7 Years of The Irish FIRE Podcast

About this episode

Michael reflects on seven years of The Irish FIRE Podcast, sharing updates on his FIRE journey and insights on financial independence.

In this episode, Michael marks seven years of The Irish FIRE Podcast with a personal update on how his own FIRE journey has progressed and evolved. He shares the latest developments in his property investing strategy, including the purchase of another buy-to-let property in Limerick, the use of refinancing and equity release, and how he thinks about leverage, risk and long-term financial independence. Michael also reflects on what it actually feels like to reach financial independence. Rather than a clean break from work, he talks about the slower transition towards more freedom, seasonal work, taking more time off, and the challenge of deciding what “retirement” really means when you still enjoy the work you do. He also shares an update on the podcast itself, including reaching 400,000 lifetime downloads and welcoming Moneycube as a new podcast sponsor. Finally, Michael explores one of the biggest lessons of the past year: time freedom only matters if you protect it. After taking on a major hockey coaching commitment, he reflects on the impact it had on family life, the importance of learning to say no, and why FIRE is ultimately about creating more space for the things that…

People in this episode

Host: Michael Houghton

Topics covered

• financial independence
• property investing
• FIRE journey
• time freedom
• coaching
• work-life balance

Keywords

• FIRE
• financial independence
• property investment
• buy-to-let
• equity release
• leverage
• risk
• time freedom
• coaching
• family

Sponsors

KennCo Insurance, Moneycube

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: KennCo Underwriting Ltd

Places: Limerick, Ireland

More episodes of The Irish FIRE Podcast

• Having a Blast with Alan and Katie Donegan · May 25, 2026 · 54 min
• The Ask About Wealth Interview, with Paul Overy · April 29, 2026 · 51 min
• FIRE VS Financial Advisors - an Interview with Robert Whelan · April 14, 2026 · 52 min
• 8 Years Later: The FIRE Mistakes That Shaped My Journey · March 30, 2026 · 42 min
• I Hate Bidding Wars · March 9, 2026 · 20 min
• Ireland vs New Zealand: A Cost of Living Showdown · February 17, 2026 · 16 min