@cb - Is a point of use unit similar to a tankless? And if so, is that something I can do with my wiring? Plus it would have to be wired and plumbed in at each point, yes?
A point of use is usually a tankless - not just similar, but identical. It's just smaller. Many of the 30A, 120V units are marketed as point of use.
Anything that is 30A (amps) or 120V (volts) will probably work with your existing wires. A regular standard household outlet is 30A 120V. In other words, you just plug it in. You can find about 10 different models on ebay right now, mostly priced between $100 and $200.
The last time I recommended a single low flow unit in the MMM forums, the person said they wanted to be able to sell in a few years, but since you plan to stay, you can do whatever works.
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/do-it-yourself-forum!/replace-electric-water-heater-diy/msg33068/#msg33068 I have found 1.6gpm to be plenty enough as a "whole house" water heater - in other words, if its a small house, and you don't need massive amounts of hot water (two showers and a dishwasher all running at once) you can potentially use a "point f use" as a main heater.
Another option would be a (relatively) big (<2gpm) POU instant heater for the bathroom, (for showers), and a tiny one (<1gpm) for the kitchen, where you really never need much hot water anyway. This would mean twice as much plumbing, but wiring just means plugging into any available outlet.
Incidentally, though I happen to be male, I didn't learn this stuff from my dad. I learned it by being interested and curios and taking stuff apart as a kid, and from being too poor to buy new things so fixing them was the only option. Most of it isn't really that hard. The fact that you are even thinking about doing this stuff on your own is more than 1/2 the battle.