In this three-part series, we explore Generation X's economic history and discuss what this generation can do to prepare for retirement.

While the so-called me me me generation of Millennials has received most of the financial spotlight of late, this blog focuses on my demographic brothers and sisters, those of us from the Reality Bites and Pearl Jam era. We are Generation X, and we face major retirement challenges. Reality does, it seem, bite for us. But there is some hope.

There are about 46 million of us born between the mid-1960s to the late 1970s. It's been noted here and here that Gen X was hit especially hard during the 2008-2009 financial market collapse. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, Generation X lost almost half of its wealth during the economic downturn.

Forbes wrote in 2013 that a recent census report found that people between 35 and 44 saw a 59% decline in median household net worth between 2005 and 2010, the largest drop of all age groups.

The repercussions from that recession will reverberate for years. As Ivory Johnson wrote in 2014 on CNBC.com, Members of Generation X face the daunting task of planning for a retirement that will likely include no pension, a potential Social Security haircut, stagnant wages and high education costs for them and their children.

We in Generation X continue to contend with stagnant wages and job insecurity.

According to a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute, real hourly wages fell or stagnated across the wage spectrum between 2013 and 2014 even for those with a bachelor's or advanced degree. The report says, Comparing 2014 with 2007 (which was the last period of reasonable labor market health before the Great Recession), hourly wages for the vast majority of Americans have been flat or falling.

Besides stagnant wages, we are also facing unique issues in the workplace, which come from being wedged between the two largest generations in history. With Gen Yers nipping at our heels and Baby Boomers blocking the path to advancement, Gen X is in an uncomfortable position. In a 2010 Washington Post piece, Joe Frontiera and Dan Leidl wrote, As both groups [Baby Boomer and Millennials] jockey for position, Gen Xers are left to alternately fend off overeager newbies and patiently wait to earn a rare opening at the top. Frontiera and Leidl also note that many Gen Xers have been in the same position for a long time and are butting up against the Gray Ceiling, a stagnating phenomenon .

And those Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) don t appear to be going anywhere. Gallup notes that Baby Boomers are staying in the workforce longer: As the largest generation born in U.S. history, Baby Boomers sheer numbers coupled with their reluctance to retire will likely ensure that their influence endures in the workplace in the coming years. The generation still constitutes about one-third (31%) of the workforce .

In this blog series, we take a look at the financial challenges that Generation X has been dealing with recently and how this generation can plan for the future. We also talked to several fortysomethings about their retirement concerns and what can be done to address them (quotes are sourced from conversations in 2015).