The FIRE movement in the UK

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!

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

Is it possible to be FI in the UK?

The short answer is yes.  I have friends who have done it, I have done it with my wife Katie and it is absolutely possible.  Compared to the USA there are things that we in the UK have going for us (like huge ISA and Pension allowances) and things we have going against us (higher cost of living and lower wages in areas) but it is absolutely possible to achieve financial independence in the UK.

Need to know what Financial Independence is click here

The UK Community and blogs

There is a vibrant community in the UK and you can engage and find them in different places. I am going to share with you 2 blogs I trust and 2 Facebook groups I am part of. 

The Escape Artist
The Escape Artist is a blogger in the UK that writes about escaping corporate life and getting to financial independence.  In the early days of our journey my wife and I went to Barney for coaching on finance and investing. his blog is excellent.  Check out the Escape Artist here. 

The Escape Artist at the UK Premier of the Playing with FIRE Documentary

Ken from the Humble Penny and Barney the Escape Artist at the UK Premier of the Playing with FIRE Documentary

The Humble Penny
Ken runs the blog the Humble Penny which works to help people become FI in the UK.  Ken has spoken at PopUp Business School Croydon on launching a blog and is a good friend.  I have been impressed by his energy and content.  Check out the Humble Penny here

Financial Independence Facebook Groups
On Facebook I have found two main Facebook groups that are active at the moment.  The first is the Financial Independence London group which is where most of the FI events happen at the moment.  Join the group for London events and to connect with other people on the FI Journey in the UK.

There is also a Financial Independence UK group on Facebook with nearly 1000 members!  Get involved there to find out more about what is happening outside London!

If there isn't a ready made community in your area build one and tell people about it.  If I am in town I will drop in!

The second is the set of Facebook groups started by ChooseFI.  ChooseFI is the biggest podcast in the FI world and is really excellent.  Click here for theChooseFI Podcast; it is absolutely worth listening!

ChooseFI have a few different local Facebook groups in the UK:
ChooseFI London 
ChooseFI Swindon
ChooseFI Liverpool
ChooseFI Yorkshire
ChooseFI Newcastle 
ChooseFI Scotland

For a full listing of the ChooseFI groups around the world visit this page

There are other blogs and sites like Monevator  which pulls together the best articles about FI and more.  If you know of one I have missed off the list that you think is good, let me know and I will add it and build this into a resource list. 

The Playing with FIRE Premier

Playing with FIRE is a documentary following the journey of Scott and Taylor as they learn about Financial Independence, meet the experts like JL Collins, Millennial Revolution, Mad Fientist and Mr Money Mustache and then change their entire life to work towards their dream!

The London Premier happed in June'19 and was sold out!

Me in the front row of the audience for the premier

The Escape Artist introducing the panel discussion after the premier with The Mad Fientist, Millennial Revolution and Travis Shakespeare the Documentary's Director

From left to right; Mr 1500, Kristy and Bryce of Millennial Revoultion and Travis Shakespeare the documentary Director

I am going to write a review of the Documentary soon but I just wanted to show you there is a vibrant community in the UK all working towards the dream.  Join one of the Facebook groups, start commenting and sharing and come along to one of the meetups to get involved!

Find the latest about the documentary and screenings on the Playing with FIRE website

Financial independence in a nutshell

For a full article explaining Financial Independence go here. 

FInancial Independence in a nutshell:

Save as much as you can, as quickly as you can and invest it into assets that produce a financial return such as Vanguard Index funds. Let compounding take effect and retire early (a.k.a do whatever you want) living off the income from your assets. 
Alan Donegan

Katie and I have been working towards this goal for many years and reached our goal around a year ago.  We have now been exploring the world, Katie has been learning guitar and cycling accross Iowa and I have been writing movies, blogging and having fun. 

Even if you don't want to reitre; having the freedom to be able to do whatever you want with your life and not worry about money is an amazing goal. 

Whenever I take money and invest it into the stock market I think of it as buying my freedom.  Every pound I put into stocks and shares creates a return for me and if I own enough of them then it means I get all of my time back to do what I want. 

Instead of buying a more expensive car buy your freedom first.  I will write more about Freedom soon. 

How to get started in the UK

The UK is no different in terms of working towards your goal of being Financially Independent.  The main FI strategies work here just as they do elsewhere; there will be nuances and tax differences but the main principles hold.

Here is my starting guide to FIRE in the UK

1. Examine your spending.  What are you spending your money on? Where can you save? Where do you not want to cut? How can you create more money to invest. The three biggest catagories in most people's budgets are housing, transport and food.  Can you save more so you can start to invest?  Check out this article entitled "What do you spend your money on?"
2. Increase your income.  Can you increase the amount of money you are bringing home each month? Ask for a pay rise? Work towards a promotion at work? Start a side-hustle?  Start your own business.  If you need help starting a business then check out PopUp Business School.  Their courses are completely free and run all around the world. 
3. Take the difference between the amount you spend and the amount you earn and invest it each month in low cost index funds like the ones Vanguard supply.  I wrote a recent article on Investing in the UK that youcan read here. 
4. Continue to invest as much as you can as quickly as you can
   
5. Watch your investments grow.  Have a monthly finance date with your partner to review thigns and track spending and investments and enjoy the journey
   
6. Let the power of compounding take effect over the years
   
7. When your investments are 25 times larger than your monthly expenditure you are financially free.  I am writing an article on the 4% rule and how to use it to work out when you can retire at the moment and that will be coming out soon!
   
8. You have bought your freedom!  Do a little dance, go traveling, do cool shit and have fun for the rest of your life!

Is it a fairly simple straight forward strategy?  Yes.  Is it easy to achieve?  No.  It takes a lot of energy, time and effort to be able to do it.  

FIRE in the UK Press

FIRE and the movement has been getting some coverage in the national media in the UK! The Escape Artist and Humble Penny have been featured a lot recently and I got picked up by the guardian and set as the face of an article this week!  You can read here!  The comments are hilarious and funny.  I get called a parasite a few times! FIRE and Financial Independence principles are becoming more main stream by the week!

Alan Donegan featured in the Guardian this week

Interested in FIRE?  Where next!?

Inspired and want to learn more?

​Here are some resources to get you going.

The two books I reccomend on FIRE that are the easiest to get into are The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins and Quit like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung. 

If books aren't your thing then read Mr Money Mustache's blog for bite sized articles or listen to the ChooseFI podcast which is excellent. 

Next up on Alan's blog

I would love to know what you would like me to write about and share.  Please write a comment below and tell me what you want me to cover. 

My plans are to write more about financial independence, starting a business and then an update on my movie and TV stuff and how that has been coming along!  

If you want to be kept up to date sign up for the mailing list.  I send about one email every 6 months when the energy strikes me so it is very low effort!  

Good luck and let me know your thoughts!

Alan