Kevin O'Leary: Don't Buy All That Crap You Don't Need

"Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary says he made this mistake in his 20s, but he's learned his lesson, and so can you.

“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary is a successful businessman and financier, but like most people, he’s made his fair share of mistakes, including gambling away his money in his early 20s in Las Vegas.

But the top advice 60-year-old O’Leary would give to his 20-year-old self is pretty simple: “Don’t buy all that crap you don’t need,” O’Leary tells CNBC Make It.

“I think about all the crap I bought that I never used. I mean it’s amazing,” he says. “All the shoes, all the pants, all of the shirts that I never wore after the first time I bought them. What a waste of money.

“I could have had that money making 7 or 8 percent in perpetuity” by investing it, O’Leary says.

It’s the same reason O’Leary refuses to pay even $2.50 for a cup of coffee; he knows if he makes that coffee at home for pennies, he can put the savings to better use.

O’Leary frequently preaches the importance of saving and investing, and recommends that young people harness the magic of compounding returns.

“When you’re 21 years old, or 20 or 18 or 19 and you start putting aside 10 percent of what you make, [you could have] over $1,000,000 by the time you’re 65,” O’Leary previously told CNBC Make It. “If no one else is going to worry about your retirement, I want you to worry about it.”

O’Leary has added a string of zeros to the number of dollars in his bank account since he was 20, so he is now personally willing to spend on investment pieces that will last for years and on his favorite splurge, $150 underwear.

But that doesn’t mean he’s wasteful. O’Leary tells CNBC Make It he only wears four pairs of shoes — two pairs of Prada shoes, a pair of flip flops and a pair of sneakers for working out.

“I started off with probably 100 pairs of shoes. It’s like the Imelda Marcos problem,” O’Leary says, referring to the corrupt former first lady of the Philippines, who was famously known for her excessive shoe collection. “You don’t need that problem.”

“So if you’re 20 — listen to what Mr. Wonderful is saying here — you don’t need 50 shirts,” he says. You only need a handful of essentials, which he says includes six t-shirts, three pairs of jeans and three baseball caps.

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This is the No. 1 piece of advice Kevin O’Leary would give his younger self — and it would have saved him a lot of money | CNBC Make It.

[youngandrestless]

Bro, white jeans only works for like 1% of the population 😂

[sabrinatatalias]

This is no different than minimalism, and he's true. By having less "stuff" you enjoy life more and have more money to allocate towards living.

[slouischarlesYT]

I believe it's called Hedonistic Adaptation. Once you get something you thought would make you happy, after awhile it becomes normal and you don't care. Humans are great at adaptation. Good and bad.

[reeeeeeee-eg]

We spend north of $500 for shoes, clothes, etc, that we use once every other day. But when buying important stuff like bed where we spend at least 7 hours every day, we can't do it lol

[MrsKaylakat]

“Spending $5, 000 on a bag is stupid.” I would also argue spending $150 on underwear is also stupid lol

[extracurricular]

so simple and timeless, you use 20% of your clothing 80% of the time.

[russelltennis]

“All the crap you don’t need, ” like all the stuff on shark tank lol

[ethicalhacking]

Look at how tearful he is talking about the money he lost over four decades ago. Kevin should run the U.S. Treasury.

[nocando]

I want to see you in Houston so I will "splurge" on tickets for March.... but I think the memory of hearing you and the knowledge you share will be worth it for a lifetime.

[hkharryfunk]

Would he give this advice to people who buy the dumb crap his shark tank companies sell?

[baldeepbirak]

Blue and black jeans only for me. Black and white trainers and a pair of shoes. Get spare shoes when the price is good, not immediately.

[Sanchezone]

“Paying 5000$ for a bag is stupid”. Say it louder for the women in the back.

[dadsgrant]

"..simplicity we use to survive.. many find it difficult because they're ignorant and hype!" - Sizzla Kalonji
#Minimalist 🇯🇲👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💯

[boredbeingbored]

6 tees and 3 pairs of jeans - this only works with men? lol

[boytambling]

It’s true, but the temptation is much stronger

[OSODIY]

He didn't mention he that he has like tons of watches that are 50k-100k+. Sure he'd argue that they are investments but certain luxury bags can be investments too. No one "needs" that many watches

[vannaraphoeuk]

parents have told us this for years and hearing it come from Kevin hits different

[prakashrajmudaliar]

I started loving Kevin O'leary....
He sounds incredible!!!

[Hazynecklace]

He’s smart, but everything I’m rockin is low key but still hits hard

[gabriels]

I really like this video. I’ve been knowing i need to downsize the wardrobe.