Lifestyle Investor Defined
Greetings! I’ve just finished a great ride on the mountain bike this afternoon, the trail was damp and the air was humid, just the way I like it! I had few thoughts I wanted to share quickly about the definition of a Lifestyle Investor. Sometimes I’ve found it is easier to define something by illustrating what it is not, and this is one of those times.
You will never hear a Lifestyle Investor described as. . . . .
Passionless, working a dead-end job which means nothing to them. The main thing that keeps this person going is getting the paycheck. Typical thoughts on the way to and from work include “What am I doing here?” or “This job sucks!” Most work days end in frustration with the desire to get the hell out!
Brainwashed, working hard to make someone else’s bottom line bigger. This person toils to make the senior partner’s bonus bigger at the end of the year and believes they are invaluable to the company.
Work-aholic, working 40+ hours a week and doesn’t mind having little to no family life Monday through Friday. Home life during the week is defined by getting ready for, getting to, and returning from work. Too many of those meaningful family milestones during the week slip by unnoticed.
Narrow-minded, thinking there aren’t hundreds of other ways to earn an income without being a slave to the factory floor or the office desk. These people refuse to believe in the power of passion and audience that Internet provides.
Unfulfilled, having dreams, and potential, and, yet, doing nothing about it! Time is too valuable an asset to waste. This group lets each year slip by, stuck in the old familiar routine, and thinks I’ll start to change direction and fill my potential next year.
Unbalanced , with a work/life balance equation that is tilted to “work”. They are fine with a heavy work week and two to three weeks of vacation a year, hardly enough weight on the “life” side of the scale.
Naive, thinking the company pension, 401K contributions, and social security will carry them through the golden years. Get real! These people could end up later in life seeing their 401K melt away and realize they have payed into a government social security program that can not meet their needs.
Procrastinator, putting off things thinking the “golden” years of retirement don’t begin until the sixth decade of life. This group of people puts too many of life’s goals off telling themselves they can check it off the list during retirement. They don’t understand that the golden years are now regardless of your age!
Unhealthy, living on fast food or unhealthy restaurant food and burning the midnight oil to keep up with work at night. This group down-prioritizes health and can become too stressed at work.
If any of these apply to you then you have my permission to leave this site now!
Podcast: What is Lifestyle Investing?
In this episode Phil and Jake discuss the essence of ‘Lifestyle Investing’ including what it means to be a Lifestyle Investor. Hope you enjoy the show and leave a comment letting us know what’s on your mind.
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What’s Your Strongest Asset?
In traditional investing the term ‘asset class’ has a well defined meaning. The three main asset classes are equities (stocks), fixed-income (bonds) and cash equivalents (money market instruments). Increasingly though assets such as Real Estate and commodities are also referred to as their own class of asset.
You know the drill here at Lifestyle Investors, we don’t look at the world in a traditional way. So what are your asset classes? How would you group your assets? Wait…before you answer that let me make sure we have a common definition for the term asset. An asset is something that you own or possess (or can get your hands on legally) which is of value. When something is of value that means it can be converted to something else. Cash can be converted to groceries. Cars can be sold and converted to cash, etc, etc…
So as a Lifestyle Investor what are your assets? Money…certainly. Cold hard cash or even equity in your home represent a significant asset and one which you need to nurture and protect. But what else?
How about knowledge? That’s right…all those years in school or on the job have filled up a lot of that space between your ears. What you know and specifically what you know how to do is a serious asset.
Ever heard the saying, “It’s not always WHAT you know but WHO you know.”? That’s right…your personal network, the people you know and equally as important all the people THEY know are a significant asset in your portfolio. Calling in, or exchanging a favor can be the difference between success and failure in any business venture. Having a wide network is a huge asset.
Here is a hint for you…tick tock, tick tock…that’s right TIME. Time is perhaps our most valuable asset of all. Having time to focus on what is most important in life is what Lifestyle Investing is all about. And having the time to focus on lucrative business ventures is what will help you separate from the 9-5 rat-race in cubicle hell.
So take a few minutes today to jot down all of your assets and rank them in terms of their present day value. If you have more money than time then find a way to use one asset to gain another. If you have no money but a huge network, then think of a way to harness the power of that asset to create some financial payback.
Leave a comment and let us know what you think…
What is your Return on Lifestyle Investment?
What is your most prized possession; your house, your car, a piece of jewellery or maybe a family heirloom?
How much sand do you have left in your life's hourglass?
The paradox of time is that, generally speaking, spending it in one endeavour usually comes at the expense of another. For most people, spending time at work (in exchange for your pay check) means directly sacrificing the opportunity to spend time with your family or your friends or enjoying your hobbies. Sure there are always a few exceptions but for the vast majority of us this unfortunately holds true.
If you agree with this premise then the next logical question becomes; what kind of return are you getting on your investment? More specifically, how satisfied are you with your lifestyle? Is the way you spend your time generating income consuming too much of the time you would like to spend on other pursuits? What are your thoughts regarding the value of time?
Listen to the podcast on the Return on Lifestyle Investment.
Speaking of time, I am using too much of my own writing this blog post…see ya later.