Since his days as a climber and surfer, Yvon has had a frugal lifestyle.
Taking soda bottles from trash cans to redeem for money is also included.
According to The NY Times, Chouinard is still wearing old clothes and driving a rundown car.
Yvon is saving money wherever he can.
During his career as a professional rock climber, Chouinard was able to save and spend less than he did growing up.
His company is now worth $3 billion. The outdoor apparel retailer will be given away to a trust and nonprofit.
In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the nature of living in the wilderness as a climber and as a surfer deprived him of modern comforts, and in part because he wanted to save money.
In his 2005 memoir, "Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman," he described some of his wackiest budget tactics.
In order to get the best opportunities for climbing and surfing as a young adult, Chouinard had to adapt his life to the outdoors. In 1957, he and his friends lived in a hut on the beach in Mexico for a month, eating fish and tropical fruit, and using candles from the local church to wax their surfboards.
He was able to get gas money by diving into trash cans and redeeming soda pop bottles. He discovered an entire freezer load of partially frozen meat.
Chouinard used to sell climbing gear from the back of his car. He wrote that the profits were small. I lived on 50 cents to a dollar a day.
He and a friend bought a few cases of cat food in San Francisco and took them to the Rockies, where they ate oatmeal, potatoes, ground squirrel, blue grouse, and porcupines.
He saved money on things as well.
He said that he and his friends were always sick from the bad water and couldn't afford medicine. He said that they would take charcoal from the campfire, mix it with a half cup of salt in a glass of water, and drink it so that they would vomit. He claimed to have immunity to poor-quality water.
As his business grew, he continued to reduce both personal and business expenses.
In 1966, Chouinard set up a base for his equipment business in a rented tin boiler room. He wrote that the first retail store was in an ugly tin shed.
Some living arrangements were unconventional.
He used to sleep in his old army-surplus sleeping bag. I didn't buy a tent until I was almost forty years old, and preferred to sleep under boulders and the branches of an Alpine fir.
In the early 1970s, he and his wife lived in a beach shack for half the year and then spent the summer months in the back of a van.
The New York Times reported that Chouinard has two modest homes in California and Wyoming and still wears old clothes. The publication states that he doesn't own a computer or cellphone.
Business Insider has an article on it.
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