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‘This Is Us’ Star Chrissy Metz On Being Broke – Money Talks
Posted
March 22, 2019
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March 22, 2019
5,782
74
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"I had a plan for a lot of other things — finding a man, my career. But not my finances," "This Is Us" star Chrissy Metz tells CNBC Make It.
Introducing Money Talks, a new series hosted by CNBC Make It’s Managing Editor, Jenna Goudreau, where she talks to the people you love in sports, entertainment, business and politics about their smart and sometimes dark money secrets.
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Chrissy Metz went from being broke with 81 cents in her bank account one minute, to starring in NBC mega-hit “This Is Us” practically the next. Today, the 38-year-old Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress is also known for FX’s “American Horror Story” and a best-selling book, “This Is Me.” And, she stars in the upcoming movie “Breakthrough.” Metz’s journey to financial independence hasn’t always been easy, but it’s taught her priceless lessons about money and the importance of being real and responsible about your financial situation.
Metz joined us to chat about everything from why she still refuses to splurge to how much money her character Kate Pearson makes.
CNBC Make It: So I’m a huge “This Is Us” fan, and I’ve been dying to know what you think your character Kate Pearson’s salary is in a given year. And Kate’s brother Randall’s — he lives in that big house.
Chrissy Metz: Yeah, I know Randall makes at least six figures, although now he’s a politician [on the show]. At least six figures previously.
Kate — sister does not have a steady income. You know she’s an aspiring singer and moves in with her husband Toby. So Chris Sullivan and I always joke about it. I’m like, I’m glad that you’re supporting her singing career. I would say she makes less than $30,000. And I think that’s from Kevin, Kate’s brother. He’s like, “Here’s a little severance pay.”
You’ve been really open about how your family struggled with money. You said your mom didn’t even always eat to make sure you and your siblings had enough food. How did that affect you, and how did that shape your money philosophy?
Goodness, I guess I didn’t really have one. I mean I had a credit card at 18 years old and I bought perfume with it. I think I spent, like, $200 on a couple of bottles of perfume and I ended up spending $2,300 after interest and all. I was like, “Oh, I’m never doing this again.”
So it’s been sort of trial and error and figuring out what’s right for me and just sort of educating myself about it and talking about it and being honest about it, which is not always easy.
You have been really open about your finances, and now you’re working with Turbo on the #RealMoneyTalk campaign, which encourages people to talk about money.
Absolutely. It’s all about just being honest and talking about money and being open about, how do you do this? Let’s get real, because there’s such a stigma around our finances and who am I as a person if I don’t have money or the financial freedom that I would like to have. So it’s just about talking and being honest, which I think if we do more often, it will become easier.
Why do you think it has been such a taboo subject?
I think it’s been taboo because, as we’ve seen in history, particularly with women, we were housewives or the stay-at-home moms who didn’t have anything to do with the finances and had no idea what that looks like and felt very dependent on their significant other or even their family if they weren’t married. So there are not conversations about it because there’s still a stigma attached to that. And now obviously women are running things and they’re much more independent and they’re CEOs and they’re doing all these incredible things. Hopefully as we evolve, so do our conversations.
In the spirit of being open about money, I would love to know how much cash you carry on you. And what else is in your wallet.
I have my California driver’s license. And then I have an American Express, which I never thought I’d ever have. And it’s the hard, thick one. It’s the business account. Crazy life. ... Then I just have a debit card. I have my SAG AFTRA card ... performer since 2005!
I got my Costco card. My best friend had been begging me to join Costco. I’m like, we don’t need that much toilet paper! Well, we need that much toilet paper. So now I am an executive member at Costco because we buy a lot of toilet paper.
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‘This Is Us’ star Chrissy Metz on her worst credit card fail, why she shops at Costco and her Warren Buffett mindset | CNBC Make It.
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