Mark Cuban built a billion-dollar fortune from scratch through bartending jobs, ramen budgets, and a refusal to follow conventional financial wisdom. His money advice is worth paying attention to, especially for older Americans.
If you want to increase your savings, investments, and overall financial fitness for a stress-free retirement, his wisdom could be worth considering. Here are 10 things Cuban says you should never do with your money, in his own words.
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1. Blindly follow a broker’s advice
Cuban has zero patience for people who invest because a professional told them to.
“Why invest your money in something because a broker told you to? If the broker had a clue, he/she wouldn’t be a broker, they would be on a beach somewhere,” Cuban explained in an interview with Young Money Magazine.
Always understand why you are making a financial move, not just who told you to.
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2. Carry credit card debt
Cuban views credit card interest as one of the most destructive financial traps. “Using a credit card is okay if you pay it off at the end of the month,” Cuban said in an interview with Money. “Just recognize that the 18 percent or 20 percent or 30 percent you’re paying in credit card debt is going to cost you a lot more than you could ever earn anywhere else.”
Paying double-digit interest is a slow financial bleed you may never recover from, especially on a fixed income.
3. Invest before paying off debt
Cuban argues that paying off debt is your best investment. “The best investment you can make is paying off your credit cards, paying off whatever debt you have,” Cuban said in an interview with MarketWatch. “If you have a student loan with a 7% interest rate, if you pay off that loan, you’re making 7%, that’s your immediate return, which is a lot safer than picking a stock, or trying to pick real estate, or whatever it may be.”
A guaranteed 7% return beats most market predictions every time.
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4. Put all your faith in the stock market
Cuban’s take on the stock market might surprise you. In his interview with Young Money Magazine, Cuban said, “The idiots that tell you to put your money in the market because eventually it will go up need to tell you that because they are trying to sell you something. The stock market is probably the worst investment vehicle out there.”
That’s not a reason to avoid markets entirely, but it is a reason to go in with your eyes wide open and a backup plan.
5. Invest in something you don’t understand
Cuban has repeated this point across decades of interviews. “If you won’t put your money in the bank,” he told Young Money Magazine, “NEVER put your money in something where you don’t have an information advantage.”
And when in doubt? “Doing nothing is a valid and, in my opinion, preferable investment strategy,” he wrote in a 2010 blog post. Protecting what you have often matters more than chasing what you don’t.
6. Go overboard on high-risk bets like crypto
Cuban is not anti-crypto, but he sets hard limits. “If you’re a true adventurer and you really want to throw the Hail Mary, you might take 10% [of your savings] and put it in Bitcoin or Ethereum,” Cuban told Vanity Fair. “But, if you do that, you’ve got to pretend you’ve already lost your money.”
That “already lost” framing should stop most people cold.
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7. Invest in restaurants, clothing labels, or liquor companies
When people come into money from a windfall, inheritance, or business sale, Cuban says the flashiest investments are usually the worst. On an episode of the Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe, he was blunt.
“Don’t invest in the restaurant, don’t invest in the clothing label, don’t invest in the liquor company…or music. That is the death!” These industries have low barriers to entry and brutal margins, so it’s unlikely you’ll recoup your investment.
8. Skip low-cost index funds
For people who do not want to be active investors, Cuban has a simple answer. In an interview with Kyle Bass, founder of Hayman Capital Management, Cuban said, “For those investors not too knowledgeable about markets, the best bet is a cheap S&P 500 fund.”
Low fees, broad diversification, no stock-picking headaches – that’s the way to go if you want to be hands-off with your retirement investment strategy.
9. Ignore the value of smart spending
Cuban treats being a sharp consumer as its own investment strategy. “The greatest rate of return you will earn is on your own personal spending. Being a smart shopper is the first step to getting rich,” Cuban explained in a 2008 blog post.
Every dollar you don’t waste stays in your account. No stock can promise you that. This is particularly important when it comes to living off a fixed income in retirement, where you can’t afford to make so many risky financial decisions.
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10. Skip building a cash safety net
Cuban has long argued that liquid savings are not optional, but a vital part of any financial strategy. “If you don’t like your job at some point or you get fired or you have to move or something goes wrong, you’re going to need at least six months’ income,” Cuban told Vanity Fair.
Without that cushion, a single unexpected expense forces you to sell investments at the worst possible time and wreck your long-term balances.
Bottom line
If you take a look at the advice Mark Cuban has given over the years, it all comes down to one thread: avoid the mistakes that quietly drain what you have built. Pay off debt before you invest, keep cash on hand, spend smart, and never put money into anything you cannot explain. This becomes even more important as you head into retirement on a fixed income. You literally cannot afford to make costly mistakes.
Something Cuban said didn’t make the list, but it’s worth knowing. In one post, he warned about people approaching you with schemes. “There are no shortcuts. None,” he wrote in a 2008 blog post. “The schemes will guarantee returns, use multi-level marketing, or be something crazy that is now ‘backed by the US government.’ Please ignore them.”
For retirees sitting on a nest egg, that warning may be the most useful thing on this list. Avoiding money mistakes while on a fixed income is the top priority when you’re retired, and with the increase in scams targeting seniors, you can never be too safe.
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