Celebrities Who Live So Inexpensively You'd Think They Were Broke

When we think of celebrities, we imagine them living extravagant lifestyles. Indeed, they must fill their hours by spending money on designer clothes, luxury cars, and lavishly appointed mansions. There are plenty of sad tales of celebrities who went broke because they blew it all on candelabras or a diamond sink.

Of course, there are exceptions. Some celebrities are actually pretty thrifty, managing their money well and not blowing it all on gaudy, ornate nonsense. They generally prefer to lead more modest lives than some of their colleagues. Here’s our list of a few of them— some of whom even clip coupons!

Former supermodel Tyra Banks told Money she had always been more inclined to save money than spend it. She credited her mother with teaching her to be savvy with her finances and introducing her to a money manager when she was 19. Eventually, her accountants advised her to start spending money on at least some ridiculous and unnecessary stuff, lest she see the same money go to the IRS. “In hindsight, I should have bought art and things that appreciated,” she said. “I was getting private planes, nothing to show for it.”

The Foo Fighters may be one of the most popular bands in the world, but frontman Dave Grohl hasn’t picked up the spending habits of other rock stars. He told the Guardian that when he was 12 years old, he saw his mother have a stroke while she was doing the family’s taxes. “It left this indelible mark on me, that was ‘Money will kill you,’ that people spend their lives dying inside because of money,” he said. Today, despite hitting the jackpot with his popular band, he still lives pretty frugally, preferring to put his money in the bank rather than blow it on Fabergé eggs.

Despite her "Sex and the City" persona as Blahnik-crazed journalist Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker is far less likely than her character to blow $945 on a pair of pumps. She said that it’s just how she was brought up, and continued the tradition with her own kids. "Almost 100 percent of my son's T-shirts are used,” she said. “And he buys a lot of his items at thrift shops. My daughters all wear hand-me-downs. We've been passing down clothes in my family for almost three generations."

Actor Zooey Deschanel not only lives inexpensively, but she has the legal documents to prove it. During her 2012 divorce from musician Ben Gibbard, the court papers became available to the public. They included her financial details, which listed an average monthly income of $95,000 and assets exceeding $3 million, including cash, stocks, and bonds. Her spending, meanwhile, was only 25% of her income, and her three credit cards each had a zero balance. Assuming Deschanel continues to exercise such great restraint, we commend her on living well within her means.

Comedian Jay Leno has always been frugal, and he stayed that way even when he earned millions of dollars hosting “The Tonight Show.” In his younger days, when he was a struggling standup comic, he supplemented his income by working at a car dealership. Leno only spent his comedy money, banking the much larger sum he was earning at the dealership. He kept this practice during the “Tonight Show” years, only spending his smaller income from standup dates and banking his television salary. “I’ve never touched a dime of my ‘Tonight Show’ money,” he said. “Ever.”

Jennifer Lawrence made a lot of money off her involvement in the $1.6 billion “Hunger Games” movie franchise, so much so that you’d think she would treat herself to a bit of the high life. As it turns out, the answer to that is a big fat “no.” The actor, who is worth $160 million according to Yahoo! Finance, shops at discount stores and even engages in the act of clipping coupons. “I still look for bargains when I go to the market,” she said.

Speaking of clipping coupons, Sarah Michelle Gellar clips coupons. In fact, she so avidly participates in this pursuit, she can speak credibly and authoritatively about it at length. “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,” she recalled. “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? Like, if there's a coupon there, I'm going to use it."

Oscar-winning actor Halle Berry was raised alongside her sister by a divorced mother who singlehandedly raised them both. Despite finding great success in adulthood as an actor, those early days made an impression, so she’s always been careful with her money and aware of its nasty habit of running out. "I am very thankful for my good fortune, but one of my biggest fears is that I could lose it all," Berry told the UK’s Daily Record. “I am not someone who has to have ten cars and lots of diamonds… I save a lot because I am always worried about when this trip is going to end."

According to Bloomberg, Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett has a net worth of $137 billion. With that in mind, you’d think he would have moved into a sprawling mansion ages ago. In reality, he still lives in the same house he bought for $31,500 in 1958. According toYahoo! Finance, the “Oracle of Omaha” doesn’t go in for fancy meals either, spending less than four dollars a day on his favorite breakfast, an egg and cheese biscuit.

Want more tips for saving money? Be sure to sign up for our free newsletter.

Singer Carrie Underwood first burst onto the scene when she won “American Idol” in 2005, and she’s had a very successful career ever since. She told Oprah Winfrey in an interview that she still preferred to do her own laundry rather than hand the responsibility off to some underling. “That’s what I do on my days off,” the “Dirty Laundry” singer said. “We go to the laundromat. I get my quarters, we go to the laundromat and go do our laundry. I just don't like other people doing my laundry. It freaks me out.”