Most Frugal Celebrities
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Tinseltown's Thriftiest Stars
Fame and fortune doesn't necessarily always turn celebrities into financial fools. While frugality may not be the biggest Hollywood trend, there are a few celebrities who can pinch a penny with the best of us -- and we're not just talking about getting snapped by the paparazzi stocking up on party munchies at Costco every once in a while.
Click through our gallery to see 12 stars who are well-known for their saving ways.
First Up: Eva Longoria -
Gabriel Bouys, AFP| Getty Images
Eva Longoria
The Frugal Facts: Her wedding in 2007 reportedly cost $1.5 million, but this 'Desperate Housewives' star still scored a lot of freebies to give to her 200 guests: Van Cleef & Arpel 18K yellow gold charm bracelets, and L'Oreal, Cole Haan, and Bebe products were a few. She says the frugal gene runs in her family, explaining that her dad would take her and her three siblings camping with no food. "He would tell us that we could live off the land. I can skin a deer, a pig, a snake ... "
Next: Tyra Banks -
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Tyra Banks
The Frugal Facts: Despite a fortune estimated at $75 million, this 34-year-old is an avowed penny pincher. "I am frugal," she said in a June 1 'New York Times Magazine' profile. "I've always been this way. When I was young, my mom would give me my allowance, and I'd peel off a little each week and have some to spare. " Banks's culinary tastes runs toward Cheesecake Factory, and is known to stock up on hotel soap.
Next: Sarah Jessica Parker -
Sarah Jessica Parker
The Frugal Facts: Contrary to Parker's character in 'Sex and the City,' the 43-year-old isn't such a slave to fashion. In fact, she used to get sick from buyer's remorse and return items the next day. Explaining that her family went through a time when they were on welfare, Parker says of her son, "Just because mommy and daddy are rich and famous, that doesn't mean he should ride the gravy train through life ... I want [James] to be normal."
Next: Mick Jagger -
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Mick Jagger
The Frugal Facts: Jagger reportedly pulled out of buying a painting by bandmate Ron Wood because the $140,000 price tag "scared him off." His ex-wife, model Jerry Hall, complained, "He always wanted me to pay for everything to do with the house and the children. He's generous with gifts and presents, but yeah, he's pretty tight with the day-to-day stuff." He explains that he was taught as a child to be frugal: "We don't like to throw computers away as soon as they don't work -- apart from out of the window in frustration. We like cars to be repaired instead of junked."
Next: Paul McCartney -
Mark Lennihan, AP
Paul McCartney
The Frugal Facts: Paul McCartney is worth more than $1 billion, but he's not likely to advertise it. At a birthday party for his ex-wife, he made the guests pay for their drinks. Even his fashion designer daughter, Stella, reportedly called him "a tight bastard" for sending her and her three siblings to local state schools rather than posh private ones. Nor is he resting on his investments.
Next: Tobey Maguire -
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Tobey Maguire
The Frugal Facts: Even after his price jumped up to $26 million a picture thanks to three 'Spider Man' mega-hits, Maguire is usually snapped wearing lived-in t-shirts and jeans. "You know those Lotto winners, who win big and blow through all that money? That would never happen to me," says Maguire, who credits his poverty-stricken childhood as the impetus for his quest for financial security. "I just never wanted to put myself in the position where my spending was so huge that I had to keep making movie after movie."
Next: Halle Berry -
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Halle Berry
The Frugal Facts: Halle Berry can make a fashion designer millions simply by wearing a gown on a red carpet. After all, she's one of the world's most photographed women. Still, this fashion icon would sooner hit the sales racks than fly to Paris for a couture fitting. Berry, whose mom struggled to raise her and her older sister after their father walked out when she was four, is an unabashed saver. "I am pretty frugal," say the twice-divorced Oscar winner and new mom. "I save a lot because I'm always worried about when this trip is going to stop. So I'm saving for that day so I can have a life that is secure and comfortable."
Next: Jay Leno -
Lee Celano, WireImage.com
Jay Leno
The Frugal Facts: Despite his huge fortune, the only flashy thing about Leno is his collection of cars and motorcycles. "When I was a kid ... I had one job which the money went in the bank and the other job that I lived off of," he said in 2004. "I still do that to this day. I have yet to touch a dime of my Tonight Show salary. I live off the money I make as a comedian ... Maybe it comes from having parents who grew up during the Depression." Yet, While Conan O'Brian offered to cover the salaries of pink-slipped staffers during the writers' strike, Leno only did so after being shamed by all the bad press.
Next: Sarah Michelle Gellar -
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Sarah Michelle Gellar
The Frugal Facts: Growing up, money was tight at Sarah Michelle Gellar's house, especially when her dad walked out she was just six. Now after soap opera and movie fame, the New York native remains careful about her money. "I take my reusable bag to Whole Foods so I get a discount," Sarah told Self magazine in 2007. "I go to Bloomingdale's on double reward days. And I always print my dry cleaning coupons before I go. The main thing I want to do is make sure that I can take care of myself and my mother," she said in 2000.
Next: Teri Hatcher -
2007 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Teri Hatcher
The Frugal Facts: This divorced single mom credits her childhood for her frugalness. "I feel like your value system is created when you're a child and I am not sure it ever really changes," she has said in 2005. That same year, she told People magazine, "I drive my cars for 10 years until they have 100,000 miles on them." Her one indulgence: travel. "The only thing I really did was take a fantastic trip to Africa with my daughter."
Next: Dave Grohl -
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Dave Grohl
The Frugal Facts: This ex-Nirvana drummer who formed the Foo Fighters lives the typical life of a suburban dad. "You can't take your lifestyle for granted," this jeans-and-t-shirt-wearing 39-year-old said in a 2003 interview. "I've got tons of money, but I'm afraid to spend it. Knowing I don't even have a high school diploma to fall back on, I'm going to be really careful with what I've got." So while he has a large L.A. house with a recording studio, Grohl is not likely to end up bankrupt like some of his musical brethren.
Next: Leonardo DiCaprio -
Mark J. Terrill, AP
Leonardo DiCaprio
The Frugal Facts: Other than shelling out $2.5 million for an island near Belize in 2005, the environmental activist tends to live on the cheap. "I don't pay lavish expenses," he has said. "I don't fly private jets. I still have only one car, and that's a Toyota Prius. I don't spend money on a lot. Money is very important to me because it allows me the freedom to choose what I want to do as an actor and most importantly because I want to accumulate enough so that one day I can do something really great and beneficial for other people, for the environment or for children."
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More: Celebrity Money Mistakes -
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Celebrity Money Mistakes
Now that you've seen the celebrities that seem to have a good handle on their finances, check out our gallery of stars who haven't been so lucky. These nine stars have made some serious money mistakes. See who they are and what they did.
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Recent Comments
Hookmrl 07:12:53 PM Aug 31 2008
YEA RIGHT LETS THE CARS THEY DRIVE AND THE HOUSES THEY LIVE IN FRUGAL NOOOOOT
GHarison43 06:25:19 PM Aug 31 2008
So wait, other than his own ISLAND, Leonardo DiCaprio is frugal? And does anyone else want to punch spoiled Stella McCartney in her face for calling her dad a "tight bastard" for sending her to a state school instead of a posh one? Aw, you poor thing. You grew up with wealth and started a fashion line because of your daddy's money and name (p.s. the clothes are FUG). Cry me a river, Stella!
BELLEZZO 02:20:19 PM Aug 31 2008
I bring home all unused hotel soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions. When I have a bag full, I donate them to our local rape/abuse crisis center. They're given to women (and men) who come for shelter, often with just the clothes on their backs and not much in their wallets.
Ezra324 05:15:31 PM Aug 13 2008
I liked this article until it got to Jay Leno. How can you have "a collection of cars and motorcycles" and not want to pay your writers during the strike? That's not thrifty--that's selfish.
SEmaj99800 06:32:42 PM Aug 03 2008
Most of these celebrities came from humble beginnings, so they know the value of a buck . Unlike other so called celebutantes who where born into money. Remember a fool and his money are soon parted.
TLMillard 09:43:12 PM Aug 01 2008
What's wrong with being thrifty? It's a good way to keep what you have. Many stars came from humble beginnings and the 'thriftiness' was a unconscious lesson learned in childhood. Better being a little 'tight' that being poor again after having so much.
TLMillard 09:38:51 PM Aug 01 2008
Nothing wrong with being thrifty. That's a good way to STAY rich! How many former stars are there that once had millions and are now just paycheck-to-paycheck like the rest of us?--plenty. If these stars threw their money around, some of you out there would say they're FLAUNTING it. Can't win.
kristof387 01:50:29 PM Aug 01 2008
does anyone seriously care??? Good job aol on posting yet another irrelevant story.
Jstmom1 11:58:01 AM Aug 01 2008
THESE PEOPLE AREN'T "TIGHT"---THEY ARE SELFISH AND SELF CENTERED--THEY ALWAYS ALWAYS SPEND MONEY ON THEMSELVES--CAN'T SPEND ENOUGH ON THEMSELVES AND THE TOYS THEY WANT--THEY ARE SELFISH WHEN IT COMES TO HELPING OTHERS AND CHARITIESIF YOU THINK THAT ITS CUTE THAT THESE HOLLYWOOD PEOPLE ACTUALLY FORCE CHARITIES TO GIVE THEM HUGE AMTS TO EVEN SHOW UP FOR A CHARITY EVENT THEN YOU ALL NEED YOUR HEAD EXAMINEDTHIS IS WHATS WRONG WITH AMERICA--YOU HAVE ALL THESE MULTI MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES THAT THINK EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD GIVE TO THE POOR AND NEEDY AND HELP WITH THE ECONOMY IN AMERICA...EVERYONE BUT THEM
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