I know people who enjoy street performance and dumpster diving. Bringing your juggling balls (or guitar) to a street corner and trying to make money gives some pressure that makes it fun - and that you don't need the money means if people don't like you enough to pay it doesn't matter. Likewise people throw away a lot of treasures that you can fix up and sell/give away.

If he needs to be a street performer and dumpster diver to make ends meet that isn't good. However people do those things as a hobby all the time.

I worked with a guy who made easy into the 200k range in the early 2000s two separate pension plans. Total dumpster diver. He loved the thrill of finding stuff. Wore complete rags at work. Drove a car from the early 70s. Ate simple homemade leftovers ever day for lunch. He loved the idea of racking up a high score.

True, but people usually don't start with this on retirement. And the end of the story is about him planning to eat cat food(?). Not sure how to take this, as it also talks about Soylent and Premium Mix, which are not the cheapest.