She led a simple life
Mockingbird may have made Lee a multimillionaire, but the cash didn't alter her way of life. She lived in a small apartment in New York City and traveled the city by bus. Lee stayed with her sister Alice in a ranch-style one-story home when she went back to her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama (distance traveled by train). When Lee needed clean clothing, she went to the laundromat in the neighboring town instead of going to Walmart or a Vanity Fair outlet.
How did Lee spend her money, then? She enjoyed going to casinos, but she preferred to play the quarter slots instead of playing for huge sums. In reality, Lee invested a large portion of her income in humanitarian endeavors, such as supporting educational opportunities (true to her publicity-averse nature, this was done anonymously).
Despite having to relocate to an assisted living facility after suffering a stroke in 2007, Lee was still able to access the things that were significant to her thanks to her unadorned taste. "Books are the things she cares about," Alice once remarked about Lee. Lee was able to continue reading with the aid of a magnifying glass, which was required owing to her macular degeneration.
