The Freedom Before FI Interview

In this episode, Michael republishes his interview on the Freedom Before FI podcast which covers his journey to financial independence and what life looks like along the way. He shares his story of moving from New Zealand to Limerick, raising a family of five, and how he’s built up a €700k+ investment portfolio split between property and stocks. Michael also talks about lifestyle design, seasonal and part-time work, and how keeping a 75% savings rate was possible while still enjoying life. The interview also considers the human side of FI - how financial freedom has improved family life, the way he teaches his kids about money and investing, and what purpose looks like once work is optional. Michael shares what it’s like writing for The Irish Independent, filling his days with meaningful projects, and the habits and lessons that have shaped his path. Stick around until the end for a fun quick-fire round where Michael reveals the book that changed his perspective, the small things you can do this week to start investing, and the lessons he wishes he’d known ten years ago. Show Notes: Here are the links to the original interview: See the interview on Youtube: Become an Irish FIRE newsletter subscriber: This episode has been sponsored by KennCo Insurance . KennCo Underwriting Ltd T/A KennCo Insurance is regulated by The Central Bank of Ireland.

You can listen to The Freedom Before FI Interview online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Freedom Before FI Interview is an episode from The Irish FIRE Podcast by Michael Houghton.

This episode is 50:35 long.

This episode was published on Aug 28, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Irish FIRE Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.