Why it can be a healthy money mindset
Mark Cuban has zero F’s to give — at least, when it comes to his net worth. Financial therapists say that’s a healthy mindset to have, even if you’re not a multibillionaire like Cuban.
“I don’t give a f— about my net worth. I have enough. My family has enough,” Cuban posted Monday on social media platform X, responding to another user’s post about the growth of the serial entrepreneur’s wealth going back to 1990.
“I don’t care about moving up on the Forbes 400,” Cuban added.
Cuban currently has an estimated net worth of $6.8 billion, according to Forbes, which ranks the former star of ABC’s “Shark Tank” as the 597th wealthiest person in the world. Cuban sold his first business, a software company called MicroSolutions, for $6 million in 1990. He became a billionaire when he and his co-founders sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999.
He developed his attitude after buying a majority stake in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks in January 2000, he tells CNBC Make It: “I was more interested in winning than making money.” The mindset might seem obvious to some: After all, why would a billionaire have any stress about his bank account? But even people with lots of money experience financial stress and anxiety, studies have shown.
What seems to set Cuban apart from some other wealthy people is the confidence he exhibits in how he puts his wealth to use, says Christine Hargrove, an Athens, Georgia-based financial therapist. In his post, Cuban wrote that he doesn’t obsess over growing his personal net worth because, in part, he’d rather see the impact his money can have on the world.
“My next dollar can impact other people’s lives a lot more than mine,” wrote Cuban, citing his decision to launch the cost-cutting pharmacy startup Cost Plus Drugs and his many small-business investments across 15 seasons on “Shark Tank” as an investor judge. “That is what drives my investments. I look for ways to have an impact.”
Confidence in how you save or spend your money is often a signal of a healthy financial mindset, notes Hargrove, who is president-elect of the Financial Therapy Association and Assistant Director of the Love and Money Center at the University of Georgia.
“You actually have to be the person to decide what is enough for you,” she says, adding: “Having a sense of purpose with your money and with your life can be an incredible source of protection against chronic financial anxiety.”
The dangers of unnecessary financial stress
Many Americans, especially as costs of living remain high nationwide, have no choice but to worry about their finances.
When those with plenty of money in their bank accounts or stock portfolios obsess over their level of wealth, they’re also probably not doing so by choice, notes Hargrove. Some people’s financial insecurities come from growing up in low-income households. Others may think of themselves as relatively struggling because they earn less than the other wealthy people around them.
“Having a healthy relationship with money isn’t just about how much you have. It’s about understanding what money means to you and what you want it to do for you,” says Cara Macksoud, an Orlando-based accredited financial counselor and financial behavior specialist.
No matter what your financial situation is, anxiety about money can actually hurt your finances in addition to the toll it takes on your mental health. Financial stress and related mental health challenges can hurt workplace performance through distraction and absenteeism, according to a 2024 report by the TIAA Institute, the research arm of retirement fund manager TIAA. Poor mental health can also impair cognition, making it more difficult to make sound money decisions, the report suggested.
Obsessing over every dollar can also make it feel impossible to part with money for causes that would otherwise align with your personal values, such as charitable giving or support for loved ones, Hargrove says. “And then our money actually comes between us and who we want to be,” she adds.
How to address unnecessary financial anxiety
Financial anxiety often results in repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively checking your bank account or stock portfolio, notes Hargrove. For those not in immediate financial peril, Hargrove suggests reminding yourself “enough is enough” and working to replace those behaviors with actions that foster gratitude for the cherished aspects of your life that are not related to your finances.
If you constantly check banking apps on your phone, you might change your wallpaper to a photo of your family or friend group to remind you of the safety of your family and social networks, for instance. It’s a simple trick, but it can soon become part of a pattern of “focusing on thoughts of gratitude” that research has shown can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your body, Hargrove says.
And if you can feel like you’re using your money to make a positive difference, whether for yourself or others — as Cuban suggested in his post that he does — you probably have a healthier mindset around money than a lot of other Americans, notes Hargrove.
“Living with gratitude and feeling like you make a difference, either for yourself or for other people, [there’s] not much better than that in life, right?” Hargrove says.
