Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary slams workers for ‘stupid’ daily habit

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary has criticised office workers for spending money on coffee and take-out lunches.

“Stop buying $5.50 coffee. You have to work and spend $15 on a sandwich – what are you, an idiot?” O’Leary said in a video on his Instagram page.

The businessman, whose net worth is estimated at around $400 million, urged his employees to quit smoking and save thousands of dollars.

“It costs 99 cents to make a sandwich at home and take it out,” he said. “If you add that up every day, it’s a lot of money.

“Most people, especially in metropolitan areas, are just starting their jobs and making their first $60,000, [and they] “They waste about $15,000 a year on stupid things, and they need to stop doing that.”

O’Leary’s comments echo those made by personal finance expert Suze Orman about how much Americans could save by cutting out their daily, overpriced coffee.

She particularly emphasized that young people can already put money aside for their retirement, and thus build up a substantial savings pot.

The financial advisor and former CNBC host said that Gen Z Americans could save as much as $1 million for later in life simply by skipping their daily $6 Starbucks visit.

Speaking with MSNBC Presenter Mika Brzezinski emphasized to Orman the power of small investments over everyday discretionary spending.

If a 25-year-old puts aside a small amount each month into a retirement account, compound interest will cause that amount to grow significantly over the course of 40 years, she explains.

“Y’all paying $1 million down the toilet. I’ve never bought a Starbucks in my life,” she said.

In the March interview, Orman recounted what she told Oprah on her show when she asked what people were wasting their money on.

She told Brzezinski, “I said, Oprah, do you know what would happen if you were 25 years old and you bought a Starbucks every day and instead you put $100 every month into a Roth IRA, a retirement account, and did that every day until you were 65?

“You averaged 12 percent on your money over all those years. You know how at 65 you’d have $1 million? So you’re all paying $1 million down the drain?”

If you leave a $6 cup of coffee and put it in a retirement account with a 10 percent return, that could add up to more than $1 million over the course of 40 years

Personal finance expert Suze Orman revealed how giving up your expensive coffee habit could save you a fortune in retirement

Analysis by DailyMail.com found that skipping a $6 cup of coffee could save you $180 a month.

If you instead put those savings into a retirement account with an average return of 10 percent, the amount would grow to $14,070.91 in five years and $130,497.61 in 20 years.

Using compound interest, this amount would grow to a whopping $1,007,209.33 over 40 years.

Investment advisor Patrick Donnelly previously told DailyMail.com that you’ll have more to fall back on in later life if you can resist the temptation of a cold beer or latte and make it yourself instead.

Donnelly of Donnelly Financial Services said: “That’s real money that can dramatically change your timeline toward retirement, and it can dramatically change the stability of your retirement.”

However, he pointed out that it can be difficult for people to give up all their discretionary spending.

He says it’s important to look at your guilty pleasure spending habits and pick one thing you can do without that will hurt your savings in the long run.