Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Are These Jobs Worth Their Salaries?

Episode Date: August 31, 2023

Money isn’t everything, but it’s something to consider when choosing your career path. In this episode, George and Rachel talk about the salaries (and cost of education) for some of the top jobs in America. They share what industries they would work in if they could do any job in the world, then talk about celebrity salaries and the amazing thing Taylor Swift did for her truck drivers.  In this episode: The salaries people make in America’s most popular jobs What George would do if he worked for big brands Which career Rachel thinks should make more money Helpful Resources: ·     Booking a flight with Going is the best and simplest way to pay less and travel more. Sign up for free today at going.com/smartmoney. ·   Start making memories. Go NOW and get Tapple at Walmart or wherever you buy board games! ·     Get your finances organized, make a plan, build your confidence, and kick money stress out of your life for good with the EveryDollar budgeting app. Go to www.everydollar.com/smartmoney to get a free two-week trial and $15 off your premium membership to EveryDollar. ·     Do you have a Guilty as Charged question for Rachel and George? Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it. ·     Learn more about your ad choices: https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices ·     Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy: https://www.ramseysolutions.com/compa...   This Week’s Happy Hour Special: Strawberry Basil Mocktail Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries 4–5 fresh basil leaves 12 ounces seltzer 1 lime (half juiced, half sliced) Instructions: Roughly chop the strawberries and cut the lime in half. Muddle the strawberries, basil and the juice from half the lime. Fill two tall glasses with crushed ice and divide the berry mixture between them. Top with seltzer and garnish with a slice of lime and fresh basil. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Cheers. Very refreshing. So great. Look at that.

Yeah. Well, this is the podcast for two friends who happen to be money experts. Talk about which you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And today we are talking about something controversial. Salaries. Yes. Dun, dun, dun, done.

The tell all. From pro athletes to Oscar winning actors to your kids' English teacher and pediatrician, we are covering it all in this episode. No one is safe. No one is safe. How much do people get paid? Because people don't talk about this subject. You're not like most people aren't casually.

Well, they talk about it in the sense of like equality and equal pay and it's not fair. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we're going to cover all of that, average household income, salary, trends, all the hot topics. We're going to cover it from the everyday people's jobs to out-of-touch people's jobs. You know? You know, everyone has a moment we're like, oh, it's just good to know. It's good to know. What people make.

So we're going to chat about it, you guys. That's exciting. But before we crunch the numbers, Rachel, let's share what we're sipping on today. Yeah, this is a strawberry basil macktail. From a mocktail girlies out there. And they're always like, y'all got to do moktail because I don't. Hey, this is for you. And this is a good one.

Do they say that, George, like that? They say with that accent. I don't know why. But the people appreciate it. I've seen in the reviews. They're like, thank you for doing the mocktails. It's so fun to have a fun drink. I bought some in a can yesterday from Costco.

About what in a can? Kirkland King was at Costco on a Sunday, Rachel. Yeah, that's dedication. But what did you buy in a can? You said, I bought it. What is it? Mocktails in a can. Oh, for Whitney?

Yes. Sweet. Yes. So I'm excited to try them. There's a key lime margarita moktail and like a blackberry mojito or basil or something mocktail. So I'll let you know how they are. So great.

For my mocktail friends out there, we're doing it today. It's there, yep. So stick around until the end. We'll give you the rating, the review, and the cost breakdown. Okay, so this conversation can go a lot of different directions, George. Yes. But we're going to cover everything. But first, what's on the list?

Well, we found a recent article that lists the top 100 jobs in America as of 2023. Any guesses as to what made the number one spot? And this is the most popular, not what made the most. Sure. Right. It was called best jobs. Oh, best jobs. That's very obviously.

Best jobs. There's a lot of variables that go into that. I'm going to go into technology. My guess would be like something in technology. That was my guess too. Mm-hmm. And we would be correct. According to US News, software developers, number one, we call them devs here at Ramsey.

If you're in the biz, call them devs. Devs, they appreciate that. They appreciate that. They're writing new code, updating existing code for efficiency, working on projects for clients like websites, digital systems, troubleshooting computer bugs, collaborating with other companies and teams. They need to be innovators, natural problem solvers, and have a knack for technology. A bachelor's degree is required.

But on average, the median, the median salary is $120,000 a year. Not bad as far as ROI goes. And a lot of times you can now just do like a coding boot cam, go to a tech school. There's other options that are more affordable than going to some fancy shaman. fancy four-year school to get this. Yeah, absolutely. People go to coding school all the time. And the unemployment rate is only 1.2% currently. Because people need, yes.

We are desperate. Constantly. And even at Ramsey here, we're hiring devs like crazy because we're building so many digital products that require a lot of coding. Job number two, George, is a nurse practitioner. Oh, that's a fun. One of my brother is an nurse practitioner. Oh, really?

So I don't know anything about his world, but he's smart and works hard. harder than me. And he does, look, it says if you love helping people or you enjoy science and medicine, but you don't necessarily want to spend your entire 20s in medical school to be a full-on, full-blown doctor. I love this path because, again, you get an extra certification, right? A little bit more education is added. Versus a registered nurse. So it's a step up from registered nurse. Yes. And you can see patients, you can prescribe medicine, and they usually have a ton of knowledge. So if you go to a doctor's office, sometimes, like, do you want to see the nurse practitioner? Oh, yeah.

Because they're seeing in those environments, like, yeah, they can basically cover what a doctor can, right? Or if you go to like an urgent care, a lot of times you're seeing a nurse practitioner. Yes, yes. And they're very knowledgeable and very helpful. So this position has an unemployment rate of just 0.4 percent. Median salary, 120 grand. So not a bad life. Yeah.

A lot of schooling can be very expensive. Yes. So if you can do this, you know, get the debt-free degree, this could be a great path if you like medicine. Absolutely. Okay, so those were jobs over 100K. So let's go below that. So we'll go down the list to number 15. And it's a market research analyst.

Ooh, that sounds fun. Yeah. So a bachelor's degree is required. Median salary is $63,000, which falls within the overall median salary range in the U.S. And this is a really important part of people's business because you want to be able to study data to inform the business leaders who are making key marketing decisions. So you're there to kind of dig into the numbers and the data where trends going. You got your pulse. Finger on the pulse, Rachel.

That's what we call it back in the day. So if you want to do this, you've got to enjoy research numbers, spreadsheets, and working with people. So it's a really nice mix of like nerdery but enough socialization. Yes. So if you don't want to miss out on either of those. And for people that I would say benefit from market researchers, our job. Oh, yeah. It's very helpful.

It's a very helpful position to say, hey, if you're putting content to you, of the world what is happening with it do people like it what are people searching Is it relevant? Is it connecting? Yeah I mean they They really do help shape businesses so it's great. What do you think about that median salary of between 62 to 69,000 overall median salary?

I think that tracks. Yeah that feels right. A lot of people depending where they live are going Rachel that's not enough are you kidding me I can't survive. Low maybe like as my like knee jerk reaction. Okay. But but yeah I mean I guess it would fall in

line, right? Like, there is something with, like, medicine. Like, when we talked about, like, the nurse practitioner, right? But I don't know. I feel like there's... In my head, if you went to any type of, like, nursing school, you went into medicine, like, you got to be making over six figures to make that worth it. Yeah, that's what, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. But four-year degrees, I feel like you got to be making over 60K to get some ROI out of that. Yes, from the degree aspect, for sure. Okay. Number 17, uh, registered nurse. So median salary is $77,000. Okay. Which seems high to you nurses out there, but keep in mind, essential worker salaries vary depending on the region, number of years of experience.

So if you're a nurse, going on, I don't make 77 grand. Yeah. Listen, this is the median salary. We didn't make these numbers up. Bachelor's degree required. Growing number of universities offer nursing programs now, which is what, yeah, I went to the University of Tennessee and the nursing program. It's huge there. Yeah, everyone went to the nursing school.

Go vals. GBO. Mm-hmm. If you know, you know. Register nurses can work anywhere from a hospital ER to a pediatrician's office. And when people call into the Ramsey show or they do their debt-free scream and their nurses, they're like, I did travel nursing and I doubled my income for like three months. It's amazing.

So you can make amazing money doing travel nursing if the parameters are right, your situation's right. Yeah, in your life, yes. But we've heard a lot of people do that. So way to go, travel nurses out there. That's pretty cool. And during the pandemic, a lot of people felt convicted about her. how overworked and mistreated our essential workers are, and nurses were at the top of that list. I was like, I would, if you, you couldn't pay me enough to be a nurse during COVID.

Oh my gosh. I can't imagine the stress, the fear, the chaos that ensued. So much. So much they saw. Yeah. So much they went through. So God bless the nurses out there. 100%.

Okay. So do you think health care workers make enough? Do you, have you had like interactions with your own health, maybe, of people? that you're like, gosh, they're just so good. People that, it's funny, I feel like at any industry, you get the really great ones, and you get ones, they're like, oh, not the best bedside manner. Sure. Maybe have the knowledge, but.

Yes. Yeah, I was at an urgent care a week or two ago. I was at the doctor today for my wife with the baby coming, and I was just very thankful to have all these questions that can feel life or death and just have someone confidently tell us an answer, honestly. It was just like, I'm glad I don't have to go to Google for. this or go to WebMD and be like you have three days to live your entire family. I'm like, whoa, that got dark real quick, WebMD. What's happening? So, and my brother, I'm always texting

him like, hey, yeah, that's a good one. What is this rash? What's going on here? Yes. You know, very thankful for all of those that understand that world because it hurts my brain. Yes, it's a lot. Are they underpaid? I feel like it depends on what they do, where they are, all of that. Yes. But my brother works in the underserved area of Boston that focuses on, you know, like the homeless community and those that are coming off of drug addiction. And so, like, he's got a real heart to help those that are underserved. Yes. And they also don't make as much money as they could working for the big private health care companies.

Which is, like, flipped. You know what I'm saying? Like, helping those that need it the most, I feel like should be rewarded more. Yeah. So people that are in those fields, I'm like, very rarely are like, I'm doing this for the money. Like, it's just too much of your life to sacrifice to do it for the money. You've got to have a heart to do it. Yep, absolutely.

Well said. Speaking of which, Rachel. Yeah. Let's talk about teachers. So number 52 on the list is a high school teacher, bachelor's degree required. Majority of educators have master's and even doctorate levels of degree, especially if you move into administrative roles or work in higher education. This article said the median salary is $61,000. But that number is high even for Nashville.

So most public school teachers in our area that we know make, you know, in the 40s. And surprisingly, private school teachers make less in their paychecks. because they aren't government funded. And we have a friend. I know. There was a friend that I knew made $34,000 in 2016 at a private high school. That feels criminal. Man, teachers, I, is there a, maybe the Europeans do this.

I can't be wrong. But I feel like society should be like the people that help, especially children. Like to me, I'm like pediatricians, school teachers, like people that are serving the youth. Yes. If you made those jobs coveted because they are so well paid, right? There would be a level that I feel like you would like treat that. Like there would be a level of dignity there. Not that they don't have dignity, but like it is said.

For what they're paid. Yes. I'm like like and again our county outside of Nashville is a well off county, right? Like I think Williamson County. Oh yeah. We're in Franklin. Like top 11 or 15. Yep. And so my kids go to public school and they just started back, you know, recently. And those teachers and principals, I'm like, we shower them with gifts or if they have Amazon lists, but we have the means to do that, right? And then you think about these teachers that are in lower income areas. And those kids, I would even argue need more supports, right? Like, like, I mean, like, it's just such a backwards, it's such a backwards way that they're paid. I'm like, I would pay, I would, my tax dollars, my, I would, I would, my tax dollars, my, I was.

I could just send my tax paycheck to my little elementary school that my kids go to school. I'm like, that would be fun. Fix our roads. You get to select where your taxes go to. Roads, I would say like, yes, like police officer. Like the public servants need to be paid really well and they're not. Yeah. Would you, I know you're not a fan of increased taxes, but if I was like, hey, Rachel, extra dollar a month is going to go to teachers.

Yeah. And you could select and opt into that. See, that would be it. And I would pay more per month. I really would. I really would. Yeah, but we have to do it through like gifts or like classroom donations or like that kind of stuff, right? But man, to be able to.

Is there a number in your head like, hey, I feel like starting out, starting salary for a teacher, depending on your area. If you made teaching a job that was so coveted and it was so hard to get a position because there were never openings. Oh. Because it's paid so well and people have to be great. And if you suck as a teacher, you get kicked out because people, you'll be fired because they're a line of great teachers because people want. want that job so badly. That's it. So what?

120? Well, I was just thinking about the developers and I was like, you're telling me a guy who gets to sit his desk all day without interacting with anybody gets to make

120? Yeah, but the teachers who have to have a whole plethora of skills are making 34 grand. But not to stick up for the devs, but what they are creating, though,

is profit for companies that make profit that then employ more people because they're growing. That's the heart of it. Is the teacher? They're not necessarily creating a trackable revenue every day. And it's government funded.

So, like, there's only so much, right, that they can do there. And I don't know. I feel like a starting teacher salary should be, like, 50 grand minimum. Sure. Oh, yeah. But, yeah, I would pay them. Like, it's got to be at par with other career choices. I would say minimum 60.

Okay. Yeah. All right. I would pay teachers really well. It really is. It's the one profession that I'm like, maybe because I just have, like, really personal experience with. with having little ones.

And, you know, you're in second grade, third grade. Well, it's your most formative years with this person who has such influence over your life. And they do so much, George. They do so much. They go home and grade pay. I mean, like, the work that teachers have. Yeah. Love you teachers.

She's getting emotional. And especially. I do. And they're just not paid. I've got a special heart for those teachers that teach our personal finance curriculum, foundations. That to me. That's not biased. Well, it's biased because I'm like, this is the stuff you wish you learned in school.

So the fact there's high school. High schoolers out there reaching out to me be like, I just paid cash for my car and I'm going to go to school debt free because my teacher taught us the curriculum. I'm like, yes, let's go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, totally. All teachers for sure. Oh, yeah, yeah. Not trying to be teachers pet. No, I hear you. Yes. Yes. Teachers that, yeah, especially in the high school level, they give these life skills all of it. If you could pick a job in any other industry besides the one you're in right now, what would it be? A political correspondent. Oh, wow. It's like you're on TV. I would just do presidential campaigns.

Wow. What a gig. Yeah. Every four years. Every four years. I would do some, like, you know, segments and some reporting throughout because stuff starts before. I mean, it's on any channel?

Are we talking to, I'm guessing we're talking television. Yeah. It would be fun if, I mean, this isn't even possible, I don't think, but to be like an independent contractor, if you will, in different networks. I'm so highly coveted. Wow. To get my news coverage of it. Yeah, they're both like, we want her.

And I'm like, perfect. Down the line. Yeah, like it's that good. Isn't that great? Yeah. That's why we call it a dream, Rachel. But it would be around politics. I would do something around politics.

In elections specifically. Okay. Yeah. How about you, George? What would you do? Skateboard her? No. Gosh, no.

That wasn't even a previous tree. I stayed lower to the ground. I wasn't very flashy. Okay. But I was very good. I'm going to say like at a really hip ad agency working with like really big brands. And I get to call the shots. Like what?

What's your top two brands that you would be like? I don't know. I mean. Like a clothing company? I think clothes would be fun. But just really any company that wanted really fun commercials. So think like full ad campaigns, Super Bowl ads. And they're like, all right, what are we going to do?

I'm like, let's dream big. Yeah. The brands are less, like it could be Doritos. It could be clothing. It could be cars. But big campaigns. But just get the dream big about, like, what would really capture someone's attention and be funny or heartfelt and all that.

So that's kind of, that would be kind of cool. I love that. Lindsay, what would yours be? What would you do? If I could be anything? Yeah. If you didn't have this job, what would your job be? I don't have this skill.

But I feel like it would be so fun to be like a pastry chef. Oh, wow. That's a good one. Yes. I don't know. Pretty fun. I could see that. I feel very stressful on early mornings.

Like, I need a living in Europe at this point. I'm no longer here. Okay. No longer here. No. Are you in Italy? Are you a French pastry chef? I'm thinking, yeah.

I'm thinking French. They have the best pastries I do. The most pretentious pastries, but the best. Yeah. Croson. Croson. So good. V.

Carre. I love it. That's a good time. Okay, George. What jobs do you think should earn the most money? Ooh. You think about Trader Joe's cashier. years.

They're my favorite. Salt of the earth. Winston and I went on Saturday night and the lady was just like, how's the weekend? A school start, you know, and I'm like, they're more intentional than my friends are. Bear my soul to you. Yeah. They are so kind. Can I be honest with you?

I thought about getting a side job at Trader Joe's. Not even for the money, but I'm like, it's such a positive environment. Everyone's just vibing and having a good time. Oh, can I tell you? We went on Saturday. We dropped the girls off at a birthday party. So we had like an hour to kill. And Winston, I was like, gosh, I need to go to Trader Joe's.

and he said, I've actually never been in a traitor chose. Yeah. And I was like, are you ready? But he loves the beef jerky. He loves the stuff that, like, I get there. So we went, and his life was forever. He walked out of there. He was like, what is this place?

And why do I feel like I'm the only one that knows this little secret? And I was like, well, you're not. You're about 10 years late to the party. I know. But like they were given Charles stickers. Again, she's asking about back to school. Are you stressed? I mean, like, the cash.

I mean, everything about the situation was incredible. Yes. Rarely do I want to make small talk with cashiers, but the Trader Joe's employees are like, I want to be friends with all of you. All of you. Like, should we just go hang out? And they get paid really well. Do they? Good. Good. I'm so glad. And so they're well taken care of. It's a great place to work. Speaking of which, another great place to work from what I've heard is Publix. Oh, yes. Those employees also very nice. They are very nice. A little younger crowd maybe. You know, very like a lot of teenagers get their first jobs there. But they're always so mature and well. And they take you to where you want to go. So helpful. Hey, where's the Nutella? Oh, come with me, the Amazon aisle five.

And they walk you to the exact product. Respect. Instead of like, I don't know, I think it's over there. They'll ask to walk your groceries out. And they will not accept a tip. Are you a pub sub kind of guy? I do because they have a gluten-free wrap they can put on pub subs. I did not know this.

And that changed the game for me. Do you love it? I usually only do it when I'm going to the beach. It's like a beach street to get the pub sub. If you know, you know. Yep. Okay, next one, and I have a personal experience with this. School crossing guards who stand there.

Rain or shine, and they are there. We had a crossing guard for years, and he retired last year, so we have a new one, and the new one's great, too. But he was the same elderly man. He drove his truck. Blessing. And he parked in the same spot. And there's a lot of walkers where our elementary school is, because there's, like,

four neighborhoods that are, like, right there. So there's a lot of bikers, a lot of walkers. My gosh, stole our hearts. We loved him. He was a little strict. Oh, yeah, they're not pulling around. You have to be. He could be lackadaisical in that job.

No, no, no, no. He was very serious about it. So you did not do certain things, and he would tell you. But I appreciated that because safety first. Yes. And along with that, bus drivers. Yes, I know. The bus driver had grown up, like,

to deal with just driving kids in a giant metal tube while they're all screaming, committing crimes back there, probably. And mine would drop me off sometimes, right in front of my house, even though they weren't supposed to. And set it down the block. And I was like, especially if there was like four feet of snow, they just brought right to my driveway. So sweet. I know. They're great. Hey.

Sweet souls. We love all those. Man. Okay, George. So that's like the wholesome goodness of America. Now let's move on to celebrities. Gross. And what they get paid. People who I think we'd all agree make astronomically good money. I know. So much money.

But hey, we're the ones that freaking watch and pay for it. I don't support any of it, Rachel. Well, you ready for this? The average NBA player salary jumped from $5.2 million to $9.6 million in 2023. So you're telling me it's almost 100% raise. The rest of America's out here, like, I hope I get a 2% raise this year. I know. It is wild.

Now, Michael Jordan is the wealthiest at $2.2 billion. But, of course, I mean, he's like the face of Nike, Jordan's. I mean, it's kind of like. Oh, yeah. It's kind of... Did you see air? The Nike movie? I didn't see the movie.

I watched... He had the documentary, though. Last Dance. Yes, I watched that. Also very good. How was it? Did you watch Air? Really good.

Was it? Yes. Yeah. But they revealed at the end that he still, because of the deal that, and his mom was instrumental in this, the deal that he struck with Nike, he still makes... 2020, he made $250 million from Jordans. Oh, my gosh. Because of the deal.

And it was the first time in history that they'd ever got a percentage royalty. versus like just a flat rate just a contract rate wow so it worked out for them well done mama Jordan well done good job good job yeah mj is the big one we all know and love MJ yes for sure do you think athletes deserve to be paid as much as they make like if you had the physical ability and you were like I could do this and you're like I could make five million dollars playing tennis what would your sport be wait oh that's a good question I don't golfers make like the most. They can make really good money.

Yeah. I feel like golf. I feel like a golf, because golfering, I'm not like having to be like, I won't physical. Well, I guess they could get injured, but not like, do you know what I'm saying? You could be like 65 and still like a really good golfer. Yeah. Tennis is like a really fun feminine, like, cool. You're the best tennis player.

That seems like. Is it because of the tennis skirt? Is that what you're excited about? A little bit. Yeah, it's great. That's fair. I was going there. I did think that.

Same with golf. That's a good one. So you would be tennis or you would go. Ooh, would be tennis or golf, tennis or golf, tennis or golf, tennis or golf? I think I think I'd go tennis. Yeah, I think tennis would be my thing. There's not a lot of... I'm trying to think of, like, the pro-female golfers out there.

I feel like there should be more. I know. I'm sure they're there. I'm sure they're there. I just think they like older guys. Yeah, so do they make too much money? Well, the problem is, I think in a sense, it's weirdly justified because of the entertainment aspect that Americans watch, add revenue.

I mean, like... It's one of the only things that people will still turn on the TV for it or like go to a live event for. I mean, so the California. capitalist in me that's like, well, if the cycle's going, I mean, that's how they're getting paid. So I get it. But it's, I mean, it's ridiculous. But I also don't want to be the person that's like, because someone could see what we make a year. I don't know.

See what anyone make. How can they do that? They're just doing X, Y, and Z. So, like, I don't know. Who am I to say, right? That's fair. Yeah. Just because I...

It's a lot of money. I'm like, that's too much. There's no number. It's like they're not, as long as they're not harming anyone to make this salary. Yeah, right, right. So here's some of the highest paid athletes as of 2023. Cristiano Ronaldo, footballer or soccer, if you want to be American. If you want to be American.

$136 million on the field, $90 million in other earnings. Oh, yeah. To me, that's the sweet spot is all those brand deals and partnerships and advertising. Yeah. Phil Mickelson, golfer, 106 million, 104 million on the course, 2 million in other earnings. And then finally, your favorite, Rachel, Patrick Mahomes. Oh, my favorite. Do you know Patrick Mahomes?

Only because I watched one episode of the new Netflix documentary about the quarterbacks. Yeah. Oh, I did not know there was one. Okay. I'm learning. Here's a documentary, George, about the top three football quarterbacks. And there's like four episodes, and it just shows you in the life of them last season. Oh.

So you can watch, like, behind the scenes and all this stuff. That's fun. I've only watched, like, an episode and a half. I got kind of bored. I'm proud of you. Sorry. Patrick Mahomes was in there. I only know because Blake Thompson, who's our executive vice president over Ramsey Network, all of our shows, he's a huge Kansas City guy, I'm a home's fan.

Yeah, but he's a good guy. I've heard great things. Young kids, like you watch one of the documentary, you're like, oh, yeah, you're like, isn't it funny we're like rooting for them to also be just good people? I know. And that help, it helps. It helps with Taylor. Yes. So, 59 million for Mahomes, 39 on the field, 29 million and other earnings.

There you go. And Serena is the only female. in the 50 highest paid athletes. And she barely made the cut at 49. Oh, there you go. But way to go, Serena. Yeah. Girl power.

So that's the sports. Okay, let's go to the entertainment industry, film and music. So the music industry has gone through some major changes of how they're paid because of streaming. So get this. Man, streaming has just, it's taken off. When's the last time you bought a song for iTunes? For the culture, it has gone down tanked for the artist. So artists get paid $4,000.

per every million streams on Spotify. Wow. Because do you remember back in the day, George? Sam and Goody, all the CD stores. You paid $15 for one artist CD? I went and bought three Mariah Carey CDs and one swipe with birthday money when I was like 12 years old. It's when Butterfly came out.

Different albums? Yeah, Butterfly Music Box, and there was another one, Mariah Carey. And, I mean, what she probably got paid on CDs like that, I mean, they were making bank back in the day. Well, if you can make, you know, let's say $2 even per CD versus making 10 cents for Rachel's streaming that album, but she's lucky. That's a game changer. Yeah, it's wild.

So, so again, I have an album on Spotify, and I'll be honest, I still make about $20 a month from my, you know, 2,500 plays. So the dream is still alive, Rachel. It's all there. I can't even afford a cocktail with that kind of money. I know. But artists make big money from, you know, big tours, brand deals. They just had to find a new way to make money versus just radio plays and CD sales. But Rolling Stone article put it this way.

The good news is that the music industry has accepted streaming as its revenue leader and is ready to adapt around with rewrite of laws, new royalty negotiations, mergers, acquisitions, all the things to be lucrative for the musicians. The bad news is no one knows when they're. that will be. So that's the big rub is that musicians out there are like, we can't survive off of streaming. I know. So a Swiftie's go and pay like thousands of dollars for concert tickets. Taylor will still be okay on streaming. She'll be all right. But the money really is in the tours, the merch, the brand deals, the advertising, and less so in streaming unless you're like,

you have a bigillion place. That's right. Okay, let's go down to the old Hollywood route, George. Some A-list movie stars earn anywhere from 15 million to 20 million per movie. Wow. And again, depends on the popularity of the movie, the budget size, all of it. But for the new Barbie movie, Ryan Gosling and Margo Robbie, each made $12.5 million. And they're paid equally, by the way, which I appreciate. Sometimes the little female lead doesn't always get that. They are both A-list celebrity actors, so that's fair.

But I also wonder if part of it was the whole Barbie thing. I don't know. I don't know. You know, Greta Gerwig, who's the director. Yeah, yeah. She's a female. She's like, hey, I'm not going to just go pay my male. Sure.

Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Just because he's a guy. So I can respect that. And it's called Barbie. So she's. Yeah. But I will say, Ryan Gosling did a great job.

I heard he stole the show. He really did. And I cannot wait to watch it. It was really. I know it has a lot of controversy, which I'm sure only helped their sales. Yeah, it does. And I get, I mean, there's part of it. They'll say, okay, I hear you.

I see you. Like all of it. But overall, Ken, I would go back and see it again for him. because I think he was the funniest. I mean, it was a serial. One of my favorite actors, Ryan Bosley. He did so great. So great.

Well, another buzzworthy topic, Rachel, in the movie industry right now is the writer strike. Oh, yes. And this one's interesting because it involves both actors and writers striking at the same time, which has hasn't happened in over 60 years. No. So a lot of their contracts are up, you know, for renegotiation. And it's changed because the streaming world has changed for them, too, of what they get paid. but people like Meredith Palmer from Meredith from the office. Sean Gunn.

That's funny name to the same name. Yeah, Kirk from Gilmore Girls, Mandy Moore even, from This Is Us. Recently caught out the fact that they only get a few cents on the paycheck every few months as residual compensation when their shows bring in consistent revenue to the streaming services. As big as the offices, I feel like it's still constantly playing on whatever channel. And what they get paid is happening a lot. So, yeah, there's a big strike going out. Wow.

It's a lot of salaries, George. That's a lot. And there was a wide spectrum, from, you know, $34,000 to $20 million to $106 million. That's right. The money, I feel like, is in sports. I mean, obviously, it's harder on your body versus acting. Sure. But goodness gracious, these athletes are getting paid insane amounts.

Should we go into sports, George? I've thought about it, honestly. But truthfully, it felt like the easy route. I was like, I want to challenge in life. You know, I could probably be a soccer player. I'm like smaller, and so I feel like that's my only option, truthfully. Yeah. But also the injuries, all it takes.

I know. But I also can act where I could fake an injury on the soccer field. You've seen those. Oh, yeah. So I could be like, ah. Shoot, yeah. But I also have glasses. I can't go contact, so I don't know if I can do it.

Oh, man. There's a lot of obstacles in your way, George, but I believe in you. Thank you. I believe in you. Look out for me on the field. So whatever are some of our takeaways, George. I think the first one is we have to show. shift our mindset always to what can we control.

Yeah. And, you know, there's a reality to work that, you know, especially if you're not running your own thing, it's like, okay, I'm going to work in a specific industry or for a specific company or whatever it is. And it's like, here's what I, here's my salary. And what am I going to choose to do with it? And I think that's one of the more powerful things of what you can control is when you get paid, what are you going to do with that paycheck?

Oh, that's good. Yeah, and stop looking out there. And part of it gets toxic when you start trying to go like, what do you make and what do they make? It doesn't matter because you don't make that. And if you want to go make that, do what it takes to make that. And if you truly feel like it's unfair, do something about it. Yep. If you hate your employer, leave.

They don't want you there. And that would be my second thing I would say is exactly that, that if you don't feel like you're being paid fairly for the job that is being done, advocate for yourself. I think that's fair. Even have to make a career pivot, right? If you're in a career and it's like this is the parameters of what we make in this career and you want to make more, you may have to change careers, right? I mean, like math only goes so far at that. And you might need to get education, skills, work at that thing to get better at it

in order to make yourself, you know, more attractive to that employer. Or go, go, start your own thing. For sure. And a lot of people do that. They go, I can do this on my own and be my own boss. That's great. We love small businesses and entrepreneurs and self-employed folks. You can make great money doing that.

But the idea of just wallowing and complaining and be like, it's not fair. And Rachel, the wages haven't. I'm like, yes, and what are you going to do about it? Because that's all we have in this life. Yeah, absolutely. And I think number three, keep in mind that you haven't walked a mile in everyone's shoes. So again, I think we can throw out, you know, so-and-so is being paid too much or like, you know, people can have these opinions. But, again, everyone has a story, a level of value.

that they bring to the marketplace, right? And you have no clue what people have gone through. And so being able to say what, like I watched that documentary, one episode of it, of those quarterbacks. It's all you needed. But it's a lot, right? And again, people could agree or disagree with what they're being paid. But there's a lot of pressure and a lot of things writing on those guys.

So do they deserve to be paid more with all of that? I don't know, right? Well, and with more wealth, more pay comes more responsibility. And a lot of times those people are in the public eye. And that changes your life. You can't just live a normal life at that point. Like Taylor Swift, as much as she makes, can't just go to the grocery store and, like, go hang out. Like, she has to have security and lawyers and a whole team of people constantly around her.

And so it changes your quality of life. And I'm sure she has a great life. Yeah. But you can't just compare your life to someone else's. And you talk about this in your book, Love Your Life, Not Theirs. It's a great reminder to just run your own race. Don't try to keep up with the Joneses. And I've always, and I've said the phrase too

Even around money, George, of like I don't ever say anymore Oh, I would never buy X, Y and C Where I would never have done that or that, right? Like, because people are like, oh, how could they ever buy that car? How could they, whatever. So again, run your race. Whatever people are doing, put the blinders on, run your race. Yeah, that kind of judgment and resentment is just like drinking poison.

Yeah, yeah. So it's not worth it. No. But I hope all of you out there are doing something that you love and you feel like you're fairly paid to do it. That's right. Absolutely. All right, George. It's almost the end of the episode. And we close out every episode with Guilty as charged. And this is where our producer, Lindsay, gives us a new guilty charge question every week.

And if we are guilty, we have to take a sip. Oh, boy. So, Lindsay. I know you guys are being all sweet and all. But have you ever trash talked to celebrities new? deal or salary. Oh. You know?

Trash talk to celebrities deal or salary? Oh, I think I for sure I've heard like so-and-so and the baseball players signed four years for like a billion dollars and you're like what? What?

Yeah, I think I've had, I mean, yeah, if I've been honest, I've definitely had that reaction. I'm trying to think of a celebrity that I trash talked in public or to my friends. Mine was a baseball player. I don't remember the specific person. I ever hearing their contract and I was like, okay, really? That's insane. Yeah. I think that way with like some influencers and even some folks in the personal finance space. I'm like, oh my gosh, it's probably jealousy. I'm like, how are they making

a billion dollars doing this? But it's because of their brand partnerships and they're really good at business. But there's been a level of that where you're just like, they're not that special, but they're making amazing money. Now the athletes, it takes some, you know, some prodigy level talent to even make it to the MLB. For sure. But then to look at like the worst, the person who doesn't even get field time and you're like, they make that many millions of dollars and they don't even make it to the field. I'm like, I could do that.

I could not go on the field. Pick me. Put me in coach. I'll do that one. Or don't put me in coach. I'll do that. So there's definitely a level of that. I'm guilty and it's usually not, I'm not in a good place when I do it.

Yeah, it's not nice. I don't know that anyone is their healthiest self when trash talking celebrities. But if you trash talk Taylor, I will not. I will not have it. Not after she tipped her crew $55 million after the tour. $100,000 per truck driver. So kind. Extra.

Unbelievable. Again, we don't even know. That one was public. We don't know how much of this stuff goes on behind the scenes. She's a jewel. She's an absolute jewel. Which is why I want to see her again next year because she's coming back to America. Coming back to America.

Oh, are you going to see her again? Three nights in Miami. Three nights in India. Oh, I'm going to try so hard. Get me a ticket to while you're at it. I would love. I know. I'm like, I want to take my girls. Wow.

They'll be a year older. You're literally supporting the economy. I am. I'm helping keep this world turning and spinning. She's that kind of person. I'm so nice. Good times. All right, George, so who finished their drink first?

You got a little closer on yours. I think I did. I liked it. It was a fun one. So this was a strawberry basil moktail. And what's in this, you ask? I'll tell you right now, strawberries. And these strawberries are not just any strawberries.

They are freshly cut and muddled into the drink. There is fresh lime. basil leaves and seltzer water, and it comes out to $2.93 per glass, and it will be sure to wow your friends this weekend. So give it a try. We'll give you the recipe in the show notes. Yeah, it was delicious. What's your rating? I like it. I'm going to go 8.5 out of 10. Okay. It feels like there was a lot of effort being made because we did not make it. So B plus for effort. That Skyler. Our amazing associate producer made this. And there was a lot of muddling that I was watching.

And I thought, wow, that's a lot of... Look at her go. That's what you were thinking. Look at her go. Yeah, she did a great job. So it just, it's not just like pour a can of this, a can of that, squeeze a lime. I mean, you're like, there's a little bit of manual labor in it. And I'm a little lazy for it sometimes.

So you appreciate that. That's why I'm going a little low because I'm like, well, I have the effort to do it. But the taste was really good. Yeah. I'm going to go, I'm going to go seven out of ten. The flavor is great. I think if it was strained to have less of the strawberry pulp, in there, I would have been able to enjoy it more.

We had some of that with the watermelon mucktail. That's right. A few weeks ago. So I think straining is key for a drink like this, but Skyler did a great job. Go try it at home. It's $2.93 per glass. It's got strawberries, lime, basil leaves, and seltzer water. Recipe in the show notes.

It was delicious. Well, George, it's closing time. You guys, thanks for watching and listening. Make sure to leave a review. It helps us so much. Helps the algorithm to get the show in front of more people to hopefully show them. Talk about money and it be fun and enjoyable and it ties into our everyday lives. That's what we want people to know.

Beautifully sad. So make sure to leave that review and subscribe so that you don't miss a new episode every Thursday of Smart Money Happy Hour.