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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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    Author

    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 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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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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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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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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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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Debt Warning

18/5/2021

 
How many companies have messaged you this week offering to extend your credit limit? Offering you free overdrafts for a month?  Offering to lend you money?

When I first wrote this blog post Coronavirus lock-down was in full swing, the flow of money was slowing and businesses were having to lay people off.  We are at our most vulnerable to debt offers in many years!

It is now the 18th of May 2021 and lock down is easing across Europe, the USA is heading back towards "normal" and we seem to be coming out the other side of the pandemic (I hope).  However, household debt is on the rise and 31,239 people in the UK became insolvent (people who are unable to pay debt and enter formal proceedings) in the first quarter of 2021!  

​That is 347 people a day going bankrupt in the UK!
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This is a warning against unscrupulous companies that are going to try and take advantage of you during this time.  They are going to do it under the guise of helping you through the pandemic but in reality they are going to leave you far worse off in the long run than if they didn't help at all!

A year after I wrote this last paragraph I have now begun to realise that it is not just in moments of crisis that they will try and take advantage of you.  They are out their right now taking advantage of people; it just feels more shocking at the height of a pandemic.   There are teams of people currently working out the best way to get you to take on more debt. 
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Update 25/08/2020: This  was written just as lock down was starting on the 25th of March 2020 and this is still going on now and always will do.  Car dealerships make more money on the financing and insurance than they do the car itself.  Online catalogue companies offer you "anything you want" buy now, pay later at 39.9% APR. Companies that lend money make more, when you pay slower!  The debt warning isn't just for the height of a pandemic it is something you need to be wary of always! 

Update 18/05/2021: They are still after you.  Nothing has changed.  In fact they are getting smarter at putting you into debt.  This warning is needed now more than ever.  I get the feeling when I review this article in a year's time I will be writing that it is even more needed then.

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What do you spend your money on?

4/5/2021

 
Where does all the money go?  What are you spending it on? We have HOW MUCH LEFT?!???

​Most people have no idea where all their money goes and are shocked at how little they have left at the end of the month.  Where is your money going and what are you spending it on?

Updated: 4th May 2021
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This post is about lifestyle inflation, conscious spending and buying the future you really want!  We all earn money and then make decisions on what we spend that on.  My desire is to help you become conscious of your spending and make conscious decisions on future spending. 

If you do this you will either get comfortable with your current spending or change it to buy more happiness.  After all isn't happiness the goal?

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How to live for free: FOREVER!

27/4/2021

 
Updated 27th April 2021
Over your working lifetime how much money have you earnt? From the fruits of your hard labour and working all the jobs how much have you made over the years? 

Then comes a slightly more painful question:   how much of that money have you kept?  What are you left with?

​This might not be the most comfortable post to read but it might be what you need to get you to start paying attention to your finances!

Katie and I were doing an exercise this week to see how much money we’ve actually made in our lifetime and how much money we have left. Interestingly we discovered that we have more money left at the end than we have actually made in our lifetime!
Alan Donegan writing
Alan sat working out his future
How can this be possible? How can we have more money than we earnt? Does that mean that we have lived for free for our entire life so far? Is this normal? Could you do the same? Do you have anything to show for your years of labour?

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Vanguard Developed World versus Global index fund.  Investor Series

3/1/2021

 
You have decided you want to start to invest.  Yay! You are on your way to financial independence!  You have decided Vanguard index funds are the way forward. Super!  You log on to their website ready to invest and you see the HUGE selection of funds available to you!  Which one do you buy?  Where do you start? â€‹ What does it all mean?

So many of the people on our courses get to this stage and then this final step of choosing a fund stops then from getting going.  We want to help you get over this last hurdle and get into the game of investing!
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The clash of the titans! The FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund versus the Developed World ex. UK. Vanaguard!
For an overview of which Index Fund to choose start here.  This article is to help you decide whether to invest in the Vanguard Developed World Ex. UK Fund or the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap Index Fund and what the differences are!

​We are going to break down the differences between the two funds and, given that nearly all of our money in invested in the Developed world fund, whether we are going to change that going forwards. 

We do not receive sponsorship from Vanguard or anything in return for promoting their products.  I kind of wish we did; lol. 

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What is an index fund? Investor Series

10/11/2020

 
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What is an index fund? The language of investing can be hugely complex at the best of times! Even a simple term like index fund takes a lot to properly explain.  If you want to feel confident investing then the first step is to build your investing knowledge and financial vocabulary. The more you understand something the more confident you will feel starting!  Writing this article has doubled Katie's and my knowledge about index funds!  We hope it does the same for you!
The short explanation: Index funds give you an easy and cost-effective route to diversify your investments across the globe and partake in the growth of the global economy. Sounds sexy; but what the hell does it mean! What is an index fund? What is contained in an index fund? Which index funds should I buy? Why do I care? Let's get geeky together!

Updated: 22nd June 2021

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Your Financial Philosophy

18/8/2020

 
What is your financial philosophy? Sounds a little high brow doesn't it? Are you imagining Katie and I sat around in togas pontificating about finance, money and our beliefs? 

​I hope not..........

Do you believe money is a scarce resource? Do you believe money doesn't grow on trees? Do you believe money is the root of all evil? These thoughts, beliefs and ideas sit out brains affecting our actions and therefor our financial destiny. 
Alan Donegan broke with empty pockets
Do you believe money is a scarce resource? Or do you live in an abundant world?
You financial philosophy is the set of beliefs, values, your identity and relationship with money.  It is the way you think about your finances and yourself which controls your actions and in turn determines your financial destiny.  I want to help you uncover your financial philosophy, take control of it and develop it to create a brighter financial future. 

Have you ever taken the time to consciously consider what you believe about money and how it is affecting your life?

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Take Control of your Finances!

5/7/2020

 
Where did you learn to manage your money? School? Books? Family?  Did you ever learn?

I don't remember learning anything particularly useful about finance at school.  I did economics at college but that didn't teach me anything I could particularly apply to my personal finances.
Alan Donegan burning £50. Personal finance. FIRE
How good are you at managing your finances? Does it feel like you just burn through money faster than it comes in?
I use supply and demand theory in my business to this day ​but no one taught me about personal finance. I learnt through books, courses that I paid to go on and through trial and error; the good old fashioned way.  I have paid a high price for the skills I have developed and I think it is time I gave it all away for free...…...

I have been doing that with entrepreneurship for the last decade now. Giving away the course I wish I had when I was launching my business.  Katie and I have decided to do this for personal finance next. 

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Financial Independence in uncertain times

20/6/2020

 
The market has crashed!  The Zombie apocalypse has happened!  Life is ending!  Who gives a #?@! about investing and financial independence? 

I would ask is there a better or more important time to take control of your finances? 
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What do you do in uncertain times? You don't panic that is for sure!
If you finances weren't in a good state when Covid hit this situation probably did nothing to help.    So many business and families lost their income overnight and they weren't prepared for it!

The people that benefit the most from the opportunities arising from Covid19 are the ones that are in the best financial position.  

​Now is the time to take control of your finances and set yourself up for the future

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Playing with FIRE - Documentary Review

15/12/2019

 
A documentary about Financial Independence and early retirement?  Really?  Can you make a feature length documentary about money and retirement and make it interesting? 

Yes.  You really can!  It has even ended up in the top 10 best finance movies of the decade!!!  I went to the London Premier and then saw it in Los Angeles a month later and was lucky enough to meet Scott and Taylor the stars and executive producer of the doc in Portugal this year at Chautauqua. 
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Read on for the full review of the documentary...…….

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The FIRE movement in the UK

20/8/2019

 
The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement started in the USA.  That is where all the biggest bloggers and podcasters live and where a lot of the FIRE Community is based. But just because all the blogs write about 401ks, Roths and other American terms doesn't mean that there isn't anything going on in the United Kingdom!

There is a movement in the UK, there are people have achieved FIRE and there are people who understand what you are working towards!
Alan Donegan and the Playing with FIRE Documentary Screening in London
A packed audience at the London premier of the Playing with FIRE Documentary
The movement in the UK is a lot smaller.  It has taken more time to catch on but it is growing fast.  Is it possible to be Financially Independent (FI) in the UK? Are there any good blogs about Financial Independence from a UK perspective? Is there a community? Read on to find out more about Financial Independence in the UK

Created 20th August 2019.  Updated: 22nd of June 2021

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What is financial independence?

8/2/2019

 
Updated: 26/05/2020
Financial independence (FI) is when your investments bring in more income than you need to live on.  This means that you have decoupled your time from your finances.  You can spend your time doing anything you want without having to worry if money is going to come in or not.
Alan Donegan wondering what to do with his FI time!
What would you do with the time you buy back with Financial Independence?
Income from passive sources is greater than expenditure; equals financial independence.  Sounds simple?  There are some nuances!

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What do I do with my savings? Invest? How?

4/2/2019

 
Buy small liabilities and instead invest in assets was the end of my last blog post.  This sounds great but how the hell do you actually do that? How do you buy an asset? Are you asking me to go out and buy an investment property now? I don't have the cash!

​You have saved up some money and you are wondering what to do with it.  Where do you start? My plan for this article is to break down some different types of investment and then lay out Katie and my strategy so you can see what we do.  This is NOT investment advice rather it is an article exploring options and sharing our approach. 
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Alan shocked at how low Vanguard's fees are for an index fund!
This article was first published 4th February 2019.  Updated 8th September 2020 and then again on 1st June 2021

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Alan donegan

Home | About | Start Here | Podcast | FIRE | Contact | Podcast Season 1 | Podcast Season 2 | Stats & Feedback | Take Control of your Finances
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