Mark Cuban Says You Need To Do These 7 Things During a Recession
Written by
Daria Uhlig
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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Billionaire Mark Cuban rose to fame as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a longtime shark on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” But he’s also a serial entrepreneur and an outspoken social media influencer with nearly 10 million followers on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky alone.
A fan once tagged Cuban on X to ask, “With all the talk of a recession coming, what do you think will help someone going through it for the first time?”
Cuban responded with a post offering seven suggestions for riding out an economic downturn. That was in September 2019. However, Cuban expressed concern in a 2025 Bluesky post that sweeping government cuts could trigger a “red rural recession” because of their disproportionate impact on small towns, cities and states.
The suggestions Cuban offered the 2019 poster have held up as good advice for anyone who wants to protect their finances and their job before the next recession starts.
Refinance Your Debt
You can save a lot on interest by refinancing credit card debt with a lower-interest personal loan or 0% balance transfer credit card. But weigh student loan refinancing options carefully, especially if you have a federal student loan with perks like income-based repayment plans and automatic forgiveness after 20 or 25 years.
Save Aggressively
Cuban noted that people with cash have the most opportunities. Experts typically recommend saving three to six months’ worth of living expenses, but personal finance expert Suze Orman doesn’t think that’s enough. She suggests building up to eight months of savings as quickly as you can.
Know How a Slowdown Would Affect Your Employer
Is your employer quick to lay off, or reduce hours or pay? Consider expanding your skill set and ramping up networking efforts just in case.
Live Frugally
Cuban advised readers to live like a student because lower bills mean lower stress. Don’t wait until you’re under financial pressure to take these steps.
- Pause all but one streaming subscription at a time.
- Make cheap, no- or nearly no-cook meals instead of ordering or eating out.
- Look for free entertainment.
- Buy used when you can.
- Take advantage of discounts offered by your employer, your credit cards and organizations you belong to.
Ignore Recession Predictions From ‘Experts’
Economic forecasts are notoriously unreliable.
“We live in a global economy, whether we like it or not,” Cuban wrote. “The butterfly effect applies. We don’t know what combination of big and or little things will make things better or worse till they happen.”
Be Great at Your Job
Cuban said you’ll have to get honest with yourself for this one because employees with no self awareness are the first to be fired.
A blog post on the Indeed website recommends upping your game listing the things you do well. That way, you’ll know how you can make the strongest contributions while identifying skills you might improve.
Reduce Your Employer’s and Coworkers’ Stress
Great employees are often the ones who create the least amount of stress for their employers and co-workers. Here are some desirable qualities recommended by Indeed that make you easy to work with and easy to manage.
- Positive attitude
- Open to constructive criticism
- Learns from mistakes
- Strong communicator
- Flexible
- Problem solver
- Reliable
Final Thoughts
As Cuban said, it’s impossible to know what’s coming until it happens. Acting now to boost your savings, reduce your expenses and give yourself the best chance of keeping your job during a downturn will benefit you no matter what lies ahead.
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