Top 5 Brutally Honest Money Tips Grant Cardone Wants You To Follow

Grant Cardone smiling at the camera in a board room.
©Grant Cardone

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One of the most vocal and frank financial influencers today is Grant Cardone. As a businessman and real estate investor, he has overseen $4 billion in assets during his career. Now, as a published author and public speaker, Cardone is known to share his wisdom and advice about money without holding back.

GOBankingRates has compiled a few of his best financial tips on saving money, spending money, and all that lies in between. Here are Cardone’s top five brutally honest money tips to follow the rest of this year and beyond.

Don’t Spend Tomorrow’s Money

According to Cardone, no one should be purchasing any goods or services with money they don’t have or money they don’t have just yet. In other words, you need to build an emergency fund rather than rack up a credit card bill with high interest rates.

“Once the money goes through and hits my account, then I can spend it,” Cardone explained. Until every cent is accounted for and every transaction is complete, Cardone advised that no one make any financial moves based on future money yet to be acquired.

Live by the 40% Rule

According to Cardone, the rule of 40% breaks down as such: you make 100% of your income, you pay the IRS 40%, you pay yourself 40% and then you live off the remaining 20%. Inflating your lifestyle will only cost you in the long term. Paying yourself and your savings account should be factored into your monthly bills. 

“You do not change your standard of living until the 20 [percent] changes,” Cardone added. “You have to be disciplined with money.”

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If You Can’t Write It Off, Don’t Buy It

Taxes are tricky, but write-offs can save people a lot of money when it comes time to file. According to Cardone, you need to be strategic about what you purchase. If it cannot be a tax write-off come April 15th, do not buy it.

The flip side, in Cardone’s opinion, is that if you can write off an expense, you should be more inclined to buy certain goods and services to further your financial goals or expand your business ventures.

Use Debt as Growth

No one likes carrying a balance on their credit card or having to make a student loan payment every month. While this could seem like a monetary burden, Cardone urged the usage of debt as a tool for financial growth, especially if you are a business owner.

“You’ve got to use debt to expand,” Cardone said. “You can’t stay small and expect the world to know you.”

Use Equity To Produce Cash Flow

Cardone has called cash “garbage” and noted that “money is worthless until it is put to work.” Personally, Cardone does not want to put his financial gains back into something like a house or a car, instead, he opts to fund and grow his businesses in order to stimulate cash flow.

“You take equity out of a house or a car,” Cardone explained, “you put it into a business that produces cash flow and you create personal financial freedom for yourself.”

Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

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