Someone asked me recently to, "name three things about my personal character I feel were or are pivotal and positive attributes in my life and why," and because I thought it was an excellent question I answered with candour...and then asked the same question in return.
One response was my work ethic which from a very young age has been strong; it's something that has enabled me to do difficult things, help people who may not have been able to help themselves, protect and serve, and among other things create a financial and life-position with which I'm comfortable.
Nothing landed on a silver platter for me, I worked for everything and gave a lot of myself in the process, went without for the greater and future gain and generally just worked hard.
I'm not sure what others would feel, but I'm content with that and the effort has been rewarded in monetary and satisfaction terms. Life isn't just about money though and a lot of the rewards have come differently although - let's be honest here - money is important in this society
So, I've worked hard for my current financial position but it's not the only element I've employed in respect of financial security. Financial security is as much about investment and hard work as it is about knowing when and when not to spend money. I've made many such decisions and around how to make money and, the things I have, work better for me for longer. This has saved money and those savings have been put back into investments and general (needed not wanted) living costs which paid dividends.
Back in late 2016 I decided to put a solar array on one of my houses and despite the outlay figured (based on a lot of research and calculation) it would work out well on a long-term basis in saving money which I'd be able to drop into investments and get working in better ways for me. That's exactly what happened.
I got it done and was excited to see what I saved in electricity bills over the years to come; now I can look back over several and see the solid gains.
Below is seven full years of energy usage and production on that house/solar array from 2030 back to 2017 left to right. I've left out 2016 and 2024 as they're not full years.
It shows imported, exported, produced, consumed and net exported electricity data for the twelve months of each year and while it may not mean much to the casual observer in terms of cost savings it's significant considering that it reduces my electricity bills as I get paid for the electricity the solar system exports back to the grid.
From day one I decided to put the money I saved on each quarterly bill into an investment I'd started specifically for it. Each quarter that investment grows by about $375, the money I save on my electricity bill due to my solar array, and just that monetary injection sits at around $10,125 (AUD) since October 2016 and it's much higher because the investment has gained in value through compounding interest. Sure, I had to outlay several thousand dollars to get the solar array set up but I'm several thousand dollars in front now...That's several thousand dollars of free money.
I've not had to work hard for that money, all I've done is shift it around from here and there and it's not been at all difficult, the sun gave it to me. #sunnymoney
I love my sunny money and have since had solar arrays installed on my other houses which are also working just as well, all are feeding into their own investment 'bucket'. This is helped along by changing how power is used in the households, less usage at night and more in the daytime when the solar power is available (thanks sun), and again that's not been a difficult thing to do.
I don't shy away from hard work because I know its value to me and others; I have a reward for effort ethos and respect others who have the same. My work ethic doesn't just relate to physical work though, it applies to all of my life and it's as much about ownership and responsibility, discipline and a desire to be more self-reliant which is why I work so hard at all of the elements which make up my life, focus on the right decisions even if those inhibit me somewhat in the present and also to living life as best I can now while planning ahead. It's worked for me my entire life and I'm in the position I hold now because of it.
My solar arrays are one way in which I've worked towards my future, a short term loss for the greater gain in the future; thanks to ownership and responsibility in respect of investing the savings and the discipline to do it things are on a nice trajectory. It's an ethos that has worked well, hard work, and with the other personal characteristics I have I'm left thinking that it's working out nicely.
"name three things about your personal character you feel were or are pivotal and positive attributes in your life and why,"
I wonder what your answer might be if you were asked that question?
If you're interested in responding please go ahead, or maybe you want to comment on my sunny money or whatever else you like, the choice is yours to do so or to not, and I'll respond commensurate to your comment.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own
I can really relate to this post. People who have never lived on a boat might not understand, but it is actually cheaper to live on a boat. We are completely self-sufficient. The massive upgrade to our solar panels and batteries when we set off to cruise the world enabled us to never have to turn on the generator. With electricity, you can run your watermaker, produce your own water, and use induction cooking, eliminating the need for gas. If you're in an area with plenty of fish, you might not even need to visit any shops for six months. Thank you for sharing.
Ok then, now you're just making me feel really jealous and slightly miffed that I'm in the middle of my work day and not floating around in an exotic location on my boat. (Don't have a boat though.)
Just kidding, aim not jealous. (Yeah I am!)
Solar power and battery storage has made such a difference to off-grid living and boating as you well know and technology is advancing all the time, lithium batteries and all. It's cool.
I'd love to feel that free right now (your boat scenario) and have plans to do that with a caravan and an epic around Australia for two years journey in which case I'll get to experience close to what you do on your boat as Australia is a vast place with a lot of space between the major cities. Not just yet though, the corporate world has its claws into me...but maybe this week some good news which will start to ease that grip. 🤔
Thanks for commenting.
All I can say is don't do it too late. We spent 8 months in Australia, had a car there, and brought it from port to port. Australia is especially perfect for a caravan. Many sailors arrive from the tropics, leave their boat in the harbour, and explore Australia by caravan.
Yeah, I love Australia, probably because I was born here and it's bloody awesome, and also because I've seen so much of it and know there's so much more to see.
Solar panels are a very good investment, especially if you have a battery and being paid when you give back to the grid. We had our solar panels installed a few years back, and our bill has been halved. We don't have a battery since that was out of our budget back then, and we still haven't set up the giving back to the grid, so we're not yet maximizing our solar setup.
Sunny money is good money!
Great work ethic and compound interests. Perfect 👌
I wish I could get solar panels as well, it looks so cool and sounds very efficient from what I've heard, but Estonia doesn't provide enough sunlight every 365 days for solar panels to pay off quickly enough for it to be worth investing into for myself.
Hmm, yeah I think the lack of sunny days would limit a solar array there and render it unproductive. Here where I live it's sunny a lot, even in winter, so solar arrays work really well.
Money is required in our daily life's, it might not be everything, but, yes, we as well needs it to get the required things, and I think no happiness is deeper than, when our work gives us satisfaction and also a good financial rewards, pivotal to me, although not be up to three, I think were not positive, but I reminisce and I learned.
I like the concept of the barter system and use it with a group of friends and acquaintances who barter and trade our home grown produce like vegetables, eggs, honey, milk, bread, meat and so on. It's a nice thing.
The wife and I have talked on occasion about solar panels for our house. I have put it off because I am just not sure we will live here long enough to reap the benefits.
Yeah, there's no point putting it on if you're moving or won't own the house for long; that'd be dead money, wasted money.
Yeah, I think by the time our youngest finishes college, in 3 years, we should decide if this is our last home or not. Maybe we will revisit the idea then.
Seems we are both similar in that we are reaping rewards of our hard work from a young age in that we can both live somewhat comfortably. I also think it has a lot to do with setting goals at a young age and working toward them. You can work hard but if your not working toward goals, it may be for not.
Goal setting is really important and without it people tend to flounder. Of course, a plan has to be attached to the goal and ownership, discipline, effort and a heap of other things too. I've worked hard to get into the position I'm in, not rich certainly -not even close - but comfortable. I think that's good enough.
Absolutely!
I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I would love to have solar panels. The problem is, it is hard to find reputable sources for installation. I think a lot of them right now are jumping on the hype and they are swindling people.
Many swindlers out there and across all aspects of our lives too. Human nature huh?
Yeah, I guess so... My buddy is part of the local home builders association, so when I finally get serious about it I might reach out to him.
Hi Galen, today I am going to be very brief. I have been thinking and I can only think of two things that can define me: constancy and willpower.
A big hug
Both are valuable elements to help make ones other character traits more effective.
Hi Galen, I should not be around here, in Spain it is late, but I take this opportunity to tell you to have a great Wednesday, and that I am of the same opinion regarding these two qualities.
Best regards
It should be a good day, I might get some good news possibly, or maybe not. Either way I'll make the most of it. Have a nice night.
Thank you, may that news be good news.
Nice reflection! Hmm, it's actually not easy to name these stuff... The first one that came to my mind is meticulous. It's an adjective that has come up time and time when colleagues or supervisors had to describe or appraise me. Over time, I have learnt that I have greater attention to detail compared to the average person and am generally more careful when going through various decision points in life.
Meticulousness and diligence usually go together and work really well together.asd in a few other components and one has a good mix I think.
🙂
I think the sunny money theme is fantastic!!!! It's a cost at the beginning but then it's profit and that's great. I remember I was told that here they had put the tax on the sun and I died laughing, but it was true! For all those who put up solar panels. Then they removed that tax.
I always consider putting up the panels when I have my own house, because here there is always a lot of sun.
As for the three things about my personal character I would say it would be constancy and persistence in moving forward, responsibility and discipline in my work or undertakings and spontaneity and honesty in my dealings with people.
This, of course, both in my work and in my personal life.
Three good personality traits that if used more often then not will move a person forward more confidently and towards better results. Well done.
Exactly, good results do not come from chance but from ourselves and how we act in life.
Solar panel is an asset and not liabilities. It surely has an ROI.😊
I think I only have one personal character and that is staying calm in everything. 😄😄
Seems like a good character trait to have.
Thank you for appreciating. 😊 That's what they observed in me too.😊
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This is great. Long term plans