16 Celebs Who Said "No Thanks" To Hollywood Excess And Chose To Live Below Their Means
by Kristen Harris · BuzzFeedThere are all kinds of stories of celebrities who had everything then lost it all through poor money management. However, some famous people are surprisingly frugal with their fortunes.
Here are 15 celebs who opened up about living "below their means":
1. Keke Palmer — who bore financial responsibility for her entire family at age 12 — filed for bankruptcy when she was around 18, despite having a business manager. So, moving forward, she decided to live below her means to provide herself with a financial safety net.
At the 2024 Building Wealth Today for Tomorrow Financial Empowerment Summit (per AfroTech), she said, "If I got $10,000 in the bank, then my house would be $500 a month. That's how under I mean, because I can probably afford something $2,500 maybe, but I'm going way under.
You know why? Because I wanna invest in my business. So if I wanna invest in my business, then the material things that I'm having currently might have to take a short back. Instead of wearing Gucci, I'm wearing Zara. I live in a good place. I drive a cool car, 'cause my money is going elsewhere…I got a Toyota right now in my driveway."
2. In 2018, Zach Galifianakis told Jimmy Kimmel Live that he drove the same '98 Subaru Outback for 20 years.
Watch the full clip below:
3. Keiran Culkin lived in the same one-bedroom apartment for about 20 years, starting at age 19. It wasn't until after he filmed Succession Season 3 that Keiran, his wife Jazz Charton (who was expecting their son at the time), and their daughter Kinsey moved to a bigger place.
In 2021, he told New York Magazine, "I'm finally making money for the first time in my 30-something-year career!"
4. In 2018, Sarah Michelle Gellar told CNBC Make It, "I cut coupons to this day. I'll never forget one time I was at Bloomingdale's, and they had these coupons — Bloomingdale's has really good coupons — and I was taking them all out, I was doing holiday shopping. And someone behind me turned around and said, 'I can't believe how long you're taking. Why are you using coupons?' I remember looking at her like, 'Why should I pay more?'"
She continued, "Like if there's a coupon there, I'm going to use it. Just because you're successful doesn't mean that you should be errant in your spending. I've never believed that."
5. In 2010, the New York Times asked Eminem what he does with "all [his] money." The rapper, who's been sober since 2008, answered, "Save it. I save a lot of money by not buying drugs anymore. I invest. I always try to be smart."
"I try to treat all the money I'm making like it's the last time I'm going to make it," he said.
6. Tyra Banks learned good financial habits from her mom. In 2018, she told Money, "Even before my career, I was a saver. My brother was a spender. I was a saver. I would hold onto it forever and dole it out slowly. My mom explained to me the importance of real estate and that, typically in Los Angeles, it's going to appreciate. While a lot of models were partying it up and going shopping and buying a closet of designer clothes or staying at the top hotels during fashion week, I was at the Doubletree or Embassy Suites, saving my money, and bought a house at 20 years old."
"She explained to me investing is super important," she said.
7. In 2017, Jay Leno told CNBC Make It, "I always had two incomes. I'd bank one, and I'd spend one."
He continued, "When I was younger, I would always save the money I made working at the car dealership, and I would spend the money I made as a comedian. When I started to get a bit famous, the money I was making as a comedian was way more than the money I was making at the car dealership, so I would bank that and spend the car dealership money.
When I got The Tonight Show, I always made sure I did 150 [comedy show] gigs a year so I never had to touch the principal. I've never touched a dime of my Tonight Show money. Ever."
8. In 2014, Keira Knightley told Glamour that she gives herself an annual "salary" in the neighborhood of $50,000 out of her earnings. She said, "I mean, if I want or need something that goes over that, I get it, but yes, around that."
She added, "I think living an [expensive] lifestyle means you can't hang out with people who don't live that lifestyle. It alienates you. Some of my best, most hilarious times have been in the least luxurious places."
9. In 2012, Kristen Bell told Conan about her love of coupons.
Watch the full clip below:
10. Chow Yun-fat reportedly lives on $800 HKD (about $102 USD) a month, takes public transportation, shops at discount stores, and uses the same Nokia cellphone he's had for 17 years.
He also plans to donate most of his wealth to charity.
He told Jayne Stars, "The money’s not mine. I’m only keeping it safe for the time being...My dream is to be a happy and normal person. The hardest thing in life is not about how much money you earn, but how to keep a peaceful mindset and live the rest of your life in a simple and carefree manner."
11. In a 2023 TikTok video, Julia Fox gave a tour of her "modest" apartment.
In a follow-up TikTok, she responded to criticism (and speculation she had a net worth of $30 million.
She said, "I just want you guys to know that like, first of all, I'm not worth $30 million, not even close. And second of all, I don't give a fuck. I don't need $30 million. What does one person need $30 million for? I've survived on a lot less, and I'm doing just fine.
This just happens to be the apartment where I took my son home from the hospital to, so it's his home. It really is Valentino's apartment. It's like a sentimental thing. That's kind of why I'm like, even though I could probably afford a bigger place — probably, because I am in New York, after all — it's about having that sense of normalcy for Valentino."
12. In 2009, Hilary Swank told Live! with Regis and Kelly that she's a coupon clipper — and shut down the suggestion that she would be ashamed of it.
Watch the full clip below, with this part starting at the 1:28 mark:
13. In 2012, Ashley Greene told Marie Claire, "Twilight has ruined me. When this is all over, flying internationally is going to be very hard for me. It is just not worth it to buy a first-class ticket because of the cost."
She continued, "I'm lucky because my dad taught me to be frugal and save. And that's important because I want to know that I don't have to take an acting job for two or three years if I don't want to and that I'll still be able to make my house and car payments and buy food for my dogs."
14. In 2010, Vincent Kartheiser told the Guardian that he gave up his car. He said, "I go on the bus, I walk. A friend left his car recently at my house, and I took it out one day just for 15 minutes, and it was terrible. You know why? I felt like I was back in LA again. Four or five years ago, when I had a car and I had been out of the city I wouldn't feel I was back until I got in the car, you know. But now I feel off the grid. I feel that I am not part of the culture. And because I don't have a car, I don't really go anywhere to buy things. In fact, I have been in a slow process of selling and giving away everything I own."
He continued, "Like, I don't have a toilet at the moment. My house is just a wooden box. I mean, I am planning to get a toilet at some point. But for now, I have to go to the neighbors. I threw it all out.
...It started a couple of years ago. It was in response to going to these Golden Globe-type events, and they just give you stuff. You don't want it. You don't use it. And then Mad Men started to become a success on a popular level, and people started sending me stuff, just boxes of shit—gifts for every holiday, clothes. One day, I looked around and thought 'I don't want this stuff, I didn't ask for it'. So I started giving it to friends or charity stores, or if it is still in its box, I might sell it for a hundred bucks. I liked it, so I didn't stop."
15. In 2016, Sarah Jessica Parker told InStyle, "I dress based on what I have. I'm not a huge shopper, but I love beautiful things. To be able to borrow them is ridiculously fortunate, and I enjoy every second of that. I have a pretty standard wardrobe, though I've got wonderful shoes."
She also said, "Honestly, thrift stores played such a huge part in my life before Sex and the City, and of course, my mom was the biggest influence. She had pretty firm ideas about how we should dress."
16. And finally, Ed Begley Jr. learned to be financially conscious from his dad, Ed Begley Sr, who was a factory worker before becoming an actor. Interacting with his dad's Hollywood peers also impacted him. In 2015, he told Ask NASA Climate, "We would visit some of these people with fat houses and they didn’t seem one bit happier to me; in fact, they had all this stress and all these problems.”
He added, "I met all these movie stars and saw the anxiety that came with more stuff.”
Ed often makes frugal choices because of how important being environmentally conscious is to him. For example, he famously takes public transportation to the Oscars.