5 Frugal Habits of Mark Cuban

Focus on Profits

Before Mark Cuban was a billionaire, he was a penny pincher.

The “Shark Tank” investor embraced frugal spending habits, like driving inexpensive cars and utilizing grocery shopping hacks to trim food costs, as a young adult while he built his wealth. Even now, there are certain aspects of luxury spending Cuban shies away from as he told CBS Sunday Morning in 2023 he would still be happy if he was worth a tenth of his current net worth.

Let’s take a look back at some of Cuban’s most memorable frugal habits and how they helped him grow his wealth.

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Owning Cheap Cars Until Age 25

Up until age 25, Cuban owned and drove cheap cars — and we mean dirt cheap vehicles. In an interview with Money Magazine, he said none of these cars cost more than $200.

One of his cars, a Fiat X1/9, even had a hole in the floorboard. And according to a post on his Blog Maverick blog, the car burned a quart of oil every week that Cuban couldn’t afford.

Cuban’s decision to drive inexpensive cars was a decision he made to save money so he could focus on being able to retire. Early in his career, he read “Cashing in on the American Dream: How to Retire at 35” by Paul Terhorst. The premise said you could retire if you found ways to live on just $50 a day and if you were disciplined in the ways you spent and saved your money.

Having Roommates

Early in his career, one of Cuban’s key frugality habits was living like a student. When he was 24, he lived in a three-bedroom apartment in Dallas with five other roommates.

“I didn’t have my own bedroom,” he said in the Blog Maverick post. “I slept on the couch or floor depending on what time I got home.”

He didn’t have a closet in this apartment either. Rather, there was “a pile” of items that his roommates knew were Cuban’s.

Today, Cuban still credits living like a student for allowing him to become rich. Cuban has since told Vanity Fair, that living like a student kept him from living beyond his means.

Grocery Shopping at Midnight

In an episode of Bill Maher’s podcast Club Random, Cuban said he would go grocery shopping at midnight when he was in his twenties.

Why midnight? According to Cuban, this was, at the time, the best time to find deals on food. Some of his shopping scores included cheaper chicken prices and $1.29 bags of french fries.

Doing His Own Chores

While the stereotypical image of a billionaire invokes the image of butlers and a staff of dozens on one’s property, this doesn’t apply to Cuban.

In an episode of The Really Good Podcast with Bobbi Althoff, Cuban said he doesn’t have a butler. He does his own laundry, describing the process as only taking “two seconds.” Even Cuban’s children do their own laundry.

Buying Everyday Essentials on Sale and in Bulk

To this day, Cuban said he buys consumables in bulk whenever they’re on sale.

It’s a shopping tip he recommends everyone do and ideally if they can stock up on a few years’ worth of these regular investments, like toothpaste and shampoo.

According to Cuban, the prices for these consumables will eventually go up. Buying them while they’re on sale and in bulk, however, means receiving an immediate return on your money.

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