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The Donegans are coming to New Zealand!
Way back in 2020 when we launched our first Rebel Finance School (RFS) a New Zealand Blogger called Ruth, The Happy Saver, found us through the power of the interwebs and came along to see what these random British people were talking about.
Since then Ruth has not only attended every RFS, she has also shared it with her New Zealand readers and even did an RFS session with us this year talking about the New Zealand system!
In 2024 we have had over 10,000 people join RFS from 37 countries and 12% of those are from New Zealand! Ruth started the whole ball rolling!
New Zealand is a country that Katie and I have always wanted to visit and we have finally got round to making it happen.
Why a pie tour? Are you doing meetups? Will you get fat?
In the RFS session that Ruth did with us, Katie and I got a HUGE amount of pleasure from the fact that in New Zealand, instead of having ISAs and SIPPs like we do the UK, they have a Personal Investment Entity or PIE for short. The UK has let us down with our TLAs* for investment accounts.
Building on that we find out NZ is famous for actual edible pies as well and they have annual pie events! I got super excited, Katie was a little worried but we were all in!
After we calmed down from all the pie thoughts we wondered “how can we meet all the cool people who have come to RFS over the years?” So we decided to do some meetups as we work our way down from Auckland all the way to the South Island to meet Ruth.
Great Pie Tour NZ 2024
This is apparently what AI thinks that the Donegans will look like on our great pie tour of New Zealand 2024
AI seems to think I look a little bit more like Hugh Jackman than reality but I will take it.
We have booked flights! We are so excited. We fly into Auckland on Tuesday 12th November and will be spending a month travelling around both the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
The Donegan Tour Schedule
This is our rough plan for our time in NZ. We are firming up meetup plans and ideas with the amazing people in the various towns we’re going to. If you would like to help organise one of the meetups below or come and hang out then please message us or leave a comment on this post. We have added the meetups to our Facebook group too!
North Island
| Dates | Donegans’ Plans | Meetup |
|---|---|---|
| 13th-15th November | Auckland | Thursday 14th Evening Meetup |
| 16th to 17th November | Driving through Hamilton and staying in Tauranga | |
| 18th – 21st November | Road trip from Tauranga through Rotorua and Tongariro Hiking / Tramping | |
| 22nd to 24th November | Whanganui Cycling Old Coach Road Bike trail | Possible weekend meetup if enough interest |
| 25th to 28th November | Wellington Weta Workshop Tour – Sculpting Workshop | Tuesday 26th Evening Meetup |
| 29th November – 1st December | Levin for the BlackFI Day event | Continual meetups |
| 2nd December | Fly to South Island |
South Island
| Dates | Place | Meetup |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd December | Queenstown | Monday 2nd Evening Meetup |
| 3rd – 5th December | Wanaka – Alan originally thought this was Wakanda and was SO excited | Wednesday 4th Evening meetup |
| 6th – 8th December | Alexandra | Sunday 8th – Lunchtime meetup |
| 9th December | Dunedin | Monday 9th Evening Meetup |
| 10th December | Lake Tekapo | |
| 11th – 13th December | Christchurch | Thursday 12th Evening Meetup |
That’s the rough plan so far. Feel free to comment on this post, suggest things, or tell us more. Each meetup has a link to a Facebook event so we can organise and share. Please share with your friends and come along. We haven’t decided on most of the locations yet as we have never been to NZ before so if you can help us decide on venues that would be AMAZING! We are so excited to meet you.
Meetups, the future and more
The first time we ever did a Rebel Finance School meetup was in Bristol in 2023. Katie and I were travelling down to Cornwall and decided to put on a meetup. We didn’t know if anyone would actually show up or not so we took our laptops and thought we would have a quiet work session if no one showed!
We broke out the laptops and started to work and then one person showed up, then two and by the end there were more than 30 of us taking over half the café!
The power of the community, the Facebook group and being able to talk about the things that matter most like lifestyle design and finances is phenomenal. We want to do more.
We will be coming back to the UK in April to receive our British Empire Medal for services to Financial Education (this still feels surreal typing it!) and are planning a tour of the UK and meetups! Maybe you can help us organise venues and things nearer the time if you want us to come to your town in the UK?
We LOVE meeting you as we travel round the world. We still haven’t found a good way of sharing our travel plans yet so until we come up with a better plan here is where we will be until May 2025
- 24th Oct- 7th Nov: Bali for the FI Freedom Retreat with Amy
- 7th – 12th Nov: Singapore to go Universal Studios and we are going to organise a meetup with with Brad from ChooseFI whilst we are in town!
- 12th Nov – 13th Dec: New Zealand – plan is above
- 13th – 18th Dec: Los Angeles
- 18th Dec over Christmas – New York City
- January – February – Probably Medellin, Colombia
- March – USA, EconoME and more
- April – UK
- May – UK maybe leaving for somewhere in Europe
- May onwards – we haven’t figured that our and are open to all the suggestions in the world!
We hope to see you at a meetup around the world or hang out somewhere. THANK YOU for all the fabulous people in New Zealand who offered us to stay with them, your hospitality is AMAZING.
Please leave us a comment on this post or send us a message! Yay we’re so excited
Katie and Alan xxx
*TLA stands for Three Letter Acronym in case you were wondering!
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Can’t wait to meet everyone and see New Zealand for the first time!
In your Wellington spot is it possible to duck over the hill to the Wairarapa? There are a few rebels over here who aren’t coming to the Fi camp and would love to meet you. We have some incredible bakeries who do award winning pies too:)
Trace, what a lovely message. How are you doing? Thanks for commenting. I have been looking up the driving times and it feels like a lot, only day it would work would be Monday 25th and we will be doing 6 hours driving that day from Whanganui to you and then to Wellington to sleep. I am not sure it fits in this time as we planned Whanganui and Wellington as the meetups!
I can offer no help whatsoever with venues for your meetups (I am in Napier, sadly somewhere not on your trip list – completely understandably we’re a little out the way and there’s never enough time to get everywhere in NZ) but wanted to comment anyway to say I can’t wait to meet you both!!!
I am coming to the Black Fi-day event and the fact that you are both attending feels a little surreal – you’re like the Kate & William of the FI community ;) Ruth of The Happy Saver introduced me to FI, JL Collins got me on the Simple Path to Wealth and Brad & Jonathan of Choose FI introduced me to the Donegans – and the rest, as they say is history! In the last 2 years not only has my own life changed completely but you also had a dramatic effect on my brother. He point blank refused to listen to podcasts but I talked him into attending the 2023 RFS and he now has a 25% to 50% savings rate and has gone from a spend everything kinda guy to a spend as little as poss and invest the rest (in Vanguard) kinda guy – all thanks to what he learned. So needless to say I can’t want to meet and thank you both for everything you have done. I am not at all surprised that you are receiving a medal for your efforts, it is well deserved. See you soon!!
Oh and make sure you try a Neenish tart whilst you’re here, as a pom they are a Kiwi delicacy I truly enjoy. And date scones grow on you, but don’t expect to see clotted cream anywhere, it is rarer than bloody hens teeth!
Amy this post made my day! I LOVE it. Wow you have done so much and come so far. YAY. And we love Brad and ChooseFI, we are seeing him in a few days in Bali, That is SO SO cool we get to meet you for BlackFI Day in NZ. YAY
Sorry Napier didn’t make it on the list this time! There is so many cool things to do and places to go in NZ! At least we still get to meet which is awesome. YAY! Thanks for the tip about the tarts! We LOVE food (a little too much!) lol.
Can not wait to see you and THANK YOU for replying. You are awesome. Alan and Katie
Hi Alan & Katie,
Super excited to have you here in NZ.
I’m so grateful to have learned about investing globally & surprisingly, since Trump won the US election, my portfolio has enjoyed a nice wee bump. (Thank you Alan & Katie!)
I’m in Christchurch & definitely recommend the pies at Bohemian Bakery in Sumner. If you’re a fan of ice cream, Utopia Ice won’t disappoint.
Depending on numbers for a catch up in Christchurch, the Surf Life Saving Club in Sumner would be amazing.
I work part time & my work hours are flexible, so I would love to be involved, if I can help.
Enjoy our beautiful country.
Steph
Steph, you are awesome. Thank you for the top tips about pies and icecream! two amazing things. I can’t wait to try them and taste!
We are so excited to come and visit and hang out. And YES the Trump Bump has been fun to experience! last time we missed it as we were sat in cash and too scared to invest but this time we were all in the market and what an amazing lift!
I looked up the Surf Life club and there were quite a few in Christchurch. That could be a cool venue if it works out! wow. Are you on Facebook Can you message me there or send us an email hello@rebeldonegans.com and let’s see what we can coordinate!
THANK YOU for writing back. This is so exciting!
Important pie stops on your journey: Aorangi Bakery, The Butcher’s Pie Shop (both in Christchurch and do the BEST pies) and then if you get a chance, Fairlie Bakehouse. It’s in a rural area but people go there and queue down the street for their pies. Definitely a must on any pie tour haha
Krissy your message is amazing. I LOVE it. I am glad we won’t just be talking about Personal Investment Entities and can actually eat proper pie! I have added these to our New Zealand places to visit list! Thank you so much! Hope to meet you at one of the meetups!
Hullo! I see you are visiting Lake Tekapo, please take my suggestion to walk The Hooker Valley track, nearby at Mount Cook. The scenery I promise is nothing like you have ever seen anywhere in the world! It is truly stunning. I’m a newbie to your school and are learning so much, thank you, regards Jan
Jan, what a beautiful message to get. Thank you. That would be so cool! I have added it to our list! are you from there? Where do you live? So glad you are enjoying the finance school. We had so much fun putting it together! Alan
Would love to attend the Wellington meet-up! First time on rebel finance school this year and it has changed our lives and vision for the future.
Gabrielle, that is amazing. nice work taking action after the course. nothing makes us happier than seeing people take it and make things happen and it would be AMAZING to meet you in Wellington. Come along and we can not wait to see you there! Alan
We have award winning pies in Torbay, Auckland. Would love the opportunity to meet n help if I can. I don’t work on Fridays
Janet, so lovely to hear from you. we don’t arrive till late late Tuesday night. boo. But we are scheduling an Auckland meetup for the Thursday evening, 14th of November if you can make it?? And did some say award winning pies? Where do we have to come? Alan
Kia ora Katie and Alan, I see you are planning a stop in Dunedin. Yay! I’d love to meet up, happy to help with organising a get together if needed.
Michelle, you are awesome. yes we are so excited to come to Dunedin and hang out! Thank you for replying about helping. We are working on venue and more. hoping the Pocket Smith gang can come too as they are based there! It would be so cool to meet you when we are in town. Where do you think is the best location for people to be able to meet? Is Dunedin spread out?
Alan
Awesome! It’s a pretty small city. Depends what time of day too i.e. daytime or evening, for venue. Would be great to meet the Pocket Smith crew too :)
I am in Dunedin what date are you going to be here. Sounds like an amazing adventure tour you are on.
I’m so excited for this! My husband and I have been slowly working through RFS and taking the homework seriously. We’re in Dunedin so wanted to share the top pie spots: Spelt on Highgate (their vege pies are divine) and Princes St Butcher do delicious pies too :)
Katie I LOVE that you are doing the home work! The other Katie and I do our home work every month with the monthly finance meeting and enjoy hanging out and chatting money. It is so fun! I LOVE that you are working through the course. And that is so so so exciting we get to meet you in Dunedin. YAY! Thank you for the top tips about pie shops too! I have added them to our list! I get the feeling I am going to have to go to the gym a lot to work this off! lol. Can not wait to meet you. Alan
If you make it to Invercargill there’s a pie shop called fat bastard pies, never tried them, just saw it last time I was visiting family. Would make a great backdrop for a stomach protruding pic for your social followers! Hopefully I’ll get to meet you at your Christchurch meet up. Thanks for taking the time to venture this way, NZ is a beautiful country, you will not be disappointed.
Tiffany, you made my day with that idea! lol. I have added it to our map and will have to make it down that way! lol. I am in danger of becoming the title of the shop if I eat too many pies!. We can not wait to meet you at the Christchurch meetup and hang out. We are SO excited to be visiting. Thank you for making us feel welcome! Alan
Would love to catch you at Dynedin meeting
Do you have a venue
Hey Sandra, we will be at the Swan, hope to see you there! Alan
So grateful I found you! As a definite late starter, you’ve set me on a 10 year mission to change how our retirement will look. I completed the RFS 2024 course on YTube. Followed by your ELC. I just wanted to use this opportunity to acknowledge your incredible generosity sharing information – thank you so much! You really do change lives. I will be traveling to see you in Hamilton. Can’t wait! I can suggest a couple of venues in Hamilton if you haven’t already found something there? Regards.
Ceeann, what an amazing message to get. I LOVE it. This is so exciting about your 10 year plan and how you are making things happen. You will be amazed at how quickly things move when you focus. I am so happy the courses have helped and excited we get to meet you and hang out. This is going to be awesome. Can’t wait to meet you in Hamilton and suggestions would be fab as we haven’t got a venue yet! sending happiness. Alan
I’m based in Tauranga and can recommend our local award winning “Patricks Pies”
I did RFS this year for the first time and it was so good. Thanks for being such wonderful humans and giving us the skills to make our lives better. I’m a self-confessed spender but the course got me to take action and start investing in ETF shares which I was on the fence about for a long time. Looking forward to the meetup let me know if you need help with anything or need a place to stay?
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Hey Alan and Katie – Bronwyn and Sam from the Christchurch Choose FI group mentioned you’re touring NZ!! How EXCITING!! Regarding the meetup on 6-8pm on Thurs 12th Dec – I’m happy for everyone to come to mine if you need a venue (I live in Somerfield). And if you need a place to stay that night, you’re also most welcome. (nobody will be around as my man will be overseas and I’m working at 10pm that night). Cat (feel free to reach out to blueshake@gmail.com as I’m not on any social media)
Cat you are AMAZING. Thank you so much for reply and we can not wait to see you in Christchurch. I have emailed you as well!
The Welder (https://www.thewelder.nz/) can be an option for a Christchurch central city location. The internal garden (https://www.thewelder.nz/the-internal-garden) is pleasant and there is plenty of afterhours parking at Smith City (which closes at 6:00 pm anyway, and is just next door to The Welder).
Hope your experience of NZ is superb and the pies are living up to their promise. Super looking forward to meeting you in person in Christchurch!
Ronny, what an awesome comment. Thank you so much for the recommendations. That is our job for the next couple of days to organise! This is super useful. We are very much looking forward to hanging out. And so far New Zealand has been spectacular! WE LOVE IT
Hi folks. Hope you’re enjoying the North Island. Looking forward to meeting you at the Christchurch meet up. If you’re flying, sing out if you need an airport pick up/drop off or if you want a local to play tour guide one morning/evening.
Marcus you are so kind! THNAK YOU. This is amazing. We don’t have that long in Christchurch (boooo). We are going for a walk with another lady called Ann on Thursday and we have the meetup in the eventing too and then we fly out the next day. Are you able to make the meetup? would you be interested in joining the walk? Alan
Yep, I’ll be at the meetup, but keen to join the walk if that’s an option. Just let me know when/where.
Thanks Marcus, I will find out details. are you in the meetup group on facebook? So I can find you and message you…..
You two! I would love to be able to hug you both, do you accept hugs? I’m learning (not fast enough) that not everyone enjoys a hug. In April/May, please come to Swansea! 🙏 I can definitely help with venues or depending on the amount of people you are expecting, point you to the professionals. You can visit the Gower Penisula. Check out episode 4 of Joe and Katherine’s Bargain holidays for inspiration. (Seen ‘Joe & Katherine’s Bargain Holidays’?
Watch it here on Channel 4: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/joe-katherines-bargain-holidays?cntsrc=social_share_android_joe_katherines_bargain_holidays)
Safe travels,
Carol
Carol, hugs gratefully received and a trip to Swansea sounds awesome. I will add it to the list of places to come to and thank you so much! I get the feeling it is going to be a big project so your help on Swansea would be amazing. This is so exciting! Sending happiness and let’s touch base again as we start to plan. YOU ROCK. Alan
I am in Dunedin what date are you going to be here. Sounds like an amazing adventure tour you are on.
Sandra, that is so cool! we will be at the Swan from 6pm tonight. We are so excited. The Swan, 23 Bath Street, Central Dunedin, Dunedin 9016 https://www.facebook.com/share/14zT9djjQk/