Apr 30, 2026
Barbara Corcoran has a message that will make most financial advisors cringe: stop saving.
The "Shark Tank" investor and real estate mogul made that declaration on a recent episode of the Burnouts podcast (1), which is hosted by Bill Gates's daughter Phoebe Gates (2) and her Stanford roommate turned business partner, Sophia Kianni. "I don't believe in saving money," Corcoran stated. "I've never saved a dime in my life (3)."
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For context: Corcoran is worth around $100 million (4). She built a New York real estate company — the Corcoran Group — and sold it in 2001 for $66 million, a figure she had fixed in her mind years earlier because it was her lucky number (5).
When the sale went through, her first instinct wasn't to invest it. "What can I spend it on?" she recalled thinking. She gave half of it to friends, family, charities and funds (6).
Her philosophy, passed down from her mother, who raised 10 kids on a tight budget: "Money is meant to be spent." In turn, Corcoran says she "never got rich by saving," but by "allowing money to come and go (7)." Her personal belief is: "When you spend money, it comes back to you."
This is an inspiring story.
It's also not a blueprint most Americans can realistically follow.
Where most Americans actually stand
Corcoran's relationship with money reflects a world that is out of reach for ordinary households. Nearly one in three U.S. adults couldn't cover an emergency expense of $500 or more using only their savings, according to a Federal Reserve report (8).
And 30% said they couldn't cover three months of expenses at all — not through savings, borrowing or selling assets.
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Meanwhile, 66% of those aged 18 to 29 are doing okay or living comfortably, compared to 84% of those 60 and older.
And the Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the U.S. personal savings rate at just 4% as of February (9) — near historic lows when viewed against FRED data, which shows the rate averaging above 8% for most of the 1960s through the 1990s (10).
It's not likely that these regular consumers believe money circulates back to them, as Corcoran says. It's more realistic that they have nothing left over to save after paying for housing, groceries and transportation.
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Does Corcoran's strategy actually work?
So can Corcoran’s “don’t save” strategy actually work out? Sometimes.
In a narrow sense, at least for Corcoran, the strategy does work. Her argument is that spending money on people, opportunities and reinvestment creates more value than hoarding it. The money she gave away after the $66 million sale of her company presumably generated goodwill, relationships and doors that opened further deals.
That's a version of an idea that does have some legitimate grounding.
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Economists distinguish between consumption spending — buying things that don't generate returns but help with short-term needs — and investment spending, on which Corcoran's career is largely built (11).
Reinvesting in a business, hiring good people or funding new ventures can generate compounding returns that a savings account never will. The difference is that Corcoran has always been deploying money into high-upside bets, not simply spending freely because she feels like it.
But for average Americans, especially younger (12) ones, it's not about choosing to save or spend. Their more urgent problem is whether they can cover an emergency without going into debt.
The real takeaway
Corcoran's ethos works as a mindset for entrepreneurs with income, assets and a high tolerance for risk. She didn't get rich by keeping money in a bank, but by making it move.
Her mother's advice when she was nearly going bankrupt, "Don't worry about the money, what a waste of time," lands much differently when you have no emergency fund and a large medical or car repair bill.
The evidence-based version of Corcoran's philosophy? Don't let savings be your only strategy. Once you have tackled the basics of being able to manage your everyday expenses and cover emergencies, think about investing in yourself and your future beyond just stashing money in a savings account.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
YouTube (1); People (2); Fortune (3),(5),(6),(7); Realtor.com (4); U.S. Federal Reserve (8),(12); Bureau of Economic Analysis (9),(11); FRED (10)
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With a writing and editing career spanning over 13 years, Emma creates and refines content across a broad spectrum of industries, including personal finance, lifestyle, travel, health & wellness, real estate, beauty & fitness and B2B/SaaS/tech. Her versatility comes through contributions to high-profile clients like Moneywise, Healthline, Narcity and Bob Vila, producing content that informs and engages, along with helping book authors tell their stories.
