Introduction:

The term Lifestyle Investing is one which has penetrated the lexicon in the first decade of the 21st century. The use of the term is rapidly gaining momentum as priorities shift based on signification global events.

Background:
Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week is often credited for his use of the term lifestyle design though he is not believed to have been the first. Ferriss' approach to life and what he calls the 'new rich' revolves around breaking the paradigm of the traditional application of time where a person works until retirement and thus postpones many plans until later in life. Lifestyle Investing builds on this notion can be compared to 'carpe diem' or seize the day approach to both life and income generation. This allows subscribers to this approach to enjoy the flexibility necessary to create a lifestyle of their choosing, or what Ferriss describes as lifestyle-by-design.
In recent years the Internet has provided millions of people with the opportunity to create both active and passive income streams via the world-wide-web. This has allowed many people to pull-back from both the traditional employee lifestyle as well as the traditional small business owner model. This new breed of entrepreneur is what Richard J. Goossen called 'e-prenuers'1.

As the world slowly climbs out of the economic downturn which began in earnest in 2008 an increasing number of people are reassessing their behavior with respect to finances, their time, their health and the environment. More and more people are choosing a more balanced and holistic approach to life which includes assessing how their time is spent and what their impact is on society and the planet. Often this mindset is referred to as Lifestyle Investing.

Lifestyle Investing Defined:

The term refers to the pursuit of an increase in overall quality of living through four major life components:

Personal Income
Control of One's Time
Longevity
Giveback (environment/community)

The Lifestyle Investor will focus on having maximum control of their time while sustaining or increasing personal income levels thus freeing more time for other endeavors. The Lifestyle Investor also seeks to increase their longevity by leading a healthy, active life. A sense of pride and responsible user-ship is achieved through giveback activities focused on the community and/or environment.

Real Estate

Many real estate investors refer to Lifestyle Investing as a type of investing which sees the purchase of a home or property in a tropical, often offshore, luxury location. The presumption is that owning rental property which is located in an in-demand tourist location has the double benefit of offering both a financial return on investment as well as the opportunity for the owner to enjoy its use with family or friends.

1 Richard J. Goossen's book titled: epreneur: From Wall Street to Wiki: Succeeding as a Crowdpreneur in the New Virtual Marketplace.

A person focused on Lifestyle Investing, as an example, would be one who generates an income from an online business. The operation of that business is outsourced and the person is able to control much of their time focusing on their priorities. This person chooses to travel and is able to do so much of the year. They choose to have a positive impact on the world by participating in events that make people more aware of their impact on the environment.

This is one example only. There are many ways to be a Lifestyle Investor.

Lifestyle Investing by LifeInvestor September 16, 2009