Meet the millionaires living ‘underconsumption’ life: Groceries from Aldi and Goodwill clothes

For example, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett famously drives a 2014 Cadillac, which is covered for damage from a hailstorm. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates drives a Fiat500 electric car gifted to him by Bono, while YouTube star MrBeast sleeps in his office and has to borrow money from his mother to pay for his wedding.

How do the rich stay rich? Apparently, by acting like they’re not. High-net-worth individuals with an income of more than $100,000 luck They said they try to keep their discretionary spending to a minimum, preferring the impact it has on their finances.

While their friends may enjoy eating out a few times a week, they choose to cook for themselves — in fact, they buy frozen groceries because they are cheaper than fresh.

Some choose not to have cars, fix up their wardrobes, and find some of their children’s toys on Facebook Marketplace.

These individuals – in some cases unconsciously – live an “under-consumer” or “low-consumption” lifestyle.

The phrase started trending on social media sites like TikTok after people started sharing their weekly grocery shop or makeup closet to combat the endless shopping or wish lists often found on the app.

Advice from the Basic Underconsumption community included setting no-buy challenges or decluttering spaces full of items you don’t use.

For individuals luck I talked to her about how these habits are already second nature. After living a life of low consumption for most of their adult years, their bank balance is reaping the rewards.

Shop for groceries in the frozen section

Author and entrepreneur Shang Saavedra and her husband couldn’t build a multi-million dollar net worth overnight. In fact, they learned in childhood the value of frugal living.

The couple rents a four-bed house in the Los Angeles suburbs, shares a 17-year-old used car and does their grocery shopping at Aldi — mostly in the frozen section.

Saavedra’s children, ages six and three, often wear handmade clothes, play with toys found on Facebook Marketplace and enjoy free activities instead of the Disneyland trips their California peers often take.

While millionaire Saavedra’s life has some of the hallmarks of a high-income family — her children go to private schools, and she owns real estate in New York — these expenses fit her financial ethos: investing in education and assets that support her philanthropic endeavors.

Unlike the majority of Americans — 58% of whom told a Harris Poll in 2023 that they worry about their finances over the holidays — Saavedra says her daily expenses during Thanksgiving and Christmas increase mostly due to charitable gifts.

The 40-year-old’s ability to share her wealth goes back to smart financial decisions she made early in her career, when she held a manager position at CVS, and analyst and consulting roles at companies like Victoria’s Secret.

Before marrying, Saavedra lived with roommates and then moved into a rent-controlled apartment with her husband in New York (a building that often had no plumbing), often using meal vouchers doled out by working late in their corporate roles.

They aimed to reduce their expenses to one income and save the rest in preparation for having children.

said Saavedra, who is now an entrepreneur who helps hundreds of clients achieve their financial goals luck In an interview, the best way for people to try a low-consumption lifestyle is to “start with why.”

“What is the ultimate goal of consuming less? If you just cut down on consumption for the sake of consuming less, you will burn out and become unhappy very quickly,” Saavedra explained. “Because my husband and I directed our consumption toward financial freedom and family, it made it all worth it.

“Of course I still tend to seek out luxury goods and experiences, and every now and then we have a fun night out at a really nice restaurant – but understanding why you want something… comes from the pain of an unfulfilled part of your life and a lot of times it’s a psychological need.”

Thrift clothes

What it takes to run a household is becoming more expensive. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average monthly household spending in 2023 is $6,440.

That’s a sharp increase from just the previous year — up 8.3% — and up 15.5% from 2021, when monthly expenses reached $5,577 per month.

However, even though Annie Cole has assets totaling more than $1 million — and earns six figures — she has cut her spending to just under $4,000 a month.

Cole sold her Prius two years ago, cooks meals for herself and her husband, cuts her own hair and trades clothes three times a year at her local Goodwill store — Cole last bought new clothes a year ago, with a gift card.

The couple travels using air miles and points accumulated when Cole, 36, was traveling for a corporate job, and spends their vacation enjoying free activities like hiking and swimming.

This approach not only changed Cole’s perspective on how long she would work – retirement is set for her early 40s – but the nature of the work itself.

“I’m very curious to know if I really want to retire,” says Cole, who works as a contract researcher and personal finance expert. luck. “Now that I’m working part-time, I think about it differently. When I was working full-time, I thought ‘I can’t wait to make it optional’ but I almost feel like I’m living that now.

“I’m doing all the things I want to do, and knowing that I can retire feels like a nice financial cushion that says, ‘Hey, you’re being taken care of as you get older, and in the meantime you have the flexibility to live and work differently.’ And that’s a blessing in itself.”

Packed lunches and shared transportation

Dentist Robert Chen and his partner Jessica Farrar own a practice in Las Vegas. Together they travel a short drive from their home to reduce fuel consumption, with packed lunches.

The couple moved to a low-consumption lifestyle thanks to rising costs and a more fixed idea of ​​what they wanted their finances to look like — despite the couple having a comfortable six-figure income.

Chin says luck He now eats out once or twice a month instead of a few times a week, and shops at Costco to avoid inflated grocery prices as best he can.

Unlike other sources luck Chen speaks not against buying new clothes but stresses that they must have a lifetime warranty (from the likes of Patagonia) or they will last for years.

The couple own an apartment that they rent out, but have rented out their current property to have the flexibility to buy when the market starts moving again.

Their goal is simple: flexibility, whether that means taking more time together or retiring early.

“In five years, we’d love to have another associate or practitioner because the office has grown enough to support that and also because it gives us the flexibility to take time off more easily. That’s probably our biggest challenge as leaders in the business, and our ability to take time off is really difficult because if we’re not here, the practice doesn’t make money.”

More about personal finance:

An initial version of this article was published on December 28, 2024.

Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit May 19-20, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation has arrived, and the old rules of the game are being rewritten. In this exclusive, high-energy event, the world’s most innovative leaders will come together to explore how AI, humanity and strategy are coming together to once again redefine the future of work. Register now.