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  • Home
  • Start Here
  • About
  • FIRE
    • Investing
  • Podcast
    • Podcast Season 1
    • Podcast Season 2
    • Coaching Series: Christina
    • Coaching Series: Jaymie
    • Coaching Series: Andrew
    • Coaching Series: Keith
    • Stats and Feedback
  • Rebel Finance School
    • RFS Financial Forecasting
    • Disclaimer
  • Blogs
  • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Press
  • The Extraordinary
    • Introduction
    • Chapter 1 Extraordinary
    • Chapter 2 We are where we are!
    • Chapter 3: If you want different results do different things
  • Debt Petition
ALANDONEGAN.COM
  • Home
  • Start Here
  • About
  • FIRE
    • Investing
  • Podcast
    • Podcast Season 1
    • Podcast Season 2
    • Coaching Series: Christina
    • Coaching Series: Jaymie
    • Coaching Series: Andrew
    • Coaching Series: Keith
    • Stats and Feedback
  • Rebel Finance School
    • RFS Financial Forecasting
    • Disclaimer
  • Blogs
  • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Press
  • The Extraordinary
    • Introduction
    • Chapter 1 Extraordinary
    • Chapter 2 We are where we are!
    • Chapter 3: If you want different results do different things
  • Debt Petition

Blog

Welcome to Alan Donegan's blog.  Start reading for help investing, financial independence, life style design and many mini-experiments!
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    Alan Donegan: Rebel Business School Co-Founder, Rebel Entrepreneur podcast host, Rebel Finance School co-founder and Queen's award winner.  Marvel movie fan fanatic, breakfast lover and financial independent traveller

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How to track your finances

19/6/2022

 
The sun is shining with clear blue skies over Lake Chelan in East Washington State.  Katie and I are sat at Cambell's Resort where we have come for a friend's wedding.  

It is the last day of the month and you know what that means?  Month end and our monthly finance meeting!  Katie and I get excited for days beforehand and planning our monthly finance meeting! 
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One of our highlights of the month is the monthly finance meeting. Katie and I get excited days beforehand, and actively spend time planning our monthly finance meeting. We find a cool location for a wonderful breakfast or brunch, open the spreadsheet and input the numbers and work out which direction our finances are going in!

This is the exact opposite of most of the population who don't like to look at their finances at all; scared of what they might find.  Your average person uses the "bury your head in the sand strategy" to manage their finances; with an occasional peek at the current account to see if they can afford things.  

If the saying "what get's measured; gets improved" is true; then why are so many people so scared of looking at their personal finances??

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Is it risky to invest in the stock market?

15/6/2022

 
People think I am a huge risk taker.  I remember being sat in a Rebel Business School event talking about starting businesses and one of the participants said to me, "It's alright for you, Alan; you are a risk taker!"  I was shocked as this is not how I see myself.  I see myself as quite risk averse; I don't like big risks with my money, with my business or with my life.  I like to play it safe in so many ways.
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This got me thinking, "Am I a risk taker?"  What does the rest of the world see as risky that I see as the safe bet?

Do you think it is risky to start a business?  Do you think it is risky to invest in the stock market?  Do you think the safe thing to do is to get a job and stay there for the rest of your life?

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How do I calculate my savings rate?

31/5/2022

 
How much of the money you earn do you save and invest? Do you save any of the money that you earn each month? 

The average savings rate in the United Kingdom is 6%. In the USA it is 7.9%. Do you know if you are saving more or less than that?
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Do you save more money than the average person? Do you save less money than the average person? Do you know how much you’re saving?

Your savings rate is one of the key indicators of when you can retire! Knowing this number you can predict how long you have to work in paid employment. We can predict your retirement date based on this number. 

Created 11th August 2020. Updated May 31st 2022

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Wealthify review

25/5/2022

 
Recently we were approaching investing and finance companies looking for sponsors for the Rebel Finance School to help us reach more people and do more good in the world.  One of the companies we found was Wealthify and they seemed to have a great mission to simplify investing and help people make the most of their investments and pensions.  On the surface it looked fabulous
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We set up a call to speak to them and before we chatted we did a deep dive on their strategies and investment returns.  Katie and I were SHOCKED with what we found.  We wrote to Wealthify, cancelling the meeting. They asked for feedback, why did we cancel?  We sent the feedback and their response was "we are going to have to agree to disagree." 

Wealthify has 30,000 customers and they are out there actively marketing (in my opinion unethically) for new customers.   I decided to write an open letter to their CEO Andy Russell. 

If you have been thinking of investing with Wealthify read this first........

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How much are you worth?

24/5/2022

 
Updated: 8th June 2022

I know; you are priceless.  Just like the rest of us!  That isn't quite what I meant.  Actually there are a lot of answers to this question.  When you start a business there is a decision of what to charge (your worth), there is a self-confidence answer (self-worth) and there is a personal finance answer of your net-worth.

Can you confidently tell me you net-worth in £GBP or $USD?

Most people we ask this question to don't really know.  They start adding up, how much is my house worth? What is my car worth?
Alan Donegan pockets stuffed full of cash
Do you know your net-worth?
How do you calculate your net-worth?  The first step to change is to take a good look at where you are right now.  If you don't know your starting point it is difficult to know if the change you are creating is moving you in the right direction or not.  If you can't clearly give a £ or $ figure for your net-worth then this article will help you figure it out.

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Donegan Update May'22

17/5/2022

 
Nearly falling of a mountain, launching Rebel Finance School, visiting coffee farms to start a Rebel Coffee brand, picking a fight with the banks and so much more.  The Donegans have been busy and learning lots along the way.  

This post is rather egotistically about us (my most uncomfortable subject) and what we have learnt along the way.  If you are looking for investing or Rebel Finance School then skip this post and click there. 
Alan and Katie Donegan
The Donegans in the storm on the first day in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The picture to the right is from today outside our hotel in Montevideo, Uruguay.  We landed as a cyclone started to batter the coast of Uruguay.  Let's start at the beginning of 2022........

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Stop pushing debt on us

10/5/2022

 
When I was a young, I was forced to go to court to save my family's home from repossession.   My father had taken out loans for his business totalling £3.6M and secured them against our house.

When the business failed, he couldn’t repay the loans and the banks came after our house and took us to court. 

Trying to argue against a trained bank barrister (Mr Bond) in court was futile with a judge that had no patience with us. 
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Watching the judge's gavel come down after he ordered a repossession was the worst moment of my life.   My Mum cried, I shouted at the judge he was wrong and we were told we had 1 month to move out. 

But we appealed and I represented the family in court as we couldn’t afford a lawyer. I learned as much as I could about law, made my case and we settled getting enough back for my Mum to have somewhere to live. . 

Ever since then, I've always seen debt as a dangerous thing. I've met many other people who have suffered. Some of them have lost everything.  Debt doesn’t just harm the debtors - it hurts their family, too. 

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Guide to ESG Index funds

19/3/2022

 
When Katie and I ran the second Rebel Finance School we had over 450 people attending and one of the questions we got asked the most was about ESG funds.  Should we invest in them?  What are they?  Do you recommend them?  

Let's start with what ESG means; it stands for Environmental, Social, Governance.  The idea is that the fund is made up of companies that are more ethical, more sustainable, better for the environment and better run than other companies.

The hope is that by investing only in the ethical companies we can make the world a better place whilst creating a profit. 
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Sounds like a good idea but my biggest concern is that this leads to stock picking and therefore worse performance (profit for us) over time.  Katie and I wanted to dig into my preconceived notions and ideas to find out the truth behind ESG funds and all the hype that surrounds them!

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Building Version 1 - mini-experiments

18/3/2022

 
How do you get to version 1 of your business, product, service or project?  How do you take an idea and turn it into something real?

I have had several failed attempts at writing a book including one that lost me a job!  It has always been in my mind as a way to reach and help more people and to be able to share my message with a wider audience. 

I failed for many reasons, lack of focus, lack of time, not enjoying the editing process and more.  In the past I never pushed through to actually get version 1 of my book out into the world!
Alan Donegan pretending to read a blank note book to get a good picture for the blog
Alan looking surprised at a blank page in a Captain America Note Book
Recently an opportunity came my way that I could not pass up and I want to share it with you as well as some ideas about mini-experiments. 

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Trouble in paradise

10/3/2022

 
I am sat outside a café, sipping a hot americano in the sunshine of Mexico.  I have every reason to be happy but I am not.  I am sad and down and unmotivated to do anything.  

I beat myself up because I have everything that everyone could ever want; and more and yet I still feel down sometimes.  
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Why am I sad?  Because I just had a huge argument with Katie, my wife.  She is the love of my life and people always compliment us on how strong our relationship is; but we are just two normal humans that have problems too.  

We have figured out a lot.  We have figured out how to build businesses, how to get to financial independence and we have been working on communication and self-development for decades but we still don't know it all.  We still have problems, arguments and issues just like everyone. 

Why am I telling you this?  I think it is important to realise no one is perfect and we are all trying our hardest.

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Movie Script Update

5/3/2022

 
In 2018 for my Mum's 70th birthday we took her to Venice, Italy.  On a bright, beautiful day in Venice, I was sat on my own next to the grand canal with my note book doing a goal setting process.  As I sat with the sound of the boats going past and an Italian espresso in my hand I wrote about what I wanted life to be like. 

​I had always wanted to write a movie, visit Hollywood, experience the movies and more.  So many of my goals revolved around movies and having new experiences.
Alan Donegan Script
Holding my "finished" script in LA after spending 7 weeks writing
At the time I was working full time on Rebel Business School and growing it, Simon (my business partner) and I were on a mission to change entrepreneurship education and really create impact in the world. 

As I wrote out my goal of going to LA to write a movie I wondered to myself if I would ever get round to doing it.  After my coffee I met up with Katie (my wife) and as we walked around the canals of Venice she asked a question that changed my life forever.

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How global is your global fund?

20/2/2022

 
How global is your global index fund?  How much of the world are you actually investing in when you buy a global index fund? 

After digging into what goes into an index fund as part of writing our guide to ESG indexes article, we were inspired to find out how much of the world the Vanguard "global" fund actually covers.

​A global index fund makes it easy for you to invest your money around the world (huge diversification) and partake in the global economy.
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These funds have huge promise and we wanted to dig in to find out what you are actually buying when you purchase a global index fund.

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Fear of investing in stocks and shares

16/1/2022

 
The fear of investing in stocks and shares is real.  In 2000 I had saved more than £7,000 through work and side-hustles.  I was so proud of myself.  I wanted to buy a house.  I spoke to my Dad about this and he said "let's talk to my financial advisor about stocks and shares instead".  The advisor arrived at our house in a fancy soft top car and talked about technology stocks and their potential. 
Alan Donegan - are you scared of investing in the stock market?
I used to be petrified of investing in the stock market
My Dad and the advisor convinced me to invest my life savings into a high tech, high growth managed fund inside an ISA.  

Within months the dot com bubble burst and my life savings went from £7,000 to £1,200.  I lost 83% of my life's savings.  By 2005 it had recovered to £1,400 and I sold it all off to go and volunteer in Costa Rica.

This one incident scared me off investing for 15 years.  

Now, 21 years after that first bad investment, 79% of my net-worth is in stocks and shares and once we sell off our investment properties that number will rise to 95%.  What changed?  How did I go from petrified of investing, saying I would NEVER invest in stocks and shares again to being the biggest advocate for them?

This article is designed to help you have more confidence when starting to invest. 

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Annual Review Questions

28/12/2021

 
Published 19/12/2019
Updated: 28/12/2021

It is the last few days of the year!  Can you believe it? At this time of year I get to do one of the most exciting things I do each year!  I get to do my annual review and start to think about what I want the next year to be like!  

Are you thinking about 2022 yet? What you want life to be like in the next decade? What you want to get rid of? What you want more of?
Alan Donegan reviewing his goals from 2019 and thinking about 2020
Alan reviewing his 2019 goals
10 or 12 years ago I started to do annual goal setting and reflection and have slowly developed my list of questions and process over that period.  I have run it with everyone on the Rebel team and shared with friends to great impact but not published it yet!  This is what I want to give to you for Christmas this year.  This is my Christmas present to you...............

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The start of a mini-experiment

12/12/2021

 
Have you ever thought about writing a book?  Thought that you have a story to tell the world and wanted to get it out there?

I have had those thoughts for years and I've even had a few failed attempts to do it.  One of those attempts got me fired! But that's a story for another day.  
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My goal for 2022 is to write a book and I wondered if you would help me with a little mini-experiment to start with?

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Black Friday sale: FREEDOM

20/11/2021

 
Black Friday is here and people are buying so much stuff!  This morning we walked down 5th Avenue, NYC, the bracing, cold, November air whipped around us. People were lined up in their droves to get into the stores when they opened to buy the "deals"!  Black Friday was in full swing. 

What have you been waiting to buy in the sales?  How much will you spend on stuff?
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Consumerism is at fever pitch at this time of year with the holidays, Christmas and gift buying going CRAZY! 20% of ALL retail sales happen in November and December driven by Black Friday, Cyber Monday and then Christmas.  

The question is what are people actually buying?  What are you buying?  A bunch more liabilities for the house that you have to maintain?

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5 reasons not to invest in crypto

27/10/2021

 
Have you heard the hype surrounding bitcoin and crypto-currency?  Been tempted to buy any?  Feel like you should "invest" but don't know where to start?

This week a friend emailed asking for advice, should he invest in Crypto?    He asked me to talk him out of it!  He said "Now FOMO (fear of missing out) is running amok and Bitcoin is surging. My friend keeps telling me “you’ll buy at $100K, you’ll buy at $100K!""
Alan Donegan Bitcoin hat, avoiding investing amid the bitcoin hype
Alan got given a bitcoin hat but can he avoid the hype and avoid investing!
So many people seem to be talking about it.  Millennial Revolution are mining it in their Airbnb's, the Escape Artist is writing about it and the highs and lows.  It seems to be in the press in different ways every single day. 

With all the hype I wanted to stand up and give a different opinion.  These are my reasons why I don't invest in crypto and won't tell anyone to do it either.

If you are looking to let go of the feeling of "I should invest in crypto" or you want some balance to the reasons for investing then this article is for you.  If you love crypto and don't like to be challenged you aren't going to like this one!

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What's stopping you from sorting out your finances?

29/9/2021

 
What stops you from having your dream life? What is stopping you from having your life exactly as you want it?

We've thought about this a LOT when it comes to business. Over the past decade at the Rebel Business School we have been asking people what stops them from starting a business. We can say with certainty that there are 3 main barriers to building a business. They are fear (or lack of confidence), finances and knowing what to do first!

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Alan Donegan - Rebel Finance School. Thinking
What's stopping you from having your financial life exactly as you want it?
These 3 clear barriers are what we tackle first and this helps people make progress quickly.  The objective is to build a business making money doing what they love, but first we need to get past the barriers!

​My wife, Katie, and I have become fascinated by finances and since running our first finance course we have been trying to understand what stops people from getting their finances in order. 

At the beginning of that course we asked everyone that signed up "What stops you having your finances the way you want them?" What do you think they said? What do you think stops people from fixing their financial situation?

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10 ways to increase your income

12/9/2021

 
The route to financial independence has three main levers! Decrease your spending, increase your income and then invest the difference!  Sounds simple doesn't it?

Nearly everyone focuses on how you can reduce your expenditure.  This tends to be the low hanging fruit so who blames them for starting there. However, there is a floor to how far you can reduce your expenses! There is also a cost to it. If you reduce your expenses too far it can reduce your happiness or safety!  
Alan & Katie Donegan discussing financial independence, investment and life time earnings.
Alan & Katie discussing earning, growth and investments! There is a 10% chance this photo was staged.
Almost every blog talks about cutting out streaming services, reducing expenditure and not going out to eat.   I have a slightly different take on it.  

​There is almost an air of resignation when I ask people about how much money they make.  It is as if they earn what they earn and that is it.  Well I am here to tell you that there maybe a floor to how much you can reduce expenditure but the is NO ceiling to the amount of money you can make!  You want to pull a lever that is going to supercharge your finances and your path to financial independence?  This is the one!

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The war for your dollars

2/8/2021

 
There is a war raging right now for the money in your wallet/purse or bank account.  You might not be aware of it but there are teams of highly trained people around the world all trying to get their slice of your money. 

Every single day they bombard you with marketing messages, offers and tempting treats to get you to spend your money with them. 
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As you walk down the street there are messages on the bus signs, billboards and shop windows.  There are adverts on the TV, the radio stations we listen to and if you log onto social media there are endless targeted adverts directed at you. 

There is a war raging around you.  Some of the smartest, best trained and well funded people in the world are trying to crack the code to your purse/wallet.  Who is going to win?  The marketeers or you? 

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Donegan Update - Aug 2021

2/8/2021

 
I am sat in a WeWork in Bogota, Colombia overlooking the city.  Coffee in hand and wondering "am I really in Colombia?" is this really happening?

It has been nearly 5 months since our last Donegan update.  Katie and I had just made it out of the cold, lockdown of East Germany and to the bright sunshine of Mexico.  

Since last time we celebrate 8 years married, ran Rebel Finance School for 400 people and helped launch Rebel Business School in Colombia!  So much has happened. 
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Created by Miss Jaymie Dylan
This is a post about the Donegans and what they have been up to.  There will be ideas and inspiration but this post is mostly about us!  I always feel a little weird writing about us as most of my articles focus on giving value to you but I think you might still have fun........

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A Colombian Adventure

14/7/2021

 
On a grey afternoon in Bogota, Colombia, Katie and I are sat in the meeting room in our apartment building.  Around the table is the Security Supervisor, the Building Administrator and the interior designer for the building.  The most random array of people.  

The building administrator has called us all together because she has news about Katie's stolen phone.  It was stolen 7 days earlier from right beside Katie.  We are sat making small talk as we dial Dani from the Rebel team in Colombia to help us translate and make sure we don't miss anything.  
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Our studio apartment in the north of Bogota, Colombia
I am wondering how the heck we got here.  Will we get the phone back?  Has it already been sold on the black market?  What will happen to the person I know stole it?  Is the building administrator in on the whole theft?  What is going to happen next?

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The system is out to get you....

4/7/2021

 
Do I sound paranoid? Or do you actually think the system is out to get you?

Is the financial system set up against you (the individual, the consumer) to make sure you don't come out on top?

Of course businesses are out to make a profit, that makes complete sense but how driven to make a profit are they at the expense of your personal financial well being?

​Is the system really designed to get you?
Alan Donegan buying breakfast in Bogota
Alan paying for breakfast at Brot in Bogota Colombia and working out how many instalments he wants to split it over
For years I have felt as though companies are working against me. They try and sell me insurances I don't need, give me credit when I can afford to buy it without it and try every trick under the sun to squeeze a few more £££s out of me at every single turn. 

But who can blame them?  They are just trying to turn a profit aren't they?  Or are there teams of the smartest people in the world working for multinational companies scheming how to increase profits, make products addictive and get more money out of you?

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4% Rule Questions - Retirement

15/6/2021

 
A few weeks ago I wrote a post "How much does it take to retire?".  This particular post sparked a lot of questions and comments that need addressing! 

Everyone has an opinion on money and finances.  I always find it fascinating that the people with the least money and investments give the strongest advice on this subject. 

There is so much mis-information and bad advice out there I wanted to give you my perspective!  And it is only my perspective! Read with a pinch of salt!
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I originally wrote this on the 26th of May 2020 and updated it this week for you on 15th of June 2021.   Has the advice changed following the pandemic? 
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So here are all your questions about the 4% rule, early retirement and financial independence answered!  Let's jump straight into "How much does it take to retire? The Q&A" with Alan...…..

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How much does it take to retire?

15/6/2021

 
My name is Alan, I am 40 years old and I never have to work again if I don't want to. The question is how do I know I can retire?  How do I know I never have to work again?  How do you know when enough money is enough money?  Do you have a target for how much you are working to save for retirement? Do you have a goal? A figure? Are you just working for the sake of working??? 

As an experiment ask some of your friends how much they think they need to retire.  There will be wide and varied answers!
Alan Donegan Relax
Alan relaxing in San Diego on a dream trip to Comi-Con this year
I came across an incredibly simple formula for knowing when enough is enough. I will show you the straight forward maths behind calculating how much you need to invest to retire.

This was first written on the 26th of August 2019 and updated on the 15th June 2021.  I am now 42 years old now!  How time passes. We have reviewed and updated the article given everything that has happened since I wrote it in 2019!

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