When Kevin O'Leary shares money advice, you can count on it being blunt, basic, and impossible to forget.

In a Facebook post last year, the Shark Tank investor laid out what he considers the real secret to wealth. And it's not what most people think. It's not about getting rich and living large. It's about getting rich and living exactly the same.

"One of the big secrets to growing wealth," he wrote, "is never changing your fundamental lifestyle as the money piles up."

That's a tough sell in a culture obsessed with upgrades. But O'Leary has built his reputation on financial discipline that borders on legendary. He's made a career out of calling people out for blowing small fortunes on fancy lattes, restaurant lunches, and expensive cars that depreciate the second they roll off the lot.

Take coffee, for instance. O'Leary once pointed out that it costs about 20 cents to make at home. So why are you paying $5? It's not just about caffeine—it's a principle. Small expenses repeated daily quietly erode wealth while people convince themselves they're being responsible with the big stuff.

The larger issue is lifestyle inflation, and it's what traps even high earners in paycheck-to-paycheck cycles. O'Leary's post wasn't just advocating for frugality. It was a direct challenge to the cultural default: earn more, upgrade more. That habit keeps millions of people looking rich while staying broke.

The Science Behind Living Below Your Means

There's actually a name for this phenomenon: lifestyle creep. And it's not just armchair theory. In the book "The Millionaire Next Door," authors Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko found that many millionaires live in homes valued at an average of about $320,000—even though their net worth might be several million. The message is clear: accumulate wealth silently instead of spending loudly.

That behavior isn't accidental. It's strategic. As O'Leary sees it, wealth building is fundamentally a behavioral game. You don't need to make $5 million to get ahead. You just need to act like you don't have $5 million, even when you do. The money you don't spend becomes the freedom you build.

When people upgrade every part of their life as income increases—newer cars, bigger houses, designer clothes, expensive dinners—they often don't even realize they're erasing their own financial progress. The illusion of wealth becomes a substitute for actual wealth. O'Leary pushes back on that with force: just because you can afford something doesn't mean you should buy it.

Practice What You Preach

This mindset isn't new for O'Leary. He's long advocated for people to live on less than they make and treat income increases as opportunities to invest, not excuses to spend. And he doesn't just say it—he claims to live it. He still makes his own coffee. He still keeps a close eye on how money is used.

What he's advocating is actually pretty simple: lock in your baseline lifestyle early. When your income rises, keep your expenses flat. That gap between income and spending is where real wealth lives.

The Unsexy Path To Financial Freedom

Living within your means isn't going to wow your friends on social media. It's not flashy. No one's applauding your peanut butter sandwich or your decision to drive the same car for 10 years. But it's those choices—the ones no one sees—that buy freedom.

And if you're not sure where to draw the line between living well and living too large, a financial adviser can help map that out. Ideally one who understands that wealth isn't about appearances—it's about what you keep, not what you show.