9 Celebrities Who Are Thrifty Despite Their Wealth

When we picture celebrities, we often think of them at red carpet or black-tie events decked out in luxury designer apparel. With this image in our heads, it’s easy to assume that this type of behavior extends into their daily lives and that celebrities have no qualms about treating themselves to the finer things in life.

While many celebrities certainly have the wealth to live that way, for these nine celebrities, frugal and thrifty living is still ingrained in their lifestyles. Like regular people, they still hunt for a deal, coupon, or chance to use a promo code when spending their money.

Who are these thrifty celebrities? Let’s take a look.

1. Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis has an extensive acting resume that has allowed her to attain a net worth of $75 million. Even though she’s found financial success in her career, she still has a frugal approach to life. She’s talked about her money mindset in interviews, focusing on her experience of coming to the United States with her family and having nothing to their names. This experience caused her a lot of financial anxiety, as she always worried she’d end up jobless and broke. She says her husband, Ashton Kutcher, has helped her work on her financial anxiety and has helped her make big purchases, like buying a home.

2. Dave Grohl

Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl has unsurprisingly earned quite a bit of money thanks to his music career. Although he’s a rockstar, he doesn’t live the crazy, excessive rockstar lifestyle one might expect. He’s remained modest in his spending, still driving a family-friendly car and living in a house that’s just big enough to meet his needs without being over the top. But considering his $330 million net worth, he could easily lead a more extravagant lifestyle if he wanted to.

3. Sarah Michelle Gellar

Star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Ringer, Sara Michelle Gellar has landed leading roles since she was 18, allowing her financial stability with a $100,000 per episode income — a pretty hefty paycheck for an 18-year-old (an age when many of us are still relying on minimum wage jobs to make ends meet). While she’s had a profitable career, she’s still level-headed and frugal regarding spending.

In an interview with SELF Magazine, she shared that she shops for groceries during sales and even clips coupons, her thoughts being, “Why should you pay more for something that someone else is paying less for?”

4. Hilary Swank

With two Oscars to her name and many major movies on her resume, Hilary Swank has established an impressive net worth of $70 million. But even with this fortune, she still leads a frugal life, even clipping coupons. She revealed in a Live With Regis and Kelly interview that she grew up doing this, and now when she sees coupons, it feels “like dollar bills staring you in the face.”

5. Kristen Bell

In her interviews, Kristen Bell is candid about her love for living frugally, particularly when it comes to coupon clipping. She loves it so much that she even alluded to stealing coupons from her neighbors during an appearance on the Conan show, telling Conan O’Brien, “I’m not saying I did do it, but I may or may not have stolen them out of my neighbors’ mailboxes.” This frugality even extended to her wedding ceremony, which cost her and her husband, Dax Shepard, all of $142.

6. Shailene Woodley

Known for the series The Secret Life of the American Teenager and movies like The Fault in Our Stars and Divergent, Shailene Woodley has earned a considerable fortune. And although she has the means to buy everything brand new, she only shops secondhand to fill her wardrobe. The reason she thrifts clothes rather than buys new ones has little to do with being frugal and has a lot more to do with her dedication to environmental activism.

When she dresses up for events (like the red carpet), she makes an exception to her secondhand rule and wears designer outfits. What she wears for these events is later auctioned off, with the money going to charity.

7. Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence has starred in many major movies, and alongside her acting abilities, she’s developed a reputation for being a relatable celebrity. One of the ways that she’s remained so relatable is that she didn’t upgrade to a fancy new vehicle even after booking leading roles in movies like The Hunger Games.

Instead, she continued driving her reliable Volkswagen (which she had already been driving for years), stayed in her rental apartment, and kept on bargain hunting and clipping coupons. In interviews, she shared that her family instilled a respect for the value of money and that they keep her grounded.

8. Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is a wildly popular musician and producer who has had a hand in creating chart-topping songs not just for himself but for other musicians, too. Unsurprisingly, this work has helped him amass an eye-watering net worth, one to the tune of $200 million. However, he lives incredibly modestly, giving himself a monthly allowance of $1,000. The only exception to his modest lifestyle is his inclination to use taxis whenever heading out.

9. Lady Gaga

While Lady Gaga exudes extravagance on stage and the red carpet, she’s much more down to earth in her everyday life than her stage presence would suggest. Even after becoming wildly famous and wealthy, she still lives in a one-bedroom apartment and is a thrifty bargain hunter unashamed to hit sales sections and clip coupons.

Wealth Doesn’t Always Mean Excess

These nine celebrities show us that, even after making it big, people still hold onto elements of who they were before the fame and money. While each of these celebrities easily could lead lavish lifestyles most of us can only dream about, they’ve remained grounded, frugal, and thrifty.