Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Attention World! This Is What Things Should Cost

Episode Date: September 17, 2026

💵 Check out the Investing Calculator!   A family trip to the movies can easily cost $80 these days; it’s rough out there! Today we’re talking about the reality of inflation . . . but in a fun way, we promise. Next Steps: ·   🎙️ Catch our episode Common Money Wasters the Average American Falls For. ·   💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar. ·   🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour ·   📱 Submit 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.    Connect With Our Sponsors: ·   Check out the FAIRWINDS Credit Union exclusive account bundle. ·   Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. ·   Get 20% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth.   Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍹 Peach Julep Recipe By: @Cocktails   ·   6 mint leaves   ·   2 tbsp. diced ripe peach ·   1/2 tsp. simple syrup   ·   1 ounce peach puree ·   1.5 ounces whisky ·   Fresh mint and peach slice for garnish   Instructions: Put 6 mint leaves, 2 tbsp. diced ripe peach, and 1/2 tsp. simple syrup in a glass and muddle. Pour 1 ounce peach puree and 1.5 ounces whisky in glass. Add ice. Then stir. Garnish with fresh mint and a peach slice. Serve and enjoy!   Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights  🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A family trip to the movies can easily cost you $80 these days. It is rough out there. So today we're talking about the reality of inflation, but in a fun way, we promise. And I can have $6 on my person and get a full meal. You are choosing the life that you have. That is unbelievable.

You sound like my therapist. One of my greatest fears is being convicted of a crime that I didn't commit. What if? Hey guys, I'm Richard Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Cheers.

Well, this is the show with two friends who happened to be money experts to talk about what you're talking about, everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And if you're wondering why we're snickering, we both just had a similar reaction to today's drink. And I don't, it's like a very neutral reaction. Yeah. Very neutral. We're sipping on a peach julep, which in my head was very exciting. Yes. In my mouth.

Less so. So stick around to the end. We'll give you our full review, our full rating, and reveal the cost per glass. You don't want to miss that. All right. I've got a confession to make. Oh, can't wait to hear it. What is it, George?

I know that we're supposed to be like financial experts and all, but if I'm honest, my brain is still stuck in 2006 in a Panera with a $6 you pick two. You remember that? Do you remember those days? Yes. I was in high school. I'd go with my friends and I could have $6 on my person and get a full meal. Or I could go to Chili's on the strip at the University of Tennessee

and get chips and salsa, a club sandwich, and a molten cake. Get out of there for $12. How did we get here? Genuinely. Now you go. And the sticker shock in life, it is so real. You know what we talked about how we feel like when people say, oh, 20 years ago, we immediately go to like the 80s, like in our head?

In my head is 19805. That's how we feel with money still sometimes. Like things should cost what they cost 20 years ago. Yes. Okay. What are things that are worth the money, though? would you say. There's like a trend on social right now. I did one of these videos on Instagram. Oh yes. TSA pre-check is my go-to because I feel like people who don't have it live more miserable

lives and they don't even know. Do you have global entry for like international travel? I don't. I'm not a global traveler right now. Yeah, that's fair. So I don't go very far. Okay. I know you're always gallivanting the globe. No, I don't have global entry and I'm not gallivanting the globe. But yeah, TSA pre-check is great. Oh, you know another one that people sleep on? YouTube Premium. Okay. Because I watch a lot of YouTube clips more than I watch streaming services, if that makes sense. Wow. So if you're not to watch ads, I feel like I've just saved a lot of time. Like people watching this show right now on YouTube, probably about to watch an ad. You know what? I'm not going to judge because I think a good manicure and like a dip manicure

that lasts like three to four weeks. Totally worth it. But does it cost triple a triple a normal, a normal, with normal polo? to dip, maybe, I mean, double for sure, yeah. Okay. You know what you pay for is what you're saying. Yes, but I think it's worth it for me. Term life insurance is another one that I think is,

I know it sounds nerdy, but it's 100% worth the money. Okay, that's good. Like the trade-off of like you pay $40 a month for the next 15 years to potentially have a million, something more to happen to you? Totally worth it.

I'd say the same with like professionals in my life when it comes to my money. Tax professionals, financial planner, a good real estate agent, Like to me, that's worth it to me. Like, they have an area of expertise. I'm going to end up making more at the end or not get put in jail for taxes.

That's important for you. We don't want tax for our here. I think you'd do great in jail, but I don't want you there. Oh, my gosh. I think you'd make a lot of friends. I could have a social club. Yeah. You start a book club that went viral somehow.

You know, it's one of my greatest fears is being convicted of a crime that I didn't commit. Really? And being put in jail. Yes. You think like you could get framed for something. What if? Listen, there's some trials happening as we speak.

And I'm like, oh my gosh, what if you're, what if I was innocent? Would you believe me, George, if I was on the stand? And I looked at you and I was like, George Camel, I swear to you, I did not do this. Even if Dave doesn't believe me, Winston doesn't believe me, my family's turned against me, George. Are you a BFF that you would say, that you would say regardless of I believe women? No, but you are a truth teller, I feel like. Out of all people, I would... And if I was like,

George, I swear, you would believe me. Yeah. Okay, good. And even if you did it, who am I to question it? I don't have the evidence. Absolutely not. Okay, good. Let the jury decide.

Okay, good. I'm glad we discussed that. If I was on the jury, it would be a different story. I would create hate and dissension and go, I don't trust her. Something about her, seems odd. One day she had short hair, now she has long hair. I don't know.

Something off about her. Her alibis. That would be fun. I don't know. She changed her looks to get away with the crime. That's my life goal. It's to sway the entire jury. Just caused doubt.

It's all you need. All right. Just reasonable doubt. That's a good. My last one would be a good coffee maker. Oh, yeah. Because you know how I feel about curigs. I know.

They should all be putting a landfill somewhere. And the CEO of Curig should go to jail. That's my hot day. No, I would visit them in jail. Yeah. That's for, no. It has terrible. But a good coffee maker, great quality beans.

I feel like that increases your quality of life. Mm. It's fine. Sometimes the only joy I have in a day is a good cup of coffee. Oh, good. Okay. Well, remember this one, the dollar menu at McDonald's. Oh, my.

Or Taco Bell, for that matter. Oh. I know. You just knew, like, I can get five things for $5 plus tax. Yes, I went through Taco Bell the other day. Not going to lie. It was a little more pricey than I, again, I go back to that my mindset. And I'm like, how is a soft taco not like a dollar or five?

At least when it was a dollar, it was like, it's not good for me, but it's cheap. Now it's just like it's kind of expensive and it's not good for me. I know. We've lost like $2.59 for a taco? I know, y'all. Why? That has nothing in it? How is this happening?

I know. Okay, well, how about this? If we're ever in charge, let's make a list of things that should cost $1, no explanation. Just vibes. Okay. Bottle of water, $1. For sure. Mandate.

Yeah, yeah, any bottle of water. Yeah. What they sell at the airport now, you're paying like $7 a bottle. It's insane. At the airport. Yeah. I think if it's purified water, it should be 75 cents. Yeah. Spring water, one dollar. Spring water. Up charge for the spring water. That's fair.

You had to go to a spring to get that thing. It's not just glorified tap water. Okay, so like the Fiji water bottles. What would you do? Oh, well, Fiji's a premium brand. I think that's $1.25. Okay. Dollar and a quarter. Yeah. So I have three tiers. Okay. I was just at the movie theaters this weekend. Okay.

Guess how much the popcorn was. Starting price for a small popcorn. Um, 999. 949 for a small. Look at me. The medium, $10. The large, $10.49. Oh, you go large.

So what did I do? You go large. You go large. Yeah, you have to. Oh, that was for a drink. Sorry, not even. Popcorn was more expensive. Oh, that was.

The drink was $10? Yes. And guess who wanted a drink? Whitney. Whitney. Good for you, Whitney. And guess what they serve at the movie theaters. They do serve.

Pepsi products. Oh. Monsters. I paid $11 for a diet Pepsi. Yeah, that's a... Egg on my face. They should be in jail. Straight to jail.

You should get to bring Coke products if you serve Pepsi. That should be a law too. Amen. Okay, what would you pay for a license plate renewal? Stickers, like the stickers that go. Oh, the stickers? They should be... They should be...

I think it should be... That's insane that we have to pay for those. Okay, but I think to like print out $15. That's what it should be. Yeah, that feels fair. For the stickers? for a renewal. Yeah.

They're not. But guess how much we pay because we have an electric vehicle an extra $200. We do? Clearly Winston pays the bills in this house. Yeah. There's a $200 electric vehicle fee

because they're not getting our money through the gas tax. Oh crap, George. What are we doing? So when you pump a gallon of gas, part of that price is gas tax that goes to the counties. Okay.

Okay, but okay, I think about my minivan of what I fill up. I mean, that's like three tanks. So that's not terrible. I just think it negates the whole purpose of having an electric vehicle. It's saving on gas. And yeah, I still have to pay $200 a year for the privilege. I genuinely didn't know that.

Obviously, Winston does. And he puts my tags out like I'm a child. And he's like, put these stickers on your car. I put him on my own. A real man puts it on his own wife's car. Okay? He doesn't wait for her to do it. It would never happen.

You know what? He may. And then he lays, you know what? Last time he did do that because he laid the registration in the passenger seat and he said, put it in the glove box. See, I put it in Whitney's glove box. Do not throw away. Adjust it.

And her. insurance, her registration, I put it in the glove box. Yes, yep. So that if she ever gets pulled over, she's ready. Ready to go. With some napkins, probably, and some wipes. Got some babies. Some baby wipes in that glove compartment.

I know that's a good one. Okay, candy bars and gum. Like, I think anything in checkout line should be a dollar. 50 cents. 50 cents. 50 cents to a dollar for anything in the checkout line. 100%. Going back to like, it's a wonderful life days.

Quarter. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like just, yeah. The checkout line's gotten out of control. Yeah. The candy just, yeah. I'm trying to sell me a.

A $6. Chappstick at the checkout line? Give me a candy bar for $0.75. Like I used to get at the ballpark as a kid, you know? You went to the ballpark as a kid? I played softball. And you go get your I see. Oh, I thought you're going to a real game.

Your snow cones. I thought you were talking like I went to a... I did play a real game, George. Okay. In elementary school. But no, you'd go get those little... You'd go get candy bars. It'd be like 75 cents.

You get to give them a dollar, you get a quarterback. You can go change back. Spring back those days. Yeah. Last one, I think parking. should be free. Yeah. Unless you're parking at a business downtown.

I get fancy downtown places. And they own the lot. I'm okay with that because I'm like they paid that real estate. But for street parking as a city owns, free. And like places where it used to be free and all of a sudden it's paid now. That makes me angry. Oh, yeah. That's capitalism at its worst.

You're like, so you're telling me all this time you weren't making money off this lot and you were fine with it. And then you're like, wait, but what if we made money? What if we could make some money? Every time someone parked here, then they went inside the store to give them more money. Yes, it's true. It feels like highway robbery. Terrible, terrible, I know. Yep, but unlike highway robbery, you know, a company does not do that.

And they actually are so generous and so wonderful as everyone's credit union. No robberies here. No, no, no. They are a bank, so we don't want them to be robbed. It's the opposite. They also are online, which is the other great convenience. You can't rob an online bank, I realize. I know.

I think do have branches in Orlando where they originated from. But they also pair with credit unions all across the country that you can actually use the ATMs, which is what we love. But I love the ability to switch cash between the checking and the savings. Like it's so...

Instant transfers. They make it so easy. It's all connected. And they are so for the baby steps. Like they want you to win with money. They're not just like pedaling you debt trying to like make more money off of you. They are on your team and on your side.

And to have a bank to do that, George? My gosh. It's just weird, which aligns perfectly. with Ramsey. So we have the, you know, dead as normal be weird debit card. So we have a theme debit card that we launched with them. And we have a new one that says live like no one else.

It's a real conversation starter at checkout, which is what I'm always trying to do, is start a conversation. Nobody wants to talk to me. But hey, check it all out. Get the smart bundle. Go to fairwins.org slash Ramsey or click the link in the description. Okay, George, let's channel this energy into a game. You ready?

Okay. We're going to blind rank five items, five things. Okay. And without knowing what comes next, we have to choose should the item be cost a dollar, $5, $10, $20, or $50. All right. One slot for each. Should you take notes? I have terrible handwriting.

You think yours is bad? Shoot. Yeah. All right. I'll do it. You read the cards. All right. And then I'll write.

So we got to blind, to look at them one at a time and we got to decide where we would put this on the list. If we could reprice this, where would it land? Yep. 15, 10, 2050. Yep. home internet slash smartphone service per month if I had to reprice

internet and smartphones that's a very specific service internet and phone together I think 50 feels fair I was to say 20 for both though internet and phone because normally that's going to cost you like right now I'm paying between the two of those like 105 bucks

so I go if it's half of that I'd be really happy but I'll concede if you think it should be 20 you call the shots I don't think it should be 20 okay but I get to play a card

later on you got this one you pulled rank here we go number two a movie ticket five bucks five bucks 100% 100% if it's 3D

zero dollars why are we still doing 3D movies nobody asked for that wait hold on I missed you misspelled movie or ticket ticket I think how'd you spell it I'm so curious

can you show it I know. I just always said, hold on them. People want to see. You know when you spell something and it looks weird? Is that right? Yeah, that's right. Your handwriting's not that bad, honestly. Ticket. I like that you blend cursive and normal. What's normal writing called? Non-curcissive? Standard. Why am I losing my mind right now? I do go in between each one. Cup of gas station coffee. That's very specific. Oh, a dollar. Yeah, even less if possible. Okay. Gas station coffee generally is terrible. But if I had to pay, I think any cup of coffee should be a dollar. I'd drip coffee. I totally agree. Totally agree. Ooh, haircut.

Do you have a 15 slot? What do you got left on? No, I got 1, 5, 10, 20. I have 10 and 50. 10 and 50 left. Well, I mean, I feel like it has to sit in the 10 slot. It's not going to be 50. If I could reprice a haircut.

Maybe a woman's cut. I know, but my... Your hair is complicated. But they just take a, they just, they put so much effort in. It's like a spa experience for you. Okay, I would say for women, you can do 50 if you want. Yeah, but what do we do, though? What if the next one's big?

See, this would have been a perfect one for me to take the 20 slot and have left the internet and phone at 50. I'd go 10, haircuts. Because we will, we, the kids go to great clips. And I feel like it's not terrible. It's not bad price. Like, sure. You have what you pay for. Yeah, and if you're just getting a trim.

Okay. No shade to the good people at great clips. No, we go. I give them business. All right. We go. So we have one slot. Now whatever's left has to be the $50 slot.

Oh, no. What is it? High school sports game. Oh, $50? How good are these kids? Shoot. You know what? It goes to the kids.

How about this? Actually, that's pretty terrible. That would be horrible. What if half went to teachers for supplies for their classrooms? Amen, how long. Now we're good people. I still think you bift it. Internet and phone should have been at the 50 mark.

And then 20 would have been haircut and Tim would have been high school sports. That would have been more accurate. George. But now we know. I owe you on the next game we play together. That was fun. That was good. Okay.

There's a lot of work for very little payoff. Thank you, team for doing all of that. That was so good. The team never gets thanked these days. They think we just come up with all. ourselves. They're the hard workers. Oh, man. That was fun. Mm-hmm. Are there things that you refuse to pay for in general?

Like, I just feel like a high school sports game should be free. Like, what are we really paying for? It's not like the kids are paid. Yeah, and sell merch and sell snacks, like concessions. Concessions make sense. Make your money there. I agree. I agree. Do you pay for, is that a thing? I've never been to a high school sports game. Yeah, you pay to get in. The surprise of no money. crazy too is nowadays, I hear that you have to, you have a ticket. Oh, no, this is true for even middle school. Because they have a middle school soccer player.

I guess they do. I know. You think she'll go pro? Made the middle school, too. No. Okay. If she's watching it, you could, babe. If you want to.

She definitely could. Like, it would be easy for her, but that may not be what she wants to do. Yeah, I mean, we're not like in travel and stuff. You know what I mean? Yeah. But anyways, I'm so proud of her. But you, yeah, so you. We bought a season ticket, up to six tickets,

for all of the, all of the middle school sports. So you can just, like, buy, does that make sense? Yeah. You buy a package. Just to make sure that your seat is locked in. Yep, for all. So she can go to, like, a football game or she can use it to do volleyball.

We can have up to six to go see her play soccer. Oh, fun. And it's all free. But you pay for, like, the season passed. But what's crazy is, is it's all QR-coded. So these kids that don't have phones yet, right, the big cell phone thing, they can't get into games because it can't be screenchotted. It has to come from the account. So it gets, it kind of... How do you get around that? I know. I'm not sure yet.

We have not crossed that bridge, but we will be problem solvers. We'll be problem solvers and figure it out, but they're all high tech now. What happened to, like having a paper ticket? That's what I'm saying. You know, you go and you give the cash and you walk in. I know. That's all gone. It's all like QR coded now. It's not that hard. I know. It's pretty well. Or a proof on phone that like you have the ticket. Yeah. Well, so. Speaking of sporting event prices, here's a few stats that may shock you. They may not. Okay.

Because you're clearly very sporty. From the year 2000 to the year 2025 year of our lord, prices for admission to sporting events more than doubled, increasing by more than 123%. Good night. That's according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I can't say it. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are you okay? I have had the worst screw ups on this show and they keep it in because it's funny. Statistics.

So relatable. Watching his place. Please. Keep that. He goes, I do this thing like to, I have to like hold my hands like Trump when I say something to focus.

Keep, keep in that card. Of him trying. But you're like, statistics. George, that was the craziest face I've ever seen you make. And we're keeping it in the episode. Keep it all in. But that is wild.

I'm glad that I didn't have to experience that because I've been to very few sporting events in my lifetime. And the ones I have been to, generally someone else was generous enough to invite me. Oh yeah, and they had the ticket. Yeah. Yeah, that is nice. I don't know that I've ever, now what I'm thinking about it, that I've ever paid for a sporting event. Surely. At some point in life, George.

You'd be surprised. You'd be surprised. I'm very well-loved. People just want to invite me to things. Well, if you're saving money on sports, George, you'll have enough to buy a Delete Me annual plan. I might get a few. You should for friends and family. That would be the gift that keeps on giving. That actually would, because Delete Me actually goes in and removes. removes your information from data broker sites. And it keeps, you know, the idea of scammers and spammers and all that at bay, because our information is floating all over the Internet.

So, again, to keep it off, especially those data broker sites, is so important. And that's where it's Leap Me steps in. And I love that they send you a regular report showing you what they've removed, how much time they've saved you. It's the real deal. Real data privacy experts behind the scenes all year long, saving you so much time and headache. And when everything's expensive, I like a promo code. So we got one for our listeners out there.

You can get 20% off an annual plan at join deleteme.com slash smart money, or you can use the link in the description. I'll be honest too. When you get that report in your inbox, it is one of the best feelings. I sleep better the night I get the report. Genuinely. Like when I see that, I always show Wednesday. I'm like, hey, look at this.

So like it is so, so helpful. That is one thing that we pay for that I don't regret. I love it. Okay. Well, I will say there's some good news to all of this. There's actually things today that are cheaper today. than they used to be. That is true.

It is wonderful. The advancements in technology have made it so. We can gasp, yes. Okay, music. Oh, yeah. It is cheaper. Do you remember you'd have to go to salmon goodies and buy the full CD? Oh, yeah, we had one called Strawberries.

That was our Boston edition. Oh, there was a store called Strawberry with clothing, but different one. This is Strawberries, plural. Oh. Don't know where the name came from. That's where I went and got all my CDs. Did you have a Salmon Goodies where y'all lived? I don't know that we had one.

Okay, that was in the law. And I remember, I remember. What albums were you buying back then? I have a vivid memory, y'all. And I wish I knew I could probably look it up what year it was. I got a $100 bill for my grandparents, which was a lot. And I took three Mariah Carey CDs. I bought Butterfly, Hero, and is it a music box, all three put it up.

And I think I got like $9 back. Three CDs. Yes. How was that possible? 25 bucks a CD, I guess. It was a lot. Yes. You got ripped.

And taxes and all of it But I remember that feeling And being like, I just spent all my money on three more cases And even when it went digital I mean you still had to pay for the album iTunes was like a dollar per song

Or you could buy the whole album for like 10 bucks Now we have unlimited access to all of the music in the world For like $12.99. I know who I do feel bad though for as artists Oh yeah, they're getting pennies And we're here in Nashville So you know we're friends with some of them And it is

That is sad Like that's a hard That's a hard business to be in this. I can tell you this. as someone who actually has an album on Spotify. Can I tell you how much I make every month? Because it's consistent. I consistently will make $10 to $13 per month.

Which is... Who's buying it? No one's buying it. First of all, rude. Genuinely, though, that's like... That's like streaming. A lot of streaming royalties. Who I mean, for all that, George? Is it...

You think it's like fans of Smart Money Happy Hour in your show? And they're like, oh my gosh, George is also a musician? Well, I think here's what... Can I be honest with you? Yeah. So if you search George Camel on Spotify or Apple Music, so if you're searching for my show on Spotify, for example, before you see the show, my music album shows up.

So it says artist, George Camel, right under podcast. So if you click there, 301 monthly listeners consistently. Oh my gosh. So they come back. They want more. Look at that. I remember that CD. Take it back.

How many listeners do you have a month? On my music. Yeah. And it was from 2012. So that's not bad. That's impressive. For a guy who hasn't, you know, touched an instrument in 14 years. Amen.

Okay. Well, that's one thing. That is tough. Okay. GPS navigation. Oh. So do you remember, now it's like, you know, an app on your phone. Do you remember when the garments came out?

Oh, my gosh. We thought we made it. You used that to print out MapQuest. Yep. With your written directions. That felt dangerous. Okay, you're flipping and flopping. You got your CD case.

You're Mariah Carey trying to switch in and out. I remember like the Magellan maps my parents would buy. Okay. Yeah. Like Ray and McNally or whatever. I mean, it was crazy that we'd open these maps in the passenger seat blocking the driver's view.

And be like, I think we're on 95. What highway to go on. Can you imagine like a Gen Z or Gen Alpha trying to figure out how those maps work? Yeah, no. They're very confusing. That's to honestly read a map.

And to know where you are? Yes. Nearly impossible. Mile markers. That's what I always like. And now forget Garmin. We've got it loaded up on Apple Carplace. You got your...

Do you use Apple Maps or Google Maps? That tells me a lot about you. Google Maps. That's a good woman right there. Yeah. Who uses... Apple Maps is crazy. I don't like it. And you know what I don't like either?

Waze. Oh, not a Ways person. No. It just feels like there's a lot going on. Yeah, and I don't need like all the bubbles and all the people and the crowns. Everyone has a crown but me. And I'm like, why do you have a crown? Yeah, they're asking so much of you.

They're like, hey, can you check if there's a cop up there? Yeah. And I'm like, this is a... I'm busy. Hey, how much is the gas station you just... Just leave me alone, let me get there. I just drive it. Stop asking me questions.

I'm just driving. No, I will say there's like a bad wreck. That's the time I will hop on. I'll double check with words. And I'm like, okay, let me just see. But yeah, Google Maps. That's a good one. It's the way to go.

We're not paying for navigation. We're paying with our data that they're using. That's right. Okay, encyclopedias and dictionaries are on here because... Oh, remember the collection? Well, I will say, guess who bought every child a set of... I don't know. I'm tired.

It's been a long day. Who bought a set of encyclopedias. You? No. Oh. For Christmas, for my kids. Dave Ramsey. Close.

Sharon Ramsey? Yes. Sharon Ramsey bought her grandchildren. We have encyclopedias. Yes, that is now on our bookshelves for the kids. It's like children's encyclopedia. This was like post-2020. No, this past Christmas, George.

And she's like, this is good for you guys. with books, she's big into books and all of it. And like, yeah, we have encyclopedias. I mean, not like the, not the kind that, like, your grandparents had. Yeah, I'm thinking the thick books. Yeah, yeah, no, no, it's like colors. Like, and they're thinner, but it's like animals, geogger. It's all these different, like, themes.

Love it. And big pictures, all of it. Like, they're really beautiful, but full on set of kids encyclopedias. Yeah. They don't make them like they used to. Thank you, Sharon Ramsey. You're going to the school library and having to do research. Oh, yeah.

And you didn't have internet. Like, we didn't have internet. You went and pulled off encyclopedias to look up science. Just flipping pages trying to find a source for your bibliography that was due in the next day. Yes, I remember that in middle school? Terrible. You remember bibliography how awful that was? It took me just as long to write the paper as it did to, like, form the bibliography by Chicago AP standards.

Taxes. Taxes. It's crazy. It would have been better people. Come on public school. Got an A-minus because I didn't do the bibliography right. Oh, that makes me so mad. So sorry for you. That's a good one. Now we have Google and AI, so we don't even need to ever own those anymore.

Phone calls. The per minute? Man. And the per text? And the long distance when we'd call my pap-all-mamma. And it was long distance. Are you kidding me? Long distance.

Straight to jail. Yes. Pay phones? I miss that. I do love a good pay phone. The buttons always clicked right. Yeah. But then I thought I'm probably going to get Tetanus somehow. No. It just felt like we shouldn't.

be touching this. Do you know what? Home alone, that movie just feels like a payphone to me. The whole thing. Like when they're in the airport. It's giving payphone energy. And they have the book, your book, your contacts book. Did your mom have a contact book? Yeah, a little rolodex.

Yep. Simpler times. You'll collect call. Man, you got to collect call from Rachel Cruz. She ain't paying for this call? If I'm in jail, that's how I'm going to have to call you, George. Oh my gosh. If you are calling me from prison,

tells me that everyone else in your life has abandoned you. If everybody abandons me, George, you still have to be my friend. It depends on what you're in jail for. No. No. Any reason. Any reason. I'll bail you out.

Thank you. All right. The next one, photography. Oh. Like paying to take the roll of film, over to the Walgreens, the CVS, get it developed. Are you ready for this? I bought, because I thought I was a cool mom. Amelia. Actually, all my kids, but Amelia, who's the most?

disposable cameras for the summer. So I'm like, take some, I had like six and I was like, I bought them off Amazon. And Amelia brought two of them to D.C. when we went on a trip the summer to D.C. So I take them to Walgreens, George, to get them developed. Guess how long it takes now to get a disposable camera.

Get your pictures back. Guess. I'm going to go two weeks. Nope. A month? Well, Go in weeks. That's what she told me. Three weeks. No.

Four weeks. No. Six weeks. No. Five? That's such a random amount of time. Five. Five weeks. Make it four or six. They have to send it off. And she said there's only a couple of places now in the country that do it. So they have to send it off. Yes. That might be a business I start. Start developing some cameras.

So I am paying for photography, apparently. Well, you know, Costco got rid of their photo area. Yeah. So you've got to go to like shutterfly now to do it. To get all your pictures. And then who's going to do that? It's so much work. Maybe I should have done that with the disposable cameras.

Yeah. There are companies where there's like an app and you can just upload your photo from your phone and they'll send them to you physically. Okay. So that's fun. I know. Man. Photo album days. Remember our parents had pictures of us from our youth?

Oh. Like we're not going to do that. And like blurry. You know, they're not like good. Yeah. But there they are. I know. Some precious moments captured.

So sad. Now we have a thousand on our phone we'll never even look at. No. And they're like eight of the same picture. Because you had to get them right. I'm so that. Terrible. Well, kids don't look at the camera, so it's hard to capture it.

Yeah, that's true. Wow. Okay. Let's talk about fees. This is a big one. I think hotel parking, that should be an illegal fee. Oh. Like, I just did this.

I am paying to stay your hotel. Illegal. Why am I paying to park in your lot on top of paying to stay at your hotel? I agree. check bags on an airplane that one you're paying for a ticket just put my bag under the

under the plane I gotta share something with you because I shared this on Smart Money Happy Hour I dog Southwest I said they used to be a good airline a pilot from Southwest in the lobby it was like hey big fan

wrote you a letter and he heard me dog Southwest and was not pleased with it but he was very nice and so he gave me like a promo code for like money off my next flight so pays to be the squeaky wheel

You're terrible. I don't like you. When you charge... I won't fly you anymore. I'll just give you my promo code. You fly more than me. I got nowhere to go. What if I get money on my next flight?

But it was very kind of him. But it did make me think the check bags on Southwest used to be free and it was like the best thing. It was so good. They just warmed our hearts. And they have to pay. No one checks a bag.

So they all take carry on, which means nothing fits. Which means you have to check your bag anyways at the gate. All of it. It's just not a good, not a good cycle. Not a fan. I'm going to go textbooks. Oh, that's a good one.

Remember in college? How expensive textbooks? You're paying for everything. And then in order to study the class that you're already paid, you have to pay money on top of it. And you're not even reading the whole textbook. Get out of town. They go through a couple of chapters to pass a test,

and then the textbook is over and you sell it for like a fraction of what you paid for it. You know what's a real scam, though, is professors write their own textbooks and then force you to use that textbook. Oh, that feels like double-dipping. Do they get a royalty for it? 100%. I feel like that should be illegal. They're game in the system.

Very self-serving. They're game in the system. It's like if Reese Witherspoon started writing books for her book club. Yes. And then you had to read that book. Had to read the book. All right, I'm going to go, something in the child care arena. Okay.

So I'm thinking. making below a certain amount single mom or single parent I'll go single parent like elements of all of that free but if you're making like a million bucks a year you should pay more for daycare not more but like like a sliding scale yes for child care because I think

there's an element that people have to have that to survive to make money true to go to their job especially a single parent. That would be so hard. So, yeah. I do think there should be like, you know, some program or a grant that could help out those that

really, like, you look at their budget, like that's half of their income gone to daycare. Yes. But why not just make daycare part of the public education system to where it's free through taxes? You could, but I would say, depending on your area,

just like public schools, which is tough, is if you get in, if you don't live in a great area because you can't afford, like, are you okay dropping your baby? Like, I think there's elements of like, who gets the better not you know what I mean like then it's like well the rich people pay for their fancy private daycares

yeah yeah yeah so I'm like kids eat caviar I don't know what they're doing at these daycares I ain't caviar prosciutto I know I don't have the answers George that is a tough one a mom a working mom something in that area I don't know we gotta figure it out that's a tough one

convenience fees is another one that bothers me because I go to shows and things and like what what is this what for the convenience of me doing all the work to make this checkout process happen for you? Yeah, silly. $9 a ticket? It's crazy.

Yeah. Well, one thing that I will pay for that I don't think is illegal is anything from Cozy Earth. It should be a mandate. It should be a mandate. Everyone should own something from Cozy Earth. You know what? If you go to jail, they should have a prison issue cozy Earth set. You know what I mean?

Listen, it would make the joy more enjoyable. I can see you peddling Cozy Earth in prison. Stop. That's your side vessel. You can be like, you can use our promo code. You can go to cozy earth.com slash smart money. I would tell everybody. Regardless of who it is, I would tell everybody.

We all deserve luxury quality in our lives. For 20% off, use the promo. I like this. But for real, the pajamas, the sheets, the robes, the athleisure, all of it. It's just, it is so quality. Don't forget the clogs. Love my lakehouse clogs. He loves a clog.

Didn't know I'd be a clog guy at the stage of life, but Cozy Earth, they changed that for me. They changed your life. Thanks, Cozy Earth. Thanks, Cozy Earth. Again. Check it out. Yep. Go to CozyEarth.com slash smart money.

Use the promo code smart money for 20% off. And if you use the post-purchase survey, make sure to say that you heard about it here on Smart Money Happy Hour. All right, what do we think, George? Well. Things are expensive. That's how I feel. I think if we don't laugh, we cry.

And so sometimes you just got to go, it do be expensive and take a laugh and then go budget. That's the next step. I think there's an element of just complaining about things is not productive. It feels good for the moment. I know. But at some point we've got to go, yep, this sucks.

What are we going to do about it? And that's where just increasing the budget, trying to go make more money and get your core income up. Yes. To afford the life that you want. Yeah, and when you're talking about long-term savings, you know, like a great high-yield savings account's awesome, but also making sure that you're investing for the future

and making a higher rate of return so that you are beating inflation is big. And when you run the numbers, even with investing, it's amazing. So we'll actually put a link down for our investing calculator for you to check out because it is incredible. When you look over the long haul of investing, what that can get you.

Because we never know, when you're 65, we don't know what parking is going to cost. So investing now and getting money. Can you imagine what a sporting event's going to cost when we're in our 60s? It's going to be wild. But I do love that. Like a dollar at the age of 20 invested is $73 at 65.

So that's encouraging that, that that's the return you can make when you leave money sitting there to grow for you. And so there's a balance. You got to invest for the future. You got to live right now. And that's where the budget helps you figure all that out. Because everything's a priority. Yep.

The vacation, the car upgrade, the daycare, the food, the bills. But then also retirement and our future goals and saving up for the down payment. So all of that matters. And I just like that a budget is the way you actually accomplish it. So we'll drop a link to every dollar or budgeting app in the description as well if you want to check that out. All right. Before we get to our guilty is charged segments, let's share. the details of the drink, George.

Yeah, this is a peach julip. You did a lot better than I did. I liked it. But I was busy carrying this episode, so I didn't have a lot of time to... I'm not in jail now. I am here and present. You were very busy. You handled the board, which I appreciate.

I'm trying to get an accurate read on this drink. I can't really tell what it's trying to be. That's fair. It feels confused. Yes. But I like it. I'm going nine out of a lot. of 10 for me. What? Yeah.

Yeah. Cut back to her reaction at the start of the episode when she first took a sip. All right. Yeah. I know. That was not a 9 out of 10 face. I'm happy. I'm going to go 4 out of 10.

Wow. Really? Here's the thing. I'm mainly tasting whiskey, which is not bad. But at that point, let me just drink whiskey neat. But then it's kind of like muddied with the, it's got real peaches in it, which I appreciate. Thank you, team. It's got simple syrup.

peach puree, which I'm not getting a whole lot of, whiskey and then some mint. And it all sounds wonderful. I just wanted a little bit more of everything. Okay. And it just wasn't there for me today. All right. It's fair. The cost is $2.26 per glass, which I think is worth it.

I think if I made this at home, I could amplify it all. You at all. It's make it better, George. I do make a mean cocktail at home. Yes. That's my weekend thing. Like Saturday night. I remember when I came and saw Henry, you made.

That's right, gin and tonics. Yes. And you were like, I have this new fancy tonic. And I was like, Whitney, good if I say, for hanging out. It was Empress gin. It's purple. And when you add it to the tonic and it becomes sort of this nice blue hue, it's a really pretty. Yep, yep.

You do make great cocktails, George. Well done. Appreciate that. Get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend if you're of age. All right. Now it's time for guilty as charged. And this is where we ask each other a guilty's charged question every week.

And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, are you guilty of having any count? categories in your budget that 25-year-old you would be shocked by. Wow. Okay, so I'm thinking through my budget line items. I'm going to have to go to mine. There's a lot there. That's funny.

I'll give you the one that stands out to me that I think 25-year-old George, any year-old George would be upset by. Okay. Doggy Daycare. I think we'd be like, hey, dude, what happened, man? What happened? That's fair. Who hurt you?

But it's not only Doggy Daycare, it's that that line item, is higher than my own daughter's Mother's Day Out program, which means I'm paying more for someone to hang out with my dogs than my own child. You are choosing, you are choosing the life that you have. That is unbelievable. You sound like my therapist. That is unbelievable. But I think it's worth it.

Okay. How about you? I'm going to go with just this month. Is that okay? Because this was one that changed. Was this a big month? Was this a big month? five-year-old you would be shocked.

We're not thinking about it. I paid for, there's a, I'm not promoting the company just in case like, I don't know. Hashtag not a sponsor. Not a sponsor, yeah, yeah. Function health.

Have you heard of function health? Yes. Okay, I'm doing it. I've seen the ads for it. And I fell, not fell for, it was good, I chose to, buy the like free cancer,

no, the pre-cancerist screening so they can like test your blood all this. And I just thought, you know, if you have the capabilities of that, and I know it's like false positive, like all my medical friends are like, yeah, but make sure that, and I'm like, okay, I get it, I get it. The medical community at large is not a fan of these, it seems. I don't know. I don't think so. But I did it, and it did cost more than maybe average.

But I thought, if I'm going to be spending money and if I'm living like no one else, why would I not? Why would I not just see if something came up? Why would you not? Why would I not pay for it? But I think if I saw that, 25-year-old me would be like, Rachel, chill. Chill, you're fine. And I want to be like, no, 25-year-old Rachel.

You got to take care of yourself. You're about to be 40. and stuff starts changing. Stuff starts changing. You got to be on top of your health. And I just was not very health conscious. That's amazing. I think when I first started at Ramsey, you were 25.

That's weird to think about. I probably was. And you would have been 25. I started in 2013, which puts you at 25. Wow. Game point match. I think is what they say. That's pretty good.

That's pretty crazy. But I think he'd be happily shocked by like how well I'm doing. He'd be like, man, good for you, dude. Yes, I would say that too. Look at you. Yep. I would agree with that. He'd be like, way to like delegate everything in your life to someone else.

Way to get the lawn guy on payroll, you know? Doggy daycare. Doggy daycare. Why not? Let them socialize. Let them. Why do they have to stay home their whole life? Why can't they see the world?

They should. And it's someone's house. They're not actually going to like a daycare. I want to make that very clear. Well. They're just going to a neighbor's house. Semantics. Tomato.

It's just, it's. Sounds like they're going to a pet resort or something. It's not a pet resort. That's pretty good. All right. Well, if you have a great, guiltiest charge question for us, we love them.

So DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel, and we screenshot them and text it to our producer, Jenna. So please do that. And if you enjoyed this episode, you're going to love our next episode, Common Money Wasters, the average American falls for.

We will link up for you. And make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of. Smart Money Happy Hour. Thank you.