George Kamel - 12 Things Totally Worth The Money (Even Frugal People Should Buy These)

Episode Date: February 19, 2025

📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan.   Anyone else have caviar taste but a tuna fish budget? Same here. In this episode, find out 12 items that will allow you to enjoy the finer things in life without going broke. Next Steps: 🎥 Watch my video 12 Rules for (a Frugal) Life. 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app! Shop the Items: Cozy Earth bamboo sheets Smart plugs Office chair Emergency car kit Portable tire inflator Cordless, bagless vacuum Sneakers (New Balance) Boots (Red Wing) Inversion table Air purifier Under sink water filter system BedJet 3 climate comfort sleep system  Gym membership (Life Time) Reliable used car Pre-shelled pistachios Connect With Our Sponsors: 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. 💸 Learn more about opening a high-yield savings account with Laurel Road. ·      Get 40% off Tello’s Unlimited Plan—just $15/month for three months! 🎉 at Tello. Explore More From Ramsey Network: 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I consider myself to be a fairly frugal guy, but some people, Rachel Cruz, have accused me of being bougie, probably because I paid way too much for my fragile, high-maintenance French bulldogs, and I see my barber more than I see my own family. But in reality, I'm somewhere in the middle, the perfect blend of indulgence and practicality. So I'm coining a new phrase, boogie frugal. Definition? Seeking out ways to enjoy upscale or luxurious experiences while staying cost-conscious and sticking to a budget. So in today's video, I'm sharing 12 of my favorite bougie frugal purchases to help you live large without breaking the bank.

But before we jump in, hit those like and subscribe buttons and share this with your friend Ryan, who has a fake Louis Vuitton wallet because he has caviar taste but a tuna fish budget. It's not a thing, Ryan. Tin fish is tin fish, okay? And have you looked up what's in caviar? It's Ro. Have you looked up what Ro is? Put the definition in the comments.

I'm not going to say it out loud. It's that disgusting. Okay, number one on the list of bougie frugal items is high-quality bedsheets. Now, the price for this can vary. You can spend $100 for a good set. You could spend $300 for a good set. I'm going to go somewhere in the middle. Think about it.

You spend a lot of time on these sheets, eight hours a night if you're doing it right. And the cost is going to depend on the material. So nice sheets can be expensive, but to me they're totally worth it. Because durable and comfortable sheets can help improve your sleep quality, and they'll probably last longer than cheap alternatives. So to me, the extra cost is worth it. If you want to the ones I personally use, it's cozy earth's bamboo sheets.

And again, I'll drop links to all of these in the comments. below if you want to go check it out. Okay, next up, smart bulbs and smart plugs. The price of this can range about five to ten bucks per bulb. For plugs, it might be five, ten, maybe even fifteen per plug. But here's the thing. They save energy, which lowers your utility bill, and it makes my life so much more convenient because I don't have to get up to turn things on and off. Now, show me a product that lets me control my toaster from my phone, and I'll show you my money. And if you're wondering which ones I use, I tend to get them from Amazon or I wait for them to go on sale at my local Costco. Again, I'll drop some links to my favorites in the description below.

Next, boozy, frugal item, a comfortable office chair. Price for this can range from $150, all the way up to $500 or even $1,000 for some high-end brand like Herman Miller. And here's the deal. A high-quality chair may seem expensive, but it can help your posture, reduce back pain, and last for years, which could end up saving you money on medical costs and replacement chairs. And if you work from home, this one's a no-brainer. And if you work in an office, see if till I upgrade your chair, very much. it's not comfortable. Now, I don't have that problem. Ramsey does not skimp on the lumbar support. Thanks, HR. You're welcome. Next up, an emergency kit for your car. These can be anywhere from

30 bucks to 100 bucks or even more, depending on what's included. They usually have things like jumper cables, tools for estate supplies, maybe even one of those silver Pop-Tart wrapper space blankets they give to people who are cold and wet. And here's why these are so important. It's an affordable way to prepare for emergencies and potentially avoid paying a whole lot of money for roadside assistance. Here's your bonus for you. I got a portable tire inflator on Amazon. That's an absolute game changer. I have one in each of our cars, and it's helped me avoid needing to go find air from a gas station in the middle of nowhere to refill a tire. Next on the list, a cordless, bagless vacuum. Your Disons, your sharks, even your Bistles. And these can range anywhere from, you know, 35 bucks for a Bissell featherweight all the way up to 800 bucks for a top of the line Dyson V10 plus animal who knows what they call them these days.

And so it's going to depend on the brand and how much it sucks. Not like, sucks, but, you know, sucks up. Highly recommend getting one even if it's the budget-friendly option. These are such an upgrade from the old dustbags your mom used to use in the 90s. And if you're wondering which ones the camels have, I think it's the Dyson V8 Animal Plus. Don't quote me on that. Might be time for an upgrade. Next, boogie frugal purchase, comfortable shoes that last.

We're looking for high-quality craftsmanship here, all right? Go for brands like me solo, Clarks, Alan Edmonds, all birds, even new balance. comfortable and affordable. The price range on this will vary drastically. You can get a great pair of new balanced shoes for 60 bucks. You can get some red wing boots that will last you forever for 300 bucks. And here's the deal. Good quality shoes can be a little pricey, but if it keeps you from buying new shoes every other month, that can save you money in the long run, and it'll help your health because your feet won't be paying the price. Next up, an inversion table. The price will range from 100 bucks to 400 bucks depending on the model. You can find basic models on the lower end, but the

Premium ones will have better padding and more features. If you deal with back pain and regularly see a chiropractor or do physical therapy, this one-time purchase can reduce those expenses. Yes, I know it looks like a torture device, but it's worth a shot. No pay, no gain, right? The next boogie frugal thing on the list? An air purifier. Again, these range drastically, $100, all the way up to $600 or more.

And the cost will depend on the size of the room that you want to purificate. That's not a word. Continue. Also, features like hepa filters and smart integration, that could bring the cost up as well. And cleaner air might help you if you have allergies and it means less sickness in your house, which could in turn cut back on healthcare costs. So it might seem like a luxury, but if it really keeps you healthier and you feel better, it's so worth it. And while we're talking about cleaning up the air, let's talk about how to clean up your digital footprint.

You see, your personal info is out there on these shady data broker websites where it can be bought by spammers and scammers. So the way I protect myself is with Delete Me, one of the sponsors of today's video. Delete Me will go find and remove your info from hundreds of these data broker websites that make money by selling your personal info. And they'll send you a report showing you where they found and removed your data and how much time they've saved you. So help protect yourself from the risks of online scams and data breaches with DeleteMe. Right now, you can get 20% off by going to join DeleteMe.com slash George. Or click the link in the description below. And before we get back to the list, let's talk about another thing that could be considered, boogey frugal.

And that's a phone plan from Tello, one of the sponsors of today's video. Tello has crazy affordable plans to get you the same reliable coverage and features as the big dogs, but with pricing as low as $5. And if you want to never worry about data limits, the Unlimited Everything plan is just $25 a month. And here's the cool part. There's no contract. You can upgrade, downgrade whenever you want. You can bring your phone, keep your phone number, and do this all from the comfort of your own home. That's exactly what I did.

I use my own link to save $5, and you can too. Go to tello.com slash George and you'll get an extra $5 off your first month of the Unlimited plan. or click the link in the description below. Okay, next up on the bougie frugal list, a water filtration system. Bonus points if it's whole house. Now, you can get a cheap, under-sync reverse osmosis system for $300, but my dream is the whole-house filtration system.

Every faucet, every shower, pure water coming straight out of that thing. That's amazing. And that's going to cost you. This can range anywhere from $1,000, upwards of $4,000 to $5,000, which includes insulation. And the filters with better filtration will be on the high-eastern. end. So you can go for the budget-friendly version for now, but eventually upgrade if you want to really live like no one else. And if you're spending a ton of money on bottled water every month,

this could end up saving you money in the very long run. Expensive, but worth it. It's also more eco-friendly than buying a bunch of plastic water bottles. And for all of you whose entire personality is worrying about microplastics, this could help with that too. Next, Bougy Frugal Purchase, a bed jet. Now, if you don't know what that is, I didn't either until I got one. And what this does is it basically pushes air at whatever temperature and speed you would like through a magical sheet to keep your bed

at the ideal temperature. Now, I got the mini, which is about 350 bucks, but you can go for the big dog, you can get two for each spouse, whatever you want to do. That's your business. But here's the deal. It really helps with sleep,

and it's totally worth the price. There's more expensive options out there. You may have heard of eight sleep, which uses water that runs through this magic layer on the mattress. Eventually I'd like to try that out, but this is my bougie frugal life right now, so I'm sticking to my bed jet. Next up, a gym membership, if you're into that kind of thing.

Now there's a huge range here in price. 10 bucks for your planet fitness or 200 bucks in an arm and a leg to go full crossfit. Or as I like to call it, wads with friends. Now, I'm not much of a bodybuilder, if you can tell. But I do acknowledge that exercise is important, and I included this one on the list because people who do it would say it is life-changing and totally worth it, even the cross-stop. fitters. And those people would probably tell you a gym membership pays for itself in health and

wellness benefits. They'd probably also tell you about their new PR for Murph, but I digress. Next on the list, a reliable used car. Now, remember, this is Bougy Frugal. So this is not your get out of debt beater car that you got for three grand off Facebook marketplace. This could be a $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, even a $25,000 car. Now, if you want some parameters around this, here it is. Make sure all the things with wheels and motors in your life don't add up to more than half of your annual income. So if your household income is 70 grand, make sure that no more than 35 grand is tied up with all of your trucks and toys and cars. And then lastly, pay cash and buy used until you're a net worth millionaire and you can stomach that hit on depreciation. And if you

want to know more about how to buy a car the right way, I cover the exact process in my book Breaking Free from Broke, specifically page 110 starts the process. And I go in depth on how to do this with cash, how to begin your research, where to go, how to negotiate, and how to how to pay cash. Go check it out. I'll drop a link in the description. And if you've got a dark curiosity about what I'm driving right now, it's a 2013 Tesla Model S that I bought in 2022. So currently, it's a 12-year-old vehicle approaching 200,000 miles, and it's the best boogie frugal purchase of my life. And if you've seen my segment, Millionaires and Cars getting coffee, you know it's a sweet ride. Mike Rose been in that seat. More than you can say, Hermozzi sat in that seat. You drank protein

in that chair, man. 40 grams. Uh, zero grams. Yeah. Here's a fun, bonus for you, pre-shelled pistachios. Now, this price could range anywhere from $15 to $18 for a one-and-a-half-pound bag from Costco, but let me tell you why this is a bougie frugal. Life's too short to be cracking nuts. Although there is something satisfying about shelling pistachios, kind of therapeutic. But I'm not losing a nail at this juncture, this stage of the game, not worth the risk. So buying pre-sheld saves me time and effort, especially if you have little kids and you're

constantly having to do it for them, which good on you if your kids are like, Daddy! You've done very well. Parenting game on point. Now, just to be clear, I'm all for saving money, and I don't want you to pay more than you need to for basic everyday items, but there's a time and place for spending more.

It's okay to spend a lot of money on something if it really matters to you, if it adds value to your life, as long as it's in the budget and you pay cash. That's how you know you're making it with intentionality instead of impulse. And remember, being frugal is not about being a cheap skate. It's about being intentional with every dollar you make.

And one of the best ways you can do that is by giving every dollar a job with a monthly zero-based budget. It's permission to spend. That's where I put my fun money to make bougie-frugal purchases. And the app that I use to budget and track my expenses is called Every Dollar.

It's a free download, and it's super easy to use. It does all the math for you. So if you want to check it out, click the link in the description or go to Everydollar.com slash George. And also in that description, you'll find that I've done the research for you, and I've dropped links to all of the bougie-frugal items

from the list that I own or would buy if I was in your shoes. So let me know in the comments if there's something that you would add to this list. And for more ways to be frugal, check out this video to see my 12 Rules for Frugal Life or click the link in the description. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.