How to Retire Without Running Out of Money
THE FINAL WEEK! Booooo. We have had so much fun doing Rebel Finance School with you and whilst you’ve come to the end of the course, your journey is possibly only just beginning!
Now is the time to take everything you have learnt and make it happen. Nothing will change in your life unless you take action. We’ve given you the information, now you must go and DO something with it.
Week 10 course notes
There were three main parts to this week…
1. Retirement calculator. We showed you how to predict/build your future using the retirement calculator that Katie and the ninjas built.
2. Graduation ceremony. We acknowledged you for coming this far with a graduation ceremony to celebrate your achievement!
3. Words of wisdom from Mr Money Mustache. We were so fortunate to have Mr Money Mustache join us live from Colorado. It is so calming when you meet someone that has lived their life by the principles we talk about and has been retired for 17 years. We all got to learn from his experience!
Let’s go through each of these parts, one by one.
1. Retirement calculator
The overall steps to getting on top of your money are:
- Work out where all the money goes and the size of your gap. Week 1
- Take a good look at where you are financially (net-worth). Week 2
- Work on your money mindset and beliefs around money. Week 3
- Pay off expensive debt and build an emergency fund so you’re ready to invest. Week 4
- Start to talk to the people around you about money and understand each other. Week 5
- Work together to track and measure your finances on a monthly basis (monthly finance meetings). Week 5
- Learn how to invest the gap you have created between what you earn and what you spend. Weeks 6, 7 and 8
Once you have started to invest and are seeing your money work for you, you naturally start to ask questions like “if it keeps going like this when will I have enough to retire?” and “how do I know when I have enough money?”
In week 8 of the course we introduced retirement principles and the 4% guideline. In week 9 we looked at bonds and sequence of returns risk to answer the question, “how do I make sure I don’t run out of money in retirement?”
Back when we ran the course in 2022, I lost Katie for a few days as she built a retirement calculator from scratch! I am still in shock at how she did it and how well she did it! This week we helped you work through the retirement calculator to work out when you will have enough to retire.
There are 3 main sections in the retirement calculator. You’ll find instructions for how to fill in each section when you go and use it!
Your job is to have a play. There’s a bunch of inputs and assumptions you need to make to start with. Put in your best educated guess and then start to have a play with them. If you spend 1,000 less a year, what does that do to your retirement age? What about if you earn 1,000 more or returns are 1% better than you predict? How does this all affect your retirement date?
Why does a higher withdrawal rate mean earlier retirement?!
One thing that foxes people when they play with the calculator is that if you increase the withdrawal rate, the time to retirement goes DOWN. Increasing the withdrawal rate means you are taking out MORE of your money each year. That means with a higher withdrawal rate you need a smaller pot so you can get to retirement more quickly.
But be careful! A higher withdrawal rate means you are more likely to run out of money in retirement.
4% gives you 96% chance of not running out of money in retirement and if you are flexible that result goes up to as close to 100% as humanly possible! For most of us, Donegans included, 4% is the right number to use. Let’s keep it simple!
2. Graduation!
Week 10 was also a celebration and culmination of all that we’ve been talking about for the last 10 weeks. Do you feel like you are more in control of your money?! We bloomin’ well hope so! Here is the closing graduation ceremony that we all said together.
Congratulations on completing the course. We’ve loved having you with us for the 10 weeks and we’re excited to see what you do with the information we’ve given you!
3. Mr Money Mustache
We had an extra special guest, Mr Money Mustache, join us to answer your questions about financial independence and how to live a happy, fulfilling life.
Use the button to the right to sign up to get his articles when they’re released AND you can also choose to get his Classic series emails. Pete has done a huge amount of work to polish and order his best posts from over the years into the Classics series.
If you like reading, this is for you. Pete’s blog is the main reason Katie got on board the FI journey and we were able to get to FI so quickly. THANK YOU MR MONEY MUSTACHE! x
What did you think of the course?
Katie and I put a huge amount of work into this course and there is one thing we ask in return. Please tell us your thoughts and give us feedback. We really want to know how to improve, what worked and more. Please take the time to fill out the survey for us now. It will take you about 10-15 minutes to complete.
The survey is in 2 parts. The first is feedback on the course and what you found useful. The second is a repeat of the money belief questionnaire from the start of the course. The reason for re-doing this survey is to see if things have shifted for you, your partner and for all of us on the course.
Katie and I are going to anonymise all the data and then do a report on the course and if it has helped or not! You know Katie LOVES data so please help us by filling out all the questions! THANK YOU.
Here is a picture of how happy it will make us when you’ve done the survey!
In case you are “away from”/stick motivated…. here is a picture of a unicorn. One of these will die if you don’t fill in the survey.
Week 10 homework
This week there are a few things to do on the homework front which will help get you closer to having your finances in order and to keep tracking your progress!
1. Please do the course survey as explained above!
2. Have a play with the retirement calculator. Play with different scenarios. Play with each of the inputs and see what impact it has on your numbers.
Keen-bean homework!
3. Watch the Forecasting workshop
For Rebel Finance School 2022 we did a bonus week all about forecasting your financial future. No calculator is perfect (sorry Katie) so if you want to work out the details of your particular personal situation (e.g. the split of your investments between ISA and SIPP) and really chart out your own course you need your own spreadsheet / model.
This workshop helps you create that. Watch the video here!
4. Write a letter to yourself
It’s so powerful to realise how far you’ve already come and to commit to continue to look after yourself in the future.
What could you thank “past you” for? Not just in the area of finances but in the other areas of your life, maybe in your relationships, your health or your work or career. What effort did “past you” put in or what hurdles did they overcome to put you in the position you’re in today? Maybe you want to thank “past you” for signing up to and completing Rebel Finance School!
And secondly, what do you commit to doing today and in the next few weeks or months for “future you”? In what ways do you want “future you” to be grateful to “current you”? Again, not just with your money and finances but in all areas of your life. What do you commit to making happen, changing or improving so that “future you” is happier, healthier and wealthier?
If you feel moved to share your letter with us, or maybe parts of it, we would love to read it!
🎉 Fire Finale – Week 10 Quiz
1. What is the retirement calculator trying to estimate?
2. Why does the 4% rule work?
3. What's one purpose of playing with the calculator scenarios?
4. What are some actions you could take after this course? (Select all that apply)
5. What are some elements of your FIRE vision? (Select all that apply)
🏆 Certificate of Achievement
You’ve mastered Week 10: FIRE Finale!
Vision Architect
Your path is lit. 🔥📅🧘♀️
🎉 You Did It! 🎉
Congratulations on completing the Rebel Finance School course.
You've built a strong foundation, gained clarity, and fired up your future. 🔥
🎓 Take a bow, Vision Architect.
Your future self is already giving you a high-five.
Now what?!
This is just the beginning. We can’t believe the 10 weeks have gone so quickly and it’s the end of the course already. But the end of the course is the beginning of the next chapter for you in your financial journey and we’re going to be here alongside you to help!
Watch this space for mini-recap videos for each week of the course and we’re planning further workshops and content to help you. One thing that’ll be coming up soon is the new version of the Extraordinary Life Course. Sign up to hear more about it! It’s a course designed to move you towards your version of an extraordinary life, whatever that means to you.
One year from now, we are committing to re-connecting with you and finding out how you are getting on. The plan is to catch up, help with questions and keep you moving towards being on top and in control of your money!
Have you done all the homework from previous weeks? If you have, high 5 and gold star for you. If not, go back and look at what you’ve missed. The homework is summarised each week in this section of the website.
Review the course notes in 1 month’s time (put it in the calendar now!). The most important thing you can do to embed what you have learnt on this course is to review your notes afterwards. Repetition is the mother of all learning so put a review meeting in the calendar now! (maybe with some other RFS friends?)
Celebrate completing the course! How are you going to celebrate? Read a book in the park? Go for a walk with a loved one? Have a coffee staring at nature? Treat yourself to a goal setting session and think about the future??
Creating the future
After you have had a play with the retirement calculator and made some assumptions and predictions then the next step is to get on and build the future you want.
Don’t put off thinking about what you want in life until some magical financial independence number, retirement number or retirement age becomes real. Start thinking about the life you want to live NOW and start to make it happen. The number isn’t going to make you happy. What will make you happy is the shit you do in life, the people you surround yourself with and the fun you have.
The Donegans obviously use PowerPoint for it’s natural planning abilities. We each wrote a PowerPoint about what we wanted life to be like in retirement, then shared it and got on with making it happen. The reason we each create first is for two reasons; firstly it clarifies your thoughts seeing it in writing and with pictures and the second is that one of us speaks more than the other (can you guess who?!) and this way we both get equal voice about what we want to do.
We don’t care HOW you do it just get on with creating your life the way you want it. Think about how you would like life to be and then take IMMEDIATE action towards it. What does this mean? if you want to live on the beach, look up locations, send messages and start to learn about it. If you want to learn more about meditation then join a course, download an app or just start doing it for free on YouTube. Think about what you want and then straight away do something about it! Check out the Extraordinary Life Course for more information! If you scroll to the bottom of the page you’ll find a series of prompts that will help you set a vision for your life.
I have fallen in love with the phrase “The Extraordinary belongs to those that create it”.
What I have come to realise that the extraordinary is rooted in the mundane daily actions we take… setting up the direct debit to invest £100 into your SIPP each month… cancelling Netflix and investing the money instead… forcing your pension provider to give you answers(!)
None of these things are particularly sexy or exciting but they are the steps that build your future. It is the mundane daily actions like ringing your pension provider and forcing through the pain of getting them to transfer it that changes the course of your future.
Let’s make this happen!
Ask for help
Remember to reach out in the Facebook group with any questions you have or if you get stuck. Don’t let confusion be an excuse for not progressing with this stuff. We are here to support you!
If you have emailed us asking for help and we haven’t replied, we’re not ignoring you! We have been inundated with emails asking for help. We just can’t get to them all. We try and answer as many as you can. If we ignore you then know that doesn’t mean we don’t love you! Please put the question in the Facebook group!
THANK YOU
And finally… thank you! Thank you for your energy and participation in the course over the last 10 weeks. We have loved hanging out with you and helping you!
Alan and Katie
Frequently Asked Questions
Run the numbers: 25x your annual spending = your “freedom fund” target (e.g., £40K/year → £1M).
Test flexibility: Could you cut spending 10% if needed? Earn £5K/year freelance? If yes, you’re ready.
Tip: Try a “practice retirement” first.
👉 Week 9’s calculator + Week 10’s toolkit = confidence!
Treat them like “built-in bonds.”. If your DB pays £10K/year, that’s like having £250K in bonds (since £10K = 4% of £250K). Subtract this from your FI target.
👉 Week 10’s DB pension section looks at this.
If you choose to hold a certain percentage of bonds, once a year, sell what is up and buy what’s down to keep your target split (e.g., 80% stocks/20% bonds).
Example: If stocks grow to 85%, sell 5% to buy bonds.
Tip: Do this in tax-advantaged accounts (ISAs/SIPPs) to avoid capital gains.
👉 The “rebalancing demo” in Week 10 makes it simple.
Not our faves. These funds often overdo bonds (hurting growth) and have home-country bias. Instead, pick a global index fund (like FTSE Global All Cap) and add bonds only if you need stability.
👉 Week 10’s fund comparison explains why.
This is called Sequence of Returns Risk and is a possibility in a small amount of cases. It could happen to you and you need to be prepared. Week 10 of Rebel Finance School gives you everything you need to prepare for this and how to be flexible.
The absolute worst thing you can do is panic-sell! In the worst crashes (like 2008), staying invested meant portfolios recovered and grew. Use the flexibility toolkit to avoid selling low.
Tip: Geoarbitrage (cheaper countries) can stretch your budget.
👉 Week 10’s case study shows you the 4 flexibility tools in your toolkit to help survive crashes.
Absolutely! The math works for 50+ year retirements too. The key? Flexibility. If markets drop early on, tighten spending for a few years. Real-world example: The Donegans retired at 35 with 100% stocks—their portfolio tripled despite the 2008 crash.
👉 Peek the “”long-term compounding”” section for mind-blowing numbers.
Your withdrawals rise yearly with inflation (e.g. £40K in Year 1 → £41.2K in Year 2 if inflation is 3%). This keeps your buying power steady. Track prices (yes, even pizza costs!) and adjust automatically each year for your drawdown.
👉 Week 10’s “inflation-adjusted spending” breakdown makes this painless.
Not necessarily. Bonds reduce volatility but hurt long-term growth. If you’re flexible (e.g. can cut spending or earn side income) you might skip them. Traditional portfolios use 20–50% bonds. Alan and Katie point to the fact that 100% stocks worked even in 2008!
Tip: If you panic during downturns, bonds might help you sleep.
👉 See the bond vs. stocks growth charts in Week 10.
Sequence of Returns Risk (SORR). You are retiring into a market crash + high inflation. If you’re forced to sell low while prices soar, your portfolio can struggle.
Fix it with:
1) A cash cushion (1–2 years of expenses),
2) Flexible spending (skip that Bali trip if markets tank), or
3) Side income.
👉 Watch the “flexibility toolkit” section for survival strategies!
Yes! The 4% rule (withdrawing 4% of your portfolio annually, adjusted for inflation) survived every 30-year period in history, including the 2008 crash. Bill Bengen (its creator) now says up to 5.2% could work today. Alan and Katie like the 5%.
TIP: Flexibility is key—if markets dip, trim spending temporarily.
👉 Check Week 10’s charts for real-world scenarios where even 6% worked!
It’s possible, but long term the market tends to recover.
Remember: Time in the market beats trying to time the market.
👉 We talk about a thing called Sequence of Returns risk in Week 10.
By saving 2/3 of income and investing in stocks. The “shockingly simple math”: save 50% → retire in ~17 years; save 75% → retire in ~7 years.
Tip: Track your freedom rate (savings % of take-home pay).
👉 Watch Pete’s “Early Retirement TED Talk” for the full story.
Lead by example. Suggest free/cheap activities (hikes, potlucks) instead of expensive outings. Avoid preaching – share resources (like Rebel Finance School!) if they ask.
👉 Read Pete’s “Protecting Your Money Mustache from Spendy Friends” article.
Fill your days with purposeful work (even unpaid). Pete bikes, builds, and mentors – “Retirement means doing what you love, not nothing.”
Tip: Try a “practice retirement” (e.g., part-time work) first.
👉 Week 11’s purpose sessions dive deeper.
No! Benefits begin immediately: less stress, more control. Even small savings cut reliance on paychecks.
Tip: Focus on high-impact cuts (housing, cars) vs. lattes.
👉 Jack (from graduation) cut his retirement age from 96 to 64 in 5 years!
Ignore them. Stocks always recover. Pete’s mantra: “A crash is a sale on stocks.”
Tip: Build a cash cushion to avoid selling low.
👉 Rebel’s volatility training (Week 6) kills panic instincts.
Most pay to avoid tiny hassles (e.g. $25 lawn mowing) but tolerate giant ones (40hr workweeks). DIY the small stuff to buy freedom faster.
Tip: Start with haircuts, bike repairs, or meal prep.
👉 Pete’s “Hasslehoff” article explains the life-changing maths.
