Fame & Fortune interview: Kathy Griffin Money-motivated comic: 'My best financial move is not spending'
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Bankrate: What kind of investments do you prefer?

Kathy Griffin: It's simple. I have real estate, stocks and bonds. Most of my stock is in Berkshire Hathaway. I think Warren Buffett is a genius. I keep it simple. I'm not going to pay Charles Schwab 1¾ percent and all that stuff. I do my own investing, I keep it very, very simple. I'm very conservative. I don't trade. I buy something. I hold it. That's it. I have Microsoft, all the normal, conservative ones. When friends call with stock tips, I never do those. Like, "There's this great new product coming out, it's going to be really big." I'm like, "No, I'll just stick with my stuff."

Bankrate: People have this image of celebrities as wild, but when I interview celebrities about money, they are the most conservative people, financially.

Kathy Griffin: Because we think we're going to lose everything tomorrow. When you've waited tables and all that stuff ... the other thing you've probably found is that celebrities always want to buy their homes outright, because you never think you're going to be able to keep making the house payments. I always think I'm going to lose everything tomorrow, or, what happenes if I was in a car accident and became incapacitated and I couldn't do stand-up anymore, all that stuff. Absolutely. There is no job security in my job, so I try to be very conservative with investments.

Bankrate: Did you buy your house outright?

Kathy Griffin: No, I owe the maximum you can owe while getting the tax benefits. I would love to own it just for that peace of mind, but I know it's not smart. It's better to get the write-offs and stuff.

Bankrate: What's the best financial move you ever made?

Kathy Griffin: My best-performing stock has been Berkshire Hathaway, but probably my best financial move has been not spending. What blows my mind is when you see artists, actors, musicians, whatever and they spend all the money. You hear all those stories about, how did TLC go bankrupt? How could they have not gone bankrupt? I'm in the tour business. I know how percentages and back-ends and expenses work. I think the smartest thing I ever did was just take some time and hold on to my money before I started giving it away. A lot of people get a lot of money and start giving it away, because they feel guilty or they don't deserve it. I did some of that at the beginning of my career, and then after a while you go, "Oh, I'm not going to buy anybody's love or approval. It doesn't work that way. And, I don't need this stuff." I have two things I'm extravagant about: I like a really fancy house, and I like fancy travel. Other than that, I'm not a jewelry person, I'm not a designer shoe person, I don't like to buy stuff. I don't want to buy $3,000 handbags. All that stuff is stupid to me. Anything that depreciates, I don't like.

Larry Getlen is a regular contributor to publications including the New York Post and Maxim. His next book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jokes," comes out in September through Alpha/Penguin. Find him online at www.myspace.com/larrygetlen.