'A get rich path': Billionaire Mark Cuban says if you really want to be rich, do these two things now — but here’s what his advice is missing
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Mark Cuban didn’t grow up rich. But by 40, he became a billionaire after selling his video portal Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion.
Now worth that much himself, Forbes ranks him an eight (out of 10) on its self-made score — meaning he should be a perfect candidate for telling others how to get rich.
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Cuban aimed to do exactly that in an article he published on Business Insider back in 2015, sharing his process for getting rich. He starts strong, saying there are no shortcuts to getting rich, and stays on message even to the end of the piece:
"I didn't say this was a get rich quick scheme. This is a get rich path."
But when you probe a little deeper into his other pieces of advice, much of his strategies rely on fortuitous events no one can control.
Here is Cuban’s first step to striking it rich — along with what he’s missing and what you should consider doing instead.
Step 1: Plan to save
In his post, Cuban says the first step to getting rich is to stop spending. He also got this part right: To get rich, save as much as you can. This may mean missing out on things today, like an annual vacation or having to make some tough choices when it comes to your 11 streaming services.
Monarch Money* is a budgeting app that makes checking in on your money simple and streamlined. You can set and track your money goals, enjoy access to personalized advice and track your net worth.
To get started, all you need to do is download the app, make an account and start a seven day free trial.*
Once you have your budget organized, it’s time to start finding ways to bring those monthly expenses down to allow for more money to be allocated to your savings.
As an example, car insurance is likely taking a big chunk out of your monthly budget, but it could be keeping you safe for less.
You can make sure you’re getting you a better car insurance rate with OfficialCarInsurance.*
Just answer a few questions and the easy-to-use platform will show you policy options near you in two minutes so you can compare rates* and spend less on this essential expense.
Once you’ve streamlined your expenses, it’s time to start saving. When it comes to saving, remember that not all accounts are created equally. The interest rate on a traditional savings account could be as low as 0.01% a year, while high-yield accounts can be found that have up to 5% APY.
By putting your money in one of our recommended Top High Yield Savings Accounts, you can watch your money grow.
Read more: Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now use $100 to cash in on prime real estate — without the headache of being a landlord. Here's how
Step 2: Invest
"The second rule for getting rich is getting smart," Cuban wrote. By this he means learning the ins and outs of a business you truly enjoy.
But there’s one thing Cuban didn’t bring up: how that logic extends to the stock market, especially long term. Cuban may consider buy-and-hold a “sucker’s game,” but plenty of people have made themselves rich on that strategy — Warren Buffett included.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, for example, has enjoyed an average annualized return of 10.4% for the past 30 years, while the S&P 500 gained a cumulative 875% over the same period.
If you’re investing with your long-term future in mind, you should check out Wealthfront.* Wealthfront is an automated investment service that creates a personalized, diversified portfolio using low-cost index funds.
Tailored to your financial goals, Wealthfront takes care of all your portfolio management, including a tax-loss harvesting feature* that makes sure you are paying the lowest taxes possible on your returns.
After completing a questionnaire* designed to assess your risk tolerance and investment objectives, Wealthfront will offer you a detailed overview of their investment strategy for your funds.
You can also invest for the future with your current everyday spending with the Acorns app* which automatically invests the leftover change from your day-to-day purchases into a diversified portfolio that includes stocks, bonds and ETFs.
All you have to do is sign up, link your bank account to the app* — then just start spending as you normally would. From there, Acorns will automatically round up the price to the nearest dollar and place the excess into a smart investment portfolio.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
