About Me
Hi and welcome to my blog, The Thrifty Island Girl!
My name is Lei Hang and I live on a small but stunning island South of England (U.K.), called Isle of Wight.
Do you ever wish to improve your standard of living, while being on a budget? If your answer is YES, look no further! I can motivate and help you live a little frugally to make and save money, whether it is to achieve a better work life balance, for over due holiday, clear your debt or just save for a rainy day.
A little bit about me
I was born and raised in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany and still speak German with family & friends. In 2003, I’ve moved to the Isle of Wight with my parents, who built their Chinese restaurant businesses Beijing Palace (unfortunately no longer exists due to a big fire) and Hong Kong Express.
From a very young age, my parents have given me a luxurious lifestyle, until I finished my masters degree in MSc Infection and Immunity at University College London (UCL) in 2012. This included paying for all my study fees, living expenses as well as my leisure expenses (Yes, I know I was very spoilt back then).
I fell pregnant with my beautiful daughter Yasmin and married while I was still doing my masters, then divorced in2014. With so many big changes in my life, including getting used to big lifestyle changes due to change in financial circumstances and becoming a single mum, I became passionate about ways of saving money and making money without having to give up on our quality of life while being on a budget.
The result
Subsequently I’ve learned ways to live independently on a smaller budget with the help of my best friends Isma and Steph whom I am forever thankful, looking for money saving tips and lots of calculating and comparing. I then started helping others such as friends and family, cut their food and utility bills, generate some extra income and save up some cash by giving advice based on my own experience. After several people have asked me whether I have thought about blogging to share and document the knowledge I have gained through my experience, this blog The Thrifty Island Girl was born.
I work part time as a reseller in the e-commerce sector. This allows me to work from home and look after my young daughter Yasmin who was born with the conditions called Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia, as a single parent. Yas had a major brain and spine surgery in 2019 due to her life long conditions. The operation was to prevent her from having further damage to her spinal cord and possible brain damage.
Knowing that there are so many people living on a budget, like myself, I want to show you that you can gain financial freedom and live a richer life no matter what your budget is!
