Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Everyday Middle-Class Luxuries (That Are Low-Key Bougie)

Episode Date: July 10, 2025

📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan.   Anyone else feel like being middle class is making a comeback? In this episode, Rachel and George talk through why this is happening, plus invite you to play along as they react to the internet’s favorite “middle-class luxuries.” Next Steps:     🎥 Watch our video Things That Scream “I’m Pretending to Be Upper Class.” 🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: smartmoneyhappyhour    📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it.  💵 The simplest way to budget. Download the EveryDollar app for free!   Connect With Our Sponsors: Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. Get up to 40% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🥃 Hot Honey Strawberry Bourbon Smash Recipe: The G and M Kitchen 1 1/2 ounces bourbon 3 fresh sliced strawberries 1/2 ounce hot honey 2 basil leaves Instructions: Add the sliced strawberries and two basil leaves to a rocks glass. Top with 1/4–1/2 ounce of hot honey. Thoroughly muddle so that the strawberries are almost all liquid. Top with 1 1/2 ounces bourbon and ice and stir well. Stir thoroughly so that the muddled strawberries are well distributed and do not stay at the bottom of the glass. Garnish with fresh strawberries and more basil.   Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights   🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're talking ultimate middle class luxuries, according to the internet. This next one is a luxury and I hearted it. That's why I'm scared to get into it. It's a gateway truck. Yes, it kind of is. And to never have to touch a toilet again. Could you imagine? Change my life.

Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. This is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. everything from pop culture, current events, and money and honey. Some hot honey in that drink. I want to cough, George, because it went on the back. A little spice.

It went on the back of my throat. It's terrible. You can cough. It's your show. We're just here for you. Thank you. Take your time. Thank you.

Why are you trying to apologize? I'm good. That's right. A natural human reaction. You know, I run this world. Well, let's talk about what we're sipping on. It is a, you guessed correctly, hot honey, strawberry bourbon smash. Okay.

Strawberry, if you're fancy. I said strawberry. Strawberry. Strawberry. I'm not from a London, small town in London. You can't have a... London is the town. It's not a small town.

I was thinking of those little offshoots. Yeah, yeah, yeah, like the holiday. Just like the holiday. Just like a little cabin in the woods. Rachel's always... A little cobblestone farmhouse. One sentence away from a holiday reference. You're always right there.

Just you're right there. Cameron, Kate, and Rachel. You know. Is that the last character? He's part of their crew. That was me. I'm the character. Oh, I was like, I don't remember her, Rachel in that movie.

Very main character energy. Well, hey, if you want to know more about the hot honey, strawberry bourbon smash, stick around to the end. We're going to give you a rating and reveal the cost per glass. Okay, George, I feel like being like middle class, if you will, like that phrase. So many air quotes. Yeah, it's just like that phrase. It's kind of made a comeback.

I feel like there's a lot of like middle class fancy, like a lot of things nodding to the middle class these days. Yeah, I feel like everyone's middle class. is going like, oh, I'm upper class or I'm lower. Everyone just feels like they're kind of stuck in this widening middle class or it's disappearing. It's either widening or disappearing. We don't know? And don't you feel like as millennials, we were raised in the middle class?

I feel like everything when you go back to like the 90s, it's just like solid. I feel like we were like the OGs of it, you know? Well, then you have like lower middle class. You have middle class and you have upper middle class. Yeah. So it's a pretty wide range. And remember like 2012 we were all posting picks of like spilled coffee on outdated kitchen countertops with hashtag relatable.

What's more relatable than the Hefe filter on Instagram? That's what I want, the time I want to go back to. I miss. Oh, yes. We were like, here's a picture of my salad, and I'm proud of it. I know. And here's a terrible filter to cover it up. It's just the easy days.

And you'd get like seven likes, and you're like, woo. Now if you don't get 10 likes within the first 10 minutes, you delete it. You do? Because it's cringe. I don't. I'm just saying that's the new generation. Oh, okay, yeah. They have to like test out material.

Yeah, yeah. You're not taking it on the road. Just post it. it. Set it and forget it. Set it and forget it. But yeah, the middle class way of living, though, again, when you look back, I just feel like from like a stereotype,

like that's how we were in the 90s, from like the size of houses that we all grew up in, the food we ate, like everything about it was just like great. I do miss it. And I don't know if it's because we weren't as like tech addicted yet. So I just feel like we were more connected to reality.

Yeah. So there's also, not just on social media, some buzz around the middle class, but also in the news. I feel like it's talked about a lot. And the question is, you know, is it shrinking? Is the middle class shrinking? Is it disappearing completely?

And what do middle class earners and voters want? So like it's a big push, right? Because it's a big part of the U.S. population. And whose job is it to define it? We don't know. But we do have some data that can help. This is from a CNBC article that published an analysis of the recent U.S. Census Bureau data.

And it listed the middle class income range in every state. So let me throw some out there. Here's some approximate data from that article. Don't hold me to it. Tennessee, this is where we are, middle class income range is between 45 grand and 135 grand. That's a big range. That's quite a different life you're leading. Yeah, sure.

You're on the 45N versus 135N. Yeah. The median household income, a little over 67 grand. Okay, so for New York, middle class income range is 54,700 to 164,200. And the median household income is 82,000. Interesting. It's not that much more than Tennessee, which is shocking. Now let's try Mississippi. Say what you will about it. Middle class income range, 36 grand to 108 grand. Median household income $54,000. Yeah. Okay, California, I got the expensive states. You're welcome. Ready for this? Middle class

income range is 63,700 to 191,000. Okay. Now we're getting somewhere. Okay. And the median household income in California, 95,000. $1,500. That tracks. Yeah? I feel like six figures in California is a necessity at this point. For most parts. To live, yes.

All right. And then Utah, to round it out, middle class income range, 62 grand to 186 grand. Median household income, 93 grand. Which is a lot. That's high.

I guess Utah's gotten, did I know, is it the, is it the Mormon wives? Is that what caused this? All the influencers are there and they're making bank. They're raising that median house like that.

They're raising the entire lifestyle of Utah. I believe it. And I guess all the, tourism and ski slopes? I don't know what's out there. Mountains and stuff? There are mountains and stuff. I'm not going there. It's too high for me.

I'm going to stay at sea level. Sea level. Yeah. Now, someone called in the Ramsey Show, George, and what if they were panicking and being like, oh my gosh, the middle class is extinct, like it's going away? You're either like lower or upper and like the in-between is just, it's not happening anymore.

What would you say? Like, how would you like... Well, I get to the heart behind that because I think behind all of that is a fear that everyone else is doing better than they are and they'll never get there. Yes. So then I would go, okay, what are the facts that actually prove that? Are there any? Are you actually doing great and you're just in crippling debt? And is it bad to be middle class? You know, we can kind of hate on it and go, well, that's middle class. But middle class, you saw the

range. If you're making 135 grand in most states, you can have a great life if you're not in crippling debt. Yes. And so I would say, what's the heart behind this and let go of some of this? Like, I have to be upper class because the goalpost keeps moving. I know. Well, and it feels like if you watch on social media that everyone feels upper class. I feel like you see like vacations and houses and kitchens and cars and lifestyle. It's just like it's in your face constantly. The uppers, I feel like. I feel like you just like see people boarding private jets and it's just like another scroll. That's right. And you're like infinite ceiling to what upper class is. That's like billionaires down to if you make 136 grand in my state, you're now upper class.

Right. Right. Right. So I think we need to let go of these like boxes that we're trying to put ourselves in and just focus on getting better with our money. I love it. Okay. So our team had a little fun, George. They pulled together a list of what the internet considers middle class luxuries. Ooh, okay. So let's go through the list. We're going to share our honest, unfiltered reactions and confess if we pay for these luxuries or we've learned to survive without them like our ancestors. You know? I love it. All right. So play along. First up, having spare items. So sunglasses. like one in a beach bag, one in the car, when in a purse,

phone chargers in every room, a Stanley cup in your car at the office, on the nightstand in the kitchen, all the things. So having spare items. I didn't do this intentionally, but now I'm realizing I love having spare items. Yes, I know. Like I want to walk to the kitchen,

have a phone charger there. I know. One in the room, one in the car. Same with sunglasses. I have some in my bag. I have one in the car. Okay. Yeah, I have multiple pairs of sunglasses,

but I don't have, like, they're not in specific places. all the time, so I lose them, meaning like, I'll look at my purse and they'll be like three pairs. I'm like, oh. You've been collecting them accidentally. Yes, and then they just like end up. So the spare items, yeah, I'm guilty of that. I'm guilty.

Yeah. I do have some travel stuff too. Like I take this stuff when I travel so that it's ready. You know, toiletries, for example. Yep. Have an extra in the toiletry bag instead of having to move at all. Because that's so much work. It's just less brain calories.

I think as I've gotten older, I'm just more forgetful. Yeah. Yeah. And so having everything. And these don't have to cost a lot too, which is great. Yeah. Like it's not expensive sunglasses. A phone charger.

Don't at me for that one, guys. Come on, people. Okay, next up. Hiring professionals for routine household chores. Oh. That is a luxury for sure. So let's go through these. House cleaner.

Okay. That's a good one. Landscapers and Lawn Care. Okay. Absolutely. Window washer. It's a different one. Oh, yeah.

Gutter cleaner. Yeah. Painters. Yeah. And I guess any other service that you don't want a DIY. Oh, man. I'm guilty of at least the first two. Yeah.

A few years ago, we decided to try out the house cleaner life. We do it just once a month, but it changed everything in our marriage. Because now we don't have to fight over who's going to get the grout in the shower this time. Yeah, I know. Right. It is nice to have a deep clean done. You just feel refreshed. Yes.

And you're buying your time. And so as we've gotten to a better place financially, it's great to buy our time back. Stuff like that's worth it. Same with landscaping and long. So Winston sold his lawn mower, we moved to our house. Did he have like a zero-turn? Yes. I feel like he would go all out.

And then he upgraded. That's why I'm scared to get into it. It's a gateway truck. Yes, it kind of is. To get into lawn mowing. Yeah. I could do it half the time if I had a zero turn. It's only, yeah, it's an investment.

Yeah. But other things he'll do, rocks, you know. He's a big rock guy. I learned that about him. But he'll, like, go to Home Depot and buy things, plant things. Like he does a lot of like, we do have a lawn service, though come. So I will definitely give them credit. But Winston will do yard stuff.

And it is funny, like, how many people in our neighborhood don't. And again, not that it's a wrong thing, but I saw a guy that we know one of our neighbors. And he, like, had mulch in the back of his truck. And he was like mulch in the yard, which is what we did all the time, you know. But I'm like, gosh, good for you. There was something about it that I was like. That he's doing the work. Yeah, yeah.

I don't know. I actually remulched. very recently. Did you? And I thought, like, I could go to Lowe's. It's tough. But then I thought, or I could just text a guy, and they just showed up, and it was beautiful.

They pulled the weeds, they trimmed the bushes and the hedges. They do a good job. They know what they're doing. Yeah. Like, people that don't know what they're doing. And I was happy to pay that invoice. And it really wasn't that much. I was like, for what it would have taken me,

and I probably would have missed a few bags that I needed and had to go back. Yes, totally. So I thought, let someone do it right the first time who's good at it and hopefully enjoys it. No, I hear you. And then I have not done window washing or gutter cleaning. Maybe I should. I know. Is this my sign? Have you ever done like the dryer vent cleaning? I always get those flyers in the mail. No. Like your house is about to be on fire. Clean your vents. Tell me though. Yeah. Isn't it we just lift it up and you just? Well, it's all the way through. All the way. They're like, yeah. Oh, geez. See, it's that stuff that I don't know anything

because all the link will go further down and can cause a fire eventually. I know. How much do you have paid those guys? I don't know. A hundred bucks for a vent cleaning maybe? $150,000. That's the thing. They prey on the fears of people like me. I haven't done it, though. Well, there you got you. You haven't fallen for it.

And then painting, I don't know what it is. I just don't enjoy it. I know it's an easier one for the average person to do. Sure. Yes, we can all get a paintbrush out. But also, if you don't know what you're doing, an extra swipe or two in the same spot. I want it to look nice and clean.

I know. Yeah, but you can't do that one. I think that's definitely a doable one. That's a good one. All right. Next, thermostat freedom. Setting the thermostat. to any comfortable temp without thinking.

Oh, I think this one was because of trauma growing up where, like, if you touched the thermostat, my dad knew. He could be out of town, and he would be calling, who touched the thermostat. Like, who did this? I didn't know how thermostats worked growing up, like, as a kid. What do you mean? Well, because I would be cold, and I would just, like, turn it up to, like, 86.

Thinking it would heat up faster? Yes. Do you know you turn it on heat first, right? As a child. Was it on cool? I don't know. I don't remember. But I remember mom and dad having to sit me down and be like, stop messing with the thermostat.

Our house was 86 degrees. And like, I guess we had left to go somewhere and came back. And they were like, oh, my gosh. It was just boiling in there. Because you didn't understand temperature? I guess, because here's another thing. Winston taught me this when we were dating. Are you ready for this?

I never do what the auto button in your car meant with the air conditioning. I grew up with, and my sister still does this. You just turn it up to like 92 degrees in your car when it's cold out. And then once it gets hot, you just turn down the fan blowing, but you keep it hot. Does that make sense? Instead of putting it on cool? Instead of like putting it at like 74 or 72 and then pressing auto. The auto, yeah.

Wow. Do you press the auto in your car? I don't think I do. I have very specific needs. Okay. I can't trust auto to know what my needs are as a man. I know. You want your car at like 72 degrees, though,

regardless of if it's hot or cold out, right? If it's real hot, I'll bump it all the way down to low, and I'll just crank it. That's my sister, okay. I don't use auto, I now, wow, no auto people. I want that car to be working as hard as I am. You know what I mean? If I'm breaking a sweat, my car should be too.

Anyways, that was a way of looking at temperature for me that I didn't know. Winston taught me the auto button, and now I never forget. I use it every day. I should try it out more. I know, but people like you and my sister, they just crank down or up depending on, like... But it is a luxury, I will say, like, I get the electric bill and it shows you how much was used for, you know, each back worth it. Do you turn your, like, up or down when you, like, leave? I don't.

I do have the smart, so, yeah, there is the away mode. Yeah. So if we're going out for a significant period of time. Yeah. But I don't want it to, like, have to work really hard to cool down again if we were gone for a few hours. Yeah. So I'll usually keep it at a reasonable temperature. Yeah.

But I'm also, now that we have a baby, I've realized I've lost control again. Oh, no. Why? Because every time I bump it down, she's like, you're going to freeze the baby. You know her room gets colder in the house than ours does. Oh, yeah, if it's not like, yes. It's not well ventilated. Yeah.

So her room does get colder and poor little Mia. Sweet little girl. Apparently 68 is enough to freeze a baby. Did you know that? Oh my gosh. That's a good one. That is a luxury though. Oh, God bless.

As an adult, when your parents aren't around, be like, take that, dad. Take that. I'm just bump it up. I'm just bump it up. Bump it up. Next up, ad-free streaming subscriptions. Wow. Keyword ad-free.

Are you willing to splurge? Spotify, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu. Okay, so for TV, yes, subscriptions are different. Music and YouTube, no. Wait. Sorry, YouTube. You have Spotify with ads? No, well, just recently, George, in the last, like, maybe three months,

I bought a subscription. To what? Spotify, yeah. Are you listening to that much music these days? Well, I do podcasts to... Oh, that makes sense. And then we are doing music now that we have our pool. Like, we're outside a lot.

Rocking a playlist? Yes, and the kids, like, want music. How about you? Ad-free. The most recent one is YouTube premium. Okay, that's a big deal. Because I watch a lot of YouTube clips, I realized. Yeah.

And having to watch ads... Once you experience it ad-free, there's no going back. Yeah, you're done. And that's a real experience. I think it's like 18 bucks a month for YouTube premium. Is that part of YouTube TV? No, so that's different. YouTube TV is like 83 bucks a month now.

Okay. But if you quit that one. You don't get YouTube TV? Yeah. How do you watch TV? I don't. No way. You don't have any like just channels.

There's no shows that are like on TV that I would want to watch. Have a wheel of fortune. I've never sat down and went. You know what I wish we could watch right now? Some Wheel of Fortune. We say that every night about six. We can wait. 630.

We love it. We love it. Love Will of Fortune. And then now it's the season of American Idol. So American Idol comes on right after. My girls haven't seen that. And so they were like, what is this, Mom?

And so they, like, wanted to watch. Wow. I know. Sounds like, oh my gosh. That's a middle class luxury right there. Crazy. But yeah, YouTube TV. We got rid of our Comcast, though.

George, you'd be proud. What do you mean you got rid of your Comcast? We had Comcast cable to like... Oh, you had normal cable. Yeah, yes. Traditional cable. And you cut the cord, as they say. We cut the cable.

Proud of you guys. And we got YouTube TV. instead. Wow. I'm surprised you were able to cancel Comcast. Some people go to the grave. It's unable to cancel Comcast. It was tough. It was multiple phone calls, I think, going through multiple people, but it happens. I bet Winston had a real, you know, strong arm them to get them to do it. That is a good one. And these are usually, you know, they can range from six bucks to 12 bucks to 18 bucks to YouTube TV is insane. But ad free streaming is a game changer. If you hate the commercials. Now, weather apps,

this is one, I have the Weather Channel app, and the stupid Candy Crush ads pop up. I'm like, we're in the middle of a severe storm threat here. Can you take this seriously weather channel? This is not a game. We didn't do that start though recently, I feel like. I feel like they haven't had ads for, it's like bad. It's a lot. They have to make money too. I'm just looking at the daily weather. It's all I need. And they're like plumbing service. And you have to find a tiny X and it won't appear for the first like five seconds. It drives me crazy. What a, what a rough life we have. What a rough life we have. You know, one subscription though that I would pay for.

because it is so worth it, delete me. 100%. That's not even a luxury. It's a necessity in my life. Yeah, because if you don't realize it, if your data is out on the internet, you guys, it's like a billboard with your name, your address, your email address,

your kid's names, your phone number, like everything about who's out there. And this is what really grinds my gears. George is people, businesses out there, go to collect your data and then sell your data to other people and they make the money. I'm like, you're making money off of my data. What are you doing?

delete me is great because what happens is those data brokers like you could be set up for fishing and harassment like the scams these days are so good all the AI and technology yeah so delete me they can do more of it at a much higher level that's right so they go in and remove your information and it's beautiful they send you a report and see how many hours you up to 94 i just got mine a few days ago okay good for you i love a new report it's like christmas morning i open i'm like oh what sites am i not on anymore this is so wonderful it's and it's real people on their team that are going in and doing this manually. So it saves you a ton of time.

It's not reactionary. They're proactively doing this all year long. And they're giving our smart money, happy hour listeners and viewers a sweet discount, 20% off the annual plans, which comes out to about $9 a month for the individual plan. And again, it's a necessity in the camel house. So go to join delete me.com slash smart money

to get the discount or click the link in the description below. Beautiful. All right. Here's another middle class luxury. The deep freeze. What makes it deep? It's deep. How deep you reach into it versus like a...

It's on the ground and you like lift it up. Yeah. That makes sense. Deep freezer. Okay, I just didn't know. No one teaches you. They don't teach you this stuff in school. Yeah.

So people put like extra meat in there, if you will. But it is. It's a... It's one that was like growing up if you had the refrigerator in the garage, the drink fridge. It was like a big deal. Like you were rich in my book.

100%. And the deep freeze. Yeah. Do you have one? We, yeah, I would consider it. It's like in a side closet around, like it's not in the garage. Oh, okay. But, yeah.

You know closet freezer. You also have a closet sauna. It's tough. How many closets are being used for non-closet activities? That's a good question. We probably didn't. Because when we built our house, Winston went in and he was like, any staircase, build a closet underneath it, build a closet underneath it.

That actually makes sense. So literally we have all this like, ran. Because it's like... Because it's like... It's just drywall, which is an... So just go ahead and like make it a space. And now we just find little nooks to use things with. I love it.

Well, we got one once we had a baby for like the breast milk backstock. Oh, yes. So that's what it was used for. What are you for now? Now, can I tell you what's in there currently? Yeah. A lot of pines of ice cream. And Jenny's came out with new ice cream bars stocked up on those too.

So good. Under the guise of this is for my pregnant wife. 100%. But really, your boy might grab a bite. Where do you buy your ice cream? It depends on what I'm looking for and who has the best price. So can I tell you my hack, though?

Yeah. I will go to the Instacart app and I will search across the app for the ice cream I'm looking for and then I'll see who has the best price. But I have very specific ice cream needs, as you know. I'm not just buying any ice cream on sale. You have the needs because you're picky

or because of your stomach? I'm picky in my quality of ice cream. Yeah, not because of your gluten stuff. I guess you're going to... No, but that is a... I found one recently, actually, this weekend. I went to... the grocery store to find one

that has a gluten-free cookie dough ice cream. Oh, smart. Because I keep getting this ad. I was influenced. I keep getting this ad on Instagram. And it's like, you're gluten-free because you're weak. Here's some cookie-dough ice cream. Because you haven't had it in a decade.

I'm like, yes. Oh, my gosh, that's so good. Okay. And I went and found it. Ooh, this next one is a luxury, and I hearts it. Hit me. Heated car seats. Not like baby car seats,

but the seats in your car when they can be heated. I don't think any of our cars growing up had any of those features. My dad would buy the most standard vehicle possible to get the best deal. I don't think they were like invented then. I wonder when like heated seats became a thing. I feel like it's got to be early 2000s. They had figured it out on like the luxury cars. Yeah.

Now it's pretty standard on like a slightly premium package for any car. You can get the heated seats. Oh my gosh. That is a game changer. Now super boozy if it cools. Have you seen those? The cooling seats I'm excited about for a Tennessee summer one day. Booge.

What is that? Now, we both have Tesla's. Uh-huh. So when I got my Tesla, it's a 2013, but it still has, like, the app, and I can control it with the app. That blew my mind. Okay, I didn't know about this either.

Someone just taught me this, like, a few weeks ago, that you can set the Tesla, the temperature you want in it, and when you get in, it's, like, set for you. Someone just told you this? Yeah. What do you've been doing all these years? I just use it as my key.

Now, I will use it. If it's in the parking lot and it's cold out, I'll, like, get it all warmed up. I'll get the air blowing. Yes. Okay. How, when do you do it, like, and how long does it take you from when you do it to when you're going to get your car? I'd say five minutes is plenty of time.

Oh, okay. Yeah. Or if it's a hot day, I'll get the air on in there. So when I walk in the car, it's not steaming. Now that is... That's technology. That is luxury. Luxury.

This is a 2013. It's a smart car. That's what we're driving, George. We're driving a computer. So if you're getting a little antsy out there, here's some financial advice. Don't just go buy a car. because of some fancy features and going to debt for it. And these salespeople will sell you on every little feature

and how it's going to change your life. And they're great features. But if you're going to do this, buy used, buy in cash, do not go into debt for it unless you're a net worth millionaire. In which case you can take the hit, go have fun, pay cash for the car still, get you that luxury car. We're buying our van, the ultimate luxury package at the van, had a heated steering wheel.

I know, and that's really what I wanted. My wife's car has the heated steering wheel, and it is nice. On a cold day? It's like a warm hot. I don't have it. You don't have it. No, Winston was like,

I don't think we need to pay that much just for a heating steering wheel. I wouldn't say it's worth paying for on its own. So we did the touring package. Is this the odys? The touring is the best. Yeah? Yeah.

How do you know about touring? Well, I had a Honda back in the day. An 09 Civic. So it's the same like there's the LX, the EX, the EXL. But I think touring is the top of the line. No, it's the... Is there touring elite? It's the LAT.

elite, yes. That's how they get you. And it's elite with the heated steering well, is what that is. Sorry that Winston thought you weren't worth it. Do I do? It's like that extra 10 grand or whatever it was. I can feel Winston's like side eye right now. He would just be like, this is so dumb.

Yeah, I love it. Okay, next on middle class luxuries, a quality mattress. What did we do growing up for mattresses? I think I had the same one my whole one. Was there really like mattress shopping, or did your parents just walk in and go, or it was like a hand-me-down from other family. Yeah, I genuinely have no idea. I don't ever remember, like, getting a mattress.

No. Like, it was always just there. No. Like, I was born, there it was. And now we are, like, so advanced in life that the last two mattresses that we had purchased came in the mail. Oh, in the box. Like, in a box, y'all.

And then you're like, and they are the best mattresses. I love them. So I don't even go into a mattress store anymore. I want to know who is. I think there's only drug deals happening in there. Really? That's my hot take. You know, that's a good question.

There's a lot of mattress. How many mattress firms can still exist in today's world? Don't trust it. But some of our parents still have the hand-me-down mattresses from our 18th century ancestors. Like, my parents still have my childhood bet. They will not get rid of it. Because, like, it's a comfortable bed.

I'm like, you're supposed to replace these every seven and ten years. Are you really? It's been 30. Guys, what are we doing here? So here's what's crazy. You can do a 12-inch memory foam full. from nectar, and it's $599, $600, $600. Or then you can go Lux Breeze, Temporepetic King

for $6,299. That's far beyond a middle-class luxury. I mean, that's upper-class. If you're spending $6 grand on a mattress. I have heard the sleep numbers are amazing. Have you had people's sleep numbers? I see a sleep number fan out here. But those are expensive, too.

You know what I want? Like, after I had babies, it's really the only time I've ever stayed over in a hospital, I think. I don't think I've ever, like, spent the night in a hospital except when I had kids. That makes sense. And I love the hospital. Love it. Because of that.

Because the bed. Murr. And I want one so bad. I'm always propping myself up. Well, you do read a lot in bed, don't you? Yeah. We watch TV, like, whatever. I'm just sitting up a lot.

And I'm like, could you imagine just sitting up and just murk going down? But I do feel like you're heading into a nursing home at that point. You know what I mean? And then your knees? You can prop your knees up. Oh, that is nice. I mean, it's real good. I may.

That may be our next mattress. Can't like a pillow do that? That's what I'm saying. It's like, it can. It's just a lot. Isn't it bad to do any of that in bed? What? I feel like I've seen all the studies like, don't do anything in bed.

I mean it's so stupid. I eat in bed sometimes. Don't read in bed. Don't eat in bed. I do everything in my bed. I love my bed. And I said that the other day, and Dr. John the Loney was like, I think that's like a sign of depression. I was like, oh my gosh.

But I would literally. literally, like, get home, if I could. If I, like, didn't have much responsibility in life, I would come home. I would put on comfies, you know. What's comfies? Cozy earth's stuff, like, just some pants and sweatshirt, cozy earth pants and sweatshirt, and get into bed.

And I would work from, I would do everything in my bed. And you're supposed to, like, separate your bed from, like, all this other stuff? No. The bed is, like, my, it's like one of my favorite parts of my house. It's like one of my favorite spots in the world. To be in that bed. Is it alone?

No one bothering you? Either way. I can direct people from my bed that I need to do what to do. You can do most of your job. But I do. I'm like, I would rather be there than like laying on the couch.

Yeah. I just love my bed. That's a good stage of life. I just love my bed. In motherhood and wifedom, where you can just do your work from the bed. So I do love even folding clothes on my bed, George. It makes you excited to fold.

I love it. Well, because my bed, too, I'm folding cozy earth clothes while sitting in cozy earth sheets too. So I have like a cozy earth world around me when it happens. And it. really makes me happy. I love it. Well, good news for you and everyone listening and watching because

Cozy Days is upon us. I'm obsessed. Should I have them forever and ever, amen? Yes. 365 days. Should those be cozy days? I wish, but right now it's July 11 through 13th is officially cozy days. So don't miss your chance to score some Cozy Earth sweet discounts. July 11 to 13th, head to CozyEarth.com. Use promo code smart money to get not 40, but 45% off. Temperature regulated sheets, apparel, and more. So much stuff, yes. And don't forget, guys, the deal ends July 13th. So for better sleep and a cooler summer,

check out those cozy days, because I am telling you, everything that I wear or that I experience with cozy earth, it is my favorite. It's my favorite stuff. Robs, pajamas, pajamas, sheets, all of it. Make it cozy. It is. It's amazing.

We're obsessed. You will be too. We'll drop a link in the description as well. All right, next, hiring movers. So you are not trying to get boxes and packing up and asking friends to help all of it. The luxury of hiring movers. I do think as a middle-class American society,

we've also just collected so much crap that I don't know that we can even do it on our own. Our garages are storage units. Our storage units. Do you have a storage unit? I just got one because we're packing for our move. But otherwise, I've sworn off storage units. Yes, I know.

because it's just so much stuff. If it can't fit in the attic, you have too much crap. That's my rule. It's a lot. Unless you have like Papas vintage convertible and storage or whatever. Totally, totally. Which I'm sure that's your life. No.

No. It will be one day. What are you talking about? Your kids will be storing Dave's vintage cars. Oh. Think about that. He has like one vintage car and we'll probably sell it. His cars now will be vintage by the time they're old.

Think about that. Like, oh yeah, that was his, 2007. But they're not like sentimental. It's not like... It will be to Charlie. Old Chuckie Cruz. We'll make it last.

Oh my gosh. Movers is a game changer. I always joke that if a friend asked me to move, I would rather donate to a GoFundMe to hire movers. Oh my gosh. Than actually physically help them. Yeah, it's tough. It's a labor of love, for sure.

And the friends that Will knows, some of these friends, they got a lot of stuff they're moving. Yeah. And it's like, I can't work for fun. at this juncture of my life. You know? I'm not going to pull a bulge. I'm not going to have a bulging disc because I tried to move his antique china.

Yeah. Yeah. The hutch. Goodness gracious. What are we doing with the hutches? I'm done with hutches. What are we putting in there? Plates that we don't use, you know?

Exactly. It's unbelievable. Unbelievable. Oh, my gosh. But definitely worth it. Okay, this one I don't get, but Winston loves it. Surround sound. So.

You don't ever want to be bathed in the same? sound? No. So Winston has a speaker on the ground in a corner. You want to feel the rumbles. Like, I'm like, it just, it makes no it makes no sense. The movies you're watching have no interesting audio happening. You know what I mean? It's just dialing.

That's like 99% of your Winston's movies. Yeah, but like, I'm not going to like be like, oh my God, there's an airplane behind me. Like, I don't get it. Like, it's like right there. I want to feel the chopper coming. I'm like looking around for the chopper coming in hot. I don't get it. You wouldn't understand.

I really don't. It doesn't make a lot of sense for me. I will say this. I don't have it. Okay. I have a sound bar. That's as far as I've went. Okay.

Yes. Yes. But I don't watch a lot of movies these days. It's hard with a baby. It's illegal. Babies can't watch movies, I found out. What? It's bad for their brain.

Like, okay. Sometimes I'll sneak a little Miss Rachel from being bad. Not for the baby, for me. I learned a lot. She's a great teacher. Yes. Oh, my gosh. And shut.

Okay. You watch a lot of movies with the kids. Don't you think they deserve surround sound? To be immersed in an experience? No. No. Oh, but you deserve to be cozy? Whatever.

Yeah, they've never once been like, I wish I was hearing sounds from my like right and left shoulder. I did have friends that were really into it. You know, and they have speakers in the corners of the room. He's like, oh, this is. It's legit. I want to hang out and watch a movie here. And you know what? Maybe if I experienced it well in someone's house.

You know what you should do? Go to a movie theater. I do. I just went to one. And now it is it. That's allowed. Movie theaters are loud. I did think, should I have to be a plus? That's why it's a special experience. Yeah. If it was just a big TV up front, nobody would go to the movies. I hear you. I love the movies.

All right, next, this is fancy, fancy a bidet. Oh, yeah. Have you ever seen one in real life? I really, yes, I have. I've never experienced one. I'm too nervous. I, because like now they have smart toilets. What does that even mean? Have you heard this like where you walk up and the lid opens and it's heated?

I can get behind that. Me too. Should we look into that? And I bet they have a bidet option because isn't a debate a bidet just like the water that comes up, right? That's considered a bidet. Yeah. So I bet a smart toilet has that feature. The smart toilet at Home Depot is 500 bucks.

No way. Yep. And you can get a detachable bidet from Target for 40 bucks. Okay, I don't need that. Should I go all out? If you can convince Winston Would you rather have a smart toilet or surround sound? Smart toilet.

Me too. Just based on usage, you're going to get more utility on that thing. Yes, you would. And to never have to touch a toilet again. Could you imagine? Change my life. I mean, seriously.

And I think it flushes automatically when you leave to. Like, I think it's like, I think it knows. It knows everything. It knows where you are at all times. Man. All right. That may be my... I think five.

We've spent 500 bucks on Stu. Jupiter stuff in America. I think smart toilets might be the move. At least something you're going to use. Other countries have this figured out. Yeah, that's where America's behind. Like, if you go to Japan, like a public bathroom, like self-cleans. The entire room cleans before you go in there.

I sell in Japan, too, in their airport. They have a robot that does your manicures for you. Yep. True story. People are way advanced. What are we doing over here? I don't know. I thought America had it figured out.

Not with the airports. The technology. I know. Speaking of technology, the last one on our list for middle class luxuries, robot vacuums and talking apps were lumped together. So Rumba, you have a Rumba at home or one of the- You know, we used to, we don't anymore, but you know what we did get? This is going to sound so boogie. And it will be bougie.

Are you ready for this? When we got our pool, the new pool vacuums. Is a robot? Is no longer the big tail that goes in, the big, you know. Yeah, scary snake-looking thing. The snake thing. now they have vacuums and we got one. And it's like a Roomba.

You put it in and it flows and it goes down and it does it all. And then when it is about to be out of battery, it comes to the side and puts itself up with a handle and just grab it, take it out, clean the filter, put it on the charger. And it's actually like a really great back. It does a lot.

Yes. Is that how crazy? That's amazing. I mean, to me, I'm like, we are living in the future. I'm just, unbelievable. Because I'm upset that a robot can swim better than I can. Like, how did we teach a robot how to swim?

And the kids named them Bubbles. And so Bubbles is like, yeah, everywhere. And deep stays down there, skims the top. I mean, it's unbelievable. Wow. That is true luxury. I think it's the busiest thing on the list for me. We do own the robot vacuum, but we cannot use it because our French bulldog thinks it's,

I guess, a murderer in the house. Oh, no, barks and stuff. So he won't let it run. He will attack it nonstop until he destroys. it. Oh, shit. It just sits. It's decor.

Why don't you sell it? We could, but I have faith that one day I'll be able to use it. Maybe if he's at daycare, we'll run it on that day. Have you seen the lawnmower ones that do this too? Oh. There's a lawnmower room-but type thing, too. Yes. Wow.

I know. But I feel like doesn't the man lose the pride of like, I mowed my loan? Unless you hire a lawn service, like we talked about earlier. I feel like it's cheaper to hire a lawn service than to buy a robot. That would be a good question. I don't know. I think that's super expensive to get the robot lawn. Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure. But if the technology, you know, gets better, maybe I'll buy one one one day.

Oh, man. All right. I always love. What a great life. I love, yes. What a blessing it is to live in today's America. If we have it, if you have anything on that list, we're doing good. You're doing all right, better than you think. We're doing good. So what's your takeaways? I think that's it. You're doing better than you think. I think there can be this, like, invisible, like, idea of, oh my gosh, I'm never going to catch up. All these people have, like, this, like, insane lifestyle or whatever it is. And then when you're actually have a level of, I think, gratitude for where you're at, and a reality check of like, all right, life is good.

Life is good, you know? And even with some of the stuff, I'm like, you know, I don't want to just fill my life with a bunch of crap, right? Like, some of the stuff is worth it, right? If you have a service, help you. Like, I think there are things. But then there's a point that, like, are we going to just keep buying and buying and buying and buying?

More stuff, you know? And does it really enhance our life? Helicopure. I need that surround sound. No, that is a good take. I do think consumerism has made us always feel like we need more. Yes. I don't think that's a controversial take.

And average is okay. It's okay to not be better than everyone in your life. Yes. It's okay to just be debt-free, have a great life. It's so true. Go on vacation once a year. That's normal. It's okay.

And everything everyone else is doing could be a facade. We don't know if they're in crippling debt, if their marriage is falling apart, or maybe they're doing great and thriving. Either way, what good? does it do for us to compare our lives to theirs? Yes, yep. And at what point is it that you just spend so much of your life running and chasing and working

and not actually like being in the moment with the people you love, you know? So there's something about that mindset of not feeling like you always have to like go the next rung up, right? I have to keep getting better and bigger and newer and all this stuff. Like, you're good. Life's good. Enjoy it. Have some peace, you know? Listen to Rachel.

And these trends will come and go. We can do this episode 10 years from now, looking back at the third. things we covered joking at how lame these things are now and nobody does it anymore. That's so true. So whatever trend you're like super into right now, just know it will disappear and you'll realize you just wasted a bunch of money to maybe try to impress other people or yourself. Love it. So just be more comfortable in who you are. Have some contentment, as my friend Rachel would say. And I will say this. If you really are struggling financially and you feel like even middle class is too far away, make some pivots, make some sacrifices, work on that career change,

that salary increase, cut some spending, do what you have to do to get to a better place, and if the budget continues to feel tight, sell some of the stuff that you've bought out of luxury. And if you need help with this, we have a great app called Every Dollar to make a budget. It's foolproof. You set it and you stick to it,

and that will get you to a better place financially. Maybe to middle class, maybe beyond. Who knows where the budget will take you. So check it out. We'll drop a link to every dollar in the description below. Amazing. All right, George, before we get to our guilty's charge question. What do we sip it on? We have the hot honey strawberry bourbon smash.

Man, this was a drink. I did a little better than you, but... I didn't like it. It's one of those drinks that looks so much better than it is. At first, when I first tasted it, I'm like, are you trying to be a bloody merry, but then you're not? I think it's the hot honey. It's almost like a little, I don't know. Yeah, it has potential. And the presentation from mixologist Michael, 10 out of 10 on presentation. Well, because his strawberry, He took the actual strawberry leaf out and put basil, fresh basil leaves inside the strawberry.

I thought we figured out of GMO. Look how big this strawberry is. It's huge. It's like my fist. It's huge. I thought they GMO it to put basil on top just growing off there. I'm going to give this one a six out of ten.

I'm going two out of ten. Ooh. I know. And can I say this? Mixologist Michael. I give him so much credit. He was in there muddling. I mean, you can see.

For like four minutes, I mean, a long time. So he put a... Yeah, there's a fruit salad at the bottom of this thing. He put a lot of effort in. So, Michael, thank you. A for effort. Well, hey, the cost comes out to $2.51.

And not a penny more. Here's what's in it. Bourbon, fresh-slice strawberries, hot honey and basil leaves. And you can garnish it, adorn it with a strawberry with basil coming off the top if you want to be extra.

So beautiful. Get the recipe in the show notes. Try it this weekend. Maybe you'll perfect it and make it a 10 out of 10. Who knows? All right, George. It's time for...

Guilty as charged. And this is where we ask each other, a guilty charge question every week, and if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, are you ready for this? Hit me. Have you ever purchased anything that your friends or family thinks

is an over-the-top luxury? Oh, what a perfect one for this episode. Yeah, mine's pretty simple. My parents think it's hilarious that we get a house cleaner. Oh, really? Because we never had a house cleaner growing up. Yeah, they were always cleaning.

My mom was in a constant. state of cleaning. She's cleaning. And so I think she's like, what are you doing as someone else is going to come to your house and do all of this for you?

I'm like, yeah, doesn't it sound amazing? Isn't that great? So that one is still jarring for them as Middle Eastern immigrants. Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. Mine would probably be my Instacart habits.

I go on and off the whole Instacart game. Who hates on that one? My mom, I would say. Sharon Rameses. Sharon listens to the show. Hi, mom. She loves the show. But she's like, you need to go to the store

because she thinks I'm missing out. on some great options on food because you just order online. But it's to me... It sounds like she just wants you to eat differently. It makes me say that. You're missing out. They have organic and gluten-free, Rachel.

Yes. She probably would love your diet, George. We probably have very similar diets. You and Sharon, yeah. Min is my sweets habit. She's much healthier than I am. Yeah, y'all are both a little crunchy. You read labels, you know.

You're one of those people. They put them on the back. Someone spends a lot of time. Listen, my kids like carrots and cucumbers. It's like, we're good. No shade. You know. And dino nuggets.

They go together. Yeah, that's right. Gotta have a veggie. Love a dino nugget. But yeah, I would say it's probably that. The fact that you can order groceries to the door is like, what? You don't go to the grocery store, you know. These are the middle class luxuries of our generation.

It's just other people doing the things you don't want to do. I'm not kidding. That's kind of where I start to spend my money, right? It's better than stuff, personally. That's what I'm thinking. I'm like, I don't need, like... I think our parents' generation was like the more stuff that I can see the better I'm doing. Oh, the more value. And R is like the more time that we're not having to

trade for. You know, George, that's good. That's my big observation. You should write a book. You should write a book about that. I don't know if there's a whole book in there, but thank you. It's pretty good. Very kind. So make sure to DM us any of your guilty of charge questions that you have at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel, because we love to have them. And also, it's always interesting when people act rich, kind of that fake rich, but they're really not, but they look like they are. And so make sure to check out our episode, Things That Scream, I'm Pretending to Be Upper Class. We'll put a link down below. Or if you're watching on YouTube, you can click right there.

All right, George. It's been fun. What a fun episode. We'll see all of you guys next Thursday on an all-new episode of. Smart Money Happy Hour.