Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Cheapskate or Resourceful? A Wake-Up Call with Sharon Ramsey

Episode Date: November 30, 2023

Are you a smart spender or a stingy cheapskate? Rachel’s mom, Sharon—the OG budgeting queen—joins the show to give her two cents (but not a penny more). Sharon helps George and Rachel give advice to listeners who are wondering if their “frugal” habits have gone too far. In this episode: ·      Dear Sharon: an exclusive advice column segment featuring everyone’s favorite Ramsey family member ·      The wildest things all three hosts (and others) have done to save a buck ·      How to know if you’re being ridiculous about budgeting or being wise with your money Helpful Resources:   ·       Start making memories. Go NOW and get Telestrations at Walmart! ·      Booking a flight with Going is the best and simplest way to pay less and travel more. Sign up for free today at going.com/smartmoney. ·      Get your finances organized, make a plan, build your confidence, and kick money stress out of your life for good with the EveryDollar budgeting app. Go to www.everydollar.com/smartmoney to get started today. Use code SMARTMONEY to get a free two-week trial and $15 off your premium membership to EveryDollar. ·      Do you have a Guilty as Charged question for Rachel and George? Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it. ·      Pre-order George’s new book, Breaking Free From Broke, today! ·      Learn more about your ad choices ·      Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy This Week’s Happy Hour Special: Dirty Martini Ingredients: ·      2 1/2 ounces vodka ·      1/2 ounce dry vermouth ·      1/2 ounce olive brine ·      3 olives for garnish Instructions: Fill a shaker with ice, then add the vodka, vermouth and olive brine. Shake until well chilled (about 15–20 seconds). Using a fine mesh strainer, double strain the liquid into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a skewer of olives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And I'm Sharon Ramsey, Rachel's mom. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, y'all. Cheers to our special guest. Happy day. Happy day.

Sharon, glad you're here. This is the podcast for two friends who happen to be money experts. Talk about what you're talking about. Everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And as you can see, we have a special guest. George, this has only happened once. The first guest was Dr. John Zoloni. That's right.

And the episode was, you know. Yeah, we needed our numbers up. So we called them the big dogs. So we were like, you know, the next guest, especially on this topic, is my mom. Mom, thanks for being here. Oh, thank you, Rachel. This is so fun. I'm looking forward to it.

This episode, George, what are we talking about? We are talking about smart spending versus cheap skatery, Rachel. Ah. You know, there's a thin line between frugal and resourceful, and we're going to skate and skirt on that line. And I think we're going to have some hot opinions today, which is why we have Ms. Sharon with us. Yes, Mom is a saver. She is very resourceful. Grew up on a farm, all the things.

Where'd you grow up, Rachel? She said good. Not on a farm, the way you spend. Willie-nilly. In the old suburbs. So I grew up. But we have some lessons to learn. But we knew she was going to be a guest in the podcast.

We texted Mom. We said, Mom, what drink? Would you like to sip on? And what did you say? Well, my first thought was a dirty martini. We love it. Fancy. So classy. Yes. So we're sipping on that this episode. This is a Pinkies Out kind of drink, you know?

Pinkies out kind of drink. Well, we're going to give you our rating, reveal the cost, and break down the recipe at the end of the episode. So stick around for that. That's right. Okay. So this conversation, George is always and Mom more than just money. People like see how you spend. And if you're being cheap, your reputation sometimes can come into play. There's shame and guilt involved sometimes, too. Yeah. So, you know, we though hold no bones.

We're like, listen, if you need to save some money, we are all about it. So that's a big part of this, right? That's huge. And we have an article that we stumbled upon, and here's the title. Is my husband the cheapest man in America? I was intrigued by this article. And it's written like an old school advice column where readers write into a pen pal who answers their questions. And here's how it starts.

We only eat out on our anniversary, and I don't even have an... engagement ring. Quite the intro. So much to unpack just on that alone. Wow. Wow. That's too cheap. I would be a little nervous. Okay. Would you have married Dave if there was no engagement ring as part of the deal? George, you really don't know my story. I didn't. I did not have an engagement ring when we got engaged. How did he propose? It took maybe six months. Well, it actually took about three months before I got one. No way. For Christmas, he did a huge surprise. So he actually, we came to Nashville and he had, I'm guessing, probably about six or eight boxes wrapped up. And, of course, it was small box to the largest.

And the largest was a refrigerator box. Oh. And I had it. It was like there to the small. Yes. It started off big. It started, no. It's like a box and a box and a box.

Yeah, yeah. No, you're good. It was a refrigerator box. It was. And then you opened and went to do, too, too, too, yeah. That was a modern trend. He was ahead of his time. And guess what was in the smallest box?

A ring. A ring. That's sweet. So yes, I eventually got the ring. So would you have married Winston if he was like, hey, no ring? We're not doing that. If it was like, I don't want to buy you a ring, and I think that's a stupid. And I think that's a stupid purchase.

I'd be like, wow, you're going to be fun. Like, that's not a, you know what I mean? Yeah. But if he's like, hey, I really don't have a lot of money right now, here is a twisty tie to tie around your finger and be a placeholder for something. I would be okay with that. Well, in both circumstances, love transcended the object. Would you, did you, what was Whitney?

I mean, a ring? Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, like, I don't think the whole idea, like a lot of girls get obsessed with like the size and like, oh my gosh, if it's not this certain thing, if my man doesn't spend this amount of money, all that, that nonsense. That's silly. That's silly. But yeah. So the ring I can deal with, the goat, not going out to eat except on your anniversary,

makes me sad. Yeah, that's really sad. Well, we're going to share our opinions in who's the crazy one in this couple, and we're going to be digging up some more wild Internet stories about the lengths people will go in order to save money. And stick around until the end because we've created our own dear Sharon advice column with submissions from you guys, the listeners, and she's going to shoot you straight. That's right. I will for sure.

You're not going to lie to these nice people. No, why should I lie? Yeah. I don't know. Your words, not mine. I don't know. No one's lying here, guys. Nobody's lying here.

Everyone relax. Okay, so this couple in the article made $155,000 a year. They have no kids. He's an accountant. She's a teacher. And the husband never bought his wife a single piece of jewelry and insists on buying his clothes in bulk. Like at Costco. George loves Costco.

He calls himself the Kirkland King. It is self-proclaimed. I will say that. No one else, everyone refuses to call me that for some reason. You love Costco. Do you buy more than when you go in, do you have a list of what you want, the items? And do you come out with a budget? I don't have a list.

I have like the three things I need. Okay. But then there's the surprise things. Always. I like to walk around and I can't go with Whitney because she's not having that. I want to peruse the aisles freely. Okay. Like a wild fawn.

What's the craziest thing? Yeah. Do you all buy more than just food at Costco? Yes. George is a yes. Do you ever buy clothing at Costco, George? I have some apparel, but it's the Kirkland brand apparel. Just like the- Can I be really truthful?

Yeah. They don't carry size small at Costco in the store, so I can't shop in the store. George. I know. And I could shop the ladies small, which is the right fit, but I refuse. I do it online and I get a shipped because I don't want to deal with that. That's the truth. You guys ask for it.

I'm trying to be honest. You know, Ms. Sharon's here, so I feel like I need to at least. Hey, I think there are some great clothes at Costco. They have, like, good jackets. I saw an Instagram story of a girl that she had a, um, a puffy jacket. It's a, not the puffy jacket. The quilted jackets. Have you seen that?

Not quilted. Not like a quilt. No, not that one. Not that kind of jacket. The kind that's like the squares. Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And it was really cute.

I don't know. So you're saying this guy's fine. Actually, I have a jacket similar to that, Rachel, that I bought. I promise it had to be 10 years ago. At Costco? At Costco. And I wear it in the winter from probably November to March. I wear it every morning when I'm outside.

The Kirkland Queen has spoken. Think of the quality. Well, they're made at the same factories as the big name brand. I believe that. I'm not against it. I just don't think about it. I'm not against this guy for buying us. Now, in bulk is a weird way to say it.

Sure. You know, is he buying 10 shirts at a time? Yeah, so this couple again, they got a mortgage payment of $1,600. They're investing in retirement. They're on track to reach their goals. They have a great relationship, but his fear of spending any money really frustrates her. So what side are you all on? Are you all on the wife's side or the cheap husband's side?

Oh, well, so far with the very little information I'm given, I'm on her side because I think he has a very tight-fisted scarcity mentality. Because they make a great income. I mean, $155,000 a year with a $1,600 mortgage, they should have plenty of margin to spend. To go out to eat. With cash. If they want to.

Yes. I agree. I agree. George, you're the saver in your relationship with Whitney. Sharon, you're the saver. I'm the saver. Yes. And so do you feel like ever that Dave thinks you're cheap?

Do you feel like on the side of this husband where you're like, we don't need to spend that money in the, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, dad is like, we're fine, we're fine. Because like, this wife is like, we're fine. I feel that way with Winston. I'm like, we can spend. Let's enjoy. And he's like, we really don't need that. Or like, oh, I don't, that's expensive, you know. I don't think he actually would say that today. But years ago, I think he would have said, hey, it's okay. Why don't you go out and buy whatever? I mean, you know, if I had been asking about something or had been talking about something, I think definitely he would have said, why not? Go spend. Why not? He would push you to go spend. Yes. And, you know, sometimes I think women that maybe stay at home, maybe feel a little more guilty about not spending because I feel like they don't have. Because they're not bringing an income and therefore they feel like, well, it's not my right to spend this money. How do you let go of that over time? I think you just have to realize there's no guilt to that. But probably you would probably feel more guilty, or at least I did when we really didn't have the money. Because, I didn't need to be spending money that we didn't have. But once the money, you know, once I realized that I could, it made me feel better. You know, it made me not feel as guilty.

And I knew I could do it and enjoy doing it. That's a good balance. I think that's a good balance. I feel like that's what this couple needs. And shout out to stay-at-home parents to release that guilt. Okay? Yes. That is fair.

That is fair. Okay. So I think we're kind of probably all on the wife's side in this. He probably needs to loosen the purse. a little because financially they're in a they're an okay spot. 100%. Yeah. And there's some give and take.

There's some compromise. I think talking about it is one thing of just going, hey, what's going on here? Like, let's do the budget and actually look at facts and go, do we actually not have money? Or are you just being really cheap? Yes. And that's fair. Because when you don't have the money, you don't need to be spending to your point. But if you have it and you're just being cheap, like enjoy some of it.

Which we're going to talk about too later. I have a question. And do you think maybe he grew up not eating out? I mean, there's certain generations. honestly, we didn't eat out that much growing up. There were no restaurants. It was like a real luxury to go out somewhere. So maybe he's living his childhood to a certain degree.

Well, to me, there's like maybe there's some trauma there. Maybe he grew up broke and he has a hard time thinking like, this could all go away. We make great money, but it could all go away. I think asking those questions are important. That's true. Do you ever still look at restaurant menus and go like, that's overpriced? Do you ever feel like that? Of course I do.

But do you buy it anyways? because your Dave's like, oh, just get it. If you want the ribby, I get the ribbi. Honestly, George, when we go out to eat, no matter what restaurant we go to, I always read right to left. Price first. Still to this day.

Do you think apps are a scam? I feel like appetizers are overpriced. That's my hot take. I probably agree, and I do not like to get appetizers if I'm in a group because you're not able to share. And if there's six,

There's only four appetizers. And then it's like, well, who's going to, we all can't have two. Then there's one sitting there. Someone gets left out. Wow. And who gets left out? The truth comes out. Sharon.

Mom, a to- What is, why are you? Okay. The victim here. Just know this about the Ramses. Mom hates going out to sushi with us. Okay. Because Dave, I'm a slow eater, and they're all just grabbing, and I get like four,

and they have like nine. So then you have some secret resentment towards the table. I think I do. That's amazing. But I get it. She orders her own meal. She will order her own meal. She'll talk.

I respect that. She talks to the waiter and she says, I just want this. And you bring me this. They're not allowed to do this. And I love to go to restaurants that have tasty menus. I mean, that's a special treat. But honestly, I will ask if it's an individual plate that each person will be getting or if it's more family style to share.

If it's more family style sharing, I just don't like that. Not interested. I'm not. I'm learning so much. Equal footing is very important. That's really good. It's very important. I'm having fun already.

I think that's fair. I think that's fair. Okay. So, yeah, when it comes to, yeah, are you being cheap? Are you not? There's a lot of scenarios out there in life. So our producer, Lindsay, is going to read us a couple of Reddit confessions, and we're going to decide, are they being resourceful or are they just being really cheap?

cheap skate or resourceful. So, wins. Are you ready? Nervous. The Carter family makes $41,000 a year and have decided to pay off debt and live off of $550 left for the month. So like once they do that, they have $550 left to spend. So they grow their own food but have eaten roadkill before to save a dime. And then that's where the thread ended.

So wellness check on the Carter family, are they cheap skates or are they resourceful? I think that's cheap because isn't that like, couldn't that have like... That could really not be very tasty. Yeah. I would agree. I would agree. I think that I would rather eat from what I'm growing than rough kill because you don't know how long it's been out there, y'all. I believe me.

Are we all good? Are we all on the same page? Yeah. Okay. It's not even like cheap skates. It's like this is not. extreme cheescapes. This is like, that's dangerous.

Dangerous. That can be dangerous. They're a danger to society. Now, Dr. John Deloney is very vocal that he will, they'll shoot like, what is it, is it squirrel? Yeah, he'll eat like squirrels and stuff he shoots on the farm. Like that's gross to me too. But roadkill, I don't even think he would mess with.

Yeah. Yeah. Deer, though. Deer, yeah, he'll make his own deer jerky and all that, but that's fairly normal. Not from a room. If someone hits it with a car and you want to go pick it up and. Gross, gross, gross. Gross, gross.

A girl. A woman wears only six pieces of clothing each month. So what are your guys' thoughts? Her husband didn't even notice until the end of the month. Classic. She says she drastically lost her desire to spend money after doing this. It was kind of like a social media cleanse or extreme reset diet. Resourceful.

So, yeah, what are they doing that? I'm going to say resourceful. I think I could find like two pairs of pants and four tops. And if I had to for a month, I'm like, I could do that. And I can see that actually being very refreshing, not having to like. Really? Yeah. Okay.

I'm with that. I think if you watch this on YouTube, you'll notice that I wear the same shirts. I mean, most guys, like we have so many shirts, but they're all basically the same. It's like blue shirt, gray shirt, blue shirt, green shirt. It's like a Dr. Seuss riddle. So, you know, guys are pretty simple. I think I could do the six items. How about you?

I think I could. It would make life a lot easier for sure. Uh-huh. I think we could do that. That's not hurting anyone. So it's resourceful. Yeah. Six is pretty small.

It's small. I could go up to like 10 to 15. Well, yeah. I could go, you know, 20, 30, 40. You know, go to 100 at this point. Can we just tripled it? I just doubled it. Who has the bigger wardrobe, Sharon or Rachel, if we had to compare?

Oh. I don't throw anything away. She keeps stuff. I do keep for a rainy day. For a rainy day. For a rainy day. For a rainy day. For ever.

Not really. early 20, but a long time. A long time. Especially if she never throws stuff out. I don't really throw things out. But you're not like a whole, like you're, but I buy, I think, you know, later life, I think the quality of clothes you can keep for longer. If you buy a good piece, it's not going to just get destroyed a year later.

Yes. That makes sense. I respect that. Quality over quantity. It's good. Okay. We got another one. Yep.

All right. Demi trades a single bobby pen for. $80,000 house. So in 2020, the TikTok creator, Demi Skipper, started the Trade Me project. She started with a bobby pin and 28 trades later ended up with a house near Nashville for $80,000. She remodeled it and donated it to a family in need, then started the process all over. Wait, I don't get it. Someone gave her a house and she traded something else for it?

Yeah. You trade up. So it's like, I'll give you a paper clip for that pen. I'll get for this pen now, I'm going to trade for a notebook. Oh, and it keeps going to go. Up, up, up, up in value. Until you get a car. And you trade the car for the, and so she just worked her way up to a house.

Wow. So resourceful? I'm impressed. I think that's resourceful. I mean, that's resourceful. I don't think that's cheap. That's just creative. And then the fact that she gave it away, like what a kind, sweet gesture.

Yeah. How could anyone talk trash about this person? For sure. Unbelievable. Could you think you could do that? If left to your own devices, I give you a paper clip and say you got a year, turn this into a house. That's hard. That would be hard to.

George. I agree. I agree. I just think if anyone could do it, it's you. If it's not a tiny house, I think, you know. That's true. We don't know what kind of house this was. We don't.

It said $80,000. So it could have been a tiny house. Okay. Yeah. I'm not going to try anytime soon. It feels like it takes a lot of time and a lot of like weird Facebook marketplace messages that I'm not going to deal with. Yeah, I know.

It's a lot. It's a lot of effort. A lot of effort. Okay. So when it comes to, yes, where's the line? If you're being cheap or are you saving money? And I think a lot of it depends on where you are in the baby steps. True.

So we talk about the babysips a lot on the show. So if you are saving for your emergency fund, if you're getting out of debt, then, yeah, you're probably going to be more cheap. You're going to find ways to cut corners. You're going to look at your grocery bill. I mean, you're going to find ways to get extra money to get out of debt, have money saved in the bank. And then once you're over that, then that's where you have a little bit more of the

freedom to enjoy some of your money, right? Oh, yeah. Well, I think are you hurting anyone by doing it? this. Are you affecting your own physical health eating roadkill, for an example, or mental health by doing some of this? And then I always think, is this worth the energy and time that you're pouring into it in order to save money? Like, think about if you're making your own soap and it's taking you nine hours to make soap when you could go get a bar of soap for a dollar, to me I'm just like, it's not worth it. Buy a bar of soap. Yeah. Your time. People who are like, I make my own detergent.

And some people, they're very handy. And if you know how to do all that and you know how to fix cars and you want to change your own oil, go for it. Totally. But some things I just don't think are worth. The juice ain't worth to squeeze. Yeah. Fair. So when it gets to the point, though, that people are out of debt and they have an emergency

fund, then they can enjoy some of their money. Did you find it hard to spend money once you guys had money? Because for a while, you guys were like climbing out of bankruptcy, doing all of that. Right. And then once you actually had money and Dave was like, let's go on this great trip. Where you like, oh, my gosh. That's silly. We don't need to spend that.

Well, I mean, I think you have. have to enjoy life. You know, you cannot just be frugal your whole life. And I know for myself, you know, trying to get out of debt was difficult because I never, I knew the end would be there, but I didn't know when the end would be there. And so once we got completely out of debt and we were able to go on those nice vacations or go do something nice, it was the freedom of, it was kind of like a reward because you worked very hard for what you're able to do and what you're doing. And so you need to reward yourself. And maybe a lot of people don't actually get to do that as often. Yeah, I like that mentality. And I feel like you guys travel like no one else now. We do.

The vacations you guys take, they're amazing. I hear all about them. Are there certain areas, that's a place you're willing to spend. Are there certain areas you still feel like, I don't know why, I'm just frugal in this area. Maybe it's groceries or eating out or clothing. What's the thing you just can't help? Like, I just can't spend money on that. A category maybe. I probably would have to say maybe clothes to a certain degree. I do like nice clothes and I really always buy things on sell. I guess that's a good answer. You want to feel like I got a deal on this at least versus paying retail price.

Yes, yes, yes, yes. So I really do. To walk into basically in a store and get what you want, but you don't. You don't buy, you don't go to like, no, why would I? No. Okay. I know you don't. But yeah, I'm just saying that like that's where you are, there's a limit for you. Just in a heart compass. You're just like, I just can't. I'm not going to go spend that on whatever it is. Not that it's right or wrong. No. But that's not your thing. That right. I think you guys need to go shopping together. And you, oh, we had before. What's it like? I enjoy giving. So it's, I. That explains it. You're giving. You're giving. your time by hanging out with Rachel.

But I will say, yes, I think when it comes to shopping and stuff, I really, I will pay full price, but it's kind of like, ugh. It pains you a little bit to do it. It pains me a little. You really got to want it. And you love the freezer. Can we say that? I'm sorry?

Keeps food. You'll freeze things to keep them alive and eat it later kind of thing? Sometimes, because it's great food. That's true. I mean, it's good food, right? I'll referee and say, counterpoint. sometimes we can be a very wasteful society. Yes.

Sometimes you're like, no one's going to eat that a year later. So both of you have a good point. Well, you are, mom is great at keeping leftovers. You keep leftovers a lot. Is it from your cooking? Yes. Because I would eat your leftovers a year later after being in the freezer. It's that good.

I will keep leftovers for only one week. And after a week, they usually are always thrown out. And we don't have leftovers a lot. And if we do, I'm usually the one that, eating the leftovers for lunch. Oh, that makes sense. Because Dave's here. He's just grab a food here at the office.

And he doesn't like leftovers. Not a fan. But last night, we had leftovers. Did he begrudgingly just? No, never. No, no, no, no. Well, when you're cooking, I would eat it. I'd love to come over for a day.

But I do love to cook. I'd go to their house and she's, like, whipping up a salad. And there's, like, chicken and this, all of this. I'm like, well, how did you make this? She's like, well, this came from this meal. And these sweet potatoes came from this meal. She like, you really can't. That's resourceful.

I'm going to bucket that. She's a very resourceful food person. And I really do. If I go to the grocery, I really, you know, for a week or so, I will try to use everything that I bought because I really don't want to throw out vegetables because I bought too much or something. Well, we have people who say it's cheaper to just eat out than you get groceries. And it's because they're wasting so much of the groceries they're getting, whereas you're using it all. I am using it.

So there's a huge difference. Huge difference. And a lot of people, Rachel, say, they've done the baby steps, like you mentioned. They're out of debt. They have the emergency fund. They can't let go. And so one thing I tell people is there's three things you can do with money. Give, save, spend.

In your budget, add a line item for each of those categories and force yourself to give to something you're passionate about, to spend on something you normally wouldn't. And to save a little bit so you can feel good for the future. Yes, all three. When you're at that place, yes. And especially if you see dollars on like the every dollar app or a sheet of paper. and you're like, okay, this is what I have to give. You have to give that. Give it.

This is the money I'm going to save them. We're going to save that. Or this is the money we're going to spend. We're going to spend that. You kind of have to force yourself to build all of that because some people just want to hold tight. That's true. And that's no good. And that's no good.

Okay, George, let's interrupt this conversation we're having with my mom because even though that conversation is really fun. You know what else is fun? What's that? Games. We love games. We love games. You know one of my favorite games right now? What's that?

Telestrations. Oh, easy, all-time. All time, three all time fave right there. Oh, it is so much fun. We laugh so much. We played it with our kids. Caroline, who's six, was a little rusty with it. But Amelia, who's eight, third grade, she was getting it.

Well, she's a prodigy, too. So if you have, like, a mid-elementary school kid and beyond, well into the 80s and 90s of age. If you have an elderly person in your life that you love. Yes, they would love this game. The 40s-year-olds would love the game. That's the prime. If you're in your 40s. It's really great.

It is fun. It's a sketch pad. game, it's kind of a game of telephone. I'm going to write the picture of what the word is, then Rachel guesses what that is, and then the next person has to draw what Rachel said it was, and it goes around and around, you get your sketchpad back, and then the laughter really begins

as you see what the heck happened and transpired. Oh, man, it's a great game, you guys. You're going to enjoy it. Make sure to pick it up at Walmarts, and let's just get back to that conversation with my mom. Back to it. Okay, we got a fun part coming up, which I'm excited about. So we

are launching. our very own advice column called Dear Sharon. And we went out on social media and asked people, what have you done to save money? And we want to know from all of us, but especially you, is that cheap or is that resourceful? So. Are you ready to play? You ready to play? I am ready to play. All right. Lins, give us the scenarios. Like I'm someone off of Instagram. Name Sarah. I don't know. I made up a name. Dear Sharon, when I was a barista, I had a co-worker save her wet paper towels to air dry and reuse them every time. Cheapscape or resourceful?

Very cheapscape. How would you do that? I don't know. Especially not in a restaurant. No, I will say, we are a paper towel family. Some people get mad because of the environment. We love paper towels. Rachel does.

I do. I do. I love paper towel. and paper plates what a weird thing to love I never been like what are three things about you I love paper towel

I do I'm with Rachel I use a lot of paper towels If you have multiple kids It is a it's just It's so easy It's so great So if I like Have a paper towel

That I do something with I'm like I will Not always just throw that in the trash Like I would reuse that On like cleaning up the counters Or like a kid's hand Like Do you know I'm saying

Like I use it on my hands I try to use it to like wipe down something Yeah yeah yeah yeah So at home What, air drying all over? Yeah, no, that's too much trouble. I don't know where that's been. I don't know, but about the paper plates.

So, dear Sharon, I wash paper plates. No. Cheapscate are resourceful. Oh, I'm going to have to go with cheap skate. Wash paper plates. Yeah, that's cheap. That's cheap to me. Do you hear yourself, you're washing paper.

They're saving money, I guess. But why not just wash a normal plate then? That's what they said. Just use plates. All right. I've got some more. Dear Sharon, I squeeze ketchup packets into a ketchup bottle to save money. Cheapskate or resourceful? I'm going to go with Cheapskate.

Oh, is that Cheapskate? Oh, little ketchup packets? Yeah. That's so long. Yes. I know. That's fair. Now, I will say I really do try to use like a ketchup bottle.

I mean, I will turn it upside down to make sure that I get all of it. Yeah. But I'm not going to sit there and, yeah. Restock. No. No. All right. That's aggressive.

Dear Sharon, when I go to the movies, this one's for you. I grab recently discarded and used cups and popcorn buckets to reuse them. Gross. From the trash? Uh-huh. Or in the holder? I don't know. It says discarded.

Recently. Resourceful or Cheatsky? That is so cheap. Skate. That is, that's dirty. I was shocked. I mean, you can't wash that thing in the movie theater. You're going to the movie theater bathroom.

Oh, yeah, no. To wash this. Oh, gross, gross. Yeah, we're not doing that. We can't do that. We don't know what. Unless I knew, unless I knew George and Whitney had placed their popcorn bucket, just right there.

And I just grabbed it a second later. Yeah. I guess a popcorn bucket feels better to me for some reason. They didn't classify, they didn't say, it says popcorn buckets, yeah, so. Yeah. It's plastic, right? Yeah. I still have just...

I know. It hurts my soul. Okay. Well, dear Sharon, I make my kids share happy meals. Is this economical or is that leaning on the cheap side? You know, I think I'm going to go with... I think that's wise because, honestly, I've taken the grandkids out to eat, you know, to McDonald's or a little restaurant with French fries. and so forth, they're not going to eat a full meal most of the time.

And so if they, maybe you can buy two hamburgers and let them share the fries or something, but no, I'll have to agree that that's great. I'm glad the mom's doing that. I love it. What do you guys think? I would agree. Wow. Especially if we go to like a sit-down restaurant, we just get two kids meals for the three kids.

And even with pizza. I mean, it works the same way. I feel like you do that with Whitney, so I already mentioned. We don't share a kids meal. I get a kid's meal for me. I've heard that. Well, I've heard, like, here's my thing. Chlorically, there's a reason that little kids today, they're, like, already out of shape by seven.

I'm like, what happened here? You know what I mean? And it's because they're just eating too much food that is not nutritious. So I think splitting the kids meal, calorically, that's probably what they need is half the kid's meal. You know what I mean? That's my take. What if they're hungry when they get home? I'll feed them at home.

Okay. With some real food. Snacks. Carrots. Schlotskis maybe. Okay, I've got two more. Dear Sharon, I rinse and reuse the same string of dental floss all week. Resourceful or cheescape?

I got to stop taking a drink right before you say this. Okay, hold on. These are real. Okay. I may say resourceful. I'm going to, you know, I will say. No, you go. Okay.

You go first. Because if you're flossing, your own mouth and there's stuff out, you could rinse it. And especially the floss, it's not the thread floss, but it's like almost the plat, like, it's like the waxy. The waxy, yeah, that it's still a great string. I'm not mad at that. Rachel, I'm going to agree with you. I would rinse it.

I would not rinse it, but I personally will use my dental floss two to three times. Yes, okay, we're going resourceful. That doesn't sound gross. I'm the one saying cheapsake. But you're hygiene, homies and all that. Gene homies represent. I think the bacteria, number one, the bacteria would just worry me. Well, I know our dentist would really not like us doing it.

Second of all, Rachel admitted on this show that she doesn't even floss. I don't floss. So for her to have an opinion on this. That's true. That's true. I need it to a street. She's like, oh, yeah. No, while I was in this, I had one of those little guys, the little.

The little two picks. The picks. Yeah, and I kept it on my sink. And every now and then, pick it up. I'm a one and done unless there's an emergency. Okay. Unless it's an emergency scenario. But I think floss is cheap enough that it's not like, wow, floss is expensive these days.

I'm like, just get a new pack of floss. Okay. All right. Last one. Dear Sharon, my husband cuts my hair. We make over $300,000 a year and have been married for 22 years. Economic, right? Does he do a good job?

I would have to say yes. But my question, too, just like George said, does she like? She didn't say. Yeah, I think if she, yeah, I would assume she liked it. I think she probably would or she wouldn't be letting him do it. She may just have like just long hair and it's like I just need a trim. Maybe. Would you like Winston cut your hair?

I think I would trust him. Genuinely, yes. He cut his own hair for years, y'all. No. And he has been growing up. He cut Charles's hair. Honestly, I'm not kidding. If I just needed, if I just needed a trim, I would trust Winston.

I wouldn't trust me. But I would, I really would. because he's a very precise, methodical person. Like, he wouldn't just... He would watch the YouTube videos. Oh, yeah. He's an artist. He wants to do a good job.

It would be, I'm not kidding. Like, he would... And he has, like, an architecture brain, too, so the measurements and, like, I think he literally, I think he would do a great job just like with a trim. And I'm saying just a trim, not like shaping it and all that. No, no, no, no. What do you think? What I let Whitney cut my hair?

Do you think this is resourceful or? Oh, I think it's resourceful. I'm not. just also like, girl, go get your hair done and enjoy the experience, you know? Yeah, they make $300,000 a year. But if it's something she just doesn't care about, you know, some people just aren't into that. You know, you get your hair done regularly. And it's a pretty penny.

Yeah, it is. We've talked about this. Lenzie pays a lot for her hair. It makes me cringe. That's something you value your paying, you're not going into debt, you know. No, no, but like, it does hurt. Oh, financially. I was like, who's cutting your hair?

Like to see when someone says no. To be fair. They just keep going higher and eventually you say, so maybe I need her husband to cut my hair too. Would you let Dave cut your hair? No, George, I would not. There's many things that he can do well, but cutting hair would not be one, I don't think.

Have you... But he cuts his. Yeah, have you ever cut his hair? Like help him with the back or something? Yes, George. I do that weekly. Yes. Can you tell us the process?

Is it like a quick shade? like just said Well, he'll have the little clippers And I'll, I do the neck I do the neck for Winston Does Whitney do the neck for you? Always. My barber does that every two weeks.

Every two weeks? Every two weeks I get my hair cut. George! Wow. What do you want me to do? I can't help it. I created a very high maintenance situation up here. Wow.

Wow. But no, Whitney, she would if I needed her to. Sure. You know, she's done that in a pinch. During COVID when you couldn't get a haircut. She was helping me out. You got to do. It's fair.

I'd let either of you cut my hair. Oh, I wouldn't trust me. You pointed to me, so are you including me in that? I would trust you first. I think Lindsay would do a great job. Because you know what it's like. Artistic. She's like to spend a lot of money on hair. I do.

It's worth it. I mean, my girl's very good, but it's also like. Hundreds of dollars. Yeah. All right. All right, you guys. So it's almost the end of the episode. And we close out every episode with Guilty as charged.

And this is where our producer, Lindsay, gives us a new guilty-charge question every week. And if we are guilty, we have to take a sip. All right. What's the oldest thing that's in your freezer or fridge? Like, what's the oldest expiration date? I said that odd. So, like, what's the thing in your fridge or freezer with the oldest expiration date? Like, how far?

How far are we willing to go? Agreed. I bet we have a solid 2020 something somewhere. Something? I don't have, like, an item, but I... Like 2020? When you say... Mm-hmm.

Okay. 2020. I bet we have something from 2020 in our freezer. We have one side of our freezer that haven't touched in a while, and it just kind of has grown, like, not mold, but frost, frost that, like that. The freezer burn. The freezer burns all over it. I haven't really checked it.

Yeah. Maybe solid 2019. Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked. I wouldn't be there with you, too. I wouldn't be shocked. George? I'm going to go. You seem like you clean out the freezer.

I try to. Well, we had to make room. Can I be really honest? Yeah. for donor breast milk. So we had to buy a garage freezer. No. To store it all.

Because otherwise we'll have no food in the freezer. For all the milk. For sweet little Mia. For sweet little Mia. So that's where we're at right now. But the oldest thing in our freezer is probably like those frozen fruit packets. If I opened it, I'd be like, nope, this is going. But in my head, I'm like, it's frozen fruit.

It'll last for years. It'll be fun. Probably at least two years old. Yeah. That's fair. try to do it once every six month or once every year, like, clean out of the freezer, at least. Fridge is like once every two weeks. I'm like, what has to go? Pantry's the worst. Oh, that's dangerous. I don't even want to know my pantry. You ever, like, eat an old chip just to

see? And you're like, yeah. I don't know. Crackers. Like a half open bag of chips or crackers. Crackers are the worst, though, George. But I would have to say, I'm like you, I'm cleaning out my freezer. I don't know why. It's just so full. I'm just trying to clean. I feel like you You grab stuff out, though, and you're like, this was the cake from last year, and it's going to be great. Well, if there is a really special cake, I had a coconut cake that I got, and I probably did keep that for over a year, but I had it in pieces. And so it's real easy because spur the moment, if the kids are over, you need a great dessert, there's the cake. There it is. And so, yes.

She has a point? desserts are fine. But I will, my pantry is another story. If it's like meat or something, is that freak you out? Or if it gets freezer burn, it's like, it's out. meat? If it's, sometimes, you know, if you're cramming things in your freezer because it's so full, it will tear the plastic. And if that happens, yes, I will throw it away.

It's exposed to the air. Yes. Not good. Not good. Very helpful. I think we're all guilty there. I think we're all guilty there. Take a drink.

Take a sip. But, hey, we're just resourceful. Well, uh, y'all, am I, George and I, I might be. You're winning. I think I might win. I might win this one. It was a delicious. dirty martini.

It's very good. I think Michael Reddish, our resident bartender, did a great job. Very nice. What's our rating on this drink? I'm going to go, I don't think I could make a better

dirty martini, so I'm going to go 10 out of 10. I have nothing negative to say about this. I'm like, I may be the same, George. I'm not kidding. This is a really great martini. And I haven't had one in so long,

so it's delicious for me. I think it's a, I'm going to go with a 10-2. Wow. Michael Reddish. That might be the first to get 10 out of tens across the board. So good.

Okay, so what's in it, George? This is a dirty martini, which has vodka, dry vermouth, olive brine. That's where the dirty comes from in case you're wondering, and olives for garnish. You got to have a little garnish. Yep, always. And a martini. Always. So that's it.

What's the cost breakdown? Do we have that? $2.43 a class. That's not bad. And knowing Michael, he probably got organic olives. I want to, like, see his ratios and stuff. Because a dirty martini can either be like, ooh, too much olive choice. Olive juice.

Yeah. Too strong. We'll put it in the shuneds, too. We'll give them all that. What a tease. So go check that out for the recipe as well. Make it this weekend. If you've never had a dirty martini, be prepared.

It's briny. So you've got to like a little brine. Mm-hmm. It's delicious. So good. So good. So good. So you guys, yeah, make sure to leave us a review.

We love reading the reviews. And it's helpful just to know what you guys are enjoying. And make Ms. Sharon proud. Only positive reviews. Yes. Give, give Miss. We want her bays. We want her back.

At least once a month. We'd love to have you back any time you would like to be. I would take you up on it, George. It was lots of fun. Thank you. Your lips to God's ears and to this camera. So glad you're here. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss a new episode next Thursday of Smart Money Happy Hour.