You would imagine that being a celebrity entails having to spend a small fortune in upkeeping your looks and figure.

After all, Britney Spears reportedly splashed out US$353,217 (S$515,308) on monthly expenses in 2007.

For actress Aileen Tan, her monthly expenditure will seem paltry by comparison - just S$500 a month.

She told U-Weekly in an interview: "Maybe others think that artistes spend a lot on clothes, but in reality, the clothes that I wear when I'm filming are costumes. Since I don't shop often, my daily expenses are usually on meals and transport."

Artistes generally will have their meals in the staff canteen, with one meal amounting to $4, so monthly meal expenses will hover around $300.

And since she is the spokeswoman for beauty brand BioEssence, Aileen also gets access to beauty products worth $600 each month. She gets to items such as eye masks, facial cleansers, face masks and slimming gels for free.

Travels for free too
Don't envy her, but Aileen gets to go on holidays without spending a single cent as well.

When Aileen goes abroad to places of interest such as China's Three Gorges Dam, Korea and Australia for filming stints, she and the filming crew will also be provided with a tour guide. Meals are also provided, so she and her colleagues only need to pay for miscellaneous personal expenses.

For these and other stories, get your copy of U-Weekly from all major newsstands now.