Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Frugal Hacks That Could Go Too Far

Episode Date: July 9, 2026

💰 Find extra money in just two weeks with our Money Finder Challenge!   Whether you love or hate frugal living, this one’s for you! We’re exposing common frugal “hacks” that secretly drain your bank account. Tune in to make sure you’re not sabotaging your budget. Next Steps: ·   🎙️ Catch our episode Old School Money Habits Making a Comeback? (We Have Thoughts) ·   🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour ·   📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Leave us a voicemail with your question at 877-306-1517 or send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it.  ·    💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar.   Connect With Our Sponsors: ·   Check out the FAIRWINDS Credit Union exclusive account bundle. ·   Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. ·   Get up to 40% off the exclusive bundles with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth.   Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍉 Watermelon Mint Mocktail Recipe By: olivianoceda ·   1 lime ·   Dash of maple syrup ·   1/4 cup fresh watermelon ·   1 ounce lime sparkling water ·   Fresh mint ·   Ice   Instructions: Slice half of your lime into wedges. Squeeze 4 wedges into your glass. Add a dash of maple syrup, 0.5–1 ounce of lime juice (depending on how tart you want it), 1 ounce of sparkling water. Add watermelon cubes and muddle. Then, take a handful of mint and slap it between your hands 6–8 times. Rub it on the rim of the glass and add it to the drink. Add ice. Top with sparkling water. Mix and enjoy!   Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights  🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether you love or hate frugal living, this one's for you. Today we're exposing common frugal hacks that might be secretly draining your bank account. We're doing a little share-of-the-account. That is my frugality. And are you still on my HBO Max account? Once they were putting rocks on my body and seeing if my arm moves slightly, I was like, all right, I think I'm good. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel.

And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers. Cheers. With all of our garnish. Wow. I feel like I'm in a jungle right now. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And if you're watching on YouTube or Spotify, and I hope you are, you will notice this drink is elaborate today and delicious.

So it's the watermelon mint mojito moktail. And we're going to give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode. So stick around for that. All right, George, tell me if you agree with this statement. Too much of anything can be a bad thing. Frugal living included. 100%. Too much of anything.

I think that's true. I am a man of moderation. Yeah. We like a gray. We like a medium. Medium scale, if you will. Too little, not good. Too much, not good.

Yeah. Let's go medium. Goldilocks. There you. Not too. I'm not too cold. I'm living proof that this is true. One day people will stop inviting me to parties

because I cross the line with radical frugality. That's my greatest fear. What do you think? I just can't shake it sometimes. You take things back to the store after you use them. Yeah. That's just like in the frugal category. Oh, what?

The grill is going back to Costco. Why? The ignition stopped working. How long have you had the grill? Which is a pretty crucial part of the grill. It is. You can light it by hand, but at that point, why don't I just start a fire? Why don't I just rub two sticks together?

Being outdoorsman. Yeah. So I contacted, you know, I did the Costco return and said, hey, we'll be in touch to schedule a pickup. up and I went, thank you, Jesus, that I don't have to load up this grill. Yes. To the back of my car somehow. And the truth is, I'm going to go and get a new grill from Costco anyway, so they're getting my money.

Are they going to refund you, you think, completely? Yeah. How long have you had the grill? Less than a year. Okay. You know what, George? I'm not bad at that. That's fair.

That feels like a reasonable person. Because otherwise, I've got to find an ignition part and get under there with the electronics and try to... The electronics. Soulder it myself. That's right. Unbelievable. I'm not a solder.

Don't be trying to get me to be doing these things. No, no. Okay, so when do you think, though, it starts to become counterproductive, if you will? Like, maybe it isn't quite making an impact, the frugal living. Like, you're trying to do something, and then it ends up, you know, like, we always talk about coffee. You know, like, don't buy the $5 coffees out. Yeah. But sometimes once you make it at home, and you're like, well, I want to make it good.

Yeah, you got machines. You got fries. Now you have a $1,000 espresso machine. Yes. Paying $15 or $20. for a great, you know, pound of fresh quality beans. Beans. Yes. It's not that much cheaper.

Now, if you're getting, like, fancy $7 lattes, that's different. But just some, like, black coffee, you know? You can go down a rabbit hole and go, well, I can do this myself cheaper. That's where it starts to be, yeah, a little counterproductive. Making your own Halloween costumes. You're like, well, this, I could have just paid $20.

Now I paid $50 for the material in my time. So I think when it costs you more time or money than you've been calculating in your head, It's not worth it. Okay, so you know how I get ragged on in the comments for this, which is fine because I get it. We're all adults here. How I think that the dentist is like a scam. Oh, that's right.

To a certain point in your life. The dental industry at large is not happy with you. So, you know what's funny, though, is my kids, which I do take my kids. I do take them every six months. I'm like, I'm on their hygiene. But one of our kids had a cavity. And they were like, we can fill it. It might be fine.

You can pull it. But if you pull it, you got to put spacers in where the baby teeth are because the adult tooth isn't ready to come down and all this stuff. Or you can just watch it. Of course I'm like, we'll just watch it. Like floss, brush twice a day. Like, we'll just, well, she kind of started complaining that it was hurting. And so Winston, like, he was, went to the bedroom with her to like, look at the tooth.

And all I hear is, Rachel, Rachel, get in here. And I was like, what? Winston had like cleaned her tooth. Y'all, that cavity, it was, like half her tooth was gone. It was the largest. And I was like, oh my gosh. So I called, I did the next morning at 8 a.m. I was like, hi, I needed an emergency tooth pulled.

Like, I need to get in today. We got to get this tooth out. It was horrible, George. It was horrible. So I felt like that was the Lord humbling me a little bit in that maybe I should have done something. But I hate to fill a baby tooth. Do you know what I mean? Like, fill the cavity.

It's a baby tooth. Like, it's going to be out. And I don't want to waste the money, but probably should have. Her pain. So I was like, I'm so sorry. I did. I felt like a terrible mom. Wow.

But everything's all fine now. But that's where frugality can get you because you got to pay for the extra appointment. I'll avoid that car maintenance and then you need a new transmission. Yep. That's it. That's the same feel. That's the same feel. Yes.

Okay. So I think we should play a little game, George. We love a game. We love a game. you love to win the game, so I'll let you. It's going to be frugal, fails, guilty or not guilty of these situations to say, hey, was this good? Was this a good frugal move?

Or did you go a little too far and it actually ended up costing you more than what you expected? And play along in the comments. If you've been guilty of these, we're going to play along. We're going to share some personal stories and more confessions than stories along the way. All right. First up, we got buying in bulk to save per item. So,

Guilty. You go to Costco, you go to Sam's Club, and you're like, listen, I'm going to buy everything in bulk. And, because I only needed one thing of ketchup, and might as well get three

saran wrapped together. Get a gallon of mayo. We're going to use it eventually. That's right. And then it goes bad. It expires. And you're like, well, this was a miss.

I've done this multiple times. Protein bars. I'm like, I've got to get my protein in. And then I don't want to chew through that. No, that's a lot. Oh, that's a lot. Yeah. So then it goes, then it expires and I just have to toss them.

Oh, it's the worst. I have trusted issues. I know like expiration dates are like more about quality with certain things. Like you could still eat it. It just may not be, it might be a little tougher than you would have liked. I get wigged out by expiration dates. But if it's anything like dairy or meat, I'm a hard pass. For sure.

But if it's like a processed bar, I'm a little, I'm like, ah. We'll be fine. It's fine. We can figure this out. Smell test, chew test. Yep. But buying in bulk to save per item, in your mind, you're like, we will use this. So things that don't, I mean for me, paper towels.

I love a paper towel. Can't go wrong with that. Toilet paper. I'd say even dish soap, like the dish pods or the liquid soap. Yeah. Like that stuff we buy in bulk. Especially when something's on sale at, you know, Costco or Sam's, which is where I'm buying my stuff in bulk.

If it's on sale, I am stocking up and I will find room for all those tissues, paper towels, you know, water. Figure it out, yes. But like you said, the produce, I think we've all been guilty of that and you got to throw it away. Especially when they're like organic strawberries. And you're like... You know what we started doing is freezing our fruit, like when it starts to go bad, like our bananas and stuff. That's smart.

To use for smoothies. You're turning into your mother. I know. Put it in the freezer. Sharon would be so proud if she heard that. She would be so proud. It's so true. Things last forever in the freezer.

Sad they too, apparently, according to her. Okay, how about this? Wasting gas to drive to the cheap station. So you drive an extra 10 miles to save $4. and 72 cents, you know. Oh, this one I will do if I'm on the road. Like, if it's like a road trip, I'm searching for what gas station has the cheapest gas,

even if it's, like, slightly out of the way. Okay. Because no matter what, it's out of your way. It's out of your way. You're going to pull off at some stop. So let it be a stop with the cheaper gas. And it's usually in the smaller towns. Yeah.

It's what I find. So, like, don't stop in the big cities, if you will. But the smaller exits. You try to go past the city, but not too far out to where there's only one option. Yeah, that wouldn't be good. And you can hear banjos playing. You're like, all right, we got to get out of here. A-SAP.

This is not a good vibe. This is not good. So I will use gas apps like upside or gas buddy because it'll help me find the cheapest price. Do you do that like an everyday life, George? No. Well, number one, my car doesn't use gas. My wife's does. That's true.

And for my wife's car, it's just Costco or Sam's Club for gas. And that's like 15 minutes, 20 minutes. So that's the only place you will go to fill up on gas. Yes. The only place I will go. Now, she might stop somewhere and pick up a few gas. cheaper? Yeah, I would say it's about 10 to 15 cents cheaper per gallon, generally. Yep. And I'll even pit Sam's and Costco against each other. Generally, they have about the same price.

I think they know. They're in cahoots. But they're cheaper than like the shell station across the street. Oh my gosh. By a whole lot. By like maybe 40 cents. No, I don't do Costco gas. The new one is great. They renovated it. I didn't know you renovate a gas station, but it's so much better. Now it's, there was like extra lanes. They go further. It's a lot of cars. Like when I pull into that parking lot, I do get a lot. anxiety goes up a little bit. But it moves fast. Okay. Costco keeps it moving.

It's like the chick-fil-a of gas. You know what I mean? So it looks like a long line. Very efficient. But Costco gas is technically a higher quality. Oh, I didn't know that either. Yeah. The Kirkland brand gas, you know.

They don't fool around with their gas quality. It's always the good thing, for sure. But yeah, I would do the math. Just to go, okay, I'm saving 10 cents a gallon. I'm going to get 20 gallons. We're talking $2. Is it worth driving an extra 15, 20 minutes for the $2? Probably not.

whole tank? Yeah, well, 10 cents a gallon for 20 gallons. That's my math. See, that's where I'm a little bit convenience to me. Yeah. I know, but we've cut down on gas because of the Tesla. That has helped. We don't feel it, yeah. I mean, Winston fills up his truck, but yeah. Have you tried a road trip with it, though? That's always the fear. Okay. Yes. Once. Oh, no. Regret. And, well, it's, it is inconvenient, George, you know? Because you're stopping for like 22 minutes here. You stop. And then I had to be at a thing, so I'm like, I can't say, here for the full 30 minutes. So I could only do like 15 minutes because I had to be at this thing. So then you go to the thing. Then you drive and you're like, oh my gosh, I got to find the super

like supercharged station. Then you pay for that. Yeah. It's a lot like it for the road trip situation. So yeah, I'm with you on it. That's a good one. I get it. But every dollar, our budgeting app, you love the gas apps. Every dollar does help. It's our budgeting app. And yes, whether it's the gas line item or the Costco line item or the bulk or the groceries, like whatever you're doing. It does help you really kind of solidify, okay, where can I take some convenience or where do I need to be more frugal, right?

Because sometimes those choices really do help. And it frees you to go, okay, I know gas was expensive, but I budgeted for it, and I knew that I was going to spend $250 in gas this month. And it's there. Totally.

So you don't have to feel guilty because you just knew it was going to happen. You planned for it. I had a time with every dollar. But one thing I do think about, though, George, is how much our identity is online, and that's why I love and we use Delete Me. because they go in and actually remove your data from data broker sites.

So that's what's wild. It's how much our data is scattered, like our email addresses and home addresses and phone numbers and kids' names, like all of it's out there. And when it sits on these data broker sites, delete me, they have a team of people that literally go to these sites and delete you off the Internet. It's amazing off those broker sites. You could try to do it yourself. It would just take forever and you have to constantly monitor it, constantly make sure

that they removed it. And so Delete Me does all the legwork for you and sends you a custom report showing you all these different sites that your information was on, what info was there, when they removed it. It's always weird, sketchy sites to you. How do these sites exist? Peoplepeople.com or something. You're like, wait, what? Creepy people people. Yeah, even if you're not Rachel Cruz, I mean, the average person's info, like, they don't care who you are. They will target you if they have your info and use it against you for scam, spam, phishing, fraud, all of that. So go check out, delete me. It's an awesome subscription to have in your toolbox, and you can go to join deleteme.com slash smart money and get

20% off their annual plans. All right, frugal living. That's may not be worth it, George. I'll just get a credit card to build my credit and immediately pay it off every month. Risky little game there, friends. Well, they're like, well, I'm doing the right thing. I'm not going into debt, Rachel. Here's the line that gets me. I've never paid a dime in interest. How many times have you heard that? Why is it always a dime? Why not a penny? Why not a penny? Have you paid a penny but not a dime?

Yeah, I'm telling you, there is, I will always say, I think one of the biggest pros about just using a debit card, using your own money is not only the psychological idea that you will spend less, it just is what it is. But the idea that it's done. Like I like purchasing something and then going to my account and like seeing my balance, and like, okay, that's my real time balance.

Versus when you pay a credit card off at the end of the month, you don't know, right? Until that bill comes, you're just paying in bulk later on. Yes. Going, all right, the balance is three grand. You're like, I'm hoping I have enough in there at the end of the month to pay. Like, I don't know, but the idea that you're just living in the present and in real time with your money. You're so in the moment. So present. So present. So present. Was yourself. Wow. You should use that. That's a good, that's a good way to get people to stop using their credit card. I do. Yes. Live in the moment. Be present. Use a debit card. Just be our. It's one of the most controversial things we say, is.

that you don't need a credit score, you can live without a credit card, and then I have to prove to them that I've been living 13 years, credit card free, having out of credit score in years, and they think, they just look at you like you get seven eyes.

Because they just don't know. They don't know another way, and so people fall into this sad little trap. For sure. Right up next, keeping subscriptions that are just $5 or $10 a month because it's a lot of trouble to cancel. Not worth it.

They are so guilty of this. I think that's how these companies get you is they make it a small enough apple y'all i pay more for apple little 599 999 i got to figure out what this is i got to figure it should we look into it and i have been can i see your latest this for like 18 months i've done nothing about it all right let's see it yeah this is real talk can it wait is it unlocked no sorry what do you think i know your pass code or my you know my not that i couldn't guess it within three tries you think you could 100% we should play that game night

it's a birthday it's an anniversary it's 4 zeros or it's 1 2 3 4 or backwards so close wrong that is not my past good whatever all right so I'm going to go into your settings and if you're at home you can play along to figure out all of these subscriptions that you signed up

through Apple tell me oh my gosh settings this feels so much moreover now and then subscriptions so it's just three clicks to get there name them off oh wow okay you're mostly paying for storage okay

You have a Dropbox. Did you know that? I do. I keep my pictures in there. It feels like a lot of money to spend on pictures, but okay, we'll go there. How much is it? Well, you know, it's free through Amazon Prime, through Google Photos. You can save all your photos through there for free.

Okay. Good to know. I cloud, which I have as well, two terabytes of storage. That's what we need, right? That's our world. That's how Apple gets you. Okay, that's the cloud. Then you have Apple Music.

That's Winston. Okay, you're not a Spotify family. I'm a Spotify. He's an Apple Music. A House Divided. House divided. I know. And then, of course, Marco Polo, which we've talked about on this show.

Love Marko. You got to have the 2X speed, all the premium features. Is that all I pay for? That's it. Okay, I'm doing pretty good. That's pretty good. Those are, like, very much utility. Those aren't like, oh, I didn't even need that, and I just signed up for no reason.

But Apple, I swear I get a couple of charges each time. Is it just one then? Oh, no, it's the Apple Music and ICloud. Oh, that makes sense. I was like, are you buying apps or something? Okay, I feel really good about myself. You should feel so good about yourself. I mean, seriously.

Okay, look inactive. Look at me. Take an audible off because my Spotify, I can listen to audio books on that. It's true. Chat GPT Plus, don't need that. Just regular chat GPT's fine by me. Okay, I feel so good. What apps do you pay for, George? More than me? I don't know if it's more because I split a lot with my brother. So like I'm on his like family account, you know? Then I Venmo him every year. We're doing a, we're doing a little share-the-account. That is my frugality. and are you still on my HBO Max account? Because I still see the profile that says the cruises.

So before you come at me for sharing accounts, I just want to know if you were still enjoying my generosity. I haven't clicked. What I wanted to do is click in. We're not like going to it all the time. I need to click in and see what the last thing you guys watched. It's not like our Netflix or Disney Plus. I don't even know if you guys are using it,

but I don't want to take it away in case you are. Where's my Netflix and Disney Plus on that that you just looked at? That's not through Apple. So those are only subscriptions that you did through the app store kind of thing. I was going to say, because we spend more on subscriptions. But that's, okay. That's going directly to the company. I have Gmail for storage.

Okay, so that's my Dropbox. So you paid for it, George. You just said you have it for free. It's like 10% of the cost, maybe a little more. And then ICloud. But that's it. Okay. I have an Apple Music free trial because I purchased some Apple product.

so I'm just not using that. Yeah, yeah, okay. You know how they get you, if you cancel the free trial with an Apple subscription, they will cancel it immediately. But if you do it, a cancel free trial with other apps,

they'll let you ride out the rest of the trial. Finish out the 30 days or whatever, yeah. Tricky. See, if you cancel, your service will end immediately. Rude. Rude, we're not doing that. Because they're hoping that I'll forget

and it'll renew. We're going to keep it. You got to think about how often have I used this in the past, how I'm off I using it now and then in the future. I feel great about my purchasing apps. Good. situation.

This show exists to make you feel good. It's good. All right. How about preventative maintenance? So you want to think about taking care of your car, your dental hygiene, all those things, yeah. That is true.

I'm glad Winston's in my life for this one. That's true. I'm a much more urgent person, so it'd be like if something breaks or it's in trouble is when I would fix it. You'll wait for the crisis. Yes, I'm not good at preventative. Because you actually enjoy the drama.

I do. You thrive in crisis. Like, oh my gosh, what is happening? And Winston's life goal is to avoid crisis. All crisis, yes, yes. Wow. Yeah, yeah, the whole, like, oil change, or like, he just went and rotated his tires. I was like, oh, you're very adult to do that.

See, I forgot to do that. And they're like, you could have waited to get new tires, but because you didn't rotate them, you wore out the front ones too fast. So silly. They're all tires. They're just round. They're so expensive now. In my head, I could get four tires for, like, four.

500 bucks back in the day. Sure. And now it's like $1,200. $2,000 for some of these tires. And I'll complain about the Tesla tires. Yes. They wear out faster. Yes. Because of the weight.

It's a heavier car with the battery. Terrible. That is the one thing. You don't have to do a whole lot of maintenance on Tesla. No, you do no maintenance. Even the brakes, very rarely, because that's regenerative braking. Yeah. It's literally just the tires.

It's how they get you. Yeah. That's a real one. What about, I think, boomers and doctors? There's some beef there. You know, like, older people just refuse to go to the doctor? Oh, yes. They don't do their physicals.

And that part worries me. Yeah, taking care of the health, the preventative. I will do that. I've gotten better at my consistent. A yearly checkup? Health appointments. Yes. Well.

Not like a yearly physical. I don't do a yearly physical. Okay. I do like my girl doctor. I do my dermatologist. Yeah. And then now I love getting blood work done. Really?

This is super fun. So you go to like Lab Corp on Walgreens and you buy the women's panel. It's like $100. Okay. And they take a couple of vials of blood and then they run like 25 tests on your blood. Everything. And you're like, thank you.

And I was pretty down the middle, George. You know how we said we like, you know? Down the middle. You want too low numbers. You don't want them too high and you were right there. I was right in the middle. Yeah, so I felt very healthy. Wow.

But that's what I'll do. Probably should go to like a doctor or doctor. I mean, it's close to a physical, other than a physical examination. Do you do yearly doctor appointments? I skip for a couple of years. because my doctor said, why are you here? I said, I thought you were supposed to get a yearly physical.

And he said, you're a healthy young man. Why are you here? How do I know if I'm healthy if I don't come to see you? I'm sorry you don't do like a functional medicine doctor. I've been to those. Yeah, Whitney is much more crunchy than me. I was going to say, I could see what you doing those. But once they were putting like rocks on my body and seeing if my arm moves slightly,

I was like, all right, I think I'm good. Might as well become Scientologist at this point. We're just going to believe that this is doing anything. But I truly believe in functional medicine. I just don't believe in that that was doing anything. Yes, yes, yes. So I think a good mix of both is wise. It's wise.

I think middle. In the middle. Middle ground, people. I believe in modern medicine, and I also think there's things they are not doing well. I agree. Is that controversial? It's not at all. Maybe.

It's like the banking system. There's some banks that are doing horrible, not great. And then some that you're like, great. They're not all evil. You're mixing all the things we want in a bank, And that is fair one's credit union for me. They are the Goldilocks. They are.

It's like, okay, it's everything you want. You want nice people. You want people on your side that are like, hey, actually wanting you to win financially. What a concept. To put your money with people that are actually fans and like, hey, I want all of you all to win. They make it easy and accessible. And they have a cute debit card. Can I say that?

That helps. Aesthetic does matter. And I like the actual services they provide. There's like 33,000 fee-free ATMs. You can use the ATM finder, even credit you. Someone said, hey, it's, you know, they're based in Florida, but they're a national bank, and so they partner with thousands of credit unions across the country. So there's one right down the street. I can go in if I need to do a personal, in-person transaction.

Do something there, yes. So they've thought of everything, and it's just super easy. And that's what you want. When you're trying to win with money, make it easy for me. Absolutely. And they have a great deal for our listeners, George. Yeah, the smart bundle, no fee checking account, high yield savings, that Ramsey themed debit card. Go check it out.

Fairwins. dot org slash Ramsey. All right. Next step. Buying things that weren't on your list just because they're on sale. This is my guilty pleasure. This is not mine as much. You don't care about sales as much.

What's yours? So I don't have many hobbies, but one of my hobbies is I'll go on Instacart and I'll go to like Sprouts because they've in-store prices. Okay. So the frugal in me goes,

I don't want to pay an upcharge. I know. And then I'll go to Sprouts and I'll just see what's on sale and start adding things to cart that are just like, that looks fun. That looks like a nice little treat. Let's try that.

And so I will buy things just because they're on sale to sort of try it out, give it a test run. Okay, unless on food, I am on clothes. We went to Academy, sports and outdoors. Wow. Yes, because we're doing a trip with the kids, and Charles also needed new shoots. So we were like, well, let's just run in here real quick.

Anyways, they had a clearance. So get this. They had racks, racks on racks and racks. But close. And everything was, it was like that 50% off lowest marked on the tag. So you look at all the tags and there's like three or four that have been marked down, marked down. There were shirts, George. And it would be like $4.95.

You take 50% off that. So it's like $2.50? Yes. I said, girls, look at the racks. Shopping spray. Let's go shopping. Yes. And I was like, oh my gosh.

And we got like, there's like a fishing brands. This is very me. Whenever I go somewhere, I want to fit in with like the vibe. So we're going to this like family camp thing and it's all like outdoorsy people, you know. So I bought a fishing brand shirt. I'm trying to see you in a fishing shirt. Well, it's just a T-shirt. It just has the name down the side.

So it's not like that exciting. But I was like $2. I'll take it. I couldn't. Okay. I got my kids. I can't name a fishing brand. We're an outdoorsy family.

We're an outdoorsy family. We got that. And then there was a whole thing of Nike shoes, George. No joke. And they were like, I mean, they're like tennis shoes, obviously, but they're not like workout tennis shoes, like running tennis shoe, Nike's. They're like more like just the everyday wear. Yeah, sort of athleisure.

And I guess people didn't like the color. And it was like a tan and brown. Like it wasn't bad. $19 for a pair of Nike's. And I was like, I don't need these, but do I? Yes, I do for $19? Yes, they had my size. That's great.

Yes, grabbed it. Try it on. I thought these are cute. If I ever see a size 7 that I'm like, Rachel would love this, I'm just going to buy him. Thank you, George. But anyways, that was the last sale. Do you see how excited I am right now? Yeah.

I did. I got so, like, guys, we can get. It's something you already love and you're adding like another dopamine rush on top of that. Because it's like half off, half off, half. I mean, it was amazing. I couldn't believe it. So I was so happy. It made me so happy.

We went in for fishing poles. Actually, genuinely. How much fishing are you guys doing? I know. I know Winston, like, the kids need a new poles because the kids like to fish with Winston. So maybe we are a fishing family Maybe I'm not Have you tried fly fishing?

Not like a fishol Okay Because my buddy He's a big fly fisher He's gonna take me And I'm gonna learn Okay So next time you see me

I might have some fishing gear You know And you go out west In a river It's flowing You got your waiters on Yep It's very like

Very zen Do they have like Kid-sized waiters That would fit me? I'd bet so I feel like they would just drown me No I think you can do it All right

I think you can do it I love a sale We love a sale, people. You like food. I like clothes. Yeah, the key is, if you weren't planning on it, you got to go, do I really need this? I know. Is it actually in the budget?

Will I move stuff around? Yes. Or is it just going to sit somewhere? 100%. Yep. I'll wear the fishing shirt on one of these episodes. How about that? How many clothes do you have in your closet that still have the tag on?

That you were like, it was a good deal, but... I usually wear things pretty quick. Wow. Well, it's Amazon usually, so that helps. Yeah. All right. Next step. Seeing something and thinking, I can make that myself.

You think, old crafty carol, she's like, I don't need to buy that. I can make it myself. Yeah, all the supplies that it requires. DIY, I'm not a great DIYer. I'm not good at details. I don't do things exactly how it should be, so it always ends up looking not great. I think some people just love the idea of making it themselves.

I think people can do it too. It's like fun for them. And I think it can actually be cheaper. I think people really can. And it looks great. It's certain things. If it's dangerous, I'm out. Like, if someone requires a license to do some of this work, I'm like, well, who am I?

Yeah. To try to do this electric work myself. Yes. But if it's something small or like that doesn't matter that much, I'm more willing to DIY it if it's a quick type thing. Yes, that's fair. Yep. But making something from scratch, that's a different ballgame. Oh, for sure.

Well, and depending on what it is. But I knew people that, like, made jewelry and things and, like, really, actually this. This was a lady in a neighborhood of a neighborhood. few neighborhoods away. Oh, that's beautiful. Isn't that pretty? I know. She makes jewelry.

That's impressive. That's impressive. So, I mean, obviously that's for a business. Yeah. But even food, I've attempted to make, so Whitney loves these assailles bowls. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Women love them. Yes.

It's ice cream for breakfast. That's 16 bucks a pop. That's right. Throw some fruit on there, make yourself feel better. Great. Still 98 grams of sugar. So I went, I can make this at home. So I got the packets.

I got all the ingredients. I spent probably $64, getting like the coconut shreds and the sliced almonds and the fresh fruits and I was like I see why they're $16 now. Yeah. And she was like, this just doesn't taste the same. It's not good. It's just not as good, George.

So I had to eat all these. With a great husband though. That was a nice. I tried. That was a nice thing. It was an effort thing. For sure. All right.

Next, paying for the cheapest version of something and then having to pay for the real thing because it doesn't last. Oh, man. Yeah. I could see. cheap, and I'll say jewelry, like some of my stuff, it'll, like, I'll, like, take an earring out, and you can tell it's, like, from Amazon, because sometimes it'll, like, split or something, and I'm like, oh, jeez.

Quality just wasn't there? Yeah, not real gold. The only Amazon. I do this with, like, tech products, because sometimes, like, okay, there's a robot vacuum. I don't need the, oh, that's a good one. Like, name brand, but then I get the generic brand one, and it dies and the functionality's confusing. Yes, it's not as good. And then I go, well, I might as well have just gotten the name brand one.

Yes. You know, we bought these, like, I was, I'm on a new aesthetic kick in my home. What does that mean? It's like, I like the Nancy Myers aesthetic. Have you heard of this? Isn't she a novelist? Oh, my gosh. Yes, think like Father of the Bride, the Holly.

She's cozy and warm. It almost has a little 90s flare to it. Anyways, now I want to redo my whole house. And I just, if I search Nancy Myers' aesthetic, will it show up? Yes, it will. And it's going to make you all warm inside. Is it like Hallmark movie? So I, no, not Hallmark necessarily.

It's like it's like warm and inviting. Lots of lamps, okay? So that's like the thing with Nancy. Lots of lamps. So I love a lamp now. I want lamps everywhere. Okay, you tell me which one's the closest to what you're talking about. We'll put it up on the screen for the viewing audience at home who are also confused,

especially the men who have no clue what is going on. You said aesthetic. You said Nancy Myers. Okay. Okay. Yeah. How to get the Nancy Myers aesthetic. Okay.

Yeah, so it's very, like, lived in. Lived in, yes, that's a great adjective. It's not like super modern. It feels a little more traditional. Okay, my friend. It feels like you bought, you took some stuff from grandma. Yeah. Here, can I give you the actual feels right now?

My friend, the cheese gal, she was on my show a couple of times. She redid, they just, they moved, so she, like, got their house all in order, and she put this Instagram. This was like a, not jealous of like, oh, I don't want her to have it. A little bit of house envy. I want it, you know, this feel. Look at this. Oh, that's nice. Do you know what I mean?

It's just like warm. Yeah, it is warm and cozy. Warm and cozy. Look at these lamps. Okay, so anyways, I'm saying all this day. No overhead lights. That's the key. Yeah.

So I went on Amazon because I wanted little lamps everywhere. And I was like, I need my kitchen to have little lamps. And then they have these touch lamps. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I don't have any have, they always plug in. Anyways, I found like, I was like, I don't want it to like look super cheap. So I want, like, pretty ones.

but I don't want to buy nice ones, like from a price point perspective. So I bought some, I think they're maybe in like 15 bucks. Oh, wow. I bought two. Anyways, they last like an hour and a half, the battery. You just recharging them.

And then you have to keep plugging it in. I'm like, just sitting on a counter with wires coming out. Dad, gum it, I know, but I want that like warmth, you know? Yeah. So that is one that I'm like, all right, if I really, because we've had our stuff for seven years now. The furniture.

We've been in our home. Since you moved and got it. There were a couple of pieces that we went, like, less expensive because I was like I can't stomach having like like our couches and rugs coffee table like our living stuff we just we didn't go overly nice I mean they're pretty but I had babies at the time and I was like I can't but now I'm like okay when do you upgrade you know yeah we talked about this in another episode but but can I tell you the grass isn't always greener because we have a coffee table that is like high end like we went all out on this coffee table and it like bubbled up like

the veneer on the top came off and the glue. And I was like, this is insane. And so they sent a repair guy. Oh my gosh. To come fix the table. Yes. For a little arts and crafts project. Well, I don't need like nice.

And I'm like, this is crazy. Is it pretty? Is it a pretty coffee table? It's nice, but you couldn't. It's not like you walk in and go, wow, that is a luxury coffee. I know. I know. Yeah.

So the price point doesn't matter, but it's, it is the, yes, the products that lasts over time. Even my little touch lamps. is a Nancy. I blame Nancy. So that's where I go, how often am I going to use this thing? If it's going to be in constant use, let me just get a good version of it.

I know Winston is that way, your husband. He's like, let me just get a high quality version because I don't want to have to re-buy this. Absolutely. Yes. And honestly,

buying high-quality pajamas from Cozy Earth, that was a splurge where I'm like, listen, I want nice products. There are certain areas of my life that I'm like, I want it to feel good, I want it to last because I'm going to be washing it a lot. So like our sheets, pajamas, those kind of things, towels even.

That's why I love cosier. Here's it's really cool. They allowed us to create our own bundles and they're 40% off. So there's a Rachel bundle and a George bundle. What's in your bundle? Okay, so my bundle is the pajamas because I love the bamboo pajamas. And then I wear a robe almost every day. I love a robe.

And there's like a thin one, especially. It's like a bamboo that material. And it's like kind of a kimono, so it's shorter. Oh my gosh, but it's fantastic for the summer. That's and then the Lux bath sheets so bigger than the towel. I just used one this morning and I, it's like a cocoon for me

because I'm a little guy. So you give me a sheet, I'm fully wrapped. It's great. My bundle I threw in the lakehouse clog which I'm a huge fan of, very comfortable and very good looking because a lot of guys, you know, they're just walking around and crocs around the house.

Let's step it up, gentlemen. And then the first layer pajama short sleeve tea and shorts set, which I love. I got that one on a nice cool blue color and then the men's essential calf sock four pack. Because socks are one of those things that you just get enough of them. You don't want to have to worry about if you lose one, where that one go. So just get a pack of them.

It's great. It's wonderful. So all of those bundles 40% off right now when you go to cozyearth.com slash smart money. Get that exclusive bundle. It's a limited time offer. Get yours while supplies last. All right. Next, frugal habit that, yeah, not my favorite.

Washing dishes by hands, George. dishwashers, more efficient. Isn't there data on this now that washing by hand actually takes more water? Oh, I bet. Because, okay, I am a pots and pans. Yes, I will hand wash those. And my knives. I hand wash my knives.

Quality knife you want to hand wash. It'll get dull in the wash faster. But yeah, definitely plates of wear, all of that. Do you rinse to where they almost look clean? I do. I'm a clean rinser. And I've heard that helps. Yes.

Some people are like, no, if you have keep the gun on there, it actually washes better. I'm like, well, that doesn't... Makes sense. There's no science behind that. I am. I clean off the dishes before I put them in. Yeah. That's a tough one. But I like it so good. All right. Next, last one, George, is the MoneyFinder Challenge. So this is something people can do. A hack that is tried and true. Yeah. And you actually can like fill it out, go through it. And people on average are finding $400 in their budget. So this is a frugal hack for sure to

check out. If you need some margin, we'll put the link in the show notes, and check out the money finder challenge. We created it for our frugal friends out there who were like, listen, I don't want to have to do a ton of work, but help me find some money that's already existing in my life that I can finder. And the money finder challenge is it. We'll leave a link in the description, so you can start finding that hidden cash ASAP. All right. So some frugal things, checkmark. I think it's a go. It's a green light. Some frugal things, not worth it. Yeah. And I really do think the more you know yourself and your own values. And for some people, it's aesthetic and for some people it's convenience, then do what you feel like is beneficial for your life.

But don't be under the guise that you're saving a ton of money when you're not. Because you might be costing you a whole lot of time or in the long run it's going to cost you more money. So you really have to think through each one and go, is this worth it for me in this season? And I've noticed that in certain seasons I'm frugal and some I'm not. And some things I'm frugal and some things I'm willing to spend. And depending on where you are in the money journey, sometimes you're going to be way more frugal for a longer period of time. just to get that margin. That's great.

All right, before we spill the tea on our guiltiest charge segments, give us the details of the drink, George. This is the watermelon mint mojito moktail. Y'all, I think, oh, 10 out of 10 on this. It's a 10 out of 10. I loved it. There's no other way to say it. It was so good.

Maybe a 10.5 because they added more lime, which I constantly request. It needs more lime. Lime on lime. It's got fresh watermelon, as you can see. I mean, beautiful. Is it muddled in there? Yeah.

So there's watermelon muddled in there, plus there's some cubes and a little wedge. Then you've got fresh lime juice, maple syrup as the sweetener. That's exciting. Then you have the mint, of course, which I just love. The smell of mint and a drink can't go wrong. Yes, I know. And then lime sparkling water, which adds some effervescence, a little bubbly. For sure.

Which adds to it. And then it's really dolled up beautifully with the lime wedge, all the mint, the watermelon and wedge. I'll say it starts to not look as pretty. All the color, like, you know what I mean? So it tastes better than it looks right the second. The flavor is there. Yours looks pretty, though. This comes out to a dollar, 43 cents. Okay. That's a great price. I would definitely be making this one at home. And I noticed this is a life hack for those of you who love the show. Someone went into the show notes before they watched the episode, saw the drink made it to enjoy with us. Oh, that's fun. Just sipping and listening. So instead of

making it after the fact. Just check the show notes. Say, hey, what are they making today? That looks good. I'll whip one up and then hit play. Love it. Appreciate that. That's great.

Jinks, you owe me a Coke. Do you drink Coke? Diet Coke. I know. I'll take a Coke zero. Maybe a Diet Dr. Pepper, if I'm feeling crazy. Oh, Diet Dr. Pepper. God.

If I'm at Chick-fil-A, it feels like it's un-American to not get a diet Dr. Dr. Pepper. So my new thing is a diet lemonade at Chick-fil-A. And you know where I get a diet Dr. Pepper every time I go? McDonald's. Nope. No. Firehouse subs.

Not on my bingo card. I love a firehouse sub. I forgot that people like you can go in a firehouse subs. Oh, I love a firehouse. I just haven't thought about them. Oh, they're so good. I'm sure it's still great. It is so.

I don't even know where one is. There's one off, there's one a few exits down from us, George. Okay. We'll go together as a family. All right, now it's time for guilty as charged. This is where we ask each other. Guilty's charge question every week. And if we're guilty, but take a sip.

All right, the question is, are you guilty of any boomer money habits that you refuse to let go of. Oh, wow. Oh, man. I don't know if it's a boomer habit, but I am a bag collector. Okay. I love a bag. You love a bag.

Plastic bag, tote bag, anything. I have a large assortment of bags, and I've never let go of any bags. Yes, I'm with you. I love a plastic grocery bag. Yeah. That can be used for anything. If I'm doing self-checkout, sometimes I'll be very generous. with my bag usage.

Do you add a couple more to the... Sometimes by accident, but oftentimes just one item gets one bag. Okay, that's a good one. The eggs get their own bag. I do love a bag. I would say I'm probably... I'm gonna go the bag theme because I am a gift bag keeper. Oh, the gift bag.

So like tissue paper. I don't do tissue paper. My sister and my mom do that. They go around Christmas and they're like flattening out the tissue paper and they keep it. I don't do that. even though I should because I actually probably need more of that. But yeah, a bag. Okay, I'm going to go bag with you, George.

I think we're going to see that. Boomers love bags. They love bags. And we're here for it, y'all. What is it with boomers and bags? We are here for it. Make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel with some guilty as charged questions.

We are getting them and so appreciate it. So good. And if you love this episode, make sure to check out our episode, Old School Habits, making a comeback. We have thoughts. So we'll link that down below. And make sure. to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.