George Kamel - 22 Minutes of People Living Above Their Means (and Going Broke

Episode Date: January 16, 2026

One thing that really grinds my gears is seeing people on the internet flexing like they’re living the bougie life—when in reality, their bank account is giving broke. So today, I’ll be reacting to videos that show all the sides of what it looks like to live beyond your means.    Next Steps: • 🎥 Watch my video If You Say Yes to These Things, You’re Probably Broke. • 📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan. • 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app!   Connect With Our Sponsors: • Get up to 20% off Cozy Earth with code GEORGE. • Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. • Save money on your phone plan with Boost Mobile. • Go to FAIRWINDS Credit Union for an exclusive account bundle!   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

One thing that really grinds my gears is seeing people on the internet flexing like they're living the bougie life when in reality their bank account is giving broke. So today I'll be reacting to videos that show all the sides of what it looks like to live beyond your means. Let's get into it. Buy expensive cars because they make your work harder. This obviously isn't financial advice but it's what helped me level up from car to car. I've always loved cars since I was young and I went from a 2015 4 to 8 to an S5B9 and now to this my 2017 540 I and hopefully in a few months will be in an M car.

I've heard a few people say buy cars that you can't afford because it makes you work harder. And yeah, I can confirm that's completely true. Well, in my experience, of course. Every car that I've owned, I knew deep down that I could actually afford to own it. But I've always scared myself into thinking there's a risk to buy them and I can't actually afford them. Especially when it came to the maintenance side of things because some cars are very expensive to maintain. For example, I owned my Audi as 5 for around a year and it kept on braking nonstop, which in turn racked up some pretty expensive repair bills.

This car specifically made me work even harder and it made me. made me find new ways of making an income. Because the bills just kept coming and coming and coming. I think overall I spent around 5 or 6 grand in a year repairing my Audi S5. Cars have actually helped me get out of my comfort zone and they've made me push harder and harder to get a better job with better pay. And now we're here where in a few months I could potentially be getting my first M car. More on that is going to come up on another video very shortly. I'm now at a point where I have a good job that I'm really enjoying and I'm also at a place where I can call social media kind of my second job.

Obviously don't get like a really expensive supercar when you're only making like a really expensive supercar. few thousand pounds a month because there are levels for this but if you're getting between a certain level with a bit of hard work and some motivation you can make some really good stuff happen obviously this is just my opinion and a lot of you won't agree with what i'm saying but let me know if thoughts in the comments oh dear wow i don't want to speak for all uh people of of great britain but this guy is not it if this is what you guys are producing out there you might want to check the factory line something's going on goodness gracious. So his premise is buy a car you can't afford because then you'll be so stressed

because you need more money to afford the payment that it will cause you to go get a better job to be able to afford the payment so then you can get a better car and restart the process to get a better job so you can afford the next bigger payment. Are you not entertained? That is as insane as it sounds. How about this? Buy a car you can afford in cash and also get a better job so you can have a better life and make more money doing something you enjoy. And also, you won't be stressed out because you have a big payment

and expensive repairs to make. So I call BS on this guy's entire premise and hypothesis. But dark curiosity as to what's going on in this comment section because he was like, I know a lot of you won't agree with this, but there's just one man's opinion. It's not financial advice,

but you should absolutely do this because you're getting more expensive car. I'd rather listen to Mr. Bean than this guy, Because Mr. Bean, not a lot of talking. All right, he walks the walk. He doesn't do the talk. Well done, mate. Can you give me some tips?

I'm 15. What is a 15-year-old doing? This is what kids are watching. Bright blue beamers. What? What do you do for work? I think that's a fair question. All right, it's just a bunch of car bros in the comments.

Just spouting off letters and digits. I'm all set. Thank you. I'll stick to. the America. No wonder we got free from this crap. Couldn't stand it anymore. That's why there was a revolution, guys. I'm sure you'll have another fight, George. Moving on. I can't wait to financially afford who I truly am because this, you know, this is the budget version of me right now. I'm not actually so casual and laid back. I'm just underfunded for my vision.

My dream lifestyle costs a lot of money that I don't currently have. I'll be waking up at 9 a.m. Have a cappuccino on my balcony overlooking the sea. You know, work out, shower, spray my custom cologne. But in reality, I'm waking up in fear. You know, I'm having bread and water. And I'm spraying, you know, vaguely citrus-scented body spray from like the seventh grade. You know, the person I truly am.

has a skincare routine and in separate outfits for boat and lunch. You know, current me is out here Googling, can I mix body wash and shampoo and still go to heaven? So, you know, right now I'm just wearing vibes, God, and hope. That's the budget. But one day, I'm going to walk into a room wearing linen and smelling like generational wealth. Just not today.

Today I for breeze my shirt and prayed for the best. You know, we'll get there. Oh my gosh, this guy is a brilliant comedian, a big fan of his work. I think I've reacted to a different video from him. This guy's got Riz. I don't care what you say. And I love that he's choosing reality, as my friend Dr. John Deloney would say. He's going, listen, this is who I want to be.

This is where I am today. And I'm going to make peace with it, okay? He wants the custom clone. He wants the linen, all right? Clothing made from one fabric, that's rich people's stuff. We can afford polyester blends at best at this stage of life. And that's okay. I think what he's really getting at is that you have a journey to wealth and if you try

to fast forward it and shortcut it, you're going to fall flat on your face and end up broke. So I'd rather you live simply, live on a budget and go, listen, this is where I'm aiming. I want to have this kind of life, but right now I'm not there, and then reverse engineer it. Instead of just wallowing and pity and complaining about why you don't have the things you want, So what is it going to take for me to be waking up at 9 a.m. overlooking the sea? Well, you're probably going to need to start your own business, work for yourself, work 90 hours a week for seven years to build a business that creates that kind of revenue for you to afford to take time off or work seven hours a day or four hours a day, whatever it takes. So I like his overall take and I want to be friends with this guy. So Davey, reach out if you're looking for friends.

But I think we can all relate to this. we're underfunded. If this was a business venture, right now the business is underfunded, and that usually points back to the person in the mirror, because we are the business. All right, next up, another guy in another car. There's a little life hack for you guys. Tonight I'm going out with my friends,

but I can't really afford to spend that much money at the bar. So today I went to a blood drive, gave some of my blood away, and now we're down like a pint, so I know I'm going to be able to get drunk a lot faster. I won't have to buy as many drinks and I won't have to spend as much money. What an M-night Shyamalan twist that was. I thought he was like, well, I'll go give blood for like money and I'll use that money to pay for the night out,

which actually would have been fairly smart. But the idea that he's going to give blood so that he gets buzz faster, do not recommend. Do not recommend guys. He's a legend. Wouldn't call that a little life hack. But I appreciate that he gave blood. I think that's a beautiful.

Let me start there. The generosity is unmatched with this guy. This, oh, here's one from Beth. Donate Plasma instead. You get money, plus you don't need as much alcohol with a little emoji. 125 replies, 37,000 likes on a comment from Beth. What am I doing wrong? I gotta be on TikTok in the comment section.

You're gonna feel sick after one or two? Yep, very smart. Donate Plasma. All right, everyone in the comments, not understanding, it was a joke. Should just donate Plasma, my guy. Good he got paid. I got to move on. Me getting a job as a security guard for Harry's next door because they can't afford tickets.

Now that I would do. Wow. That's amazing. I don't, is that, that's not actually him, is it? Oh, he said, catch me there. Okay, so it's not actually him. But he's filming a guy who he envies this security guy who clearly not doing his job. There could be multiple people storming the stage right now trying to tackle Harry Styles while this guy's just

Also, why, isn't that a One Direction song? Yeah, I didn't know Harry was doing One Direction stuff, but hey, good for him. Good for him, whatever makes the money. That is relatable, though. And actually true, this is a good life hack. If you like going to events, concerts, comedy shows, whatever it is, you can generally try to get a job working for it, even on a volunteer basis or a contract basis, and then you can usually enjoy the show completely free.

which is nice, or even get paid for it. Now, will you actually get to see the whole show? Probably not. You got to be doing the job. This guy has to face the crowd, so he can't see what's going on on stage, but he's still, you know, vibe into the tunes. So that's a great side hustle if you are up for it, is go see if you can contract at a show near you

or even volunteer, you know, to do merch. I've done that to get in shows for free because I'm a frugal guy, and it's always panned out. Really enjoy it. And Harry's next tour, I would like to go. I'm a secret Harry Styles fan. I can't say it to the bros because they don't understand. They're still listening to Daughtry, okay?

They would not understand my love of Harry Styles solo album. Next. If you're going to stay here, then I'm going to need $500 a month out of you. I'm 18. I'm in university. I can't afford that. Well, you need to figure it out, or you can stay elsewhere. You'd be paying even more rent.

Fine. I mean, you're not giving me much of a choice, so I guess I'll figure it out. Seven years later. I mean, I have no idea how I'm going to afford a problem. What do you mean? Well, I've got like 25K saved up and that's barely enough for a down payment. No, you don't. You have 72 grand.

No, he didn't. What are you talking about? You've been paying $500 a month every single month for seven years now and I've been putting that away for you ever since. I knew you'd want a property in your mid-20 so you can have every dime back plus the interest plus I will help out where I can as well. So instead of telling me to save, you made me save. Even if you didn't have that 25K, you'd still be in a pretty good position. And listen, if you want to learn more, just have to follow. That's beautiful.

What a beautiful story. of a father and son that are exactly the same age. That is wild. Pretty insane. But I do like the concept. I'm not mad at this idea of charging your kid rent with the idea that you're going to save it for them. Now, ideally, in a perfect world,

your kid just learns how to save. That would be ideal. But I'm not mad at the fact that he went, listen, you're a grown adult now. If you want to stay here, that's fine, but you're going to have to pitch in because this is the real world. Either you're going to pay market rent outside of this house,

or you're going to pay a measly amount to stay here. And the idea that he saved it for him, even invested it for him over that time, and then gave it back to him to help him start his adult life. Love it. Now, does this encourage this kid to stay at home for like ever? Because he's only paying $500 a month in rent? Probably.

So I think this story is a little hypothetical, if you will, because most people are just like, I guess I'll stay until I'm 38 years old because this is a pretty good life. Mom folds my laundry and cooks for me. so why would I leave? But the premise, I agree with. Parents did this exact thing,

not as long as this hypothetical is, but I have my own house that I plan to use as a rental after a few years. Love that. My father not only charged me rent and had me pay taxes, insurance, and repairs on one of his houses,

then sold it and made another $100K and kept it. What? We were even told we would receive anything that was made off the house, haven't spoken to him in four years. Well, that took a turn. I thought it was going to be a beautiful story. It was like he not only charged me rent, he made me pay all this stuff, and then he gave it back.

Nope, he just screwed you over, Amanda, and I'm sorry. You deserve better. See, my mom did this and I left the next day. See, you got to be ready for that, parents. You put the ultimatum out there. Little Johnny might just fly the coop. I don't know that I would do that. I think I would more likely do that with my son than my daughter. Something about it.

I just, I don't know. I got a soft spot for the girl. But the boy, he'll be paying rent by son. seven years old. That'll straighten you out, boy. Before we get to the next clip, let me tell you, if you're trying to avoid overspending and live on less than you make, your bank can be a partner in that. And if you want a great one, check out Fairwin's Credit Union, a sponsor of today's video. They're one of the few banks that actually wants to help you win with money.

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by going to join deleteme.com slash George, or you know where to go. It's in the description. All right, back to more videos. When your car starts making expensive noises, you can't afford. That's smart. Drown out the pain, girl. Just drown it out. Just for a moment, your problems don't exist.

That's very relatable content. I do. Here's what I have beef with. She's staying with your car is making expensive noises you can't afford, but her car is also on empty. So isn't that the problem? Your car just ran out of gas? Just fill it with gas. Does she have a check engine light on? That's the big question. Those stress me out. No, I think her car is actually fine. I think she just neglected to fill it up with gas, which is on her. I don't want to, I don't even blame the car. I think the car is just mad at you for being an irresponsibility. Also, good on her for listening to the radio. What's going on on 979? It's fun in games until it actually leaves you stranded. Felt this with my Malibu too. Felt with my Chevy Cruise. People are just shouting out their terrible cars

and going, hey, they're all Chevys. That's good to know. This is a common section is going to help you car shop. My car don't get no maintenance treatment, just gas. Okay, but where's that blazer from? We're loving the blazer. I know you from Houston because 979 and 937 LMA. Oh, this is good.

This is good. People are sleeping on the comment section. There's a lot going on. And keep up with your car maintenance, people, okay? I know. It's so much more expensive to be broke because you're not doing the proper maintenance. You're neglecting it. Maybe it's for financial reasons.

Maybe it's pure laziness. Maybe because you don't want to find out what's wrong with it this time. And so, you know, I tell people to buy used, reliable. cars in cash and they get spooked because they oh my gosh the maintenance and repairs so what do they do they go finance a 50,000 dollar new car that's used the moment they drive it off the lot and still has issues that they have to take it into the shop for so do your basic maintenance all right rotate the tires make sure your brakes are good get your oil changes done change out the air filter but don't let them do it because they always show you a fake one I'm not falling for it jiffy

lube oh you see your filter's really dirty sir that's not even my filter bro This is my filter and you pull it out and they're like, you're the David Blaine of car maintenance. All right, let's keep this party going. Hey, I didn't get your Venmo for the trip. Yeah, I'm not going anymore. I can't afford it. My God, you're flaking again. No, I just literally can't pay for it along with my medications.

You seem fine, just don't pick up your prescription for a while. Yeah, it's diabetes medication. If I don't take it, my blood sugar drops and I die. No, I got you. I have plenty of sugar at my crib. You can take as much as you need. That's thoughtful, brother. We borrow some money from your parents or hit up a rich on.

Mm-hmm. You kids need some money. I don't have one of those. No one in your family has any money? No, I'm poor. Oh, I don't feel safe anymore. Maria, keep your hands where I can see. What is happening?

Wow. I mean, you just did not know what was gonna happen next in that video. That really strung me along for the ride. I don't even know what the point of the video is. Uh, he's so real for offering sugar. It does not come easy these days. Is this, is it like an ad for diabetes? Keep your hands where I can.

What would you? she gonna do with her hands? My mom's TikTok debut? Is that your mom? This is so wild. But what I love is her setting a boundary. That's the best part of the whole video. Is her just owning up to the fact that she can't afford it for reasons. I don't even think she needed to give the reasons, but she did. And you can see how that backfired because people don't care about her diabetes condition, which I think is you need better friends. Because if I was that friend, I'd say, hey, totally understand. Let me know if I can. I'll pitch in for the diabetes medication this month. Let's get this party going. Or hey, we'll all chip in and cover your spot to join us for

the adventure. Now that's generosity. I can get behind. But her setting a boundary, I think they should just respected it and said, hey, totally understand. Hope you can make the next one. But no, what happened? It got out of hand real quick. That's the internet for you. All right, as per usual, I've got a bonus one from producer Alex that I've not seen before. And this better be good. because I don't have time for this today. POV, you're the ex-fiance from a Hallmark Christmas movie going live three years later. Been three Christmases now since Jessica left me for her high school ex-boyfriend who they dated for about three weeks, even though we were already engaged, dated for three years.

I paid off her college debt. I helped her get a promotion for a marketing job, but I took a phone call past 5 p.m., so yeah, here we are. Oh, my gosh. My life's actually been amazing. How was Jessica doing? not, I don't think they're doing good actually. Her fiance and Nick was running a Christmas tree farm, which has since gone out of business

because no one buys Christmas trees anymore. So, yeah, I don't think they're doing good. I heard they had to move back in with their parents, but how's your financial situation? Amazing. I maxed out my 401K. I got the new promotion at the firm because I actually was able to take the phone call.

I believe in murders, ad acquisitions, not mistletoe and miracles. So I worked hard for what I got. We're Nick. He never left his hometown and never went to school. So life's been good, the big city, the fun. I mean, sorry I wanted to choose a town that actually had Wi-Fi instead of middle nowhere, West Virginia, where the mayor was a reindeer.

So, no, life's been good. I don't know why they wanted to paint me as the villain. Oh, man, I believe in mergers and acquisitions and not mistletoe and miracles. This guy is a real one for it. Now, this is a movie I would watch. Is the vengeance and aftermate? Give me John Wick, but it's the ex-fiance from a Hallmark movie. exacting his vengeance on the guy who ran the Christmas tree farm into the ground.

That I would watch all day long. Time for some seasons beatings. That is so good. And can I just say, I think this guy really is who you think he is. If you own a zip-up Patagonia vest, you're doing real good. You got confident stripes. I don't have a confidence for that. I got to cover up my arms.

This guy showing him off. Do I think the polo with the vest over it is a good look? No, I don't know what you're going for there. My torso gets cold, but I want my arms to be free because they get a little warm, strange vibes. But overall, he's not wrong, and I love what he said in the beginning. They dated for about three weeks, even though we were already engaged, dated for three years. I paid off for college debt.

That was his big mistake. He paid off for college debt. Listen, if you're not actually married to someone, please do not. not intertwine your finances. Do not pay off their debt. Do not co-sign any loans. Do not help them financially. Okay, you are not married yet, and this is exactly why. Because what if she leaves you for the guy for the Christmas tree farm? You don't know what's going to happen. All right? I know you think, no, she's the one. That could never happen with Jessica. She's amazing. She's amazing until she meets Christmas tree farm guy. And she realizes, I don't want a date a guy who wears

zip up Patagonia vests. I want a guy who can chop some lumber. Why not both? I get it. I have the same And it's why I don't wear Patagonia vests. I think my wife will leave me. Great advice, great humor. Golf clap for you, because I assume big golfer. Listen, bottom line here, you don't need luxury cars to work harder. You don't need expensive trips to make yourself feel better. You don't need a bare-shaped coffee cup to prove your worth.

The real flex is living on lesson you make and focusing on your own money goals instead of trying to impress people that you don't even know or people you don't even like. So choose reality like that guy in that video did earlier when you went, listen, this is who I want to be, this is who I want to become, I'm not there yet, and I'm going to act my wage. I'm going to live on less than I make, stay out of debt, build wealth so that one day I can actually afford this life and not be in payments for it. So if you like this video, you're probably going to like this video where I react to 11 signs you're probably broke. Give it a click here or use the link in the description. And don't forget to hit like on this video, subscribe to the channel, and share this video with a friend, who's still hanging on to that Hallmark dream instead of realizing they're really more of a Patagonia Vest kind of guy.

Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.