my savings.

Some people worry about not having enough money for retirement. For now, at least, I don't feel I have to worry about that. I'm 45 years old, about 20 years away from retirement age, and I've been saving and investing for retirement for most of my career in a steady, disciplined, diversified way.

Especially after making big gains in the stock market over the last few years, I'm actually feeling good about my retirement account balances. If all goes well for the next few decades, I should be in good shape to be on track for retirement. But even if and when I can afford to quit working, I still might not "retire" in any traditional sense.

I'm just not sure what I'd do in retirement — and I love my job

Retirement might sound like paradise, right? No more work! Do whatever you want! But some people struggle to make the emotional adjustment to retirement. Especially if you're used to having a stimulating, rewarding, demanding career that gives you a lot of meaning and connection, the weekdays in retirement might feel empty.

Not everyone is lucky enough to feel this way about their job, but I really love my career as a freelance writer. I love learning new things, meeting new people, and getting paid for doing what I do best. I don't want to feel bored or lonely in retirement. How do you stay busy and grounded without the structure of a career? Do I have to get hobbies or join a gym? Is this all a huge cry for help that I need to get a life?

The point is that retirement planning is not just about money. Even though I might be on track to have my everyday living expenses covered in retirement, I can't envision the day-to-day routine of how I'll fill the hours if I don't have work to keep me busy anymore. Like other would-be retirees, I'll need to think ahead about how I want to live life and what I want to do when I grow up — apparently, that big question never goes away at any age. I can't picture a future without my creative craft of writing, the work that has defined my life and everyday purpose.

I'd have a hard time spending my savings if I wasn't making an income

By the time I've saved up enough money to retire, I might feel uncomfortable spending my savings. Retirement can bring a lot of big, scary expenses like nursing home bills and end-of-life care. Or, on a happier note, I might want to help contribute to my grandchildren's college tuition or keep traveling internationally for as long as possible. Even if I'm 70 years old and in good health, I might still be worried about providing for my 85-year-old "future self" in the event that I have serious health problems and need round-the-clock care.

Feelings like these can make it hard for anyone to splurge in retirement, even for those who can afford to. Though many are putting off retirement due to financial worries, recent research has shown that some retirees actually underspend in retirement — that is, they don't spend as much of their retirement account balances as they could. I might end up being one of those "underspenders" in retirement. What if I can't bear to part with all those big, reassuring numbers in my investment account that I worked so hard to make bigger?

If I do retire in some capacity, I can't ever see myself truly putting work aside. At the very least, I think I'd get a side hustle. I love having income! Even in retirement, I like the idea of making the numbers in my brokerage account bigger.

I want to stay creative, productive, and engaged with life

After leaving his network late-night TV show, David Letterman wasn't ready to officially "retire," and I probably won't be able to either. (Not to compare myself with a legendary comedian like him.) But I like the idea of a Letterman-style retirement: instead of disappearing into oblivion, just keep showing up to do a few meaningful projects. Do what you love without the grind of a full-time job.

I will keep saving for retirement, even if I don't retire in the traditional way. Not everyone gets to keep working for as long as they want to; sometimes retirement gets imposed upon people whether they like it or not. But I'm rethinking the conventional wisdom on what a happy retirement means. I'm not afraid to keep working for many years to come.

• A group including "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary and Frank McCourt has submitted a bid for TikTok.
• They face an uphill battle to buy the app, with owner Bytedance still fighting a looming US ban.
• McCourt previously told BI the deal, which does not include TikTok's algorithm, faces a murky path to success.

"Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary is teaming up with billionaire Frank McCourt on a long shot effort to buy TikTok.

O'Leary and the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner are part of a group called "The People's Bid for TikTok," which said on Thursday it had submitted a bid for the video app to Chinese tech giant Bytedance.

The consortium has an uphill battle to acquire TikTok, despite the app being threatened with a ban in the US if it's not sold by January 19.

Bytedance insists it has no plans to sell the app, which has some 170 million US users, despite President Joe Biden signing a law in April setting a deadline for the app to be sold, or face a ban.

Bytedance is challenging the law in the Supreme Court after losing appeals in lower courts, claiming the potential ban from US app stores is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.

The court is due to hear oral arguments in the case on Friday.

President-elect Donald Trump has asked the court to pause the law that would ban TikTok until after his inauguration later this month.

Any deal to buy TikTok is complicated by the fact that TikTok's recommendation algorithm — the key to the app's compulsive scrolling — is likely covered by Chinese export rules prohibiting the sale of sensitive technology without a license.

No clarity

McCourt told Business Insider in December that the group's $20 billion-plus proposal, which would not include the recommendation algorithm, is complicated because "we don't know what ByteDance is selling."

He said that Bytedance had refused to discuss a potential sale, meaning it was "very, very difficult to have precision" over what a deal might look like.

McCourt and O'Leary's vision for the app, which is also backed by the likes of investment firm Guggenheim Securities and World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, includes turning TikTok into a decentralized social media app that gives users more control over their personal data.

The group said they would aim to work closely with incoming president Donald Trump, who has previously expressed support for TikTok and met with the company's CEO last month.

Bytedance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Milo Ventimiglia became emotional as he revealed his Malibu home was completely destroyed in the Los Angeles wildfires – in eerily similar circumstances to his This Is Us character, Jack Pearson.

Ventimiglia, whose wife Jarah Mariano, 41, is nine months pregnant, visited the charred remains of what was once the couple’s home before it burned to the ground with CBS News on Thursday, January 9.

Speaking to CBS News as he inspected the damage, Ventimiglia, 47, admitted the loss felt “heavy.”

“You start thinking about all the memories in different parts of the house and what not and then you see your neighbor’s houses and everything kind of around and your heart just breaks,” he said.

Milo Ventimiglia Says Pregnant Wife Is Crying Her Way Through 'This Is Us'

The Gilmore Girls alum knew their house was no longer standing prior to the visit as he had watched it burn via home security cameras after being evacuated on Tuesday.

“It’s a kind of a shock moment where you go, this is real, this is happening and at a certain point you just turn it off,” he said. “What good is it to continue watching? We kind of accepted the loss.”

Coincidentally, one of Ventimiglia’s most famous characters, This Is Us’ Jack, died from smoke inhalation after a crock pot caused his family’s home to burn to the ground.

“You know, it’s not lost on me, life imitating art,” Ventimiglia told CBS News of the similarity between the fictional scenes and his real-life circumstances.

While Ventimiglia and Mariano lost most of their possessions in the fire, including a crib for their unborn baby due to be born any day now, the actor is grateful the most important things survived.

“We got good friends and we got good people we’re working with and we’ll make do. Wife and baby and dog, most important,” Ventimiglia said.

The couple, who were first linked in 2022 and wed in 2023, revealed in September 2024 that they were expecting their first child together.

“Baby on board!” Mariano wrote via an Instagram post at the time, sharing maternity photos while sitting on a surfboard.

Milo Ventimiglia and Wife Jarah Mariano's Relationship Timeline

Ventimiglia played Jack opposite Mandy Moore as his wife Rebecca Pearson in This Is Us, which ran from 2016 to 2022.

The actor revealed that Mariano had just recently started watching the emotional series during an appearance on the “That Was Us” podcast in October 2024.

“She can separate Jack from me, but she’s just a f—ing crier,” he said with a laugh. “It’s one of those things. She’s just crying and taking it in. I’m not badgering her; I’m not asking her, ‘Hey, so tell me about this character, this scene, tell me stuff.’ I’m waiting for her to want to talk to me about it.”

The 22-year-old refused to treat the swelling over fears that she could fail a drugs test

It’s a new year, but drama in the WordPress community keeps going. Automattic, the company that runs WordPress.com, said that it would reduce its contribution to WordPress core, the open-source project that acts as the backbone of most of Automattic’s products and ensures the longevity of WordPress as a technology and community. Automattic CEO and […]

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• Andrew Lambrecht rented a 2023 Polestar 2 to compare it to his 2021 Tesla Model 3.
• He discovered the Polestar 2 has a premium feel but lacks efficiency and tech compared to Tesla.
• If he were in the market for a new EV, he would choose the Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD.

Last summer, I bought my second used Tesla Model 3, a 2021 Long Range AWD in the low $20,000 range, with incentives. I considered several other options but decided to buy another Model 3 for its engaging driving dynamics, wickedly fast acceleration, solid tech, and reliable powertrain.

I enjoy driving my Model 3, but the market has grown to include many more attractive options than just Tesla, like the Polestar 2, a four-door that arrived in the US in late 2020. It boasts a clean yet muscular design and solid, but not groundbreaking, range, charging, and performance.

The Polestar 2 looks like a good car on paper but flies below the radar. To learn more about the sporty sedan, I rented one from Hertz for a week to test it at $48 per day, which included mandatory airport fees and taxes. For the purpose of this story, Business Insider compensated me for the rental price.

Who is Polestar?

Polestar is a Swedish automotive upstart founded by Volvo and China-based Geely Holding Group in 2017. The electric vehicle maker offers three electric cars: the 2 sedan, the 3 SUV, and the 4 crossover.

Having roots with Volvo, Polestars and Volvos share a lot of components. Volvo recently divested from Polestar, though the two automakers still collaborate on manufacturing and engineering ventures.

Polestar 2: First impressions

When I picked up the Polestar 2, I noticed that my rental was the base version with a 2023 Dual Motor but no added packages besides upgraded 20-inch wheels. That said, all models' exteriors and interiors look virtually the same aside from different trim pieces and a glass roof.

As soon as you enter the Polestar, its Scandinavian vibe is evident. Its muscle car-esque proportions and higher-raked windshield make it feel like you're in a cocoon. A high-sitting center console, standard metal roof, and dark headliner material give the Polestar a sporty, mature, and premium vibe.

It feels well-built. The doors with framed windows produce a solid "thunk" when closing, and the blinker stocks, drive selector, and steering wheel all have a high-end feel.

There are some hard-touch plastics here and there (more than in a Tesla), but elements like the brushed metal door handles redirect your focus. The Polestar 2 feels better built than my older Model 3 but is on par with the refreshed 2024 version. I can see buyers preferring either.

On the road with the Polestar 2

Despite being an AWD electric sedan like the Tesla Model 3, the most noticeable difference is the weight. The Polestar 2 weighs 4,650 pounds — the big battery Model 3 weighs 4,019. 600 pounds is a sizable difference, and you can feel it when taking corners.

Still, the Polestar 2 is a rapid vehicle. With 402 horsepower, it can hustle to 60 in about 4.5 seconds. Unlike the Model 3, you can launch it by pressing your left foot on the brake pedal and right foot on the accelerator, then letting the brake go.

On the road, the Polestar 2 also does an excellent job of minimizing vibrations. While the new Model 3 is much better in this regard, there's a notable difference with my outgoing Model 3.

Another benefit is the added ground clearance and lower plastic cladding. While it's no rugged SUV, the Polestar 2 is capable of light off-roading with 6 inches of ground clearance.

Polestar range and charging

During my final day with the Polestar, I drove through the North Carolina mountains and stopped at a 350-kilowatt EA station outside Asheville. I recorded around 30 minutes to go from 17 to 80% charged. In that time, the charger dispensed 53 kilowatt-hours, which cost $30.91. This charging time is fine but not revolutionary.

The Polestar 2 has a peak charge rate of 150 kilowatts but dropped below the 100-kilowatt threshold by around 55%. The Model 3 has a peak of 250 kilowatts, but it sees a similar drop to the 100-kilowatt mark at around 60% charge. The big difference is its efficiency. The Polestar has a battery similar in capacity to my Model 3, but it can't go as far on a charge.

I recorded an estimated 224 miles of range at 70 miles per hour. My 2021 Model 3 can get around 270 miles within that speed range. Since the Polestar 2 isn't as efficient as the Tesla Model 3, it'll need more energy to travel the same distance, increasing the cost.

I never had any anxiety with the Polestar, as its range was still more than ample for my driving, averaging over 100 miles per day. When I get to campus, I plug in and head to class.

Average tech and missing safety features

Despite having a sticker price above $50,000, the Polestar had virtually no safety features. This one didn't have adaptive cruise control, lane centering assist, or even a blind spot monitor. For comparison, every new Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, and Toyota EV comes with adaptive cruise control as standard.

Another disappointing area of the Polestar 2 is its lackluster technology. While the Polestar features two crisp displays powered by Google software, the computer chip powering them is an Intel A3900 chip, which debuted in 2016. The result is a display that can be laggy and somewhat unresponsive.

Nevertheless, it's still better than other systems I've used before. The Google-based system effortlessly adds charging stops, telling you what percentage you'll arrive with and how long you'll need to charge, but for a fresh-faced automaker, it trails behind Rivian and Tesla.

Verdict

I liked many things about the Polestar but wouldn't buy a new one. If I were looking at the new market, the updated Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD is the better buy. It offers 363 miles of range, better charging, more standard features, and a lower price tag.

If you're buying used with a budget in the mid to upper-$20,000 range, the Polestar 2 is worth a look. Just due to the sheer number of Teslas on the road, the 2 is refreshing. It drives well, has a decent range, and has an alluring Scandinavian aura.

While the Model 3 started it all, the Polestar is a solid alternative that checks different boxes. There's a lot to like about it, and I will miss my time driving it.