Mark Cuban Says These 5 Money Moves Could Ruin You Financially

Mark Cuban wasn't always a billionaire entrepreneur, and his humble upbringing also informs his personal financial advice. If you're serious about building real wealth and growing your money, Cuban's advice is crucial. The last thing you want to do is make a money mistake that ruins your finances and forces you into a major lifestyle change.

Here are 5 money moves Mark Cuban says could ruin you financially and how to avoid them.

Carrying a credit card balance

Few things are as personally destructive to wealth building and personal finance as carrying a large credit card balance.

Asked what he wished he had known about money in his 20s, Cuban told Business Insider: "That credit cards are the worst investment that you can make. That the money I save on interest by not having debt is better than any return I could possibly get by investing that money in the stock market. I thought I would be a stock market genius. Until I wasn't. I should have paid off my cards every 30 days."

No matter how good you are at investing, paying 20% interest every month will tank your cash flow. That's why getting out of credit card debt is so important. That compounding interest rate will only become more of a drag later on in life. So, it's best to pay it off as soon as possible.

Investing before you pay off expensive debt

Not only will credit cards bury you under a mountain of compounding debt, but they will also erase any potential gains you could make investing in the stock market.

On The Ramsey Show, Cuban put the order of operations in one line: "If you use your credit cards, you do not want to be rich," he said. "Your best place to invest is to pay off all your credit cards and burn them, because your credit card, you know what your return is, right? If you're paying 15, 20% interest, if you pay that down, you just earn 15 or 20%."

It's not sustainable to get 20-to-30% returns on any investment, which is what you would need to break even from your credit card debt.

Buying things you cannot afford

Americans have a habit of spending beyond their means and buying things they cannot afford. Cuban's issue with that is that you reduce your ability to make investments and you ruin your long-term chances at building wealth. "You don't need to buy all this stuff, particularly when you cannot afford it," Cuban said. "The more money you can put in the bank, the better position you're going to be if something goes wrong."

That means buying fewer things and focusing on building a solid bank of cash and investments to grow your wealth beyond just your job income.

Taking investment advice because someone is rich

Despite being incredibly wealthy and having a strong investment track record, Cuban cautions against taking investment advice from the rich. For him, it's about becoming knowledgeable about investment opportunities that work for you, instead of chasing trendy companies that rich people speak highly of.

"They look at the resume of the person pitching them and assign more gravitas to it than they should," Cuban said. "No one should ever take advice from me simply because of my net worth. Or from anyone because of their net worth. Nor should they take advice because of a degree, or school, or where they worked."

If you have no idea what a company does, it's best to avoid investing in it, even if a rich person tells you to. Do your due diligence and find companies to invest in that have good products and good fundamentals.

Investing before you have cash set aside

After you've built up a solid emergency fund and you're out of debt, Cuban suggests putting cash into the market so it can grow over decades. It doesn't have to be a hot new company; even basic investments still work well. It's important to have a cash buffer first before you make any investments, so you don't have to go into debt in an emergency.

"Once you're able to save [for] a year of expenses, then you can start investing and putting it into something that can appreciate, like a low-cost mutual fund or the Standard and Poor's Index," Cuban explained. "If you don't feel like you can do the work, put enough money in the bank to be ready in case another pandemic-like black swan event happens. Pay off your credit cards and then just put your money in a low-cost SPX Mutual Fund and never look at it until it's time to retire."

Taking advantage of time in the market and compounding interest are critical to building wealth. Let your cash sit in the bank, and it will slowly depreciate in value due to inflation.

Bottom line

Every mistake on Cuban's list traces back to the same idea. Instead of fixating on trendy items or flashy stocks, he's telling you to plug the leaks first. That means clearing the credit card balance, building a cash cushion, buying less stuff, and stopping outsourcing your judgment to someone just because their net worth is bigger than yours. Get that part right, and the investing piece gets boring, which is exactly how he wants it. Nailing the boring basics is the best way to ensure you have more money in retirement and you're not drowning in debt.

One thing you can do while you're getting out of credit card debt is calling your issuer and asking for a lower rate. A June 2026 LendingTree survey found that 84% of cardholders who requested an APR reduction got one, with an average cut of 6.3 percentage points. Only 23% of cardholders asked. Getting a reduced interest rate will keep your payments under control and lower your financial stress.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.

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