“Matthew McConaughey Likes Living In A Trailer”: 32 Frugal Choices By Rich Celebs

Unlike all the other popes in history who chose to live like royalty, Pope Francis opted to live in a modest, communal dorm with other Vatican priests. He picked the humble dorm over the palatial penthouse apartment with more than a dozen rooms, staff quarters, a terrace, and amazing views of Rome.

On the Jimmy Kimmel show in 2018, Zach Galifianakis confirmed that he actually drove his ‘98 Subaru Outback for decades. He told Jimmy, “It’s been my car. I told myself when I bought it, I’m going to drive it for 20 years.” Zach probably would’ve been driving his beloved car today if it hadn’t started breaking down.

When Ben Affleck attended a sneaker convention in LA, he was caught on camera objecting to buying his son Sam a $6000 pair of Dior Air Jordan 1s. He remarked, "That’s a lot of lawns you gotta mow there!" With a net worth of around $150 million, some may find this odd, but most fans actually praised his reaction.

Even after making millions as an actor, Matthew McConaughey lives a minimalist lifestyle. In an interview, McConaughey remarked, “Who needs a home when you can live in a trailer?” People tell me it’s not a very Hollywood way to live, but it’s my choice…I went minimalist. My Airstream trailer measures 28 feet by 7 feet and has everything I need. That allows me to live stress-free because my options are restricted.”

With a net worth of over $700 million, you’d be surprised to learn that Chinese movie legend Chow Yun-Fat lives a frugal lifestyle and survives on about $100 a month. When interviewed by Jayne Stars, Chow said, “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.”

Ed Begley Jr. has made taking the metro and subway to the Oscars a yearly tradition. In a video taken on the LA metro, before the 96th annual Academy Awards, Begley said, “I’ve been riding the metro since before it was the metro. It was the RTD,” he said, referring to when LA’s transportation system used to be called the Rapid Transit District (RTD). “I used to take the 93 line downtown into Hollywood.”

In 2022, Chris Evans admitted that before deciding to upgrade, he was still using the same trusty iPhone 6s that he'd bought 7 years earlier. In a hilarious post on Instagram, Evans shared, “RIP iPhone 6s, we had a good run. I’ll miss your home button. I won’t miss the nightly battle of trying to get you to charge. Or your grainy pictures. It was a wild ride. Rest easy, pal.”

Lady Gaga admitted to shopping from clothing sale racks in 2012. Gaga also confessed that despite the reactions she might get, she wasn’t shy to use coupons. The singer voiced her frustration in a tweet, "Why do people look at me like I'm crazy when I use coupons at grocery or try bargaining at retail, I'M FROM NEW YORK, WHERE IS THE SALE RACK?”

Even though he's one of the world’s biggest pop artists, Ed Sheeran doesn’t believe in lavish spending, so he still keeps to a strict budget. Sheeran admitted to only giving himself an allowance of about $1,000 per month, and he also told the Irish Examiner, “ You never want to be wasteful.”

Timothée Chalamet surprised everyone when he showed up at the 2025 London premiere of A Complete Unknown on a Lime bike instead of in a fancy limo. While fans praised his “ecological” choice, the premiere organizers weren’t too happy with him parking it on the red carpet, so they slapped him with a $79 fine.

Mila Kunis has always been cautious with how she spends her money, largely due to her experience as an immigrant in the US. In 2019, on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, Kunis shared, “And so, our wedding bands are from Etsy...I went and looked at, like, how much Tiffany charges, and I was like, 'They're how much? Like, this is astronomical.' And so I went on Etsy, and it was like $90. I was like, 'Buy now!'”

In 2018, Cardi B confessed to Sway's Universe, "I'm very cheap, I don't care. Sometimes ya might see me with the jewelry, but I'm always looking at my account. I'm not the one that wanna take jets everywhere. I don't care. I'm really cool in Delta first class. That's $30,000, $20,000, on what? My ears still pop."

From the time he landed his first gig, Jay Leno has always had two incomes, spending one and saving the other. The comedian admitted to CNBC Make It, "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…It sounds ridiculous, but if everything ends tomorrow, I know I'll be fine."

Julia Roberts has always been passionate about sustainable living and being kind to the environment. To show her dedication to the green-living cause, she recycles items, thrifts for a lot of her clothes, and even grows her own organic vegetables. Julia also enjoys being a minimalist because it provides her with mental clarity.

Fans were surprised to learn that Sarah Michelle Gellar counts her cash and tries to stick to a budget just like any regular person would. In a 2018 interview with CNBC Make It, Gellar remarked, “I still don’t like writing big checks, I don’t like making big purchases…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.”

In a 2023 interview with journalist Brian J. Roberts, rapper 50 Cent explained why he wouldn’t ever cough up money for a yacht. He said,” I'm going to be off moving around so much that the yacht turns into a hole. It turns into a hole in the water that you could just keep throwing money in because you don't really have time to get on it.”

In an interview with The Edit online magazine in 2016, Sarah Jessica Parker revealed that the documentary called The True Cost really got her into thrifting clothes for her son James Wilkie. She said, “The one area I’ve had a hard time with is pants, but I buy used T-shirts and sweaters for him. Track pants are hard; boys rip them. I don’t know how to get around that.”

Growing up in poverty made Jessica Chastain mindful of what she splashes cash on, even after becoming famous. In a 2012 interview with Marie Claire, Chastain admitted, “I always supported myself through acting and would make money last a long time. I understand the value of money, and I'm not an impulsive buyer. So my lifestyle hasn't changed, except my anxiety about paying the rent is gone.”

Zooey Deschanel has been described as very financially responsible. She has said before, “I try not to be wasteful. I’m not a major environmentalist, I’m not Ed Begley, Jr., but I think there are little things you can do. I think the things that we all do every day add up, like recycling, reusing.”

From an early age, ex-supermodel Tyra Banks learned the importance of saving and making wise financial decisions. In a 2018 interview with Money, Banks explained, “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.”

Despite all the fame, rapper and actor Ludacris prides himself on being a very humble individual. On the Ellen Show in 2014, Ludacris revealed, "I still have my '93 Acura Legend. I used to write music in this Acura, and I still do to this day. So it's just one of those things I could never get rid of. I will never get rid of, ever."

Although Keira Knightley's a successful actress, she tries to maintain a budget-friendly lifestyle by limiting her yearly spending to around $50,000. In a 2014 interview with Glamour Magazine, Knightley reportedly confirmed, "Yes, it's something around that. I mean, if I want or need something that goes over that, I get it, but, yes, around that. I think living an expensive lifestyle alienates you. Many of my best memories happened in budget-friendly places."

In a 2023 TikTok video, actress and supermodel Julia Fox defended her decision to live in a tiny NYC apartment. In the video, she explained, "For me personally, I just — I don't like excessive displays of wealth. They make me feel icky. Especially people that have really big houses. It's just really wasteful when there's so many homeless people in this country. I'm just not really like that."

Halle Berry has been seen leaving CVS stores with purchases, and has been known to shop from sale racks. The Oscar-winning actress isn’t afraid to admit that she’s careful with her spending. "I am pretty frugal," Berry told Monster's Ball. "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."

Kieran Culkin spent years living in the same one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. Even after finding success on the hit HBO show Succession, Culkin continued to live there with his wife and two children until 2021. He eventually moved his family into a bigger home in Brooklyn, leaving behind the tiny apartment he called home for decades.

In an exclusive interview with SheKnows in 2023, Jessica Alba revealed that she teaches her kids not to be wasteful by practicing sustainability at home. This includes normalizing the concept of hand-me-downs. She confessed, “Honor grows out of clothes, and then it gets passed down to Haven instead of Haven buying brand-new stuff every time, and Hayes even inherited some of Honor and Haven’s clothes.”

Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire learned to be responsible with his money from a young age due to his unstable upbringing. In an interview with Parade, he said, "When I first started being successful at this, financially speaking, I was very conservative with my money. 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."

While Dave Grohl, the founder of the legendary rock band Foo Fighters, has achieved major success, he still watches his spending. When asked about what he does with his paychecks during a 2018 interview with The Red Bulletin, Grohl said, “It goes straight into my bank account, where it turns all moldy and smelly.”

Although Paul McCartney is worth over $1 billion, he’s still very cautious with his money and doesn’t spend it on frivolous things. It’s alleged that McCartney even got into a public argument with his daughter Stella over her expensive college choice. In his quest to keep costs low, he reportedly tried to convince her to go for a more affordable option.

It’s no secret that Kristen Bell and her husband, Dax Shepard, enjoy penny-pinching despite their combined net worth of about $18 million. In an interview with Conan O’Brien, Bell confessed, “I’m very frugal,” she told O’Brien. “I use a lot of coupons. The best coupon you can get, possibly in the world, is a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon.”

Tyler Perry is known to live a pretty frugal lifestyle. In his 2024 appearance on Sherri Shepard’s daytime talk show, Perry talked about his strict parenting. When asked why he doesn’t buy Christmas gifts or pay for expensive flights for his son, he said, “He don't get no Christmas list...he gets two things... books and Legos. He don't have a job, what else is he going to get?”

From earning her first Oscar Nomination in 2011 to starring in the hit franchise The Hunger Games a year later, Jennifer Lawrence’s $39,000 Volkswagen Eos got her through everything. According to CheatSheet, her choice of vehicle was particularly surprising since the car was “more for an actor new to Hollywood looking to make a name.”

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