Ramit Sethi slammed Kevin O'Leary for repeating the tired trope of creating wealth by skipping coffee — he says 'frugality' isn't the key to wealth

“Stop wasting money on $5.50 coffee and $15 sandwiches,” he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “Pack a sandwich, skip the fancy latte, and watch your savings pile up.”

The post sparked a debate in the replies section. The most noteworthy comment was from fellow financial expert Ramit Sethi.

“Kevin, tell them if it’s making your own coffee that led to your net worth,” he wrote.

Here’s more on what you can take away from their opposing viewpoints.

Overhyped frugality

In a follow-up post, Sethi argues that “frugality” doesn’t make the “Shark Tank” investor a millionaire. After all, you would have to skip 181,818 cups of coffee daily priced at $5.50 each to save $1 million. That’s one cup a day for 498 years.

This isn’t the first time Sethi has targeted O’Leary over his advice on buying coffee. Sethi believes rich people telling average Americans to skip their morning lattes is missing the point. You don’t have to stop buying coffee to spend smarter.

You can spend money and save simultaneously with Acorns— an automated savings and investment app.

When you link your bank account to your Acorns account and spend money, they will round up every purchase to the nearest dollar and invest the spare change in a diversified portfolio where it can grow.

Sethi highlighted a key ingredient in O’Leary’s wealth-building recipe: a well-balanced approach to taking on risk. O’Leary is a highly successful investor, but the Canadian entrepreneur has also invested in ventures that have ultimately failed. Notably, O’Leary claims to have lost $15 million on FTX, the controversial crypto company that paid him millions to be a spokesman.

“How many coffees do you have to cut back on to equal that number, Kevin?” asked Sethi.

Instead of focusing on small expenses, Sethi believes it’s much more practical to focus on the bigger picture: weighing investment objectives versus your risk tolerance. And a financial professional can help you do this.

With Domain Money — a wealth management company that makes finding a financial advisor simple and affordable — you can connect with an advisor suited to your needs.

A good financial advisor is dedicated to building a lasting relationship with you. They want to help you avoid unnecessary costs and stay on track to meet your goals, and Domain is committed to connecting you with advisors who will do just that.

This is why Domain Money doesn’t charge any AUM fees or push you to buy products. Their flat-fee model ensures you get the advice you need to achieve your goals. Once you’ve linked up with an advisor, you can stay on track with your plan through their free app, which gives you access to your financial advisor on an on-demand basis.

Read more: 'It's not taxed at all': Warren Buffett shares the 'best investment' you can make when battling rising costs — take advantage today

Sethi’s Approach

Sethi believes one of the keys to living a rich life is building a budget that’s simple and easy to stick to. He believes this approach is more practical than tracking the number of lattes and sandwiches you order to-go every day.

Monarch Money — a budgeting app — makes budgeting and managing your money easy.