A little over half of Americans (56%) have less than $2,000 in savings, according to a 2024 Forbes survey. One in five Americans (20%) doesn’t have savings at all.
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While saving is important, it’s not the only way to build wealth. In fact, billionaire Mark Cuban argues that you shouldn’t just save — you should invest instead. GOBankingRates broke down Cuban’s advice on prioritizing investing your money over saving it.
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Aggressively Invest Instead
According to Mark Cuban, saving isn’t the best way to make your money work for you. The top 1% doesn’t just save. They aggressively invest in things like real estate and alternative assets (like gold IRAs).
A 2025 CAIS-Mercer study supports this idea. Of the financial advisors surveyed, 92% said they allocate their funds to alternative investments. Nearly all of them (91%) said they intend to increase allocations in the future.
Take Mark Cuban’s Advice With a Grain of Salt
Leaving your money in a savings account, even one with higher-than-normal yields, might not be the best idea. After all, those yields may not even keep up with inflation. This means the value of your savings might fall rather than rise (depending on the account and how much you’re contributing).
But you might still want to have a little saved for emergencies.
“Every individual should have [three to six] months of lifestyle expenses in savings — a checking account and a high-yield money market account. Once they have this money in savings, they should start investing,” said Richard Craft, CEO of Wealth Advisory Group.
You can save money for short-term goals — anything that takes under a year. But if you have long-term goals — anything over a year — investing is generally smarter.
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Saving Could Cost You Millions
Say you have a savings account with 4.00% APY and a $50,000 balance. After one year, you’d have roughly $52,000. In 10 years, you’d have around $74,000. This assumes nothing changes in that account — no withdrawals, deposits or changes in yield.
Now, say you invest $50,000 in the stock market instead. According to Investors.com, the stock market has seen an average annual return of 10.8% over the past decade. Assuming average returns and no additional contributions, you’d have nearly $140,000 after 10 years.
That’s nearly double — all because you invested. When you think even longer term, you could potentially be losing out on a lot more than that.
“I think of investing and saving as one in the same,” said Paul Gabrail, founder and host at Everything Money. “Saving for a ‘rainy day’ or for an emergency fund is not a wise financial move in my opinion. This could cost you millions in retirement.”
He continued, “Instead, all savings should go into investing. Essentially you are still saving; you’re saving for retirement.”
Consider Opportunity Cost
While many experts suggest having an emergency fund, some take a different approach — one that may more closely align with Mark Cuban’s. Saving comes with an opportunity cost, meaning the loss of a potential gain.
“If we’re talking about saving for something like an emergency fund, then I think they should stop immediately and consider the opportunity cost,” said Gabrail. “You can always use a credit card for a true emergency. Put that money towards investing in your retirement instead.”
Take Your Risk Tolerance Into Account
Not everyone has the same risk tolerance. And not everyone is in the same place in life financially. While going straight to investing might work for some, it’s not the best move for everyone.
Consider your goals and needs when choosing what to do with your money. When in doubt, speak with a professional for advice.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Mark Cuban Wants You To Stop Saving Money (And Do This Instead)
