What about solving new problems to help the family? As a quasi-retired software engineer in my 50's, I made it my project to make my home more energy efficient, add on a small solar system, study it for a year (including importing the telemetry recorded in 5-minute candles into a SQL Server DB to analyze the trends), convert my 2 natural gas appliances, since it was time to replace my wife's gasoline crossover anyway I replaced it with an EV crossover that both of us mainly drive, and add onto the solar.
All of that took a detailed study on whether or not to go solar, if it was worth it for our area with our energy consumption habits, would an EV be worth it, during the upgrade which components were worth upgrading and how much to take advantage of the economies of scale, but didn't want to try to fight the law of diminishing returns, could I get a loan to pay for all of that and would the loan payment + tiny power bill be less than the energy costs I was avoiding, what about inflation for future energy costs, what about reduction in throughput from my solar equipment or my hybrid water heater, etc.
Tons of details. A fun math/data nerd project. And after I've had it about 10 years to make sure it works well I'll teach how to do it to my family and church members so they can avoid the Dims' warmageddon cult energy costs and the slowly creeping control over our lives with their energy price policies.
Every now and then I re-study the numbers to make sure the throughput of the equipment is still good, I do tweaks to the configuration -- especially with changes in the seasons.
Maybe us FReeper nerds should make it our patriotic mission to help citizens be more self-reliant from things the political class over-regulates. Perhaps things like water capturing, growing our own food, or tutor home schoolers in math so the parents aren't tempted to send their kids to indoctrination schools.
One of the things that has stunned me in recent years is the total lack of intellectual curiosity of working class and young people.
The biggest example is basic consumer economics and the use of debt to basically enslave people.
How property taxes work.
How interest rates effect everything from credit cards, auto loans, home buying etc. and how much people are held captive by these companies that extend loans to people that have no clue what they are getting into.