Money experts have it all, don’t they? All that financial knowledge right at their fingertips. The fame and fortune of being a go-to resource for all things money-wise — because they’re so wise about money. It’s easy to assume they’re so above it all, you could never reach their level.
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Well, what if the money experts who dominate your TV and social feeds started out on ground level? What if they’re still learning, often through the process of making mistakes, just like you? Barbara Corcoran, real estate mogul and Shark Tank star, is no stranger to acclaim, but she’s also well-acquainted with errors.
The difference between Corcoran and someone who stays mired in financial pitfalls is that she’s willing to learn from her mistakes. Better yet, she’s down to share where she erred so you can avoid the same missteps.
One of Corcoran’s original claims to fame is the $66 million sale of her 4 Easiest Frugal Living Tips Perfect for Beginners in 2025 firm, The Corcoran Group, in 2001. You might assume she immediately jumped to make some investments or find other ways to grow her income further. You’d be wrong.
In a podcast interview, Corcoran admitted to stashing her cash in her checking account, saying she was scared since she didn’t have her “golden goose laying any eggs anymore.” Her long-term anxiety compelled her to keep everything in one place. Given that the limit on FDIC insurance is only $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category, a huge chunk of Corcoran’s money wasn’t insured.
By acting too conservatively, Corcoran not only left part of her wealth unprotected but also limited her options to invest and further grow her fortune — or even just save money at better rates. While the odds of you coming into $66 million in one sale aren’t as likely as they were for Corcoran, you should still avoid stashing your entire life’s savings in a checking account.
Instead, consider high-yield savings accounts, emergency funds, retirement accounts, CDs or exploring the stock market to turn your financial seed into a flourishing garden of green. And if you’re not sure where it is best to put your money, consider meeting with a financial advisor to get some expert input on budgeting, saving and investing.
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As someone who made her name in real estate, Corcoran might seem like she’d have all the smooth moves down when it came to her own home purchases. However, she’s fallen to the same pitfalls that plague many homebuyers, including not having the closing costs ready when buying a home.
While many homebuyers are prepared with the down payment, they often don’t consider the closing costs, which can range between 2-5% of the total cost of the home. Corcoran told Make It that she once learned this lesson the hard way.
“When I bought my first home, I showed up at the table to close without the closing costs. Thank God I was able to borrow it from the very nice seller, or I couldn’t have closed on the place,” she said.
Corcoran has lived on both ends of the financial spectrum, from being dirt-poor to making millions. If there’s one thing she’s learned from her life experiences, it’s that amassing wealth can make your day-to-day life easier, but it won’t improve the credit score of your soul.
She cautioned people against constantly looking for the next thing money can buy, calling this “the greed fallacy” in another interview with Make It. She explained, “The greed fallacy is there are as many miserable rich people as there are miserable poor people. Money has nothing to do with being happier. It really doesn’t.”
Corcoran went on to add that, despite her wealth, she’s still anxious and insecure about a lot of the same issues in her life. Her advice? Take care of yourself — emotionally as well as financially — as you work to achieve success.
The bottom line is that even experts like Corcoran aren’t perfect, and they’re prone to make the same money mistakes that you do. Her experiences taught her not to hoard money in a checking account, to ensure she has closing costs ready whenever she buys a home, and above all else, to remember that money can’t cure everything that ails you — especially on the inside.
Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Barbara Corcoran’s Top 3 Money Mistakes — And What She Learned From Each
