{"id":514523,"date":"2026-06-02T10:43:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T10:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/514523\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T10:43:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T10:43:17","slug":"i-have-no-retirement-plan-no-backup-and-honestly-no-idea-what-comes-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/514523\/","title":{"rendered":"I Have No Retirement Plan, No Backup, And Honestly No Idea What Comes Next"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most Gen-Xers are looking forward to retiring<\/a> in the next few years. Unfortunately, I\u2019m not one of them. Before you begin to think that I have a fabulous, high-paying career that I\u2019m absolutely in love with and want to do until I take my last breath, let me hit you with the hard facts.<\/p>\n

Years of hardcore drug use in my late twenties and early thirties, while living in New York City during its dicier years, <\/a>destroyed any chance of building either a stable career or the beginning of any financial plan. Although I finally kicked the monkey off my back in 1999, I replaced it with the bottle.<\/p>\n

I went from dead-end job to dead-end job, mostly in the printing and reprographics industry. An average workweek was 60+ hours, all for low pay, high stress, while working for the most narcissistic men on the planet.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

While some of these jobs did include a 401(k) plan, my employers didn\u2019t match any contributions. Since I earned so little, I needed every penny of my paycheck to cover my monthly bills.<\/p>\n

At 60, I have no retirement plan, no backup, and honestly, no idea what comes next<\/p>\n

\"older Sweet Life \/ Unsplash<\/p>\n

Due to boatloads of unresolved childhood trauma<\/a>, I believed that I was unworthy of a good job and that abundance would be something that I\u2019d never experience. I\u2019d tackled that later in life, but the stuffing of my feelings did nothing to help me move forward in life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite living a clean and sober lifestyle, I was miserable and working for miserable people. By the end of the month, my bank account would be down to double digits.<\/p>\n

Eventually, I quit my job and worked full-time as an Uber and Lyft driver. I loved the independence of it, and although I did fairly well, most of my profit was eaten up by gasoline, oil changes, car washes, and new tires every six months. Once the pandemic hit and profitable rides disappeared, I went on unemployment like a lot of other independent contractors.<\/p>\n

In late 2019, I slipped into a horrible depression, the worst one I\u2019ve ever experienced. In the wee hours of the night, a voice spoke to me, saying I should go to Peru and that I\u2019d find my salvation in the Jungle. As a last-ditch effort to save my sanity, I maxed out my credit card and did as I was instructed. Fortunately, it saved my life.<\/p>\n

With a renewed love of life, in September 2020, I quietly snuck into Spain during the global lockdown and never left.<\/a> Last December, I was granted permanent Spanish residency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During my first two years in Barcelona, I self-published two books while supporting myself as a freelance content writer. Shortly after that, my main client offered me a full-time salaried position, which I gladly accepted. With a steady salary, I wrote and self-published a third book.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 11 Seriously Important Things Too Many People Forget To Do In Preparation For Retirement <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here I am, two years after accepting their offer, and I still have no feasible retirement plan<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t hate my job, and this is the first time in my life that I can say that without lying. For what I\u2019m earning each month, if I still lived in the States, I\u2019d be homeless or sleeping on a friend\u2019s couch. But for Spain, it provides me with more than what I need to get by and then some.<\/p>\n

With retirement age just a few years away, I do find myself longing for the life of a pensioner. I\u2019ve worked so hard my entire life and have very little to show for it financially. <\/a>However, I\u2019m content with what I do to earn a living. I\u2019m a remote worker, and my employer treats me with respect, something I\u2019ve never had despite four decades as a hard-working worker bee.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve looked into what Social Security would pay me<\/a> at age 65, and it would be about half of what I\u2019m currently earning. That would put me at the poverty level, and there\u2019s no way in hell that I\u2019m going back to living like that.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, I\u2019m quite happy writing content for my employer. My bills are paid, and there\u2019s extra left over at the month\u2019s end. I\u2019ve built up a nice little nest egg of savings, but nowhere near what I\u2019d need to retire.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is there anything wrong with working until you drop, even if it\u2019s not your dream job?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m beginning to see that I don\u2019t have any other choice. Working well into my sixties and seventies isn\u2019t something I want to do, but if the work isn\u2019t horrible and my life is good, I guess it\u2019s not so bad.<\/p>\n

Although I do earn money each month from the sales of my three books, at this time, they\u2019re more of a nice supplement to my income and not an actual healthy revenue stream. I joke with my partner and friends that once one of my books becomes a bestseller, I\u2019ll finally retire. I’m hoping that day comes soon.<\/p>\n

For a guy who beat two addictions, struggled to get by for years, battled depression, fought his demons in the Peruvian Amazon and won, changed countries, and wrote three books, I probably shouldn\u2019t rule anything out. My most painful life lessons have been my best teachers, and boy, have I learned a lot.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 8 Things To Stop Buying Now If You Want To Retire Years Earlier Than Everyone Else<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Cline<\/a> is a Barcelona-based writer and contributor to YourTango. He’s written three books and writes about addiction, recovery, mental\u00a0health, and life as a U.S. citizen living in Spain.<\/p>\n

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