10 Life Hacks From Mark Cuban That Will Save You Money
Written by
Heather Altamirano
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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Known for his savvy business skills, smart deals on “Shark Tank” and his self-made billionaire status, Mark Cuban has an impressive net worth of $6 billion, but the former Dallas Mavericks owner wasn’t always wealthy. He learned the value of hard work at an early age; at 12, he went door-to-door selling garbage bags. Later on, through clever decisions and a series of successful tech ventures, he turned those early lessons into a business empire.
Today, Cuban is one of the most influential voices in personal finance, offering no-nonsense advice grounded in experience. Whether you’re trying to pay off debt, build wealth or stop overspending, his practical money tips can help.
Here are 10 smart money-saving life hacks from Mark Cuban that could make a big difference in your financial future.
Time Is Valuable
At age 14, Cuban got advice from his father that he lives by: “Time is your most valuable asset.. His time was never his own. He wanted me to create my own path.”
This simple yet sound piece of wisdom helped shape Cuban’s entrepreneurial spirit. He took control of his own schedule and made calculated moves that were beneficial in the long term, rather than pursuing an instant financial reward.
Don’t Give Up on Side Hustles
Creating a side hustle that leads to full-time opportunities or financial gain isn’t easy. If it were, everyone would do it. In an interview with GOBankingRates as part of our Top 100 Money Experts series, Cuban was asked what makes a successful side hustle and he stated, “They don’t give up.”
Balance Passion with Profit
Passion often sparks side hustles, but Cuban points out that people often overlook the financial aspect.
“They forget they have to make a profit,” he said in the interview with GOBankingRates.
While grit is one trait of a side hustle that’s important, making money is equally important. Without earning an income from your side hustle, it becomes an expensive, unpaid passion project that’s a time-consuming effort with no return on investment. The most successful side hustles have the right balance of passion and profit.
Cut Up Your Credit Cards
Credit cards are a quick and convenient way to pay for things and build credit, but it’s easy to accumulate debt fast and go down a hole that’s hard to get out of. Cuban doesn’t believe in using them and voiced his concern over credit cards on an episode of “The Ramsey Show.“
“If you use your credit cards, you do not want to be rich,” he said. “That’s my favorite line; I tell it to people all the time.”
Cuban said people ask him all the time where to invest, and his response is to pay off all credit cards and burn them.
“Your credit card, you know what your return is,” he told Ramsey. “If you’re paying 15%, 20% interest, if you pay that down, you just earned 15% or 20%.”
Go to a Cheap College
College offers a range of valuable benefits, including personal growth, job opportunities, skill development and the potential to earn a higher income. Additionally, college life can be enjoyable and a great place to make lifelong friends. But it’s not cheap. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average four-year cost of an in-state public university is $108,584.
Mark Cuban understands how college is unaffordable for many and advised not racking up student loans if you’re unsure about your path or aren’t clear on how college will benefit you long term.
“Go to a cheap school,” Cuban said in an interview with social media personality Jules Terpak. “Going to school isn’t about your major — at least not in the first two years. It’s about learning how to learn and it’s about getting excited to learn and exposing yourself to all kinds of different people (and) ideas.”
He added, “I’m not one of these people that says: ‘Don’t go to college. Go start a company. If you want to start a business, go to college and learn the language of business.”
Cuban suggested a community college and taking courses on something like accounting, finance or marketing, which are important skills to have in business. “Those are tools that are really going to be helpful for business, even if you don’t end up getting a degree. That’s fine.”
Get a Job During High School and College
A job is one place where you can gain real-life experience. For high school or college students just starting out in the workforce, Cuban suggests taking any job because it teaches you how to “deal with people.”
“You learn how to work for a boss, you learn how to show up on time, you learn how to take responsibility,” he told Terpak.
He explained there is “no bad job” because “every job will teach you something.”
The goal is to understand “a certain level of business” and obtain such great skills that “can’t be ignored.”
“If you have that skill to move up in a job, even if you’re a high school kid or right after college, the doors open up,” he said. “Once you learn how to be good at something, you can get a job always.”
Stop Buying Coffee
Buying coffee on a regular basis at your favorite coffeehouse isn’t doing your wallet any favors. Many high-profile, wealthy individuals, such as Suze Orman and Cuban, recommend cutting lattes from your budget.
In the interview with Terpak, Cuban recommended putting the cost of what you would spend on coffee into a money market account and watching it grow.
Invest Only 10% of Your Income in Risky Investments
Taking chances is part of building wealth, but Cuban advises putting only a small percentage of your income in “risky” investments.
“If you’re a true adventurer and you really want to throw the Hail Mary, you might take 10% and put it in bitcoin or Ethereum; but, if you do that, you’ve got to pretend you’ve already lost your money,” Cuban told Vanity Fair in a 2017 interview. “It’s like collecting art, it’s like collecting baseball cards, it’s like collecting shoes — something’s worth what somebody else would pay for it. I’d limit (risky investments) to 10%.”
Save Six Months of Income
The only thing predictable about life is that you’re thrown curveballs and you never know what can happen. To prepare for the unexpected, Cuban advises setting aside six months of income for emergencies.
“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,” he told VF.
Luck Plays a Role in Wealth
There are quite a few things that help build wealth, such as good decisions, living below your means, a strong drive, passion and luck.
In a Bluesky thread, Cuban shared why his net worth skyrocketed and how luck was on his side.
“I got rich because when I was broke I had nothing to lose,” he wrote. “So I took risks and built companies. I became a billionaire because I was fortunate enough to start another tech company when the internet boom hit. I stayed one because I realized that stocks don’t go up forever and hedged my holdings.”
He ended his post by revealing how he views his position.
“And there are quite a few wealthy people at my level who are doing all they can to help others,” he said. “We realize we are blessed, don’t take what we have for granted and haven’t exploited people. We were just the lucky ones.”
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