Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Calling Out the Biggest Money Wasters of All Time

Episode Date: June 25, 2026

💰 Find extra money in just two weeks with our Money Finder Challenge!   We’ve all fallen for a scheme or two on our worst day, but the important question is: How much of your hard-earned cash is still being snatched by these common money wasters? Stay tuned to find out!Next Steps: ·   🎙️ Catch our episode Financial Experts Rank the Worst Spending Habits ·   🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour ·   📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Leave us a voicemail with your question at 877-306-1517 or 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.  ·   💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar.   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: 🍹🌼 Gin Daisy Recipe by: Kristiwithatwist   ·   2 ounces gin ·   0.75 ounces orange liqueur ·   0.75 ounces lemon juice ·   0.25 ounces grenadine ·   club soda Instructions: Add gin, orange liqueur, lemon juice, and grenadine to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. Strain into a glass over ice and top with club soda.     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

Today we're calling out common money wasters we've all fallen for. Are these products worth the hype or just a cash grab? Let's find out. If anything, I'm like, you are so obnoxious. And that silly joke turned into $6 million for a doll within months. You will not win the lottery. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Campbell.

And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Cheers. Take me now, Lord. Delish. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. But first, let's talk about what we're sipping on.

This is a gin daisy. A gin daisy. A really good-looking drink. If you're watching on YouTube or Spotify, you will appreciate... What a bright name with a bright drink. And a bright future. And a bright future for us here for the next hour. Stick around.

We'll give you the rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode. Love it. Okay, George. What's the easiest most low effort money you have ever made? Oh, wow. What was the thing you did? And you're like, that took no effort. Like, I really shouldn't have made that money.

Yes. It felt like a scam that I pulled off. That you pulled off. Wow. Well, when I was getting out of debt, I signed up to drive for Uber and Lyft. And they had like just come to Nashville. So it was kind of newer. And they had these bonuses where they would literally pay you $1,000 extra if you did like seven

rides. And so I went, yeah, absolutely. So I did the seven rides. Boom, $1,000 in my bank account. Oh, so like super quick, yes. Yeah. And so then like Lyft came to town or Uber, whatever the other was and they said, hey, they basically wanted to poach the other drivers. So Lyft wanted to poach the Uber driver. So I said, hey, we'll pay you $1,000 to switch from Uber to Lyft and drive with us and do rides. So I did that. I made another $1,000. That's got to be the easiest money. What a cash grab. Now, I did have to drive people around on Broadway in Nashville at, you know, PM on a Friday night. Do you have any horror stories of that? There was a few, you know, people want to like come into your car with their alcohol and I know like it's not illegal, but I wasn't comfortable

with it. Okay. And so there was some incidents where I had to be a little bit. Especially on Broadway. Yeah. And people, you know, they've been drinking. Which is fine. Get in the Uber. That's why we have Uber and Lyft. That's why George is driving to be, to be good for society. And then another one, like, you know, the Bachelorette party show up. Oh my goodness. They got like six people and I have like my little Chevy Cobalt, which fits maybe four on a good day. And they're packing in illegally, and I'm like, this feels safe. This feels safe. Double buckle, ladies.

Double buckle. So I don't miss those days, but it was worth every penny to get those bonuses. That's good. That's good. Let's flip the question. What is the most low effort product you've ever bought? Like, you ever think about how dumb it is? You paid $6.99 for a little card, like a little folded piece of paper for someone's birthday.

You know it always gets me tissue paper. Oh, that's a racket. Man, and I'm horrible. I don't keep it. My mom and sister lay theirs out. after gifts and refold. Not me. And then I'm stuck being like,

I have gift bags galore, but no tissue paper. Yeah, I hate that. That's a, that's a hard one. Yeah, well, I have a rule. If it's rumpled enough,

I'm not going to reuse it. You don't have standards. You don't look tacky. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, that's fair. But I will try to collect it after, you know, Christmas, especially,

all those gifts that get ripped open. I'm like folding the bags. You sound like sharing. Got the trash bag, putting all the wrapping paper collecting. that's me. Me and Sharon should really just hang out at Christmas. All the time.

You guys would be taken bags. I do love a good gift back, though. I really do. Those are also expensive. You're like, well, I got to add this to the gift budget now. Well, I saw a blog about nostalgic, lucrative toys that were extremely low effort. For example, the pet rock. Yes.

You brought this back to real life somehow with a prank on Dave Ramsey. The anthropology rock. Yes, I do. Explain that. It's one of my greater moments. Some people still don't even understand, and they watched your video. Well, so there was a prank going around of a joke of majority women opening a gift of a rock in front of usually said male family member. So, husband, dad, whoever.

And as you open the gift, it's just a rock, like a rock from a yard. But everyone, all the women that are in on the joke kind of freak out. And they're like, oh my gosh, that's the anthropology. Because true story, anthropology was selling rocks for like 200. I didn't know that. It actually, it came from a real thing. Anthropology was selling rocks for like hundreds of dollars, which was so stupid. So then the joke came.

So everyone's just getting a rock from their yard, wrapping it up and opening it. So I did it at Christmas. And my sister gave, my sister-in-law gave me my Christmas present, which was a rock from their yard that I opened. And I did a masterful performance, shall I say. She got me the hand to the rock. What? The anthropology from the volcanic collection.

What? Should I be an actress? Oscar award-winning performance. About how amazing because it's been sold out. And like this is part of the volcanic collection. I went on and on about this thing. And Dave, my dad was like, what? What?

And we're like, yeah. And I think we up the price. I think we said it was like $1,200 or something crazy. I think it was like in the video. And he's like, what? you know, I can go to the yard and get a call it a ram rock and sell it, you know. And so he goes on and on. And then he said at one point.

It's a rock. Man, you've got a great. But you know, it's not completely anywhere. Yeah, I close it's a real weird. Why what? Why a rock is a thousand dollars? It's the anthro rock. Because what's an anthro?

Antropology. I know. It's a brand. Yes. So it's a pet rock. No. It's a pet rock. Is that basically what it is?

Because you can just set it anywhere. I'm like, yeah, you can set it anywhere. Like on your coffee table. Yeah, on your mantle. Looks great anywhere in the house. But he mentioned pet rock, which was a throwback to what the 70s, like when he was a kid. Yeah, 1975. Here's the back story.

Okay, give me the backstory. Gary Dahl had the idea to sell rocks as pets. I imagine Gary was under the influence of something in 1975 to come up with this. Just like the Beatles. came up with all their songs, Gary came up with a pet rock. Oh my gosh. So they came in a cardboard box with breathing holes in a training manual. Now that's creativity.

I don't think I knew that. He marketed it as a hassle-free pet and quickly became a gag gift trend. And that silly joke turned into $6 million for doll within months. And that's in the 70s. In the 70s. So with inflation, probably $80 million today. Doing great. That's pretty crazy.

So I thought it would be fun quickly to look at the rest. rest of the article's list of ridiculous things that made a ton of money. Including the hula hoop. Oh, we love a hula hoop. Created in 1958. All right, by Arthur and Richard. It took a duo to come up with that. Look at that.

That's not a solo project. Well, was inspired by Australian children using bamboo hoops for exercise, and they made a plastic version, sold 25 million units in four months. Guess who has three hula hoops in her garage right now? Rachel Nicole Cruz My girls can Hula Hoop Like it's impressive That's awesome

And I imagine it is a pretty good workout I think so But it is still childhood nostalgia The HuluC is still around There's something so simple about it It's silly And pure, you know There's no screen with a hula hoop

There's no instruction manual Just got to figure it out You're just trying to impress your friends And beat whoever else has the Hula hoop You can do it on the arm Oh yeah Yeah the neck I'd like to see you do the Hulu Hoop.

We should have had a Hula Hoop for this episode. Hulu Hoop competition. I think I would have won. All right. Next up, we've got the Snuggie. Scott Boylan took a basic concept, a blanket with sleeves, made a fortune. Launched in 2008, became a household name. Over 30 million Snuggies sold, generating more than $500 million.

The Snuggie. That's like 10% of Americans owned a Snuggie. I know. And it did have like a, you know, those like Cal Necks sweaters. Oh, yeah. Some of them did have that. It's a little stylish. I never had one, did you?

No. I don't know. I think my parents were too Middle Eastern, like, what's wrong with a blanket? Like, why do we have to... Why do we need armholes? Why do we need armholes? Yeah. Just snuggy.

Okay, how about the slinky? This is another good one. A slinky down the stairs cannot be beat. Isn't it great? It is a magic trick. I love a slinky. Okay, so Richard James invented the slinky by accident. By accident, when he dropped a tension spring.

Classic. There you go. The toy co. would walk downstairs and was an instant hit. Three billion in sales because of the slinky. That's pretty wild. And this might be my favorite because we owned one, the chia pet. Oh, never had the chia pet.

So Joe Padot created a clay figure that grows green sprouts, resembling hair when watered, available in various shapes, including animals and famous personalities. Yeah, so like different heads, yeah. Yeah, fun fact, in a video spoof, we made a Dave Ramsey Chia Pet. You did? Yeah, not in person, but like digital. Oh.

It was Dave's face on a cheap event. I don't know that he ever found out about it, but he wouldn't like it. Dave with hair. That was the funny part, is it grows green hair. It was just the sides of Dave's? That's a good question. Should have been. Looking back, I'll have to find it.

Should have been good. 500,000 units sold every holiday season. Oh my gosh. Okay, last is the Magic 8 ball. Love a Magic 8 ball. Originally invented as a fortune-telling tool in the 1940s by Albert C. Carter created it. inspired by his mother's, ooh.

Claervoyance. That's kind of spooky. A little sick sensibilities. I don't like that at all. Today, it's owned by Mattel, which sells about a million eight balls every year. I'm trying to picture someone going like, we're going to the store to buy a magic eight ball.

I know. I guess you just see it. Do eight balls freak you out? Are you good with them? No, but where it came from freaked me out. Like what was inspired by, his mother's clairvoyance. I don't know.

Don't love that. A lot of high. products that I would say, we're not worth the money, but we're fun at the time. Some fun hype behind it. Yeah, and again, the nostalgia play. Like, these are still around. Yeah. Which is so impressive. And did they bring you joy for the price you paid? Sure. Potentially. Yeah, as a kid. Absolutely. But they're probably in a goodwill or a landfill somewhere now. I know. That is sad. Hashtag pollution. Sorry. Sorry. Yeah, but one thing I am still paying for that I appreciate, though, is delete me.

There we go. Because... No nostalgia there. No, this is a... No hype. Yeah, the nostalgia toys was for the past. This is now for the present. For the future and the present.

In 2026, you got to protect your online safety, you guys. And data brokers will collect your data from companies and then end up selling your data to other companies. And that puts you at risk for scams and fraud and fishing and all the stuff. And so, delete me, goes through those data broker sites and removes it. And your data could be everything from, like, your home address, your old home addresses, phone numbers, kids' names, email addresses. There's so much information out there.

So getting all that wiped clean continually, so big. Yes. And if you shook the magic eight ball and said, will my data be bought and sold? Yes. It's going to say yes. Will delete me help clean it up and keep it gone? 1,000% yes. Of course is what it's going to say.

Of course. We need a smart money happy hour eight ball. That's just so positive. It's like your best friend who's just always co-signing your worst. decisions. Yes, George. Go, George, go. Go, George, go. Oh, wow, it's just for me now. It has my name on it. Yeah, and mine will be like, Rachel, you're the best. I'm like, thank you.

You're so relatable and friendly. How do you do it all? That's great. Well, hey, go check out, delete me. No magic eight ball included, but it's well worth it. Joindeletme.com slash smart money, and you'll get 20% off their annual plans. There you go. Well, it's all fun in games until you're wasting your money on something. that honestly as an adult you look up you're like

why are we buying this stuff because there's so much stuff today George that they can be sold to you and you are like

it's like bait and switch and I've done it but you look up you're like man that was I don't know if that was worth it

yeah and a big one expensive subscriptions and fitness apps I think it was like COVID this really hit everyone yes

they're like we're stuck at home we're out of shape and we go yeah I'll buy Palaton. Yes. Why not? I do remember all the free weights. Like all exercise equipment was sold out for Oh, that's right. No one could get anything. Do you remember that? Luckily I was not in the market for a dumbbell. I don't think I was either at that time. No, I was not either. But I remember people talking

about that. You couldn't get free weights. I mean, you could get nothing. Like it was wild. Yeah. And now we have like these aura rings. Have you seen those? Yes. I don't know if they're worth the hype. I feel like people who have them are like, oh, it's amazing. Okay. So I've thought about it. Number one, I don't think they're that cute. And it kind of messes up my, Even though I didn't wear on my rings today. But like it messes up my... Your vibe. Your feng shui.

Yeah, my rings... Talk about woo-woo. Look at you. Yeah. And I don't like anything that tracks my sleep I've decided. Is it creepy or is it just unhelpful? I can't sleep when it's happening because I keep being like, Rachel, get a good score. Get a good score.

You're so performative. And it stresses me out. I'm not kidding. I'm like, go to sleep, Rachel, get a good score. And then I see the clock. It's 10.30. I'm like, oh my gosh. You get sleep anxiety from wearing the sleep device. I'm not kidding. I've done it. Yes. I've had multiple and I'm like, I just don't sleep good with it.

Because I'm like, when am I going to wake up? And then I think it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think you wake up and you see 49 and you're like, I am so tired. I only got a 49 sleep score. Where before, if you didn't really know, I don't think you'd know. Well, for years. And I think you can tell yourself. I swear. Your body has told you if you go to bed late and you drink, you're probably not going to sleep great. I don't need a score to tell me that's right absolutely yes and like I don't know where it's like you have this it's just unhelpful information nothing about what I would do would change I try to

always go to bed early yeah and I like I won't change you have great sleep hygiene because of it's well I don't know about that but I might I mean I'm not against it I'd be willing to try it Peloton we used it we had the subscription it felt expensive for me not using it and so then we got rid of the subscription and sold the Peloton do you miss it no but I I'm also out of shape, so I can't really speak. Aren't you all exercising at home now? That's a nice thought. I appreciate that.

I thought y'all were doing stuff like in your garage. I thought y'all bought. Everyone around, like all of my neighbors like have like their garage gym. Okay, you should ask, do you have a neighbor that you really like and enjoy? Yes. But he's like, what time do you work out? He's like usually like five, five 30. I was like, never mind.

I was like, can I roll up to your house at eight? George, you could do it. No, go it. Yes, wake up early. I'll try. With the friends. The one that I want, which I'm going to fall for this is the tonal. Have you seen that?

It's like the one that goes on the wall. They're so expensive. Is it the mirror one? Is it the mirror one? And the mirror shows you? Yeah, that's a gap. I wouldn't do it, George. That feels gimmicky, but then people have it,

or like it changed my life. If you're not working out now with just some bands and free weights that you could get, you're not going to do that. You're not going to do that. Okay, but this one's more on my wheelhouse. Ring doorbell camera. Yes.

I don't have a ring. I'm a simply safe guy, but I have a very, I have an aversion to going to the front door if there's like a solicitor. Oh, for sure. So I talk through the doorbell if I have to. Usually I'll just wait and see if they leave. Funny, funny. My girls did, they got a 2026 wake-up call.

They went in ding-dong ditched, a little boy. No. A few of their little friends. Like, let's go to so-and-so's house. Anyways, Molly was like, we rang the doorbell like five times and went in the bushes. And then his mom came, which she wasn't mad, but his mom came on. She was like, hi, girls. So-and-so isn't here.

We're gone. And Amelia was like. Frank ruins. We talked to miss so-and-so through the doorbell, and I was like, oh my gosh, welcome to 2026 girls. Yeah, you can't ding-dong days. The kids can't have any fun anymore. You can't ding-dong dance.

That is my least. Now I have an infant who's like sleeping, you know what I mean? That's bothersome. And dogs who go crazy if the doorbell rings. I'm like an old man, George. So I have a little sign. I have a sign that says, do not disturb, do not ring. Okay, I get it.

It's basically a death threat on my doorbell camera. Yeah, I get. Yeah. The nap time is precious through certain years of that baby stage. Yeah. Yeah. I get it. Because if Henry had a sleep, sleep score.

Oh, bless it. Who knows what it would be? He's a rough sleeper like dad. What would he be? What would his sleep score be? Right now is zero. No, so. It's a struggle.

Is it Henry? Well, putting him down, it's like an hour and a half. And you're like, dude, come on, please. Do you all do any level of cried out? I'm starting to leave him in the crib for a little bit, watch the monitor, go back in if he starts losing it, you know. Okay. But Whitney's like the Caesar Milan of baby, so she can get him down much easier than I can. Oh, okay.

I think he senses my tense. I smell you or something. Yeah, he smells my fear. Your fear. 100%. So I'm not great at it. 100%. But the self-care industry feels like a cash grab in general.

Oh, yeah. No. This is, the thing is that they come out with something that's like slightly different every time. So it's like under eye cream, upper eye cream for a hooded. Oh, especially for the women. Yeah. Hooded lid. Hooded lids.

Yeah, hooded lids. Is that a thing? Yes. Oh, yeah. And then you got your crow's feet cream. every, there's like five creams per one eye. Everything says anti-aging now. If you choose, and I don't.

I have a horrible skincare routine. I don't do a lot. Okay. You don't have like a favorite product that you want to mention? I'm glad you asked George. I do. I actually bought a product. So I always just washed my face with face wash and that's it.

Okay. I don't, I tried like a few years ago to do like all like the five steps and then I'm a horrible follow-thruer. I get really excited. This is my toxic trait. I get really excited about something and I'm really great. at it for like two months and then it's never again. So I did find one product though that I loved. That's worth the hype. And it's a little bougie. So sorry everyone if you go look it up.

Don't be upset. I'm just not, I'm not going to, what do they call it. I'm not going to guard it. I'm not going to hide it. Gate keep it. I'm not going to gate keep it. Don't guard your heart. It's skin. Don't guard your heart. I'm not going to guard my skin care. It's skin suiticles. Oh man, I need to look up the actual name of it. It's like the moisturizing. It's a white, the white label, and it's a dropper. You do three, I do three droppers a night, and you blend it in, and it's almost like an oil, but it's an eye, swear to you, my complexion, the moisture. It's the best single thing that I have stuck with. Wow. Love it. So, that's all I do. I don't do eye cream, I don't do anything else. That's impressive. It's a very

minimalist approach. It is really amazing. It is really amazing. So that one I will do. I have a more involve skincare routine than you do, which is not a surprise to anybody. What do you do, George? I mean, I do face wash in the shower. Okay. I have a beard wash in the shower. I use a keels. Okay. Okay. Beard wash. A beard wash. Not shampoo. Not a shampoo. No, because your beard is a very specific type of... No, it's not. Yeah, it's different. It's different. It's different. Then I use a setafil. It has an SPF 30. I do love a set afield. I do love a set of time. and then Saravei at night the Saravee PM one at night

These are great products actually And a little witch hazel You know who loves witch hazel? Because I don't wash my face at night I don't like so much water I'm just covering myself in water I don't know how we wash their face in the sink I'm literally confused

I am covered It can get messy It's fair, that's fair Yeah yeah yeah anyways You know who loves which hazel Who? Sharon Ramsey Yes And to be fair

Sharon looks amazing. Yeah. Oh, yeah. My mom. Sharon's fantastic. The fact that she's 66 years old, I'm thankful for God. I'm doing something right. Give me the jeans.

If you want skin like me, sorry. No, but for real. But those are very, like, low maintenance products, though. Yeah. You did nothing crazy there. Nothing crazy. I don't have like a vitamin C cereal. But I will tell you that is a black hole, that self-care industry.

Oh, my goodness. Especially skincare. You can go down that. All the marketing will make you feel like you need it. Yes. And that everyone has. has it but you and the influencer you love uses it. And that it creates what you see,

and that's what makes me mad, is like I bought one of these, like those masks, which I do love, they're actually very nice. You know, but you take it off, and I think I expected

the girl that I watched the Instagram video, you know, and she's got no freckles, she's got no flimishes. She's like, perfect skin. And for some reason in my head, I thought when I take off this mask

after six hours, my skin is going to be her skin. I know that's not true, but why did I think that? I did. Nope, just me again. You fell for it. It's just me in my skin, my sunspots.

That's a good one. But yeah, that can add a serious line item to the budget just for self-care. Okay, here's a super controversial one. Well, I shouldn't say super, but... People have feelings about this. I believe this one. Cash grab, private colleges. Oh, can I add another extra controversial layer?

Oh, go for it. Christian private colleges. You can charge a 30% Jesus tax. And people will be like, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I'm willing to pay more for my child to be in what I think is a more spiritual, safer environment. Can I say that? And truthfully, it was a beautiful safe bubble where I was at University of Mobile shoutout. A great college.

Is that a Christian school? Yeah. It's three, four times as much. Yeah. And again, when we talk to people, and I can say this, if Harvard, If you're like, I went to Harvard. I think majority of people are like, wow, that's impressive, right? But if you went to Indiana Hardwood University, I don't know, and you're like, it was a Christian school or something, I just made it up because there's

Harvard looking. I was thinking this up. And you're like, what is it? Like, oh, it's a small university in India. No one has ever heard it. There's zero clout to this school that you paid four. To your small liberal arts school. That you paid four times.

I mean, that's me. I'm like, no. Get a fourth of a discount and go to a community college or an in-state school. I started an in-state school, and I migrated South and went private. I don't know why. I know. Trying to be different, I guess. Do you regret going to paying that?

Did you pay cash for it? No, you had still a mooch. Yeah, famously went to 36 grand into debt. That's right. But between all the call. Famously. Everyone knows George's story and his numbers. It worked out for me, but I would say, like,

when you're thinking about college, don't think about what the brand name is and the football program. Like think what education do I need to do the thing I want to do? Yes, yes. And if it needs to go to that school. And you can love Jesus and go to a lot of places. Amen. I will say that. That's controversial, but you can.

Well, it's less fun to evangelize on a Christian campus. I'll say that. I like a nice ripe mission field. Oh, my gosh. All right? Oh my gosh. No, it's great. And you can find your people.

I will say that's what I like about the idea of big schools. And then not even crazy or even big high schools. Were you top 20 in your class? Of grades? Yeah. Oh, gosh. The fact you just say of grades was very telling. I thought you meant of like social status.

Social status, yes. We had a ranking system. That's so great. Of grades, no. No. No, I think I graduated high school. I don't even remember. Maybe like a three point.

four or five. What's the old Dave Ramsey joke? He is such a good joke about this. He's like, some people graduate, summa cum laude. I graduated. Thank you, Laude. Thank you, Laudi. Thank you, Lodi.

That's a good one. Yeah, we were never, the Ramsey's, Daniel was. Daniel's my brothers. He's a book smart. The intellectual. Yeah. Yeah, not, yeah. All right.

You know. Sometimes you just got to get through life, George. It worked out. I think so. I don't know. You're here. We're on the same show. And I was number 12.

in case you're wondering. We didn't ask you, George. Couldn't crack the top 10, but... Do you know more wealthy people in America actually had a average GPA in school? Oh, that's right. Yes, so there's actually factual because we can get along with people.

You know, you connect, you work your way up, get what you need. Way to really represent the working class. Thank you for that. All right, moving on to our cash grabs now that we've dogged private universities. our kids will never get into college now all these private university grads are the dumbest people

ever to host a podcast we can do so much of a better job with our education we're proving out maybe everyone should go to private school everyone should go to private school I can't defend now here's the thing people who did go to private colleges will flame us in the comments for what we just said yeah yeah and that's fine but I'm fine with you know what the gray in life is great

maybe it's great for some people if you want to go and you got the cash do a girl. Wow. Do it. Wow, only 19 more to go. Okay. We can speed through this one. Yeah, go.

Lifted vehicles. Okay, you have to guess the cost of lifting a truck. Which, by the way, I saw one yesterday, which we're in Nashville. So, like, you throw a rock and you'll hit the bottom of somebody's truck. They're so high up.

The jeeps. The jeeps are high, too. And I always imagine it's, like, a 22-year-old driving that car. Like, no self-respecting grown man unless his growth was stunted at 22. because his dad left, is driving a car 12 feet in the air? I agree. I agree.

It looks like it could be in a monster truck. No, I agree. That's so silly. That is so silly. Yeah. Wow. Okay, what do you think it costs? It costs.

Gosh, I'm terrible with this, with kind of car maintenance stuff. 12 grand. Wow. What? According to the, this is official from AutoZone.com, which is the only source I use. It can cost up to $5.5. $5,000 to lift the truck. Oh, well, I went way high.

No, you're just lifting. Now, if you're talking underlight LED kit, all the works. Okay, anything around 12, or did I just like overshoot it? That's all I have on my paper here. Okay, okay, so maybe. I didn't do that much research. Okay. That's a tough one.

That does feel like a cash grab because I'm like, who are you impressing other than other guys? Because are women impressed by lifted trucks? No. No. I would say maybe girls are impressed, not women. Wow. Wow. I think any self-respecting woman is like, hey, how about a truck I can get into?

Do you know what I think is more... Without a ladder? What, more obnoxious. Cars that make loud noises. Oh. I think I'd rather get into a lifted truck than a loud sports car truck. I mean, they just br-r-r-r-and-I'm like, I don't, are you like, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, down the interstate. I'm like, no one's looking at you being like, oh, my God, who is that, driving that car?

car. If anything, I'm like, you are so obnoxious. So obnoxious. Yeah, it's definitely the anti-maiding call. And that, you know, that applies to guys who have cars very low to the ground. Both. Both. Why do we need, why do we need, why not just normal life? Keep it as God intended and Toyota, just keep it where the came off the factory lot. Yeah, it's all we need. We don't need to add more. Oh my goodness. Wow. Not a worthy upgrade. No, I don't think so at all. Not at all. But there are some upgrades in life that are worth of George. And that is cozy earth products. I thought you're going to say getting guac.

But I do think cozy earth. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guac upgrade is great. A close second to guac is cozy earth. Yes, but the quality of the products, whether it is the sheets, the towels, the robe, which I wore this morning. The loungeware, I mean, pajamas, all of it. Like, it is just.

The joggers, they're everywhere pants, and I wear them everywhere? Everywhere, because they can go everywhere. And I get compliments. Not going to love it. Are you? Yeah, yeah. And Whitney loves the first layer lounge set that I've been wearing. She's like, do they have those in other colors? Like, get more. I know. I do. I love those, especially for the summer, because they're like so lightweight. It's that, it always feels cool to the touch. If you got that first layer, cozy earth, and then the sheets, the bamboo sheets on top. You're just like, I'm going to sleep cool tonight. My sleep score is going to be a freaking hundred after this situation. Oh, that's a good. We should do a study. Do cozy earth products actually help you sleep better? They commission that cozy earth.

I love it. Go check it all out. They've got great products, and you can go to cozy earth.com slash smart money and get up to 20% off when you use code, smart money at checkout. And when you get the post-purchase survey, let them know Smart Money Happy Hour sent you. We'd appreciate that. All right. Next, cash grab delivery apps.

The up charge. This one I can get behind. The up charge. I think I do this. I do Uber eats maybe like six times a year. Like we never. We do pizza delivery. That doesn't count.

I'm not going to count that as a delivery. But these apps, I mean, we- We're talking DoorDash, Uber Eats. We never do them. We never do them. And I think, and I feel like George Campbell on this because I... Thank you. The price of it.

I've compared prices. So I went to, I did like a Taziki's order through the app. And I did Taziki through DoorDash. Okay. And I saved 46% by ordering it for pickup through the app. Because everything is marked up, every single item. Then there's delivery fees. And then you're going to tip because you're a good human being

and you tip when someone went to the store for you, picked it up and brought it to your house, to your door. And so I just don't think it's worth it unless there's an extenuating circumstance. Yes. Like you just had a baby and you can't get out of the house. Totally. And you have it in the budget to DoorDash, fine. Yeah.

But most people I meet that do DoorDash, not doing well financially to begin with. Well, and the funniest is like there'll be, you know, a $10 meal from Taco Bell. And you're going to door dash it. And you basically pay as much for the meal as everything included with all the fees and everything. Like, it's just wild. Because you don't want to leave the house to go drive 10 minutes to grab it? Right. Yeah.

It's pure insanity. I'm with you on that. I do feel like I'm not, I have not adapted the delivery apps in that way. No, I will do Instacart for groceries every now and then. That's different. And I do it for Costco. Oh. So that one I still hurts my soul.

I do pay a lot for that because I tip on the amount. When the average order at Costco is going to be hundreds of dollars. So whoever gets my, and they always will message me, thank you so much for the nice time. Oh, I bet. Because I do a big, I do a nice percentage. You know what? How about this? How about this?

Next time, text me. I'll go to Costco for you. Oh, George, stop that. All I want to do in life, I literally went for my birthday to Costco with my friends. They said, what do you want to do? I just want to go to Costco. You know what we should have thrown for you? You've seen it is the Costco birthday.

The surprise birthday party at Costco. And he's like, no way, you're here too? I know. No, George, and then you have a big pizza party at the front of Costco. Truthfully, I don't have enough for friends to do that. Yes, you do. You're like two people. I'm like, well, it's a coincidence at that point.

That's not a surprise party. George, we would all show up for you. No, but I said you guys have to buy one thing that you didn't know existed that you don't need. So that was our goal for the birthday. With just you? Me and two friends. Oh, you did go with your two friends, to Costco. Yeah.

And what happened? I said, all right, guys, we're all going to go by something we did not know existed. that we don't do not need. Okay. And they did it. It was great. So fun. One friend bought like a 36 pound bag, a hardwood charcoal.

Another friend, he bought some like pool floats for his pool. Good for him, yes. And I got some chocolate. Oh my gosh. Didn't know. And your birthday was just a few weeks ago from when we were recording this. Yeah, yeah. So did you all do dinner before or anything?

We went to a Pilato after. Oh, what did you think? Great. Great place. Frozen espresso martini. delicious. That's so fun. So yeah, there you go. Delivery apps, not worth it. I'd rather go for the in-person experience. I'm with you. I'm with you on it. Okay, next step is storage units. Oh. So basically you're paying every month for crap you don't need, because you stick it in a storage unit.

If you needed it, it wouldn't be in storage all the time. I know. That's a very American thing. That's true. Very anti-mineral. Do they even have storage units in like Europe? I don't know. I guess you just don't like own a kayak if you're in Europe. You know, if you're moving, there are times and places to use these. I've had them temporarily in between a move. But just for a full-on, don't they have shows where storage units like someone... Storage wars. Okay, yes, someone dies, right?

And it's like, oh, no. Okay, nobody has to die for it to be a good show. Okay, I thought it was... No, they just, like, stop paying the bill. Oh, okay. I thought it's because, like, they passed away and they... Wow. Sorry, I thought that's what it was.

Okay, sorry. That needs to be a different show, though. Oh, my gosh. No, but so this is just that they stop paying And yeah, they haven't paid the bill And so they like basically auctioned it off to the highest bidder And you don't know what's in it So I like the mystery of that

Me too, yeah, yeah So that would be fun But yeah, it's a very American thing To just like, we already use our garages for storage Instead of for cars I know, it's not funny And then we get storage units on top of that For the things that we might maybe

Want to use one day That to me is a waste Because you're paying potentially 50 to 100 bucks or plus Yeah Every single month For the pleasure I'll say this in the real estate world, if you will,

my husband and my dad, storage units are some of the most lucrative business. Yes, I have a family member. If you own a storage unit, it's like some of the best real estate because people, they use them, and they fill them up, and they pay a lot per month.

Like all of them, the whole situation. It's pretty wild. I have a family member who, he buys land with some investors. They build a storage unit complex on it and then sell it. Oh, yeah, yes. And they crush. It's all over the country.

It's wild, yes. And people pay big money to buy these storages. It's a low-hust coming in and out of just like a proper... It's a low-hassel way to make money. All right. Next is lottery tickets. So we just say it out loud, George, to everyone. You will not win the lottery.

And if you do and you're watching this, I feel like you owe us a little bit of it. I'm just saying the chances of us telling that to your face. Just because we didn't believe in you. Yeah. No, but it is true. The stats are wildly impossible. You know, I think this is one of like the saddest, not status. This is like a kind of a messed up situation.

So states where they give scholarships for college, Tennessee is one of them, you get the Hope Scholarship. And it comes all through the lottery. And these zip codes at which the lottery is played is low-income zip codes. So basically low-income people are taking paying middle class to upper-class. kids to go to college. Like when you think about it that way, I'm like, man, it sucks. So, well, now it's been digitized. And it's just this hope of like, now there's all these like gambling apps. Yeah, yeah, oh gosh. Where it's addictive, because you'll just come back and don't get me

on sports betting. Tap one more time, swipe one more time to try to win. It's horrible. Horrible. Like, seriously, it's this complete false hope that we really do believe we're going to win. Yeah. And yeah, not worth it. Just stay away. I have a better chance of becoming president than winning the lottery. I'm convinced. That's probably true. And I don't want to do either. I don't want Powerball, big one. Oh, yeah. That's what's sad is when it's a big number, you're like, well, it's big enough that I should try, right? Well, okay.

And I do feel like I have to be very honest. Guilty? I have. I have bought for the fun, the fun of it, right? Not thinking I'm going to. Yeah. But then I will say, it's the weird psychological thing. As I're reading out the numbers, I've done it twice in my life. For a split second, I really do believe I'm going to win. Guys, they're going to say my number. I'm not kidding. And then I have to keep the, I have to think, how am I going to message this? because I've told people not to play.

Well, you have to hide it. And here I am, I'm about to win. I'm about to win. That's rule number one. Hundreds of millions of dollars. Rule number one, a fight club and winning the lottery. Don't tell anyone. Don't talk about it.

Have you won before and you're not telling us? No. If I won, I wouldn't be on this show. Okay. No offense. Well said. You know what I do like, though? There's like the $5 crossword ones.

Okay. Where like you're filling out entire words. That one is fun to me. because it takes me like 15 minutes. So like, okay, you know, pound for pound, the price I paid for the ticket and the enjoyment I got out of it, it's a fun Christmas gag gift. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So I might do that at Christmas time for family. Sure, sure. We all get to like do our little scratch off. Yeah, and that's the area. But if it's a habit in your life, like there's some underlying financial problems. Yeah, and if you need to find money, we actually have a great tool of the money finder,

so we'll put the link down below, but it's a great kind of audit of everything. Yes. looking over your life to find the margin, find the extra cash if you need it. And it's kind of guaranteed. You'll win your own money. Yeah, this is actually you doing it,

like a very realistic way to get some money. So we'll drop a link in the description to that if you're interested in that money finder. Next, you're guilty of this one, Rachel. Oh, no, what is it? Fast fashion. I'm a slow fashion guy. I'm usually behind the curve, not on trend,

just slightly behind. No, you are on trend. I still have no show. It was just great, right? Oh no, they're big onto showing the socks now. They love to show some sock. They love to show a sock. That's what we want is more white sock.

We just need a sock, yeah. I know. Don't understand it. Why would I hide these ankles under a bushel? No, thank you. I will say, the workout gear these days, it's like you're going to a fashion show. I mean, like, I pass girls on the trail,

and I'm in like an old tank top and shorts, and my show socks, my ankle socks. I'm a very, very... Allo and Lulu Lemon. I'm a very, yeah, my sock game is like the worst. It's not even no show. They like show a little. It's like the ankle.

It's like the worst, the worst. My athletic socks. Either hide it or flaunted. And I got my, I got my audio book in and I'm walking my trail. I'm trying to get my 10,000 steps, you know. And yes, these women will pass me with like matching this scrunched up aloe socks with nice tennis. Are they like influencers? I don't know.

But I just think like, good for you. You know what I mean? Like, good for you. But there is, it's a whole fashion statement. The workout world. I would love to work out and look good doing it. That is a pipe dream for me at this point. That's pretty impressive.

But no, fast fashion. So I don't do like T-Mu and like all, I don't do like the- Sheehan? Sheean. I don't do Sheehan. I do Amazon. So I think that probably- That counts as fast fashion for sure.

Yeah. Target. Oh. That's probably like. mid mediocre to your fashion so Amazon Target would be my not super fast but yeah you can do slower yes you can go slower but like what's on the other side sustainably sourced yeah well made uh yeah well made

stuff you're not going to replace in three months that's right yeah yeah totally totally but that one uh I think a lot of people are guilty of understandably yeah for sure but you know it is what it is but when I do pay for my clothes um on my Amazon account, all of it. I use my Fairwinds debit card. You got that tied to it? Yes, I do, yep.

So Fair wins is an amazing credit union, you guys. So if you're looking for a bank, or even if you're not, like the switchover from your current bank to Fairwinds. Even if you add it to your banking mix, it's worth it. Yes, that's right. It's so easy.

It is. It's so easy to use. So easy to set up. And if you do the Smart Bundle, you get a no-fee checking account. You get up to 10 high-yield savings accounts, which is amazing. I have yet to see that

where you have saved, The high-eal savings connected to checking, which is great for easy transfers. Back and forth, yes. And you have 10 different accounts for, like, sinking funds. You want to save up for the car, the vacation. You can keep it all separated, which I love. It's beautiful. To your market for different things.

That's right. And the Ramsey, dead as normal be weird debit card. I know. We love the debit card. Which I have now added to my Apple pay so I can double tap when I'm paying. And they go, whoa, what's that about? I go, none of your business. None of your business.

Check it out, fairwinds.org, slash Ramsey, if you're so interested. Yeah. But really, that's where you can go to get the smart bundle. Completely free. Fairwins.org slash Ramsey, go check it out. Oh, man. Well, George, we're not going to be falling for anything this year. I have a feeling.

Famous last words. We're going to be on it. We're going to be on it with our purchases. You know what I just fell for? The bluey bounce house. Wow. You bought a bounce house. That's one purchase we never did.

I think it's at my doorstep right now. I'm dreading opening it. No, I bet it's one of those like plug-ins. So easy. It comes with its own influx. Trust me, I checked. Okay, yeah. Okay, is it bluey's like ears?

I was like the top. That's a good question. We used to get a picture. Yes, but here's why we did it. My sweet toddler has had passies in and she's almost, she's turning three. She's still got the passies. So we said, hey, the passy fairy said, if you only use the passies in the crib. You get a bounce house.

That she'll give you the bluey bounce house that we saw at Sam's Club. And so we had to manipulate our toddler with the same's club. our toddler with a $300 bounce house. You were the cheapest man on the planet and he's like, Mia, do we need to get rid of Passies? We, let's go by my kids, I was like, it works. Stop, just take them out.

I got on the phone with the Passy fair and said, hey, she's wondering, are you sure you understand the terms and conditions? Stop it, stop it. You cannot have the Passi outside of the crib. What a soft heart. But you know what? You know what I realized? Do you see this melting in front of us? I went, $300 is cheaper than the pallet expander I'm going to need to

get for her dental work. Because her teeth are so jacked from the passie in her mouth at all times. Okay, do you know what some people do is that you put the passie on a balloon and you let it go? Like, that's a free way of just getting rid of the passies. And have her scream in agony as I can't reach it to bring it back. And then she learns, you can't get the passie. Okay, isn't this funny, though? I swear, this is a, this, I bet there's studies on this.

Science? I feel more emotional towards, I am so much more sensitive with Charles than I am my girls. My girls, I'm like, y'all will be fine. Like the passie, I'm like, whatever. You're good. Opposite with Winston. Obviously, he's way more sensitive with the girls. With Charles.

He's like he needs to like tough enough. You know. The opposite sex like parenting thing is real. So you buying Mia, you would never do that with Henry. No. Okay. Give him a stick. He's fine.

No on a stick. He's a grown man. Don't kill something. Drag it home. I know. My daughter? No. $300 about time.

Not on my watch. I know. And she just got the bluey trampoline from my parents from her grandparents. So she's blue it out right now. She's never even seen the show. We've already given Bluey so much money. Stop it. You've got to watch the show.

The show's fantastic. She's not allowed to watch. She's not allowed to watch. Not my rules, not my house. All right, I'm just, I just. Okay, well, before we get to our guilty is charged segment, let's share the details of the drink and the rating. This is a gin daisy.

Mm-hmm. Who finished first? I think we're equal. We might be equal. George, look at us. That's a first. Wow. I mean, I may go 10.

I would order this. If a bunch of girls were like, hey, let's get the... This is a gin daisies. I'm trying to think if this was at a happy hour, would I purchase and enjoy? Yes. I would. 100%. I'm going to give this a rare 10 out of 10.

That's what I just gave. Did you hear me? I was ignoring you. Same rating, y'all. I was trying to not let that cloud my judgment. Sorry. Okay, sorry. Sorry.

No, but I think it was a perfect, it's a perfect, like, summertime. drink. So it's got gin, orange liqueur, lemon juice, grenadine and club soda, comes out to $4.15. Not a cheap drink by our standards, but what you'd pay out at a cocktail bar would be quadruple. Yeah, for sure. After tax. So go check it out for yourself. Get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend if you're of age. What's the Italian drink? It's got a mint and a lemon wedge in it as well, which I think really adds to it. Or a lemon wheel. I apologize to wedge. for sullying their good name.

What's the, what's like the classic apparel sprits? Oh, yeah. Maybe because it's the color of it, but it reminds, it feels like an Italian cocktail. Yeah. I love it. It's got the perfect amount of acidity, sweet. Mm-hmm. So good.

Check it out. All right, now it's time for guilty as charged. And this is where we ask each other a new guilty-as-charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, have you ever bought something? for your kids, that ends up being for you. I'm going to go into the future here and say that blueie bounce house is going to be where I hang out. It's going to be your place, your place of fun.

The one thing that we consistently buy for my child is popsicles. It's like our get out of jail free card. What's the brand? Where are you getting it? I heard Costco has some great ones. So we're pretty like we don't want her to be sugared up. Yes. So we get these Johnny Pops and they're the minis.

Okay, okay. Because it's like three grams of sugar or something. And she loves it. There's a birthday, like, cream one, and there's like an orange cream sick one. Where do you buy them? Usually I wait for them to go on sale at Kroger. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. So if you buy like five, they're like an extra dollar off.

So I'm very frugal with it because they're pricey. It comes out to like three or four bucks for a box. Okay, so our neighbors had some push pops yesterday, but she got them from Costco, and they're all natural. The organic ones. I've seen those. I don't know, but I'm going to buy those as well. You do. Okay, so I'm going to buy those this summer.

Yeah. Because I realized, like, the ice cream truck rolled by, and I was like, I don't want my daughter eating blue 42 right now. You know, all of a sudden, I'm very fan. I'm like, when we were kids, we would drink those little, like, remember those little grenade things? Yes. What are they called? They were like bright blue, bright red, bright orange. Yeah, I just remember the wax.

Yes. The wax drinks from those. Oh, those were good. And you do the screw top or, like, the little top off. That was all red 40 100%. Yeah. But we made it.

We survived. But yeah, popsicles, like when she wants a popsicle, I'm like, well, I get solidarity for going to eat a popsicle in the porch. Got to go with you. I can't leave her hanging. Yeah. So you're buying these popsicles for her, but really. They're for me. Dad loves a popsicle.

Yeah. How about you? I probably, you know, it's funny, my girls, my, well, Amelia, she's about to be in middle school. That's mind-blown. So she is starting to ask for like middle school girl things, like cute claw clips and like face sprays. And like, you know what I mean? Like they're kind of getting into that pre-teenage of stuff.

And so I do remember buying her like a thing of claw clips for Christmas and they were so cute. So I do, I remember thinking they're from Amazon. Yes. And there was like a 20 pack. And I'm like, well, I'm going to take eight of them for sure out of the pack and yet give to her. And then I got her like these face spray things from, I think, from Target. But they came in like a,

there was like four of them and a thing. So at night, maybe every now and then. So I'm putting her to bed. We're doing our prayers. They may go in there and sit in probably a little.

Wow. I'm adding that to my skincare routine. Look at that. I'd probably do it twice a week. Yeah, it just kind of feels good. Our middle schoolers already like getting into skin care routines

or like makeup, but what is the age now? I'm not to blow your mind. I'm so nervous. Elementary school girls. Yes. Like first, second, third grade? I'm telling you, yes.

Make up? And listen, I, as a mom, I, like, I said a lot of things of, like, I would never, whatever, whatever, whatever, whatever. And then you get there and you're like, okay, I'm going to reevaluate life. It's a very humbling thing. It really is, because you can have your stances. It's like, a minute. But if you're not in that phase. And sometimes you're like, you know.

But that is one thing, like Caroline, my middle, or, yeah, she wants a lot. She's into it more than my oldest. So I have had to. Caroline is like a mini you as far as personality. So there are things that I'm like, girlfriend, you don't need, like, you can have, like, the fun, like, nail polish that, like, comes off when you wash your hand. Like, a couple of girly things. I'm fine with that. But some of these girls, again, it's not a right or wrong because I get it.

But it's a, they have full-on, yeah, skincare routines. And, like, I don't know what she's. So we have held off on that a little bit. But Amelia's starting to get in it. And she's in middle school. So I am going to open that door a little bit more and be like, girlfriend, yeah. All right. Let's just go shopping.

You're going to get ready with me with her. No, oh God, no, no. That would be a pretty cute video, though. I say that now, then watch someone pull a clip in 2028. We need a good, I get ready with me with you and Amelia. All humility here, all humility. But no, that will not be the plan. Wow.

Yeah, so I would say that. Glad we're both guilty of that. I would say that, yeah, cheers. Cheers, cheers, cheers. Oh. Well, if you have a guilty of, you good? Wrong pipe. Wrong pipe.

Went down the wrong way. Well, if you have a guilty of charge question for us, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel. We love seeing them. And if you love this episode, then you are going to love our episode on financial experts rank the worst spending habits. We will link it for you and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.