It's hard to find fault with many facets of Sahil Mehta's finances.
At just 25, he's earning $515,000 a year between his full-time job as an executive assistant for a real estate agent at Golden Gate Sotheby's and operating five rental units in his spare time in Berkeley, California. He saves a healthy portion of his income and keeps discretionary expenses relatively low.
He's impressed Kevin O'Leary, O'Shares ETFs chairman and judge on CNBC's new show "Money Court," who watched Mehta's financial journey with interest.
"Twenty-five years old, living on over half a million dollars a year. That's not really that hard to do," O'Leary jokes.
That said, some of Mehta's money moves can be adapted by just about anyone who wants to better their finances. A big one: contributing to an individual retirement account. Mehta invests $1,500 per month, but most financial experts say to aim to invest 10% to 15% of your income for retirement.
"Puting it aside into an IRA is a fantastic idea because you want it to start compounding at 6% to 8% a year," O'Leary says, alluding to stock market historical returns, which are not guaranteed. "That's what you're putting aside for your nest egg when you turn 65."
O'Leary was particularly impressed with Mehta's ability to turn what could have been a source of trauma — his father losing his job during the 2008 recession — into a source of strength. Not wanting to be financially vulnerable in the way his family was during his childhood pushed Mehta to move to California on his own at 16, attend and graduate from college early and start his now-flourishing career in real estate.
Now, Mehta invests heavily in himself and saves around $10,000 a month to put toward future property purchases. He's doing so well, in fact, that O'Leary has trouble finding fault with much of anything.
"I'm giving him 100%. I rarely do that," O'Leary says. "This kid got it right."
Watch the full video to see what else O'Leary has to say about Mehta's finances.
