Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Explaining the Lore Behind Ramsey Slang (“Plastic” Surgery?)

Episode Date: August 13, 2026

Get your ticket for Investing Essentials today! If you’ve ever wondered what phrases like “clock the tea” or “rice and beans” mean—today’s episode is for you. We’re decoding trendy and financial slang (and of course, addressing the haters along the way!)   Next Steps: ·   🎙️ Catch our episode Old School Money Habits Making a Comeback? (We Have Thoughts) ·   💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar. ·   🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour ·   📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it.    Connect With Our Sponsors: ·   Check out the FAIRWINDS Credit Union exclusive account bundle. ·   Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. ·   Get 20% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth.   Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🥃 Italian Greyhound Recipe By: nikki.sips ·   1.5 ounces vodka or gin ·   3/4 ounce Aperol ·   1 ounce freshly squeezed grapefruit juice ·   1/2 ounce simple syrup ·   Grapefruit soda, to top ·   2 grapefruit wheels ·   1 sprig of thyme   Instructions: Prep your glass by lining with grapefruit wheels and filling with ice—set in the freezer while you prepare your cocktail. In a shaker, combine spirit, Aperol, simple syrup, and grapefruit juice. Shake with ice for 8 seconds and strain into prepped glass. Top with grapefruit soda and garnish with a sprig of thyme.     Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights  🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you don't know what clock the tea and rice and beans means, today's episode is for you. We are decoding trendy and financial slang and as always addressing the haters. Time to do some plastic surgery. Get a little plesectomy going. Oh, pick me, pick me. Well, I've had it for 11 years. Katie, the horse doesn't even know your name. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour.

Cheers, George. That was confident. We meant it. What are cheers? Just the smart money happy hour. Sometimes it really hits. Well, that intro, fun fact, we don't have teleprompters at all on this set. And so George memorizes word for word. Just that one line I have to memorize.

Yeah, but that was a long one. And when you did it, we're all cheering for you. Would anyone care if I read it? It just feels less authentic. Oh, that's true. You could have read it. If you don't know how that feels lame. Well, this is the show where two friends who happened to be money experts.

Talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And before we get into the decoding, we're going to talk about the drink. It is the Italian Greyhound. May I say it fantastic. Not a fan of the dog necessarily, but this? Well, Greyhound is another drink. Oh, it is?

Yes. What is that? Vodka juice. That's called a Greyhound? Yes. So this adds to it by making an Italian with the Aparol. Oh, my gosh. Which we'll get into.

I was so excited to teach you about it, but I knew you would not care. I needed you to be intrigued. I cared. That was the most I've gotten out of it. of you. This is great. Stick around until the end of the episode. We're going to give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass. Love it. All right, today we're decoding Ramseyisms. But before we elaborate, we're going to attempt to decode some new to us, or at least me, Gen Z terms. You may be more hip to them. Oh, I don't know. Possibly. You know, in society,

we love to hate on the younger generations, you know. But Gen C, they got a lot, they got a lot. We're just jealous because they're bossing us around. Yeah, they know what they're doing. They're a great generation. From clothing trends to the slang, we all just go, okay, we're doing this now. We'll do it if you say it. We're doing the wide leg. We'll do, I know. You know what I fell for?

What's that? Oh, no. And I said never. I think actually I said it on an episode that I will never. Beryl jeans. Beryl jeans? Beryl jeans? Why am I thinking like a cowboy wrangler?

That's kind of what it looks like. Beryl? Yeah, it's like wide leg, but it's the shape of it. It's got a slight. On the ends, yes. I didn't think they were really cute, but I felt cool, you know. You did? Yeah.

Are we getting to like... I think I'll wear them next shoe. MC Hammer, Aladdin pants at this point? Are we there? It's, yeah, borderline. Okay. Yeah. I think someone's trolling.

Someone's going, how wide can we go before the millennials say something? Yes. Hey, we are, remember skater type? Jinkos. Jinkos and massive baggy jeans. Oh, yeah. And the sagging. Remember sagging?

Yeah. Remember sagging? What are people doing? Are they still doing? They're not doing that anymore. Well, here's some good trends going on. with Gen Z. Compared to other generations, they have some of the lowest debt, probably because their millennial and Gen X parents are still trapped in student loan payments, and they've scared them.

Yep. They're very open to budgeting, and they think they invented cash stuffing, which is aka the envelope system. They didn't invent it, but they brought it back, and we are all for it for them. We love to see it. Yeah, they're basically the purveyors of culture at this point. Yes. And any cool internet slang I've ever heard was created by 19-year-old barista in Portland with a mullet. That was my version. So let's see if you can guess these, Rachel. We're going to decode some Gen Z. I'm not even able to pronounce them if I have to read any of these.

I'll try to read them and you guess what they mean. How about that? Okay, that's funny. Okay. Skibbitty do da, skibbitty. Maybe that's where it came from. I think that was... I think it means it's wonderful. It's so good. So cool. Skibety. It's a filler word that means anything

from cool slash awesome to weird or dumb. So anywhere... Somewhere between really cool and dumb. Wow. Those jinseers really keeping us on our toes. Sometimes you just need a word that does it all. I just can't think of anything so skibbitty. Those are skibbitty shoes. I don't know that you would say those are skibbitty shoes. Can you use it in a sentence?

Let's see. No, you can't. It's not a sentence. It's its own sentence. Oh, you say it by itself. I think it's its own thing. That's skibbity. It's singular. Skibbity. Or you just say skibbity. If you're like, I like, I like this cocktail. I'd like Exhibitie. Yeah. That works. I can't do it. All right.

Next up, maxing. So looks maxing. Vibes maxing. Oh, it's up. To maximize something. The limit is high. You are doing the most. Doing the most of that thing.

Is that true? Yeah, to maximize something. Yeah. I mean, the word's kind of in there, maxing. Okay. You know what we need to bring back? How about this one? Uh-huh.

We're inventing it. Budget maxing. We should do the most with the budget. There we go. Budget maxing. Wealth maxing. Wealth max out that Roth IRA. Debt snowball maxing.

Do it to it. Do it to the max. Oh, emergency fund maxing. I don't think they're going to let us come up with these. Do you use that one in a sentence? Yeah. Like, oh, he's totally looks maxing. So maxing.

I like that one. All right, so far I'm going to take that one. You need to put something in front of maxing for it to work. He's maxing, she's maxing, it's maxing. Yeah. Like Dave on air might be boomer maxing. When he's talking about affordability. Uh-huh.

I'll give you affordability. You know, one of those rants? Oh, just, yeah, we love the rants. Yes, we love a good boomer maxing. All right, next up, this is related. Mogging. They kind of live in the same family. I was thinking steal it because it's so cool, like mugging.

Okay. You're not super far off. Mogging. So usually it's like your height monging, your face monging. Face monging. Wow. To outshine or dominate in something. So maybe your outfit mogging.

Because everybody always wants to know, what's Rachel wearing? Drop a link. Okay, like the Lakers, maugging. Lakers? Yeah, didn't they do? No, the Knicks! Even I know that.

Shoot! But I'm just thinking of like a cool team that's like doing great. Like, they're so magging. Sure. You said it. All right. L-O-R-R-N-N.

Nope, L-O-R-E. Oh. I think you were thinking of lure. L-O-O-R-V-R-V-R. L-R. L-R. L-R. Like legend and lore.

lore has it I'm really giving it to you at this point I got nothing The background story That's it Give me the lore Yeah what's the lore Give me the tea

That's what I'd like to say I think that one's over We're gonna get to a tea related I love can I tell you I love when they're like hey Yeah give me the tea Spill the tea And the best was one of my friends

Was like I have news I have to tell you And I did the tea emoji Reaction to the text And I thought Oh my God the teapot I thought, oh my gosh. That's so fun.

Invite me in the group text sometimes. Just throw me in there. Don't tell anyone. Give me a tea emoji. I think that's really fun. Well, guys are notoriously not good at tea. They don't have it. They never have the tea.

So tea is in, for me. Lore is out. Laura is out. Okay, what about chopped? Or choppelganger. Chopping it. Chopping it. Killing it.

Doing good. Oh, I think it's the opposite. Oh, we chopped it. I think like, oh, broccoli's chopped. Yeah. Chopped ganger, a less attractive off-brand or downgraded version of something. Dopple-ganger, chopper-ganger. Yeah.

Wow. You with me? Chopped. Wow. Okay. Just saying it over and over again. You know, core. Core is on here.

Use it in a sentence. Use interchangeably with culture or vibes. Paris Hilton Corps. It's toting a small, sassy dog and then we leave the ton carrier. Okay, yes. I have heard this, yes. So like Miley core, hockey core, it could be anything core. It's a core, yes.

Ramsey core. Yeah, yeah, I've heard this. You know? Yep, yep, I like that one. All right, pick me energy. Oh, I love that. It's like a, you're cool, you're great. You're going to pick me for the team.

Nope, think, oh, pick me, pick me. What's that giving? Oh, no, needy. You're needy? It's when someone's trying to be unique in order to get intention. It's sort of a desperate. Oh, it's a negative. Pick me energy.

Oh, okay. Someone tries to humble brag or get praise for something. And you're like, oh, pick me. It's too gross. Pick me energy. They want the attention. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's Pick Me Energy. We don't like it. Okay, I'm using that one. I like it. I like it a lot. All right, next one, Clock the T.

Oh. Do you know the hand gesture for this? What? Clock the T. That's what I just did. Nope. It's like this. Okay. One of the, um, Kylie Jenner did this when her husband was like getting an award. She did this. Does that mean clock the tea? Okay. Like clock the gossip, clock the news, it's happening.

Like he's getting the award, that what that is? I think you're close. I thought this was a symbol of like a mini applause. Like I'm not going to like. It has been used like that. But it's used when you agree with a bold truth someone said or if someone calls something out. And you're like, oh, yep.

Rachel got her hair done. Clock the tea. Clock the tea. No more extensions. You got it. I like it. I think that's as close as I'm going to get to describing that one. Yes, I like that one.

All right, aura farming. A-U-R-A or aura points. ORA farming? Has nothing to do with farming. You are, your aura, your energy, what you're presenting... Good. ...is... Hard at work.

It is. I think farming is the bad version. Okay. Because like engagement farming. Like you're trying hard to like manufacture it. Oh, you're far. Okay, yeah, yeah. And then aura points.

It's not original. Yeah. But aura points is like you do something cool without trying too hard. Okay, so those are two opposites. Am I right? Is aura farming a negative? It feels negative. Oh, okay. That's from the audience. That's Rachel Cruz's daughter who's telling us what aura farming is. It's like I have skateboard skills you might not be aware of. I get some aura points for that. I can't help it. Yeah, but what's your farming?

If I'm aura farming, I'm like bringing out. Oh, you're looking for it. I think. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And now I'm second guessing it. Okay. Thanks. Man.

So helpful. All right, last one. 404 slash 404 coded. What do you think of when you think 404? I went straight to what area code is that on your phone. Okay, we're so far off. Okay. Have you ever gone to a website and there's an error?

Oh, yes, not found. When something is too difficult. Isn't that the thing? So it's when something is too difficult, cumbersome, like the 404 error code on a device. You're like, all right, that's not. not worth it. Not worth it. Not worth it. Not found. Wow. That was a lot. Wow, that was a lot, George. I feel like we should be done. I think we should wrap it up for the I think we've led so many people astray who now think they know what these mean.

You're still listening or watching. Good for you. I still just can't get over. I had my one word and I Chugie. Chugie. Still love it. Started using it and then about a week later. The irony that the word Chuggy became Chuggy is so great. It actually makes me happy. great word. I don't know why. It's like one of my favorite descriptions. It's like, so I'm going to hold that one close to the heart. Well, this next round you're going to nail because we're not going to decode slang. We're going to decode Ramseyisms. There's a lot of Ramsey coded phrases. Like a dead giveaway someone's familiar with Dave Ramsey or follows Ramsey advice. Yes. If they say these things. Yes. And it's kind of that inside baseball, if you will. So if you've been, if you've been listening and you're going to know these. But if not, maybe you're tuning in, you hear things, you're like, what is this? And next time you hear it, you'll go, oh, I get it.

We can decode it. All right. First up, Dave's famous response on the Ramsey show. Hey, Dave, how are you? Better than I deserve. Better than I deserve. What does it really mean? Because people think it's, he's mauging, but he's not.

Mocking. He thinks he's trying to dominate. Better than I deserve. On face value, you're like, what is that mean? Is he saying he's like, I'm doing pretty well for myself? It's not what it means. No, no, no, better than I deserve. I think, yeah, that he's doing well.

and deserves, I think it's a spiritual. It is. So, yes, that, like, we deserve as sinners. If we're going to go there. Yes. And his mind, right? Like, it's like, yes, we are fallen people. We don't deserve a lot.

But because of God's goodness and Jesus, we actually get to have. Eternal life. A great things. Yes, yes. But I also think God just loves us, too. I think we are better than because we are children of God. That's what I was doing.

You know what I was doing. How are you? Use that on air. I'm like, I'm great because, yeah, he loves us. I'm going to say, Rachel, so glad to be on the show, how you doing? I'm a child of God. How are you? I'm like, this lady's off her rocker, if that's your first response.

Wow. Yeah, better than I deserve is a, it's a humble statement. Yes. That I'm doing better than what should be my life. But it's tied to his faith journey. Yes. Has nothing to do with money. No, no.

Great, we got there. Next up, a classic, Rice, and beans. Rice and beans, beans, beans, and rice. Yep. So this relates to the intensity in which we recommend getting out of debt with. And due to that, you're not going out to eat. You're eating rice and beans, beans, beans, and rice.

It's simple, it's cheap. Cheap. So even at the grocery store, your grocery budget should be cut, like, by a fourth or a third when you're getting out of debt. Even that, like, your necessity is food. But even you could spend a ton at the grocery, right? If you're getting, like, nice, like, meats and, like, you're doing all this stuff, And it's like, nope, we're going on basic.

And so have cheap, cheap food, spaghetti, you know, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's like, we're going to go cheap. What are the cheap staples that will create more margin? Yep, rice and beans. It's filling. It's got, beans have, beans are great. They're healthy for you. Yeah.

Yeah. So you're getting some nutrition with that diet. We love a legume. We love a legume. I never know how to say it. From the bean family. From the bean family. But yeah, beans and rice, rice and beans.

You got, you're eating. You're eating slim. It's cheap. It's filling. It'll get you by until you're out of debt. Then you can upgrade. Then you can enjoy them. Live below your means.

I like this one. We say this a lot. So yeah, your means are your income, what you're making. And if you live below what you make, you're not going into debts. And you actually will have some money set aside and margin if you live below what you're making. So if you make $5,000 a month and your expenses are $3,000, you're living on less than you make, living below your means, you should have 2,000 left over. That's the ideal.

Yes, because people that live above their means, obviously debt has entered into the picture. They are broke. And we don't like debt. So that's the key. Yep. Plastic surgery. That's a fun one. I know.

I feel like this one has gone away a little bit from the brand. Like we don't talk about this one. Dave's also said plasectomy. A plicectomy, yes. She's like, time to do some plastic surgery. Get a little plesectomy going. Sounds aggressive. We're talking about cutting up those plastic.

credit cards. Now it's, they're like titanium. And you got them on your Apple, you know, on Apple Pay. So you got to take it off that too. So we got, we had one call. Yeah, our caller was one of our caller was one of a guy was like, I don't even really know where the card is, but I have, I just have it on Apple Pay. So we're like, hey, well, delete it. Like, like get rid of it. Be done with it. That's a good one. But yeah, that was Dave's famous thing, the big scissors, total money makeover, early 2000s. That was his brand. Oh, he had a billboard in Nashville that had some. scissors in one hand and then like chains in the other because of like how debt is like you're a borrower

borrower slave to the lender. Yes. That he had a milk mustache billboard when I was like in elementary school down I-65 and it said Got Debt question mark and it was like the Dave Ramsey show. Yeah. Oh yeah. That's fine. Oh, y'all.

The early 2000s radio marketing. Oh wait. Got milk is encouraging people to drink milk. So the billboard is encouraging people to go into that. Got debt. They didn't think that one through it. debt, listen to the Dave Ramsey show. Sure.

Listen, it's still ingrained in my mind. You don't have to explain it to me. As a child driving down the interstate in Nashville, me like, there's my dad. Wait, did he have a milk mustache on top of his actual mustache? Yes, yes, all of it. You think there was no Photoshop back then, right? He had to actually get a milk mustache.

That's a great question. That's a good one, but the big scissors. Cutting those credit cards up. I mean, financial peace university, like seeing him on stage, cut that up. That's a core memory for me. Yes, for sure. Next is stupid tax That's a fun one

Yes All those terrible financial decisions That cost us Cost us something We feel that like Oh why did I do that That was so dumb Why do I have to do this

Little shame A little baggage And you pay some money for it And it could be tens of thousands of dollars And it's like listen You got to pay it because of X Y and Z You co-signed on someone's debt And they stopped paying

Hey that's a stupid tax Or you signed We had someone A door to door salesman And he signed up for some kind of It may have been like solar panels, it wasn't solar panels, but it was some electricity, whatever. And yeah, and it was like, he owed like $20,000, but they never did the company, all of this. It was crazy.

And Dave was like, well, I was on the show with him. They never did the work. Yeah, he never, like, looks at the contract and stuff, but they like, yeah, he owed them. And it was like, oh, legally you do. And you're like, crap, you know, so it was stupid tax. Like, just it hurts and it's not fun. But we all do it. We've all done it.

All right. Next up, we have Baby Steps Millionaire, Baby Steps in general. Then we should call out on its own. That correlates to the seven baby steps that we teach in order. Baby Step 1, $1,000 start our emergency fund. Baby Step 2. Debt snowball to pay off all of your consumer debt, everything but the mortgage. Baby Step 3.

Fully funded emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. Those are in order. You got to do one at a time. Focus intensity. And then Baby Step 4, we start building wealth, investing 15% of our income. Baby Step 5, Save for College, Baby Step 6, pay that mortgage off early. Baby Step 7, Build Wealth and Give. Amazing.

I memorized them. I can't memorize the books of the Bible, but if they had seven books, I could have done it. You could do it. I saw a guy do the books of the book. They said, $1,000 can you name every book of the Bible? They're on the street doing this. And he did it. And one guy just rattled them off so fast and crushed it.

I bet it was a song he learned like in elementary school. Yeah. They do. Those Christian schools. But he didn't do a melody. Like there was no melody. He just said it. Well, I know the 50 states song.

I don't have to do a melody. Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii. Idaho. Okay. But you know what I'm saying? Like, I don't have to. Or I can do the song. The 50, nifty United States.

That's a song to you. That's a song to you're struggling to find a song inside of there. Well, I'm half singing, half talking. Because I don't want to be very vulnerable. I'm seeing it all. She's trying to avoid a copyright claim on this video. I appreciate that. Oh, maybe that too.

Good call. Good call. So those are the baby steps. Now you have baby steps million. which means you followed those Ramsey Baby Steps to become a net worth millionaire, meaning what you own minus what you owe, $1 million. Pretty cool. So we celebrate those people.

And fun fact, this is kind of inside baseball. If you come by the Ramsey Show and you meet us on the stage, we come out twice an hour to greet people who visit us in the lobby and we sneak over a coin. If you tell us, hey, by the way, we're a babysaps millionaire. We're a little coin for you. We got a little coin for you. And it's gold. Not real gold, so don't try to sell it.

And it's not chocolate either, so don't try to eat it. It's more of a memento. It's a momento. Yeah. So we have like a debt-free coin. We have a couple of like, yeah, little moments. So if you do come, tell us if you're a Baby Steps millionaire. That's how I know you're a Smart Money Happy Hour fan.

If you go, hey, George told me. Oh, that's a good one. George sent me. I love it. George sent me here. That's a good one. Whenever you're on the journey, though, of the baby steps, putting your money and banking of someone that you trust is so important.

And that's why you and I both love Fair Wins. So Fair Wins, Credit Union, you guys is amazing. So their whole, what I'm blown away by is their whole customer experience. And then also, when I'm in the app, I'm able to do things quickly, move money around if I need to. It's so easy. It is so user-friendly. And it is by far my favorite banking system. We love fair ones.

And if you do the smart bundle, you get a no-fee checking account, up to 10 high-yield savings accounts, and the debt-as-normal debit card, which we love. Yes. And if you're going to store your savings, you've got to look for a good APY. And most banks these days, your traditional brick-and-mortar bank, they average less than half a percent. That's right. With Fairwinds, it's over 3 percent. They're going to be making on that money.

So 20 grand could net, you know, $600 a year versus your abysmal half a percent. Yeah, which would be like $6. Not good. Not worth it. So go check it out. Go to fairwins.org slash Ramsey to get that smart bundle today. All right. Next phrase, George, live like no one else.

So later you can live and give like no one else. Strong. So this is about sacrificing now so you can have freedom later. So live like no one else now, meaning rice and beans. Yeah, because living on less than you make, sacrificing, second jobs. Yeah, the average person out there looks like they're doing great, right? But when you actually look at their debt and their debt to income ratio, all of it, like it's bad. I mean, all the stats about savings and debt and all of it,

it's not great for the average person. So if you're not looking like the average person, and you are, you're working hard, you're sacrificing and I sell, you're doing stuff that no one else really you know is doing to get ahead. You're living like no one else. So then later, when you actually pay off your debt,

you have savings, you have investments, you have freedom, like financial freedom. You are living like no one else because nobody, majority of people are not financially free. So then you get the positive end. I love it. It's a great juxtaposition. And then the giving end is in that, too.

That's strong. Give like no one else. Yes, because we always promote giving regardless of what babysep you're on. But especially on Baby Step 7 when you, yeah. Turn up the dial on that giving. You start to do some crazy, outrageous things you never thought would be possible, stuff that would make you cry. So fun. So I like this.

So we always say normal is broke, so be weird. So this live like no one else is sort of that, be weird. Take on that third job to pay off debt aggressively instead of swiping that card month after month, going into debt. taking on the car payment. You got to go against the grain counterculturally. And I love that principle. It's so rock and roll to me. It's so rock. I love it. I love it before and after. Dave is punk rock. No one talks about that. So dramatic. Live like no one else. Later you can live and give like no one else. How about the debt snowball? We love that. Yes. This is the method we encourage people to get out of debt with. And the reason we call it the snowball method is that you kind of

pick up some traction along the way. So you list your debts smallest to largest, balance, you kind of ignore the interest rates, because this is not about math right now. We're just looking for progress, momentum, and psychologically, this is the best way. Versus the debt avalanche, which says, oh, it's wise to pay off the highest interest first. Well, why did we go into all that debt with high interest? Let's just focus on getting a win so that we can stay on the horse, if you will. And when that payment's freed up after that debt is paid, then there's some margin, you have 300 bucks, and you're like, oh, great.

Then you can take it to the next smallest debt. And then when that's paid off, you freed up the smallest debt payment. And then the second debt payment, smallest debt payment, together, you're like, wow, that's $700, $800 that I was paying on payments, but now it's freed up. So you might add even more to the next one. And you just keep going. It's like this mathematical momentum. Yeah, it's cool.

You might start with like $500 in margin to throw at the debt. But by the end, you might have $2,500 free debt. That's right, because you have no other debt, but your last one that you're working at. So it's awesome. Imagine what you can do with $2,500 saved up. Yes. Get that emergency fund fast. You can use it to save up a down payment to invest more, give more.

live, you know, kind of bring back some of that lifestyle that you were missing out on. That's right. Eating beans and rice that whole time. That's right. Go out to eat. Get you some talk about. That's what Rachel wants for all of us. Go to a freaking restaurant.

You love a restaurant. You love a restaurant. You love being waited on. You know what? That's where I can start to feel sloppy in my final. I'm like, I got to, we try to eat home like four nights a week for sure. That's impressive, honestly. Yes.

Right now, Crockpot. It's going as we speak. What do we got in there? Can I ask? Is that too personal? Yeah. No, no, you can ask. It's like asking a woman's age.

I'm missing a very key ingredient, so I don't know how it's going to be. So it's, I mean, it's marinated chicken. So I did like garlic, salt, onion powder, salt and pepper, all that. And you're missing the chicken? I was like, so far you're just naming spices. Sorry. I'm just talking to you what I did. And then you do alfredo sauce and then marinera sauce. Oh, wow.

And then at the end you put mozzarella cheese in and stuff, and you chop up the chicken, and you put it on, like, noodles. But you're supposed to have a whole block of cream cheese to, make it really creamy and so good. I had no cream cheese this morning. So we'll see how it turns out. It's not going to be as creamy? I know.

Isn't the Alfredo already cream cheese? As it was dumping in, Caroline, actually. Caroline did most of it in the crop pot this morning. Wow. Yeah, so we'll see how it goes. But all that to say, if we eat out too much, I start to feel like, oh, we're being irresponsible. Isn't that funny?

I can feel it. Is it like two or three nights in a row would do that to you? What's the limit? Oh, three nights in a row would start making me a little. So it's the, because they're in succession. Yes, back to back. I'm like, oh, we probably should. Like we ordered pizza last night, so I was like, we probably need to cook.

Whoa. Because the weekend's coming up. Yeah. Don't act surprise. I was just making sure more than anything. I had $18 a popadou that I got to put towards my order, and it felt so good. Papa dough. That's funny, they call it that.

It's so good. That's great. I do. I love a pot with a garlic sauce. And then they have the peppercini's on the side. Love a peppercini. I mean, it's so. Still barely know the difference between that and a banana pepper. Banana pepper's a little sweeter.

You can't convince me. Oh, no, it is. Percini's spicier is what you're saying. It's got a little more kick to it. It's a little hotter. Mm-hmm. Anyways. Okay, how about sell the horse?

This is you, George. I got one. You got one. It became a Ramseyism. Are we counting now? Sell the horse. I get people that say it to me all the time. Fine.

Wonderful. I love it. Sell the horse. And, George, we are on this call together. Katie, I'm going to give you a hard challenge. Could you sell the horse? I'm so glad you were there. It was very sweet.

It was a legendary call. Yes. You were to the audience. You were sort of representing the audience at large going, what did he just say? So we had Katie call in, and Katie was trying to get out of debt. And she wasn't, she didn't have a lot of margin. Like, it was a tight situation. Yeah.

And then we had six figures of debt and was making 36 grand working for the USDA. And everything we threw at her to try to like bring up the income. She was like, oh, I can't do. No, I'm in a rural area. Can't do that. I got the horses. Nope, can't do that. And so now we're.

up against the clock. It is, we got like a minute left. Then we find out she has a horse. And she then goes, well, it's like a prize-winning horse that's worth $20,000. Yeah, and she does do lessons sometimes on it. But the horse, I think, was sick. She was doing, like, horse riding as a side gig,

but it was like $300 a month. It wasn't much. Yeah, it wasn't a lot. And so, George, this is my Hail Mary, 30 seconds to go. George was like, Katie, sell the horse. Sell the horse, Katie. Well, can I say how I said it? Oh, my God, George.

Like, because I've watched the clip. It's core memory. I said, Katie. could you sell the horse? Like I kind of knew it was a big ask. Okay. I didn't say it flippantly like, just sell the horse,

you're done. Yes. It was just like, I know this is a big ask, but this is the biggest asset you have to your name. And she was like, absolutely not. Like you were insane.

Like this is the, yeah. Well, she then went into her first thing out of her mouth. Well, I've had it for 11 years. And I was just like, Katie, the horse doesn't even know your name. Rachel,

I gasped. I think it's the only word. I was like, George, you're kind of being mean to her. And all the horse, horse lovers came out and those horse curls if you're a horse girl you know

you know that you're crazy if you're a horse girl they are passionate horse girls are passionate and they all came out of the woodworks and they were like George so okay so sell the horse has become a catchphrase it's great and did she do it no no she actually came to she has updated me though we like message on

Instagram we become friends she's come to an event she did come to an event yes we got a picture with she's doing much better now she's still working her way through the debt this has been years now but I'm confident that one day we're for her. I bet she watches this show. And can I just say, people sell horses all the time.

It's kind of like a business. Yes, they are animals that know your soul, but also it's kind of a business. It's what you do. You get 20 grand from that horse. Yeah, I don't like race my dogs for sport for money. Yeah, but you wouldn't sell your dog for $20,000. I don't you dog riding lessons.

You wouldn't sell your dog for $20,000 though. If my dog suddenly became, because horses have some serious value. Yes. My dogs have zero value to humanity. Truthfully. So, no, my dog is worth way less than it even was when I purchased it. It's gone down to like a car. You know what French bulldogs are?

They're the range rover of dogs. They are. If you buy one new, you're like, ooh, got a French bulldog. And then three years in, you're like, it's in the shop again. It's lost 40 grand in value in the two years. Nobody wants to buy this thing now. It's one of the most expensive ones in the lot. Yeah, it's sad.

Man. But they're still kicking. It's still going. Sweet, those sweet puffs. Those sweet puffs. We love them. Okay, when someone says, I'm going to cash flow it. What does that mean?

I'm going to save up, pay cash, and avoid taking on a debt payment for this. That's right. I like that one. Yes. I hate this one, but it is what it is. Tagging Ramsey and feet picks. The way you said that made it sound so much worse. That's terrible.

Okay. Well, we say the grass feels different under your feet. And that's so gross to me. still. It is, okay, here's... I know where you're going with this. So, the whole thing is that, like, when you pay off your house, Dave, and I can say this because he's my dad, he's always like, the grass just feels different.

Like, when you're walking along your yard and you own it, it just feels different, which is true. The emotional attack to it is true. Like, yes, when you own something, you have autonomy over it and there's no bank attached anymore, like it does. And you sacrificed? Yeah, and you have autonomy. Like, it's...

There's a lot of pride in that. It feels so good. Pride, freedom, peace. connects that to like walking around barefoot in grass. And did you know in one of the FPU shoots? Oh yeah, I was there. He wanted to, they did it, right? He did it.

They had a fake. They brought in some like a patch of sod for him to stand in. And Dave walked around that thing to visualize the example. And I was like, oh, man. He's a method actor. He's going to fake it with his shoes on. He's got to go full. The whole thing.

Yeah, full send. Hold on. The whole. thing was not maxing. Definitely kind of very chopped. It was very chopped. I will say the most impressive part was watching him slip back the slip back into the shoes

because I was like, how's he going to do it? How was he going to do it? It was like a magic trick. And he, you know, there was a moment of struggle, but he got there. I think he wore slip-ons that day to make it a little easier. Got some hey dudes. Man, you know, it's just one of those moments in life.

But it's memorable. We're talking about it So apparently Apparently it held strong that example But can I tell you I've never done that Because I have dogs And I don't trust walking around On my yard barefoot

Can't risk it Can't do it Oh man, all right Last one George Gazelle Intense versus Ramsey-ish So if you've watched Financial Peace University You've read Total Money Makeover He uses this image of a gazelle

Being chased by a cheetah Because in Proverbs it says And I have memorized the verse. Oh, do the whole thing. Yes. Okay, if you have signed surety my son, which is like old English for like you have gotten yourself into debt. If you have sent surety my son. You signed a piece of paper that says you owe money.

Yep. Do this. Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter and a bird from the hand of a fowler. So like very animal based, right? Like you are prey. And so the gazelle from the hand of the hunter. Yes, it is like, and the hunter is usually the cheetah. and so there's like this word picture

that you're kind of thinking of like the intensity a gazelle takes to get away from the cheetah the amount of maneuvering and speed and it just goes crazy to get away so that it doesn't die. That is what scripture says when you have gotten in debt you do that like you kind of go crazy like

it is crazy. So gazelle intensity was coined to be like I'm gazelle intense like as I'm getting out of debt we are doing everything we are cutting lifestyle we are doing rice and beans we're not going out to eat yeah we have two two extra jobs. Like we are getting out of debt fast.

Because your whole life doesn't have to be like that, by the way, right? Once you're done, you're done. You're talking like 18 to 24 months on average of that kind of life. Yep. And then you're completely deaf free and you got no payments, which is awesome. And then the other side is Ramsey-ish. I'm Ramsey-ish. I like the principles, but I'm still going to use the credit card.

I'm going to do the debt avalanche, whatever it is. You're sort of taking bits and pieces. Kind of that pick-me energy. Oh, nice throwback. I just had to look it up again. I was like what definition works. It wasn't used properly, but I give you points for trying. I'm going to try it throughout the rest of the episode.

Thank you. But yeah, Ramsey-ish is not going to get you that far, that fast. So you can do it. You can spin your wheels for probably four to five years, just kind of like in it. It's better than doing nothing for sure. Yeah. But Gazelle Intense is the way to go if you want to follow the plan and see it through. Yes, which we love. Yep.

And, you know, one thing that I also love, George, is knowing that my information online is being scrubbed from certain websites. So delete me is an amazing subscription that I think everyone really does need in 2026 because so much of our life is online. And also we are, you know, filling out forms and you're putting your information out there, maybe not even realizing it.

And then these data brokers can collect your data and then they sell it to other companies that that puts you at risk for scams and fraud because spammers and scammers and, you know, fishing, all of that comes into. play. But when your information's not there because Delete Me has gone in and scrubbed it, that is so key. Game changer. In fact, I just saw in the Ramsey Babyseps Community Facebook group, someone just posted that they signed up for Delete Me and they saw a huge reduction in their

spam emails and calls and texts just by signing up and having those data privacy experts do the hard work for them. So if you want to check it out, you can get 20% off their annual plans. Just go to join DeleteMe.com slash smart money. Well, George, there's a little difference in the Ramsey isomes and the Gen Z slang, if you will. Which one do you like more? I feel more confident with the Ramseyisms. I do think the Gen Z slang has a little more pick-me energy. Like, it's trying too hard to be unique.

Yes. It's slang maxing. And my thing is, too, it's like not timeless. It's going to be done. I'll give this to Ramsey. People hate on us because of this, but we don't change. It has been the same thing for a long time. Our principles, including our isms.

but we'll take it. But there's also some other things that have not changed the way we talk about investing and our approaches to it. And you and Dave actually have an event called investing essentials. And it's really,

it's such important information. And it's so good. People ask about this all the time. Yeah, this is, we've done this for a couple of years now and we keep changing it up every year. So this year, night one is going to be investing

101, 201, little 301, some real estate investing. And then night two, is all about wealth planning. So think more tax planning, insurance planning, estate planning, wills, beneficiaries.

I mean, you, you love the nitty-gritty. You love details. Well, I love like knowing the intricacies of something and how it works and why the trap is bad and why the good way to do it is smart.

And so looking into all that is fun and then I like to take the complex, the boring, and make it fun and simple. Yes. That's what I really love doing. Which you do great at. So if there's just, jargon, I'm going to unjargon it. And that's what we're going to do with this event.

You're going to leave after two nights on this virtual event from wherever you are, knowing, being confident in your investing plans so that you can live and give like no one else. So September 1st and 2nd, we'll drop a link. We'll also put a QR code somewhere in that direction. Over here. If you're watching on your TV, which we found out a lot of people are doing. That's fantastic. It's so fun. I look so much better in 4K. I've always said that. Always said that. Oh, okay. So I mentioned this earlier, but some of the Ramsey principles, the haters love to hate. George, you know, and they're like, listen, you need to update it because we, that is one thing about Ramsey, we don't change our stances. It is what it is because it's built on common sense,

biblical principles, your grandma's advice is what, you know. Gods and grandma's ways of handling money. But it kind of is what it is, and because of reasons that are bigger than things like the economy, things that are, you know, even things changing financial products and all of that in the marketplace, like the principles are what they are, but people have some pushbacks, which is fair and fair. So let's go through a couple of those.

But I will say if you, there's a video of day from like 1995 that resurfaced on YouTube and he is saying the exact same things just with a slightly more southern accent. And it's so charming. But he is. He's like,

we're not a plastic surgery. And it's like, but he's literally saying the same things. So consistent, so much integrity. He's not going to waver based on, you know, just random vibes. What's going on? What are going?

this way, so maybe we should start saying credit cards are okay. No, he has been firm. And yes, that black and white will bring out the haters to go, how about some gray, Dave? Yep. So let's talk about this. We did a poll on the YouTube community page, and here are the top five tweaks that people mention. We'll do our best to explain both sides and also clarify the why behind the rule. All right, first up, we got increased the emergency fund to be more than $1,000. So that's baby step one, starter emergency fund of $1,000. That baby step was built probably in the mid-90s. and it is still the same. And totally understandable that it's like $1,000 will not get you what it got you.

Yeah, with inflation, it would be more like $2,500 in today's dollars. That's right. That's right. Yeah, but I think the point of this is, well, 40% of people can't even cover a $400 emergency fund. So if you're one of those people getting $1,000. Life change. Over double of what you don't even have. Like, that feels like a mountain in and of itself.

And so the point that we want at Ramsey for people that want to start taking control of their money is like an easy access point. Like get started because we are all about behavior change. That's why the debt snowball we love paying off the smallest debt because it's a quick win. And the same with Baby Step 1. If it was, hey, save a month's worth of, you know, your income or, yeah, or expenses or, you know, three months of expenses before you start paying off debt, it just, it's a longer churn to get that quick win. So that thousand bucks, it's there to stay because, again, it's that easy entry point. And for a lot of things, a thousand bucks will catch some of the small anchovir.

It'll still cover a lot of those that would throw you off course. Yeah, and if it doesn't, then you're on baby step two and you're paying off debt, pause the debt snowball. And that same intensity that you're throwing at debt, hopefully a couple hundred bucks, maybe even over a thousand that you're using to pay off debt. Collect that money and then fix the emergency. So totally understandable, but also it wasn't really at the point. I'm like, okay. If there was one, I'd make a concession on at a court of law, I'd like, all right. And some people do.

They're like, yeah, we're going to. We're going to do it regardless, whether we tell them two or not. Next one, have a Southwest credit card or just one credit card for travel and flight points. We get that one a lot. Yeah, so that's a tweak people want us to make, or at least this person. And they go, well, hey, if I pay it off every month, I'm just getting the points. I'm winning the game. And I'm going, well, let's compare what you spent in a year on that card versus a year just using your own money, your own debit card.

I guarantee you it would negate any rewards or points you could have gotten. Because if you're someone that takes maybe two vacations a year, which is a lot, like a lot of people aren't even taking a trip, right? But maybe you take two. And, you know, round trip, let's say it's, I don't know, you get 300, 600, 600, maybe is going to Southwest tickets if you're taking two trips a year. You are probably spending way more than $1,200 on that Southwest credit card than, So our argument would be just pay your own money in life.

You're going to spend less because of it. And you're not beholden to one airline because truth is, Delta might have a cheaper ticket. And as you know, I'm not allegiant to Southwest anymore. Because they change their boarding. I fly with the cheapest airline now because they're all terrible. I know. You know what? It's true, George.

There's nothing special anymore out there. Nothing special. I do miss the old Southwest. Just throwing it out there. If you work for Southwest, let them know. And a lot of people just, they don't redeem their, the rewards, the point values can change on a dime based on Southwest vibes and they go, eh, what's 100,000 points going to get you?

Might be different this month. That's right. And these companies, you guys, and banks would not be putting out products like this if they weren't making a crap ton of money. So they are making more money than what you realize. Or not even that what you realize, but like they're winning. Yeah. They're winning the game.

So just don't play the game. Don't play the game. All right. How about this one? Someone wants this tweak to the Ramsey plan. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage should be an option. We hear that one a lot because we recommend 15-year fixed-rate mortgage where the payment is no more than a quarter of your take-home pay.

That is realistically difficult to do. If you crunch the numbers, you're going, great, I need to make $170,000 just to afford a starter home. Well, sure, maybe today, but if you saved up a bigger down payment, that's going to lower the mortgage. And so that tells you you need to be patient because the math is still the math. If it's going to be 60% of your take-home pay, it's not worth it. And you're going to pay double the interest. That's right. Yeah.

More with a 30 year. And even if you think that you're going to pay it like a 15, doesn't always happen. And if you can put systems in place to help you get out of debt as quickly as possible, there's an advantage to that. And the 15-year does that. And Dave even says he prefers the 100% down plan, just pay cash. He understands it's not realistic for most people. So he goes, I won't yell at you if you do a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage.

That's the only debt that is on the table. All right. Your total housing cost, rent, utility, mortgage can be 30 to 40% of your take-home pay, not just 25. Okay, so we don't count utilities in that anyways. Yeah, the 25% and, yeah, that's what we're shooting for. But if we get a caller on the show and they're at 29%, we're not going to tell them to sell their house.

Like, I mean, it's just kind of the aim for it because if a fourth is going just to your mortgage, then you have, obviously, three-fourths of your income to use for life versus some people it's like 50, 60 percent, so much of their income. And they call in going, should I sell the house? It's stressing us out. We can't afford to eat. I'm like, well, that's not good.

So it's a parameter to give you margin to do all the other baby steps, to live your life, to give, invest, save all of that. All right. Last one. Yep, last one. Car loans are inevitable. It's fine if you earn a decent salary and just keep the payment low. I love how vague all of that is. just earn a decent

out, keep the payment low. Listen, dude. Those numbers get squishy real fast. So. Car payments are so chuggy. Thank you. I really love that. That's a good usage of chuggy. Thank you very much.

Yeah, car loans to me are one of the worst types because you can be underwater on that thing. You're paying interest while it's going down in value. It's just to get you from A to B. Cars keep people broke. I mean, they really do. It's the wealth killer for the middle class.

And I'll say majority of financial people, even on the internet, TikTok, all the things. Like, we don't agree with everybody. Everyone has, like, their own stance. But car payments is, like, the one thing everyone kind of gets behind. And they're pretty much. Almost everybody is like, it's not smart. Just mathematically, it's not smart.

So get it out of here. Nice try. Nice try. Yeah, but one thing I will say that is not chuggy and not out of style. Anything from cozy earth. I feel so on trend. So in vogue, if you will, when I put on my cozy earth. So in vogue.

Do you want the tea? Outfits. Yeah. Do you know that they're... Clock the tea? Clock the tea. Am I doing that right? Their betting has incredible warranty.

Yep. Do you know this? Ten year warranty. Of their betting. Who does that? Cozy Earth does? 100 nights. A hundred nights.

That's pretty wild. Oh my gosh. That's almost a third of the year. You can just sleep on it and go, yeah. You know my favorite day for my house is... Cozy Earth Sheets Day? It was Thursday. Yes, because I wash my sheets and stuff on Thursdays.

Every Thursday? That's impressive. And then when you get in bed that night, oh my, geez. It is just the best. Can I top that if you like do a night shower and then get into fresh sheets? Cloud 9.

Cloud 9. So Cozy Earth, yeah, makes it possible, you guys. Incredible. There's so much outside of sheets, too. Their athleisure is incredible. Check it all out. Got to cozyEarth.com slash smart money and use our code smart money for up to 20% off.

All right, before we spill the tea on our guiltiest charge segment, George, give us the drink details. This is the Italian Greyhound. It's got vodka, apparel, grapefruit juice, grapefruit soda, and simple syrup. Comes out to $3.17. It's a 10 out of 10 for me. I love it. Love it.

What's your rating? I mean, y'all, I... You can be honest. You can't hurt my feelings. No, my gosh, no. I hate to go 10 out of 10 because that sounds so... I'm going 9 out of 10. Okay.

I would order it at a restaurant. You don't want to pick me energy by going 10 out of 10. Well, I am a less sweet drink kind of person. I'm a more like salty, like a dirty martini. Like, but if all the girls, if we're like having a great lunch or something, you know, this would be something I would. Probably not every time I would order it, but I would order it. This would go great, like lunch at an Italian place. Oh my gosh, get a pizza.

Sign me up. Flap bread pizza and that. Oh my gosh. Why don't the boys aren't going to go get some Italian greyhound? with me. They should, George. They're going to go to some weird dive bar. What would you rate it? I went 10 out of 10. Oh, you did go 10 out of 10. Well, I love grapefruit juice. I love grapefruit soda. I'm on an apparel kick. I'm kind of getting into the liqueurs, the appertifes. Yes. It's sort of like more bitter Italian liqueurs. Very good. So check it out. Recipes in the show

notes. This one's a big hit if you're of age. All right, now it's time for guilty as charged. And this is where we ask each other a guilty as charge question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, this question is, have you ever heard someone casually mentioned something about their money in conversation that shocked you. Oh, wow. That's a good one. I mean, a lot of things. The one that comes to mind, I was talking to my neighbor. We had a little like outing with some neighbors. And I had some things from Aldi, you know, some charcutory. Yeah. And they asked where it was from. I said Aldi. And he was like, I didn't know they had those here. I thought it was just international. I was like, oh, yeah, they got them. I go there all the time. here and he was like well i didn't know i just do costco delivery that's how the exclusive way we get our groceries and i was like wow that is aspirational to only do costco and only do delivery which is like the most expensive way to i know i know that that is that's one of my go-toes

is costco delivery so valet at the airport and costco delivery i hate going into costco i hate it why and you know who hates that i hate going into charon ramsie my mother i mean yeah i'm She knows. She gives me the heart. Rachel, you should go to Costco and walk the aisles. She thinks that I'm missing out on all this stuff. She thinks I'm missing out on all this stuff. I'm telling you should go too. If two of the wisest people in your life are telling you to go into Costco, no, y'all, my app, my Instagram app, it's great. I don't want to, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't want to be lugging, poppy cans around. I don't want to, I know, I know what I want. And I think it saves me money. And I'm not kidding. I think I save more money. If I start walking those aisles, y'all, I'm a shopper.

You know me. Yeah. You'd be like, do I need 15 razor blades for shaving? Sure, take that off the shelf. I mean, I will be putting stuff in that cart. Wow. We don't need that. We don't need that choice.

Okay. That's fine. I'm just saying it was shocking. I just never heard of that. That someone could just not step foot in the grocery store. No, I grocery shop. Costco's not my, like, grocery store. Well, I saw you recently went to Trader Joe.

So you're willing to go to grocery stores. Costco, you know, is it. temptation. And it's a different vibe. It's just a lot. It's a lot. You got to be like emotionally ready. It makes me sleepy too. Oh, you get sleepy in a home depot. I get sleepy in home depot. How often are you in a home depot? Uh, I don't know, but if we go, are you getting dragged with Winston? I walk in, I think it's the smell, something about it. It makes me very sleepy. Is it like the lumber smell? Which is the opposite. You should be actually like wanting to work harder in a home depot. The lumber causes slumber. Oh, does it? There you go. I think it does. That's science.

I think it does. Why people like taking naps in woods? Get the hammock out between two trees? Sleep like a baby. Hammock hunting. Oh my gosh. I feel like people are more shocked by me. Yeah, you are more shocking.

I feel like people more are like, you really don't have a credit card. And I'm like, no, I really don't. It's not coming to mind. Okay. You don't need one. I'm sure it has happened. But I'm guilty, so. I know.

I'm being authentic, being real. I'm constantly shooketh. Shooketh. Well, if you have a guilty of charge question for us, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel. We see them, we screenshot them. We've got a lot of good ones lately.

We send them to Jenna. We're in a little group text. We're going to start calling out the names to give you guys shoutouts. Oh, we should. I make that promise. Jenna, write that down. That's good.

Yes. Names mentioned. We've gotten some good ones. So thank you guys so much. And if you love this episode, you're going to love our next episode, old school money habits making a comeback. We have thoughts.

So we will link it for you. And make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all-new episode of. Smart Money Happy Hour.