Grant Cardone: Stop Wasting Money on These 6 Things That Are Keeping You Poor
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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The purchases you make could be derailing your financial progress without you even realizing it. Overspending on things that don’t improve your quality of life or move you closer to your goals wastes money that could have been put to better use elsewhere.
Grant Cardone, private equity fund manager and real estate investor, believes that spending money on the wrong things is a big mistake many people make when trying to build wealth.
“Quit spending money on dumb stuff,” he told GOBankingRates. “I have a rating scale that I use. Ones and twos are stupid, threes are maybe, fours are ‘I need it’ and fives are ‘We have to have it.’ So ones and twos are nos, three is me and my wife talk about it. Four and five — there’s nothing to talk about, we’re buying it.”
Here are some examples of one- and two-level purchases that Cardone said no one should make.
Holiday-Related Expenses
Holidays have become just another excuse to spend money that’s better off being put elsewhere. That’s why Cardone, who will be hosting his Real Estate Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dec. 19-20, believes that Christmas presents and Halloween candy fall into the category of dumb purchases.
Dining Out
Cardone views taking his wife out to dinner as a dumb way to spend money — unless it can help him generate more income.
“Now how do I turn dinner with my wife into a four or five? I take a client and his wife out,” he said. “Now it’s a four or five because it could give me business.”
Luxury Cars
Driving an expensive car is often an unnecessary use of your funds.
“The cars that people buy are a waste of money,” Cardone said. “Yeah you need a car, but you don’t have to have a Range Rover.”
Designer Clothes
You might see owning designer clothes and accessories as a status symbol, but Cardone sees them as dumb purchases.
“You do not need a Gucci belt,” he said. “What I would do is I would go buy a Boss belt for $49 on sale.”
Single-Family Homes
Cardone doesn’t buy into the classic American dream. Instead, he sees buying a single-family home as a money trap that will keep you poor.
“Buying single-family homes is stupid,” he said. “It doesn’t produce income. They should rent where they live. Rent in America is one-half of a mortgage. And I can show you 100 people that own homes that wish they didn’t.”
Weddings
The national average cost of a wedding is now $30,000, according to The Knot. Cardone views this as an “emotional purchase” that’s a waste of money.
“All emotional purchases should be reconsidered,” he said.
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