Freedom Before FI | Life Design, Purpose, Sabbaticals, Coast FI & Financial Independence (FIRE)
Episodes
91. Turning 40: 12 Life Lessons I Learned On My FI Journey So Far (Part 2)
27 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As I turn 40 this month, I reflect on some of the life lessons throughout the years that have helped me on my Financial Independence journey so far. S...
90. Turning 40: 12 Life Lessons I Learned On My FI Journey So Far (Part 1)
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As I turn 40 this month, I reflect on some of the life lessons throughout the years that have helped me on my Financial Independence journey so far. S...
89. 5 Things I Quit to Regain Some Freedom Back in My Life
14 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I share some of the things I have let go in life that seemed important at the time (and sometimes immovable), to regain some of my freedom back. Freed...
88. Test Driving Retirement by Slow Travel (w/ Not Your Ordinary Plan)
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nicole and Tylor are the awesome writers behind the Not Your Ordinary Plan blog, they are travel and FIRE movement enthusiasts which is what their blo...
87. How to Retire Faster With the Updated 4% Rule (Now 4.7%)
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The 4% rule has been one of the pillars of the FIRE community. It represents how much we can safely withdraw from our investment portfolio in retireme...
86. Part Time Job Ideas In Semi-Retirement
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Being semi-retired is a transition period between working full time and being retired. It typically involves working on a part-time basis to cover you...
85. Coast FI or Barista FI? (Which FIRE Strategy to Choose)
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Coast FI and Barista FI are both milestones on the Financial Independence journey. Both have pros and cons and on this episode I discuss some of the d...
84. How to Semi-Retire with an Average Salary Using Barista FI
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Barista FI is a milestone you can use along your Financial Independence journey to free up more time earlier on to do the things that you enjoy in lif...
83. 3 Purchases I Regret Paying For (Money Mistakes)
19 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Continuing the money mistakes theme, I share 3 purchases I’ve made in the past that I’ve kinda regretted and hopefully you can learn from them on ...
82. 3 Money Mistakes I Made in My 20s (That I’m Still Paying For)
12 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I share 3 money mistakes I made when I was in my 20’s, some of which I’m literally still paying for to this day. Hopefully you can learn from them...
81. Finding Purpose and How We Get it Wrong
04 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One of our main aims on the journey to Financial Independence is finding our life purpose. Today we delve into the wrong way to find purpose and an al...
80. The Truth About Early Retirement: Lessons From Early Retirees (Pt.3)
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We dive into case study stories from amazing early retirees and highlight some of the the key lessons they have learnt in their first few years of ear...
79. The Truth About Early Retirement: Lessons From Early Retirees (Pt.2)
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In part 2, we dive into more case study stories from amazing early retirees and highlight some of the the key lessons they have learnt in their first ...
78. The Truth About Early Retirement: Lessons From Early Retirees (Pt.1)
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We dive into case study stories from amazing early retirees and highlight some of the the key lessons they have learnt in their first few years of ear...
77. The 5 Tools For Designing Your Life (If You’re Feeling Stuck)
04 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re feeling stuck and not sure what path to take in life, having the right tools in your bag might just be the key to getting unstuck. It may ...
76. Quitting Corporate for a Creative Career w/ Michelle Varghese (Build a Wealthy Spirit)
27 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Michelle Varghese left her corporate career in tech sales in 2021 to take a sabbatical and pursue her passion projects. What was supposed to be 1 year...
75. The One Superpower that Saving and Frugality Gives You
21 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are some obvious and common benefits to being on the FI journey, although there are a few little aspects that are not talked about as much when ...
74. Crafting Your Best Life Now Before FI w/ Justin Peters of the FI Minded Podcast
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Justin Peters the host of the FI Minded Podcast (formerly the Struggle is Real Podcast). Started in 2020 and now has over 175 episodes. FI Minded is f...
73. 3 Ways I’ve Implemented Slow FI (Intentional Living)
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Slow FI (or Slow Financial Independence) is a philosophy coined by the Fioneers that focuses more on intentionally enjoying your journey to FI as oppo...
72. How To Bring More Peace In Your Life Through 'Slow Living'
03 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Slow living is about making intentional choices that prioritize your well-being and happiness. It’s about finding balance and being aware that you d...
71. 5 Steps to Adopt Slow FI if Feeling Burnout
27 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Slow FI (or Slow Financial Independence) is a philosophy coined by the Fioneers that focuses more on intentionally enjoying your journey to FI as oppo...
70. Building an FI Community with Brenda from FIRE Spark Retreat (Australia)
20 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Brenda is the founder of the Firespark Retreat, a weekend FIRE-focused event held in Victoria, Australia. The weekend is full of workshops and seminar...
69. Semi-Retirement & Life Design w/ Michael from The Irish FIRE Podcast
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Michael Houghton is the host of the Irish FIRE Podcast and also shares his journey to FI through his monthly portfolio updates on his website. He also...
68. Should You Pay Off Your Student Loans or Invest?
04 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In your financial freedom journey, one of the debts you may still have is student loan debt from University . Based on where you took your loan and th...
67. The Books That Changed Their Lives Pt.2 (Money and Self Development Books)
28 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In my first year of running this show I’ve interviewed some amazingly talented individuals and I wanted to package some of their pearls of wisdom in...
66. The Books That Changed Their Lives (Finance and Self Development Books)
22 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In my first year of running this show I’ve interviewed some amazingly talented individuals and I wanted to package some of their pearls of wisdom in...
65. The Simple Daily Habits of 8 Highly Effective Podcast Guests (Part 2)
15 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In my first year of running this show I’ve interviewed some amazingly talented individuals and I wanted to package some of their pearls of wisdom in...
64. The Simple Daily Habits of 8 Highly Effective People (Part 1)
07 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In my first year of running this show I’ve interviewed some amazingly talented individuals and I wanted to package some of their pearls of wisdom in...
63. 9 Expert Guests: Share Their Most Important Lesson in Life (Part 2)
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In my first year of running this show I’ve interviewed some amazingly talented individuals and I wanted to package some of their pearls of wisdom in...
62. 9 Expert Guests: Share Their Most Important Lesson in Life (Part 1)
24 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In my first year of running this show I’ve interviewed some amazingly talented individuals and I wanted to package some of their pearls of wisdom in...
61. 3 Steps to Start Index Fund Investing w/ Ryan King (of Making Money Simple)
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan is the host of Making Money Simple, a personal finance platform helping people (mainly based in the UK) save and invest. He’s been steadily inv...
60. 4 Important FI Life Lessons (From Running a 16km Race Event)
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes you need to shut off or put yourself in a situation without gadgets and gismo’s to reflect and think. Long distance running events are a g...
59. Early Retirement in Panama and ‘The Ultimate Mini-Retirement Guide' with Andy Ovaseas
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our guest today Andy Ovaseas retired early at 35 and used Geoarbitrage (living in a low cost of living country) as well as tax advantages living in So...
58. The Formula for Happiness (Living a Happy and Productive Life)
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We have been trained since we were young to approach happiness in the wrong way. On this episode we talk about the alternative way to approach our liv...
57. The One Mindset Shift You Need for A Successful Life
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us have it wrong when we are aiming for a goal or aspiration, this one mindset shift is very simple but profound and can really help push you ...
56. The Risks of Coast FI and How to Overcome Them (Pt. 2)
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We know what most of the benefits are for using Coast FI (or Coast Financial Independence) as a strategy to start enjoying our lives sooner. However, ...
55. The Risks of Coast FI and How to Overcome Them (Pt. 1)
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We know what most of the benefits are for using Coast FI (or Coast Financial Independence) as a strategy to start enjoying our lives sooner. However, ...
54. Reaching Coast FI on an Average Salary (Alternative FIRE Strategy)
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is Financial Independence only for those with high six figure salaries? On this episode, I discuss some example scenarios on how members of the FI com...
53. The Reality of Early Retirement with Matt from the Financial Imagineer
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is it really like to quit your job and live a life of financial independence? Matt from the Financial Imagineer shares his story of how he was ab...
52. 5 Ways to Get to Know Yourself Better (The Key To Life Design)
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the last episode we talked about the magic ingredient you need for a well lived life. That magic ingredient was knowing yourself. The more you know...
51. The Magic Ingredient to a Well Lived Life
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There’s one thing that you need to have nailed down to design a life you love. On today’s episode I will be talking about what that is and how it ...
50. How to Spend Your Time Wisely (Decisions That Impact Your Life & Money Goals Pt.4)
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
”How we spend our days is how we spend our lives”. Essentially, the way we choose to use our time each day, with its small actions and decisions, ...
49. How to Choose A Career (Decisions That Impact Your Life & Money Goals Pt.3)
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The average person will spend around 90,000 hours of their life working. So it’s worth choosing the right career so that you get a good return on yo...
48. How to Choose Where to Live (Decisions That Impact Your Life & Money Goals Pt.2)
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this series, I’ll be discussing some life decisions you really have to get right to stay on course for your financial goals. These decisions can ...
47. Choosing Your Life Partner (Decisions That Impact Your Life & Money Goals Pt.1)
05 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this series, I’ll be discussing some life decisions you really have to get right to stay on course for your financial goals. These decisions can ...
46. Hate Budgeting? Try This Simple Saving & Investing Strategy
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re not a fan of budgets, I’ve come across this simple and unconventional saving method that I’d like to share with you today. This should...
45. Intentional Spending: Are You Being Frugal or Just Cheap?
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Are you being called ‘cheap’ or ‘stingy’ on your journey to Financial Independence. I discuss the difference of being frugal vs being cheap an...
44. Why We Fail our Goals (and 7 Tips to Overcome Them)
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
44. Why We Fail our Goals (and 7 Tips to Overcome Them) I delve into 4 typical traps that stop people doing the actions to achieve their life goals. ...
43. How To Actually Execute and Achieve Your Goals This Year
08 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you suffer from always writing your yearly goals down, but never finding time to actually do them or they just fade away after a few weeks? On this...
42. Wealth is a Mindset: Change Your Mindset to unlock Financial Freedom w/ Shang Saavedra
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does your upbringing influence your money decisions today? We got to chat with Shang Saavedra of Save My Cents who talks about this very thing. Sh...
41. How to Set Clear Goals for the New Year (With 8 Easy Steps)
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Not quite sure what goals to aim for in the new year? Today, I give you an easy framework to use to create clear achievable goals to set you up well f...
40. Transformative Life Breaks & Sabbaticals with Career Break Expert Katrina McGhee
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We got to chat with Katrina McGhee, a Career Break & Sabbatical Coach. She Helps 9-5ers create mind-blowing career breaks. She’s a certified Mas...
39. Simple Japanese Secrets to a Long and Happy Life (Ikigai) - Pt.3
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I talk through the 10 rules of Ikigai. These are the rules that the longest living people in the world follow (centenarians) to live a balanced and he...
38. Simple Japanese Secrets to a Long and Happy Life (Ikigai) - Pt.2
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I talk through the 10 rules of Ikigai. These are the rules that the longest living people in the world follow (centenarians) to live a balanced and he...
37. Simple Japanese Secrets to a Long and Happy Life (Ikigai) - Pt.1
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 10 rules of Ikigai: These are the rules that the longest living people in the world follow (centenarians) to live a balanced and healthy life way ...
36. How to Find Your Purpose (Includes a Free Worksheet)
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve been struggling to find purpose, a side hustle, a new career or your next chapter in life, this episode is for you! Consider this a findin...
35. How to Find a More Meaningful Career, with Career Coach Lisa Hoashi
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On Career Changes: We got to chat with career coach Lisa Hoashi, an ICF certified coach and for the last 10 years she’s been helping professionals a...
34. Freedom Ideas Before Reaching FI: Enjoying Life Now
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re wondering what kind of freedom options are open to you before reaching Financial Independence, don’t worry as I got you! I’ve put toge...
33. The Power of a Sabbatical, with Sabbatical Coach Lyndall Farley
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We got to chat with Lyndall Farley, a Sabbatical Coach passionate about the transformative benefits of Sabbaticals. She guides people to design a brea...
32. How Coast FI Helped Them Escape Toxic Work & Pursue Their Passion
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I share 2 stories from prominent members of the Slow FI Community who have used Coast FI to help them get freedom from toxic work environments and fol...
31. Die With Zero: 3 Big Lessons from Financial Independence Books (Pt.5)
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week I’ll be giving you my 3 biggest lessons learned from the mindset shifting book Die With Zero ‘Getting All You Can from Your Money and Yo...
30. How to Retire Early: 3 Big Lessons from Financial Independence Books (Pt.4)
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode I share 3 big lessons I learned from the book How to Retire Early ‘Your Guide to Getting Rich Slowly and Retiring on Less' by Robert...
29. The Simple Path to Wealth: 3 Big Lessons from Financial Independence Books (Pt.3)
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode I share 3 big lessons I learned from the book The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins. This is one of my favourite books on the FIRE m...
28. Quit Like a Millionaire: 3 Big Lessons from Financial Independence Books (Pt.2)
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’re continuing our mini-series of the 3 biggest lessons I’ve learnt from Financial Independence books that have helped me on my journey (which I...
27. Rich Dad Poor Dad: 3 Big Lessons from Financial Independence Books (Pt. 1)
17 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s no secret that books can be life changing. In the next few episodes, I’ll be giving you my 3 biggest lessons learned from some Financial Inde...
26. Hard Choices: How to Live an 'Easy Life' and Achieve Freedom
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I’ll be sharing how one of my favourite quotes can help you live an ‘easy life’. The quote is “Hard Choices Easy Life, Easy Choices, Hard Life...
25. Compounding Time: The Ultimate Hack to Achieve Your Life Goals
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re finding it difficult to pursue your goals in life, you might be missing this one ingredient to your ‘successful life’ recipe. What is ...
24. Expat FIRE: Saving 60% of His Income Living in Taiwan (with Steve from the Frugal Expat)
28 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I got to speak with Steve Cummings, an American world traveller, a family man and a digital nomad who runs the personal finance blog ‘The Frugal Exp...
23. Fun Things To Do That are Cheap or Free (While Trying To Save Money)
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do you find it hard to go out and socialise while in saving and investing mode? Perhaps you want to pursue your FI journey but still want to enjoy lif...
22. From Nurse to Entrepreneur and How That Sped Up His FI Goals (with Dave Visaya from The Big Picture PH)
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I got to speak with Dave Visaya who talked about his transition from being a Nurse to now running multiples businesses, from a podcast production comp...
21. How To Invest in US Stocks From Outside the US (or as an Expat)
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you always wanted to invest in US Stocks, ETF’s or Index Funds from outside of the US as a foreigner or expat, but not quite sure how? I’ll b...
20. Career Change, Purpose, Geoarbitrage and F.I.R.E for Filipinos (with Kenneth Reyes-Lao of FIRE Movement PH)
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I got to speak with Kenneth Reyes-Lao about his interesting journey from living in a bustling city working in corporate, to moving to a smaller city w...
19. 30 Awesome Ideas of Things To Do on Sabbatical (a.k.a Career Break or Mini-Retirement)
23 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re considering taking a Sabbatical (A.K.A a Career Break or Mini-Retirement), and not quite sure what to do during it, I’ll be giving you s...
18. How to Pay Off Debt by Travelling the World, with Allen from Bohol is Awesome
17 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We are joined by Allen, the host of the Youtube channel ‘Bohol is Awesome’. You’ll learn how he intentionally designed his life to get freedom a...
17. Alternative Lifestyle Options to Get Freedom, if You Hate Your Job (Pt. 2)
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about alternative lifestyle options you can consider if you’re not so into your job anymore. We’ve split the options up into 3 groups, ...
16. Alternative Lifestyle Options to Get Freedom, if You Hate Your Job (Pt. 1)
02 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about alternative lifestyle options you can consider if you’re not so into your job anymore. We’ve split the options up into 3 groups, ...
15. 3 Affordable Cities in South East Asia to Live, Work and Save Money
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever dreamt of living in a tropical country full of delicious exotic food, pristine beaches and at a fraction of the cost compared to places ...
14. How to do Geoarbitrage to Save Money and Travel (Part 2)
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We talk through the 5 steps to plan and execute your Geoarbitrage (or Geographic Arbitrage) lifestyle. In the first part we discussed steps 1-2, now o...
13. How to do Geoarbitrage to Save Money and Travel (Part 1)
12 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss the 5 steps to plan and execute your Geoarbitrage (or Geographic Arbitrage) lifestyle. In this first part we discuss steps 1-2. Geoarbitrag...
12. Using Geoarbitrage to accelerate your journey to FI (GeoFIRE basics)
05 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There is one strategy that can massively accelerate your path to Financial Independence and it may involve travelling to new places (amazing!). What i...
11. Alternative Retirement Options - Part 3: Phased Retirement (The Rule of 55)
29 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that there are alternative retirement options to traditional and early retirement? In this 3 part mini-series we’ll be talking about 3 ...
10. Alternative Retirement Options - Part 2: Early Semi-Retirement
22 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that there are alternative retirement options to traditional and early retirement? In this 3 part mini-series we’ll be talking about 3 ...
9. Alternative Retirement Options - Part 1: Mini-Retirements (a.k.a Sabbaticals or Career Breaks)
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that there are alternative retirement options to traditional and early retirement? On the next few episodes we’ll be talking about 3 di...
8. The 5 Stages of the Money Journey and How to Move Up the Different Stages (Pt. 2)
08 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What stage of the money journey are you on and how exactly do you move from stage to stage? Today’s episode is a continuation of the previous episo...
7. The 5 Stages of The Money Journey, and Its Importance to Your Freedom (Pt.1)
01 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that we are all on a ‘money journey’ and that there are stages to this journey. Knowing what stage you’re at is crucial to achievin...
6. The 7 Steps To Buy Your Freedom (A Beginner's Guide to FIRE)
24 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Todays episode is an overview of the basics of FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) and personal finance. Today’s topics: A beginner’s 7 ste...
5. How to Create Your Life Goals and Find Purpose in 5 Steps (Mini Life Design Course)
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you not sure what to do with your life and need some direction to find your purpose? Join me on this episode where we help you identify your life ...
4. What Makes Up a Successful Life
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do we really need loads of money to have a successful life? How exactly do we measure success in our lives? We’ll try to dive into these meaty quest...
3. Alternative and More Attainable Paths to Financial Independence (Intro Series - Part 3)
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do we need to reach early retirement to live our ideal lives? What if we can live our ideal lives now? We discuss alternative and potentially more en...
2. Creating and Living Your Ideal Life - An Intro to Life Design (Intro Series Part 2)
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How we can use Life Design to start enjoying our lives now and live in alignment with our values. Today’s topics: What exactly is life design (o...
1. The Truth About Retirement and Early Retirement (Intro Series - Part 1)
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is retirement all that it’s cracked up to be? Maybe or maybe not. Today’s topics: Some common reasons for seeking early retirement or FIRE (Fin...
Freedom Before FI Trailer
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here's a quick trailer to explain what the Freedom Before FI podcast is all about. (Btw, just in case you didn't know, FI stands for Financial Indepen...