Meet a Reader | Hana from South Carolina
Hello, everyone! We've met a lot of long-time FG readers in this series, but today we have the pleasure of meeting a reader who's pretty new here; she started reading in 2020, and I'm delighted we get the chance to know her.
Here's Hana:
1. Tell us a little about yourself
My name is Hana and I am a 31-year-old living in the upstate of South Carolina with my husband and two young children. My husband and I are both teachers, and our backgrounds are both in English education at the high school level.
However, since having children I have taught at my kids’ preschool, with a brief stint of virtual teaching at the middle/high school level during the first year of Covid (that was quite the experience with a baby and a two-year-old at home with me during that time!).
I am starting to feel restless and like it might be time to return to the workforce in a more full-time capacity, but we shall see.
In my free time, I love, love, love baking. I especially love baking and decorating cakes. I wish I had more time to do it, but at least I have birthdays and holidays to regularly bake for!
As a family, we enjoy being outside in the woods. My husband and I are both rock climbers, and our kids are just starting to get into it as well.
2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?
I am pretty sure I found The Frugal Girl in 2020, so I am a newer reader, but I have definitely spent time in the archives reading lots of older posts! I believe I was searching for ways to live more frugally after I had our second child in March 2020, and I realized that I would not be going back to work anytime soon.
I have so enjoyed all the tips, tricks, and camaraderie Kristen’s blog provides!
3. How did you get interested in saving money?
I have always been a saver.
As a child, I distinctly remember wanting to save any birthday or Christmas money I received, and I have a vivid memory of my Oma (German for grandmother), telling me when I was six years old, that I should save my money to buy a house one day. She lived through the horrors of WWII as a child in Hamburg, Germany, and nearly starved to death during that time.
Her stories always remind me how tenuous our hold on stability can be and being frugal is one way to help build a financial cushion for hard times. My parents also influenced my frugality and have always stressed the importance of making wise decisions with money.
4. What's the "why" behind your money-saving efforts?
As teachers working in the south, my husband and I do not make very much money.
When I stopped teaching high school, it became apparent rather quickly that I would need to track each and every penny we spent to make sure we were living within our means. We have never carried debt outside of our mortgage and one car loan, which has since been paid off, and the thought of “going in the red” gives me stress hives just thinking about it.
I realize what a privilege it is to be able to live within our means without debt. My husband and I were both incredibly fortunate to graduate college without student loans, thanks in large part to ample scholarships we both received, and generous parents who were able to pay what remained.
Additionally, I want to model prioritizing saving to our children so they understand that smart money decisions when you are young can help build financial security as you get older.
5. What's your best frugal win?
My best frugal win has definitely been buying our house.
I followed my Oma’s advice and saved all the money I earned growing up. I bought our house at age 23 when my husband (at the time, boyfriend), and I moved to the upstate from the coast. I knew I wanted to buy a house, but the reality of that happening while living near Charleston as a teacher seemed unlikely.
So I started looking in 2015, and ended up buying a house right at the end of the school year. I actually bought the house without seeing it in person, which sounds crazy now, but my parents lived in the area where I was looking, so my mom went to look at the house and sent me tons of pictures.
It was a foreclosure in a neighborhood I knew well, so I felt comfortable putting in an offer.
I ended up having the best offer, and spent that summer (and most of the subsequent summers) renovating. Our house is now worth 3x what I paid for it, and we still have a couple of renovations, like the kitchen, which will increase the value even more.
Our yard is so beautiful in the spring and summer- and is mostly free to maintain!
6. What's a dumb money mistake you've made?
I can’t think of anything horrible, but I do wish I had opened a high-interest savings account earlier.
I wasted years letting money sit in an account that earned basically no interest, and switching was such an easy thing to do.
7. What's one thing you splurge on?
House renovations.
I am so fortunate to have a father who lives close by and is extremely handy and helpful, so in some ways the renovations are frugal, but when we decide to update something, we do it without cutting any corners.
We renovated a bathroom while I was pregnant with our first child, and we had to gut the entire thing. It was pricey to replace literally everything, but again, we were able to do the entire renovation ourselves, so ultimately it saved a ton of money.
I was able to make sure the materials we picked were quality and that the installation was top-notch. Spending the money to make our house both sturdy and updated feels like a splurge, but hopefully, the money invested in the renovations will pay off.
8. What's one thing you aren't remotely tempted to splurge on?
Technology. I could care less about new technology and am perfectly happy using phones or computers until they just won’t function anymore.
9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?
I would probably invest it or put it towards a house project.
10. What's the easiest/hardest part of being frugal?
The easiest part of being frugal is that I actually enjoy it. I have always been frugal, so it is just a part of my life that I have always known.
The hardest part is having to say no to things with friends because it’s not in our budget.
11. Is there anything unique about frugal living in your area?
I don’t think there is anything very unique about frugal living in our area.
I actually think our area is less frugal than lots of other areas. Our city has grown quite a bit over the past 20 years and is becoming like a “boutique city”. It’s hard to be poor where we live now, and even being in the middle class feels challenging as things in our area become more and more expensive.
12. What frugal tips have you tried and abandoned?
I tried making yogurt and baking sandwich bread for a while, but it just was not worth the time after I went back to work out of the home.
13. What is something you wish more people knew?
One thing that has really helped our family is WIC and Medicaid for the kids. The income caps were higher than I realized because I assumed since my husband was employed full-time with a salary that we would not qualify for any assistance.
However, when I investigated it after our second child was born, I was surprised to learn that we did qualify. This has saved us hundreds, if not thousands of dollars over the past two years.
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Hana, thanks so much for participating! When I saw how your name was spelled, I wondered if you were of German descent, so then I was not surprised to see you have a German Oma. 🙂 I'm ¾ German, although my German grandmother just went by, "Grandma".
Like your Oma, my grandma was very into saving money, and I have often thought she would be so proud to see what I am doing with my money-saving skills. She would love the community here!
I share your love for the woods and also for baking, so we are kindred spirits in that way as well!
Have you always lived in SC? I know I would not want to live as far south as Georgia or Florida, but I have sometimes wondered if I would enjoy living in the Carolinas. Thus far, I've really only ever been to the beach in NC and SC.
Your mention of WIC sparked a memory for me - when I was in xray school I was denied WIC because the lady told me my husband made enough for a family of SEVEN. I laughed in her face - we were living on ramen noodles and tuna at the time and had two in diapers! So impressed with you getting a house when you were 23 and it looks gorgeous. Sounds like you have your head on straight with money and could teach us all a thing or two about saving!
It’s nice to meet you. I love the northern part of South Carolina, but it’s not a secret anymore. We have spent many summer days in the Cherokee Foothills area.
I understand how difficult it is to live in a town or city that undergoes a socio-economic change. The beautiful, little beach town where I live is now a “destination”. Everything from grocery stores to outdoor access is impacted by this growth.
BTW, your cakes are beautiful!
Nice to meet you, Hana! Oma's must be frugal by nature. My own Oma's father was from Germany, but she grew up in North Dakota. And was she frugal! I guess the Depression and WWII did that to a person. She saved scraps of everything to reuse/repurpose. She is a big inspiration for me, too.
Hi Hana! Your yard really is beautiful. I don't miss the maintenance, but I do miss the wide variety of flowers and other plants we could grow at our house in our own upstate (New York). Too dry here in New Mexico. I save my watering efforts for the things we can eat. 🙂
Good morning, Hana! Nice to meet you. You show the power of saving over spending. Your house is a triumph!
Hi Hana!
I love the picture of your yard! I, too, I am from upstate South Carolina. The area I am in has also grown, so I totally understand when you say it’s difficult to be even middle class in the area in which you live.
Hi Hana! Wow - buying a house at the age of 23. You did have a good start for your adult life.
I love the picture of four-generations-girls. We also have pictures like that with my mother being what your Oma is to you.
Hi, Hana. I join others in being impressed by the early house purchase. And I'm as impressed by the landscaping as by the house. What is the gorgeous red plant in the foreground of the second exterior photo?
@A. Marie,
I think those are azaleas, which bloom in the spring (unless Brood X cicadas kill them).
Hana,
It was nice to read your interview. You have accomplished a lot in your young life. It looks like buying your house was a total win. Congratulations.
Hi Hana, I grew up in the upstate of SC (I'm in NC now), so it's fun to see a meet the reader from someone there. 🙂 I love your azaleas!
Hi Hana,
What a lovely family picture! I love the bathroom renovation too. It's very inspiring to see what you have accomplished on a teacher's salary. Both of my parents were teachers and for many years, until my mother became a full professor, our family of five managed to live well on their modest salaries. We had shelter, food, clothing, and access to education, as well as plenty of love.
Hi Hana! Good to meet you. You were both smart and lucky to buy when you did. My town, too, used to be a middle-class resort with a lot of fishing, and now we have Gucci popups. (eyeroll). My parents had an azalea that shade of red, and I've always liked it, so lucky you--it looks like it's been there quite a while. If I planted one, the deer would eat it, though.
Hi Hana,
Wow - I am so impressed by your beautiful house you bought at such a tender age. My husband and I are retired and looking to move from the Baltimore/Washington area to NC or SC in the next year or so. You live in a great place. In our area starter homes are teeny tiny townhouses and there's no such thing as affordably downsizing here for us. We would loose all the equity in our paid off home and still have to take out a mortgage to get a lovely rancher like yours.
@Elaine N, In NC here, a big city, getting bigger every day. My husband and I have tried to downsize after the children left. But obviously many people had the same idea because we are all in traditional 2 stories and there is a lack of ranches, these houses were in bidding wars.
We finally decided we could flip our larger house for a ranch but by that time we would have had to pay more.
We are not alone in this. We had friends tell us this information before we started looking. Now we are waiting to see what the rise of the interest rates do to the housing market.
I was excited to see another reader from Upstate SC! Our Powdersville/Easley area has exploded in growth too. I’m thrilled for y’all having purchased your house at such a young age and now you can enjoy the benefits of appreciation.
Hi Hana! Your post is an example of how fulfilling a simple life can be.You saved money, stayed out of debt, got an education, got jobs, and built a family.You continue to do what you did to get this far, and it works! Of course,times are tight, but you have already developed the skills and attitude to make the most of things. Bravo!!
Loved the pictures of your yard- those colors are just amazing
I live in the Upstate too. 🙂 We moved here a little over 6 years ago, when things were more affordable. Thankfully we bought a house at that time, because real estate has doubled in the last 6 years.
WIC is a wonderful program! I am so glad you used it.
I am grew up in a very German town in southern Indiana. Many common last names include: VonDielingen,Stuckwisch, Wischmeier, Mueller, etc etc etc! Many Oma’s in my hometown! Love it!
Nice to meet you…
It's nice to meet you Hana, I visited the midlands of SC last fall. It was lovely, though I don't think I could handle the summer heat in the south. (I like in the Pacific NW) I do plan to visit again.
Pleasure to meet you, Hana! Your yard truly is gorgeous! We also enjoy renovating our home and have gutted the main bathroom, as well as added a master bathroom. Our current projects are renovating our sunroom (replacing windows, adding insulation because there wasn't any, putting up drywall, and later this winter we will be taking out the chimney that goes up through there) and redoing the lights in our basement. We are in the dreaming stages of flipping our kitchen and dining rooms. When you can do it all yourself, there's never a dull Saturday!!
I wish you all the best as you figure out next steps for your career!
Kristen, I noticed your comment about living in NC or SC. We currently live in a medium size town in NC. We moved here from Florida 20+ years ago, and we LOVE it! We're about an equal distance from the ocean or the mountains, not far from bigger cities and yet love the small town feel and lovely people where we live. The weather is moderate....but since we have the mountains and the ocean, you can choose what kind of weather you'd prefer!
Hi, Hana,
I grew up in a mostly German immigrant area - a great-grandfather of mine was a German immigrant to the states - and thrift just seemed embedded in our area's culture.
It's amazing that you could buy a house at 23. Way to go! That's a good job you all have done on it.
Thanks for posting! You remind us of what one can do when one is frugal, thoughtful, and thinks ahead.
This was a great post, thank you! Your house is beautiful. You’ve made some excellent decisions over the years; well done!
I love your landscaping! The red flowers make me quite envious. Thank you for taking the time to share your story.
Hi Hana,
Love your yard. First time I saw azaleas was rolling into the train station in NOLA. They were as big as trees!
Thanks for sharing your story!
I love the four generation picture, you are all beautiful ladies. So nice that you still have your Oma.
Thank you everyone for the kind words! I loved reading all of the comments, especially about how much many of you enjoyed my flowers! It was also really nice to see some fellow SC followers here.
Kristen, I personally really enjoy lots of things about the upstate, especially how easy it is to get to either the mountains or beach! It's a beautiful place to live and my only complaint is that I wish it snowed just a little more often than our once a year trend!
@Hana,
Hi Hana,
I also used to live in upstate SC! We still own and rent out our house there while my husband and I are in school in Utah (PLENTY of snow, I keep trying to send some to our parents in SC and GA!). I taught in a GCS middle school for a few years, so I know those salary struggles. Thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed your article! My husband and I lived in Piedmont/Simpsonville area. We moved there from Illinois. Fell in love with the area. We now live in Florida. If we had to move north, we’d definitely move back to the Upstate!