Broke But Brilliant? Grant Cardone Says Necessity Breeds Innovation

Grant Cardone, the bestselling author and creator of 10X Profit Planner, shared his unique perspective during an interview with GOBankingRates. He believes that everyone should operate as if they have no money.

Cardone is not new to unconventional finance advice and is known for being against saving money. He claims that saving money is worthless and will not build your wealth. His latest advice is that people need to stop operating like they have money.

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Cardone revealed, "I have this philosophy that people should operate like you're broke, and they'll find a reservoir of creativity." 

The reason why Cardone adopted this philosophy was because he felt that having money limits the ability to solve problems. With money, you can buy your way out of the problem. Cardone told the interviewer, "Money actually diminishes your ability to solve creative problems." He added, "Because when you have money, you buy things, and when you don't have money, you solve problems." This is why Cardone feels that people who have less money are often more innovative and are better problem-solvers.

Cardone elaborates on this by explaining that he knows people who don't have anything, yet they often have the most fun. He explains that they don't need to go to the store to buy new games or the latest gadgets to have fun. Instead, they'll come up with a creative way to do this with what they have at home. Cardone adds, "Unfortunately, Americans really forgot how to do that. We think we always have to buy something." 

This is true as the country has been known for its high consumerism since the early 1920s. The latest statistics reveal that in the first quarter of 2024, U.S. consumer spending has grown the national economy by 1.6% despite high inflation and rising costs. In addition, the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis found that personal consumption represented nearly 68% of the nation's GDP. 

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Cardone often attributed his success in becoming a millionaire to being broke and wrote on social media, "Work like you’re broke, and you’ll never be broke." Even now, when he has money, Cardone still doesn't purchase expensive items for the sake of buying something. One of his unpopular money rules, which he shared on CNBC’s ‘Make It,' was not to spend money to impress others. Cardone wrote, "Even though I now have money to buy expensive things, I still consider myself as fairly frugal." He added, "I try to live below my means." 

Instead of spending or saving money, Cardone strongly advocates investing it in additional income opportunities and real assets like rental property.    

Another benefit of living like you have no money to fall back on is that it builds and makes connections more valuable. Cardone explains that when you don't have a lot of money, you will need to rely more on people, which can be a good thing. 

Cardone uses his time on the Discovery Channel's show ‘Undercover Billionaire' as an example of this. During his appearance on the show, he was tasked with building a $1 million business with $100. Cardone reveals that during this time, he was dependent on other people who provided him with things like accommodation and food. Other people helped connect him with various business owners, which helped him build the business. 

"When you don't have money, but you have a goal," Cardone added, "you know the only thing that can help you is people." Having less money encourages making contacts with people that can help you. 

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