The Donegans have been on a journey. Here’s a look at the key milestones that have marked their path:

• 1991: Alan’s dad faced a financial storm, going bankrupt for a whopping £3.6M and losing the family home. It was a tough start, but it set the stage for a future of financial resilience.
• 2001: Alan’s own finances took a hit when he lost his life savings in the dotcom bubble. It was a ‘bubble trouble’ lesson in the risks of investing.
• 2005: Alan and Katie’s paths crossed in Costa Rica on a volunteering project. Alan jokingly claims he traveled all the way there just to meet a girl from Uxbridge.
• 2005 – 2010: Alan fought tooth and nail in court against the bank to keep a roof over his mother’s head. It was a five-year saga of David vs. Goliath proportions.
• 2008: Alan nearly let Business Link, a government-funded project advocating for business plans and loans, scare him off from starting a business. Thankfully, he didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.
• 2012: Alan kickstarted his mission by launching the Rebel Business School, aiming to teach debt-free entrepreneurship. This marked the beginning of a movement that would grow to impact thousands of lives.
• 2014: A pivotal year when they discovered the principles of financial independence, setting the stage for a future of empowering others to take control of their finances.
• 2015: Their quest for knowledge took them to Ecuador, where they met influential figures in the financial independence community, such as Mr. Money Mustache, Mad Fientist, and JL Collins.
• 2016: Alan was recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year at the Inspire Awards, highlighting his contributions to the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• 2017: Katie, along with a team of women, set a world record for playing the highest altitude football match ever, on Mount Kilimanjaro. This remarkable achievement was aimed at raising awareness for gender equality in sports. The event highlighted the importance of equal opportunities and recognition for women athletes.
• 2017: The first basic financial independence workshop was conducted, although it initially scared attendees off personal finances, it was a learning curve that led to the development of more effective educational methods.
• 2019: A significant year for Katie as she embraced early retirement from full-time employment, and the Donegans hit a milestone of £1M invested.
• 2020: They embraced a nomadic lifestyle, leaving Basingstoke behind, and ran their first group FIRE event, which was featured in iNews. This was also the year they launched the Rebel Finance School in response to the financial challenges people were facing, with 134 attendees in the first course.
• 2021: The Rebel Finance School continued to grow, helping 346 people, and the Rebel Business School was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, recognizing their efforts in promoting opportunity through entrepreneurship.
• 2022: Katie was featured in the Sun Newspaper for retiring at 35 and developed several financial tools, including a retirement calculator, which were shared for free online. The Rebel Finance School saw attendance from 5304 people across 30 countries.
• 2023: The attendance for the Rebel Finance School soared to over 8000 people from 43 countries.
• 2024: The Donegans’ net worth doubled to £2M invested since retiring, and they were awarded the British Empire Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to financial education.

The Donegans may have hit financial independence in 2019 and “retired” but that doesn’t mean they have stopped doing anything productive. They continue to push for free financial education for all, help more people through their content and have fun.

In 2024 they were both awarded the British Empire Medal for services to Financial Education and this has inspired them to do even more.

Photos of The Donegans

Photos of Katie Donegan

Photos of Alan Donegan

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