For most Americans, saving money (or at least trying to) is a financial priority: It means a safety net in the event of an emergency expense, and funds set aside for vacations, birthdays, or holidays and longer-term goals like housing deposits or family milestones. <\/p>\n
Barbara Corcoran has never subscribed to this idea. In fact, she\u2019s \u201cnever saved a dime in [her] life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Shark Tank star has shared on many occasions her ethos<\/a> when it comes to money\u2014that if she spends money, it will eventually make its way back to her.<\/p>\n Last week, an episode of the Burnouts podcast, hosted by Phoebe Gates (daughter of Microsoft<\/a> cofounder Bill Gates) and her business partner Sophia Kianni, featuring Corcoran was released. Corcoran, who made her millions as a real estate mogul, told the pair: \u201cI don\u2019t believe in saving money.\u201d<\/p>\n She explained: \u201cI\u2019ve never saved a dime in my life. When I sold my business for $66 million, my first thought was, \u2018What can I spend it on? I gave half of it away to family, friends, funds, and charities, because I really believe this: When you spend money, it comes back to you.\u201d<\/p>\n While Corcoran\u2019s take sits well outside the norms of good personal finance advice, her experience is perhaps unusual. The 77-year-old businesswoman and investor grew up in New Jersey and worked through 20 jobs by the time she was 23. Famously, she borrowed $1,000 from her partner at the time, and quit her waitressing job, to open a small real estate firm in New York City.<\/p>\n The couple went into business before Corcoran\u2019s partner left her for another woman. They split the proceeds from the sale of the business, and Corcoran went on to found her own real estate company. She sold that business, the Corcoran Group, in 2001 for $66 million.<\/p>\n Even the figure that propelled her into the realms of ultra-wealth came without much meditation:<\/a> Corcoran revealed in 2023 that she set the figure of $66 million in her mind because it was her lucky number, and refused to accept any offers until she got it. The first offer to buy the business came in at $100,000, Corcoran told her Instagram<\/a> followers, \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe my luck.\u201d She accepted, but then changed her mind.<\/p>\n Four years later, another offer landed\u2014for $20 million. She continued: \u201cI thought, \u2018For that much, I\u2019ll ask them for even more.\u2019 I said, \u2018No. I\u2019ll only take $66 million, exactly $66 million.\u2019 It took them a year to shuffle around, look at the books. But what do you think they paid me? $66 million.\u201d<\/p>\n A saving mentality<\/p>\n Corcoran\u2019s case is inspiring; however, it sits at odds with the current reality for many Americans. A YouGov survey released last week found 55% of the U.S. population is just about \u201ckeeping up\u201d or has already fallen behind. Indeed, the majority of Americans\u2014even those who would describe themselves as \u201ccomfortably ahead\u201d in a financial setting\u2014have some form of debt.<\/p>\n Looking more broadly, the reason for that debt across Western populations is to pay for everyday essentials. More than two in 10 people said they had taken on debt to make ends meet, followed by 21% of people who said they had gone into debt to pay for one-off or unexpected expenses. <\/p>\n