At age 19, Tamogami set a goal to own three homes by age 34.
She said saving money gives her comfort and security and she enjoys watching her savings grow.
After graduating from university, she worked for a real estate agent and carefully monitored her salary.
To minimize costs, she cooked all her meals at home, usually limiting herself to simple dishes such as toast, udon noodles and inexpensive radishes, and spent no more than 50 yen (35 U.S. cents) per meal.
Occasionally she added some variety, such as jam on bread or a piece of salmon with rice, but rarely spent more than 200 yen a day on food.
Notably, she didn’t buy bowls but ate directly from the pot to save even more money.
For many years she stayed true to her motto: “Never buy anything without a discount.”
From the age of 19, she stopped buying new clothes and instead relied on discarded items from relatives and assembled her furniture from trash.
Her hair, which she had never dyed or permed, was in such good condition that when it grew long enough, she could sell it for 3,100 yen (US$20), which was enough to support her for half a month.
By saving diligently, she bought her first house in Saitama, in the Kanto region north of Tokyo, for 10 million yen (US$69,000) at the age of 27.
She used the rental income to cover the mortgage, which enabled her to buy a second house two years later for 18 million yen.
In 2019, she successfully achieved her goal of owning a third house, which cost her 37 million yen.
Tamogami said her motivation for living such a modest life stems from her desire to rescue stray cats, having adopted one as a child that had comforted her in difficult times.
She realized her dream and opened a cat cafe called Cafe Yuunagi on the ground floor of her third house to provide shelter and support to many strays.
The cafe attracts cat lovers and the proceeds help care for even more animals.
Despite her financial freedom, Tamogami continues to live modestly and plans to use the income from rent and her salary to further expand her real estate portfolio.
This story, which was reposted on mainland social media, captivated netizens and sparked extensive discussion.
“It should be included in the list of eight wonders of the world, it is even more impressive than the Terracotta Army,” wrote one person.
“Many people born in China in the 1970s have a similar lifestyle. It seems that buying houses has become an addiction for them,” said another.
A third person expressed their admiration, saying: “I am speechless. I admire their self-discipline. Sticking to a goal for decades is no small feat.”
