George Kamel - How Frugal People Saved Money This Christmas

Episode Date: December 23, 2024

💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app!  Who says you can’t get Granny a great gift for $5? In this episode, I’m reacting to the Tok’s hottest holiday savings hacks and sharing the hands-down best way to use your money this season.  Next Steps:  🎥 Watch my video How This Viral TikToker Gives Away Millions     Connect With Our Sponsors:  🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe.  💸 Learn more about opening a high-yield savings account with Laurel Road.  📲 Get $5 off Tello's Unlimited Plan and enjoy great nationwide coverage for only $20 at  https://www.tello.com/George.    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  💼 The Ken Coleman Show  📈 EntreLeadership    Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some people totally blew the budget on Christmas this year, and others went to great lengths to make the most of every dollar, and good on them. So today I'm reacting to what people did this holiday season to maximize their money and whether their ideas were merry and bright or bah humbug. And at the end, you'll see the hands-down best way you can use your money for the holidays. Before we jump into the festive frugalities, go ahead and slay those like and subscribe buttons. Get it? Slay? It's called a double entendre. Forget it. I'm sorry, I disappointed you.

All right, let's see the first one. My grandma thinks Christmas is expensive, so I'm going to prove her wrong by giving her the best Christmas present with $5. Let's get started. So I went to the dollar store, which apparently isn't a dollar anymore, then I looked for things she always wants but never buys. Now, most people think a good present has to be expensive, but I think it just needs to be sentimental. So I bought items I know my grandma will love. Tequila, candy, candle, scratch off, and pictures. Now the trick here is to package this in a fancy way so it looks expensive.

Will she actually like it? I have to find out. So I gave her the gift and... What, barbatista. That's a lot I love about this, starting with you don't have to spend a lot of money to give a great gift. And of course, I'm not entirely sure that grandma liked it because she responded with, this is a gift.

Grandma, you might have a future in politics. That was a great, great response. Then again, she might be a little young. She looks like a spry 74. I think she appreciated it. I think grandmas, they don't need... big spends to feel loved. I mean, the thought that counts. And she knew she loves tequila and scratch-offs. I mean, that's a cool grandma right there. Not like a regular mom. I'm a cool mom.

So, Jenny, you get a thumbs up for me. This is an awesome $5 gift that is thoughtful. It is well-prepared, wrapped beautifully, and actually useful. Big fan. All right, let's see some more dollar-stretching fun. What do we got next? Dollar tree last minute. Okay, a lot going on here. They're just grabbing things. It looks like a supermarket sweep situation. Recycling a candle. This is a lot of work. All right, well, boiling candles now, pouring him into freezer. Like ice molds?

Oh, that's clever. That looks fancy. Russell Stover's, a little lighter. Heat gun. I just snapped my jaw, I was so impressed. Oh, my goodness. Use a heat gun to seal the wrapping. Okay, this must be like an Etsy store.

Okay, now that. $5 gift for Grandma was good. This is a whole different level. Still, same great thought. You can get creative at the dollar store and turn a few things into something more impressive and thoughtful. And hey, if you're not crafty, because I'm not crafty, you don't have to be.

I just used the internet to give me the great ideas. And I found some on Reddit that I thought were actually pretty good. Here's one, perfectly positive said, I did spice cake and banana bread, my grandma's recipe, some apple butter, and some small Amazon gift cards for the adults. Kids got kid gifts. All right, spice cake, banana bread, apple butter. If you're putting in all that effort, I am perfectly positive,

you can skip the Amazon gift cards to save even more. I feel like you get the gift cards because you don't know how to bake and you're not crafty. Another rediter who prefers to be called Rose Pants said, wrote my brother, sister-in-law, and four kids, a personal high cue, and then made a design in Canva to match, printed and mailed for $10 since they live several states away.

Well, aunt or uncle rose pants, while it's definitely thoughtful and you're putting in time and effort, here's my beef. A haiku, really? You couldn't stretch it to a sonnet, maybe even a villainel? So I've got something for you,

aunt or uncle rose pants. No haiku, I beg. Send cocoa or cozy socks. Keep your poem home. Also made that in Canva. Free account. Yeah. Had to upgrade for the better font,

but you're not worth it. Don't be rude. But seriously, I thought that counts, A for effort, but this is a terrible gift. No one's ever been like, oh my gosh, a haiku. No one ever. Said no one ever. What am I going to do?

Put it on my fridge? Make it like my life quote on the bathroom mirror? What am I going to do with your IQ? All right, let's see what's next. Wow. Okay, I'm all for saving, and I'm sure filling that jar took commitment and time, at least five months worth. definitely was making the most of their spare change. But if you look closely, I don't think there's actually that much money there.

I counted maybe like 90 bucks between tens and 20s. So being generous, let's call it 200 bucks, which in this economy may not get you very far for Christmas. And the thing is, you don't know how much you've saved until you cut the jug open. So you don't know if you have 200 bucks or 1,000 for Christmas or 10 bucks until it's already time. And sometimes it's just too much. It's just too stressful. And while I love the spirit of saving,

imagine what you could do with that kind of commitment, with an intentional plan and a high-yield savings account like the one offered by Laurel Road. They offer competitive rates without any of the reindeer games. So no minimum balance, no sneaky fees, and your deposits are FDIC insured. And they will be on your nice list because Laurel Road's premium care team has real humans ready to help you whenever you need it. So if you want your money to work harder for you all year long and have it ready to spend on all the people you love, go to Laurelroad.com slash George or click the link in the description below. Another sponsor of today's episode is Tello.

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Tello.com slash George, or just click the link in the description below. All right, enough shenanigans. More Christmas videos. This is not the news I wanted to deliver, and it's not in the spirit of Christmas. Oh, no. Supply chain issues, inflation. It's affected us here at the North Pole, too. Santa is on a budget this year.

We're only going to be able to help half the kids. We usually send rocks to the naughty list. No rocks this year. We can't afford to ship. They can't afford the rocks. And for those of you, my sweet, my sweet, my sweet, on the nice list. If your gift is over $5, you will not be receiving a gift this year.

You will get a card. The card will not have a gift card. I'm sorry. This is hard for me to do. Shut the camera off. Bad news, Santa. I don't like this version of Santa. Man, this is tough times. Even the big guys having to make every dollar count. Tough times in the North Pole. Santa's feeling the pinch.

This one's relatable. But, eh for effort. I mean, the beard is on point. I can see the interior of the mouth. So there's a negative point for that. But the glasses bring him up a notch once again. So well done to May Cook Nelson. As is tradition, my producer Alex loves to throw in a little bonus video, just as a little curveball for me.

So let's see what he has for me today. Is that a mini reindeer? Is that real? It looks like a sheep. Wait, is that a sheep? Is that a sheep? You have to tell me legally if it's a sheep. I don't have to tell you anything.

Do they make reindeer that little? Not the financial content we needed, but the one we deserve. That thing's adorable. Okay, the more I zoom in, the more I'm convinced that's a baby cow. I think that's just a really fluffy baby cow. I should have known the antlers are fuzzy. You dog! You tried to make me think there was baby reindeer out there.

Thank you in the comments. Not me actually thinking it's a reindeer at first. Looks legit. I can't trust anything on the internet these days. I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed. All right. This last one is from my guy, Jimmy Darts. He's always great at making the most of a dollar, but in a very unique way. Let's see what he did this time. You say, ma'am, can you just help me wrap this? My mom's not around and I'm horrible at doing the rapping part.

I could do that. How's your Christmas been going so far? Not good. I'm in a parking lot begging people to help me, so it's not doing too well. What happened? The lights just got cut off. They cut my hours from five to three. And you have kids? I do. I have three children. Perfect. Oh, here, hold it one second. And how do I spell your name? Huh? How do I spell your name?

A-L-I? All right. The gift's for you. No, he did it. The M-night Chama-L-L-L-Twis. My guy. Are you serious? Yes.

What just happened? She's opening the gift. She just wrapped. Are you for real? Yes. Oh, she cussed. Out of joy. That's a joy cuss.

That doesn't count. It's not a sin. Now I'm gonna take you a Christmas shopping and you get whatever you want. No, uh, Jimmy. Shopping spree on top of that? This is why Jimmy's Jimmy. It's amazing. And it warms your heart.

It brings a tear to your eye. If I had any left, I've been crying a lot today, if you can't tell. This is why Jimmy Darts is Jimmy Darts. People are inspired by generosity. It's aspirational. They want to be generous. You've been on the receiving side of generosity. And there's science to this.

Generosity is good for your brain. Generosity counters depression. it benefits those around you. And I truthfully think the best use of your money overall in life is to give it away. It's not to spend it on stuff, it is to give it to others and to bless other people. And you've got to be in a good financial position to do that.

You've got to have money to give in the first place. And that's one of the reasons I tell people, get out of debt, have an emergency fund, invest for the future, find margin in your budget, yes to save, yes to spend, but definitely to give. And honestly, I think that's why so many people are attracted to what Jimmy Darts is up to. They love seeing good people helping others.

I recently got to meet Jimmy hang out with him. He was on the channel, and he told me all about his background and what led to his billions of views on YouTube and so many viral moments. So if you missed that video, keep watching to check it out. Or click the link in the description below. Merry Christmas. I'll see you next time.