Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - How the Illusion of Choice Is Keeping You Broke

Episode Date: September 14, 2023

News flash: Advertisers have mastered the art of making consumers think they’re in control. But who’s really calling the shots? In this episode, Rachel and George investigate what’s happening behind the brands and how it affects your bank account.   In this episode: - George and Rachel’s reaction to Chuck E. Cheese’s saucy secret - Why modern-day advertising is low-key mind control - The alleged BlackRock conspiracy they don’t want you to know about   Helpful Resources: ·     Start making memories! Go NOW and get Tapple at Wal-Mart or wherever you buy board games! https://theop.games/ ·     Booking a flight with Going is the best and simplest way to pay less and travel more. Sign up for free today at going.com/smartmoney. ·     Get your finances organized, make a plan, build your confidence, and kick money stress out of your life for good with the EveryDollar budgeting app. Go to www.everydollar.com/smartmoney to get a free two-week trial and $15 off your premium membership to EveryDollar. ·     Do you have a Guilty as Charged question for Rachel and George? Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it. ·     Learn more about your ad choices: https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices ·     Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy: https://www.ramseysolutions.com/compa...    This Week’s Happy Hour Special: Mexican Surfer   Ingredients: 2 ounces reposado tequila 1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice 1/2 ounce lime cordial (aka sweetened lime juice)   Instructions: Combine all your ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain the liquid into a chilled coupe glass. Add a lime slice for garnish and hang loose! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Cheers. When I see a lime garnish, I get excited. That's joy in a glass right there. Absolutely.

Well, you guys, this is Smart Money Happy Hour, the podcast. We're 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 today we are talking about how the global economy is basically one giant Russian doll. What? Well, it's all just... It's a great way of putting it, actually.

It's all a farce, Rachel. I know, it's so true. So we're investigating ghost kitchens. If you've never heard of that, stick around because it is fascinating. Juicy stuff. Deodorant brands and even Black Rock to see if we can figure out who's really pulling the strings around here, George. And this is not a conspiracy theory episode. This is true facts that we are bringing to you people.

And it's a very interesting conversation. So this is a real who's the puppet, who's the puppeteer? Are there any... But we think we have freedom when we're choosing our deodorant? but do we or does really just like two to three companies own everything on the shelf? And before we get into all that craziness and how it affects your bank accounts, George, what are we sipping on? We are sipping on a Mexican surfer. And the so far are so good, Rachel.

So stick around to the end if you want to hear what's in it, how you can make it at home, our rating, and the cost breakdown. Yep, it's delicious. Are you enjoying it so far? I'm going to move my lime garnish to the other side so I can. Very professional of you. Sip that there. Well, let's get to it. Rachel, have you ever thought you knew somebody and then it turns out you didn't?

Oh. Is there any worse feeling than that? Where you think, like, you know, I'm actually listening to a podcast right now, smart money happy hour and another podcast about a scammer. And it's terrible. This girl, she like fakes cancer. So like when I – there's like all these stories about people that are like living basically double lives. And you think, you know, or they're completely lying to people. So yeah.

Personally, yeah, I probably have had some experience. But that podcast has really got me going. I feel like I would have trust issues after that for a while. It's intense. And I think people might have trust issues after listening to this episode. Possibly. Because something similar is happening in America's kitchens. And you're eating it.

I know. Okay. So I didn't really know about this. I'll be very honest before we started talking about this episode. And everyone, like in our content meetings, they were like, oh, yeah, ghost kitchens or understanding like what's going on in the restaurant world, especially since COVID. And I'm like over here all naive. And I'm like, wait, what are you all talking about?

So let's dive into that part because I think that this is really fascinating. Let's define this. So a ghost kitchen is a shared kitchen that cooks for multiple restaurants at a time. And usually it's for, quote, virtual restaurants that are delivery only. So think about you open a delivery app and you see some restaurant you've never heard before. But it looks good. Yeah. And like for me, I'm like, I always search the type of food I want.

So I'm like burgers or Mexican, you know, and then it gives you a list. So in this example, there's a, yeah, a burger place called Mr. Beasts Burgers. Yeah. And owned by a famous YouTuber, Mr. Beast. Yeah, okay. So then you see it and you think, oh, yeah, okay, maybe that's like a new restaurant that opened in Nashville and they're going to pick it up from there and deliver it to my house. But that's not the case at all. Not the case.

So Mr. Beast developed this virtual restaurant concept called Mr. Beast Burgers. He now has 1,700 virtual locations. Oh, my gosh. It hurts my brain to think about that. There's not a restaurant. It's just a kitchen that people are making these. And then... So they'll, like, rent warehouse space in, like, an industrial kitchen somewhere.

You can't go there. And that's where they do the actual cooking. And then the DoorDash driver will go there, pick it up, bring it to you. Yeah. So, I mean, like, there's nothing morally wrong with that. No, and Mr. Bees is doing it the right way. He's very clear. This is not trying to be a fake out of a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

But for just the average person ordering on DoorDash or Uber Eats. I'm like, I didn't even know this existed, George. I really didn't. There's a whole other world out there, Rachel. Where are you been? It's crazy. What are you eating? That's the question, George. What am I eating?

Pizza delivery. That's usually your M.O., right? Yeah, and it's usually like a solid, like Papa John's delivery. And you're doing it through the Papa John's app. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't be fooled. Go straight to the source like Rachel. I know.

But, but again, it's these, yes, these massive kitchens that people build out. And so instead of having the overhead of having a full restaurant, yeah. No frills. You don't have to hire servers. None of that. You don't have to care about the interior. You're just there to make food. Yeah.

And again, this one doesn't feel as like slimy or scammie because they're pretty open about it, but not all are like that. No. Mr. Beast is one of the only good versions of this in the space. The other ones are a little sketchier, Rachel. So here's an example. You ever heard of Chuckie Cheese? Have I?

Frequent birthday parties there in the last five years of my life. They actually do a great job. Thank you. Well, depending on where you live, you also may have seen a different restaurant. called Pascalis. Oh, yeah? What is that?

A little Italian joint that serves up oddly similar food. A lot of pizza, a lot of wings, Rachel. Stop. Okay, so this is... This is it. This is it. This is where it gets nuts.

I'm on my Uber Eats app, and I want pizza from not the chain, but from like a fun local spot. And I see Pascales. Yeah. And I'm like, oh, well, that sounds like a mom-and-pop fun spot. I'll order some pizza there. Local, you.

you know, kind of different. And it's coming from Chucky Cheese. I never thought Charles Entertainment Cheese would do me dirty like that. The nerve. Let me say, though, with the overarching thing, Chuckie Cheese doesn't have terrible pizza. I'll be the first to say it. That's fair.

It's really not bad. But I feel lied to if I go in order from like a really small, fun mom and pop, like, oh my gosh, just like a really. Reporting a local small business. And it's from the Chucky Cheese Kitchen. I can't. So here's the deal. Chuck E. Cheese started this virtual brand in spring of 2020 during the pandemic.

And it says on Pascal's website, if you dig a little bit. And if you check the address on the Postmates listing, it will correspond to a Chuckie cheese in your area. I mean, you can't make this stuff up. Dooped. Dooped. Dooped. I do. Bringing it back.

Throw back to that episode. But, okay, so they do, they do disclose it somewhere on the website. You just got to just dig. But it's like an unsubscribe link on an email. Like is it that obvious? No, you got to dig for the invisible four point font. So that means the kitchen at Chucky Cheese is preparing pizza for little kids having a birthday party at the brick and mortar store. And for kiddults like Rachel.

That's so crazy. Or ordering for a casual night in. Oh, my gosh. Okay. So do you feel scammed by that? I feel like it's a borderline scam. Yeah. I mean, I guess they legally are okay because they disclose it at some point.

But yes, when I feel like that. like I'm like ordering from Pascalis. I'm like, oh, that's a fun little new. I want to support local. Like, you have a whole new mindset when you're not ordering chain, but then you're ordering from chain. Well, to spice up this episode, Rachel, our team actually ordered both. They got wings from Pascallies and Chucky Cheese. No pizza. Well, here's the deal. We wanted pizza. As you know, I'm a gluten-free gladiator. And they say in the app that you can get pizza, gluten-free from Pascali's, but you can't. That's another lie.

They couldn't do it. But Chuckie cheese lets you. So Chuckie Cheese won, one, Pascali, zero. Wow. But who really won? But from the same kitchen. Okay, but instead we did wings. Oh, I can't wait.

We went for traditional wings, barbecue flavored. And so we're going to try them both. We're going to compare the size and compare the price. All right, Lindsay. You got it all? Do you have, like, the whole stash? Give you a minute as I made my way. I'm nervous.

Are you nervous? I'm a little nervous. but I love a blind test tasting. And you love a wing? I do love a good wing. Are you bone in or boneless? What's your preference? Bone in.

Okay. We got bone in for you. Thank you. Yes, here. So we'll just have the whole unboxing experience. Oh, wow. So this is how they both came. So you ordered, you got to go Chucky Cheese Wings and to go Pascali Wings.

True? Yes. So same bag. We don't know what's what? Same packaging. Yeah. Tied the same, George. How many knots do you have?

And you get delivery orders, like confirmations separately. Oh. So one from Pascal's. Okay. So I have a one tie. I'm a one tie. Do you have a double night? Okay. So same person probably.

That was me. That was me. They were double nodded. Oh, yeah. I thought it was on date line. No. I was like they were double knotted and I did it. But they weren't knotted.

They were. They were double knotted. And I had to unknock them for eats. But they had the same packaging. Yes. Okay. So double knotted. Same bag.

seen wishbone, this is real detective work. Okay, it's not an amateur sleuth situation. Yeah, we need all the details on Zee. Yeah, I'm giving them, geez. This is our moment. It's not a game. I got it. This is our moment. All right. I'm tossing the bag. Yeah, toss it. Okay. Oh, yep. Okay. My says, Pascalis, too.

Oh, no. We've got this same. Okay. Shucky Cheese just gave up. Wow. Well, then how are we supposed to know which one was which? I don't know. We don't know. We don't know. We don't know. I bet they're the last. Sam wings because it's coming from the freaking thing.

This is not. Savi or sketchy. Mine has celery. Mine has celery, too. Yours has a special thing. What's yours have? I don't know. It's a little sauce container.

I don't have sauce. Okay. Chucky, mine's for sure from Chuck and Cheater. Okay, this is ranch. Oh, it's just a side of ranch. Okay, but I didn't get a side of ranch. Did you order ranch for both? Um, I didn't.

If they gave me the option I did, but if they didn't, I know. I'm actually pretty hungry. Okay, so I have one of these wings here. All right, I got a wing. Uh-huh. Barbecue wing. Loving this on a white velvet chair. I don't want you with a mic.

That's so gross. Okay, those are delicious. Okay, okay. What's the flavor? Barbecue flavor. Rachel's down. I mean, they're fine. I think they're great.

We have different palates. Mine are for sure. Well, now the other one's going to have to eventually try. try the other one. I got to try one of Rachel's wings now to confirm they are in fact the same wings. I mean, she really went down to the bone on that thing. All right.

All right, Rachel, I'm going to try one of your wings now to see if it's the same exact wing. Mm-mm-mm. No. Are you saying it's a different wing? Oh, I got something weird on yours. Gross. I don't want yours. Don't blame me.

I didn't make the wings. I don't want yours. I won't mine. Okay. Mine are for sure better. Mine are for sure. better. Y'all, it's the same wings.

I'm uncomfortable by all of this. This will be the last taste test we ever do. It's the same wings. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. For sure the same. Guys, can you guys just give Rachel

some privacy while she eats? I got to say, I wouldn't order them again. Really? Now, here's the thing. If they were, like, fresh, hot off the press, maybe they'd be different. But they're a little bit, you know, a little soggy, little lukewarm.

Well, that's temperature. Just what they were delivered to when we started recording. Which is why I don't do delivery. I have trust issues of delivery. First of all, what if the delivery driver ate one? It was too long. But no, because he would have broke the seal. There was no seal.

It was a sticker. Oh, George stopped that. Well, yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, I do need a... Oh, I got you. Wet nap? Mm-hmm. A server?

Okay. I can definitively say... Same wings. Same wings. And kind of delicious. So Rachel's not hard to please when it comes to food. Should we have got the sponsor by Chuckie Cheese? I think we should have.

I'm not kidding. Or Pascalis. Which sponsor do we choose? Oh, man. You got to go authentic. You got to go Chuckie Cheese because it's from Chuckie Cheese. Hold on. You said you have to go authentic?

Yeah, you got to go the real kitchen. There's nothing authentic about Chuckie Cheese. No, it's just the fact that it isn't a Chuckie Cheese kitchen. Oh. It's not like Pascal's kitchen. It's in a Chuckie Cheese kitchen. Wow. Wow, that was a lot of mess.

Did you get celery in yours? I got celery. Oh, you did, okay. But you didn't get ranch. It didn't get ranch. Wow. I love ranch. We'll never know now.

Was it the same sauce? Yeah, it's the exact same. It's the exact same way. Hey, can I tell you the crazy part, though? Yeah. The prices on these are different. No, they're not. Mm-hmm.

Get this. The wings from Chuckie cheese, $16.49. For their smallest size. Okay. Number one, giant rip-off. Pascally's on the other hand 1529 for their smallest wings Which means it's a dollar 20 cheaper

To go to Pascalis to get your wings And I would have thought the exact opposite You thought Pascalis has it can charge more Oh you would think Because they're feeding like adults Yeah And you would think Chuck cheese would be cheaper Is there the same amount of wings in there?

I mean you guys It looks about the same to me Okay We have not counted them all out But they looked about the same Yeah Also want to know something funny Mm-hmm

They, on Chucky Cheese, it could be called like barbecue sauce or barbecue wings. But then when you go to Pasquale, Pasquale's. Oh, no, I don't even know how to say it. But anyway, it would be fancy. It'd be like Louisiana Barbecue Lings. Oh, they up the marketing. They're trying to say like pistachio, honey, fetter cheese, da-da. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, they're trying to. All right. And cheaper, which is so bizarre. You would think all of that they'd be more. Yeah. So. I learned a lot today. And that's considered a ghost's kitchen, right?

I learned that Rachel has low standards for what wings should taste like. That Pascal's is cheaper than Chuckie cheese. I think I have very low standards on food. I enjoy good food, but I don't need it. Oh, that's a good way to put it. Give me a Chuckie Cheese wing or a Papa John's pizza, and I am. For me, it's, I'm all about like when the food is fresh, that's when I want to eat it. So I don't want to wait 20 minutes for someone to deliver it.

I'll need to reheat these in an air fryer in order to make them palatable. Next time we'll make sure we have an air fring. Get the air. Friar. No, that's fine. So, you did great. You did great. George, you are so bushy.

Unbelievable. No one's surprise. So caveat, virtual restaurants are often marked on delivery apps. So it'll say that it's a virtual restaurant. Okay. So they tell you. Allegedly. Does Piscallis tell you that?

That's a good question. Because technically, there's a physical location for glassgallies. I'm trying to remember. Because you got to remember, I deep dive into all this. So I'm trying to remember, like, that piece of it. Totally, totally. So interesting. Someone now.

listening should go check it out. Go check it out for us. Well, allegedly DoorDash has labeled virtual brands with a standalone store page since March of 2021. Okay, so now they tell you. So they're trying to be more honest. I just think that stuff is so fascinating. But honestly, I don't use these apps a lot because I think they're such a rip-off,

regardless of where the food's coming from. You know what? Okay, so before we continue, George, we have a new advertiser on the show, Op Games. So excited about this. And they have a game called Tappel, and it is so fun. You know how most games have like a bazillion instructions? I can tell you in one sentence how this game works.

It's that simple. So all you do is choose a category, press the timer, and you shout out words related to the category that start with a certain letter. So you press the letter tab that starts with the word you said and you move fast. You only have 10 seconds. Yes, it is such an easy game to play.

And if you have a group of people that may be like, you know, kind of new friends or whatever, it's a great icebreaker. It is so fun. I want to go make some friends just so I can play table. I don't know that I have enough right now. No, you have great. Yes, you have enough friends to go play.

I'll call Winston Cruz. Yes, I know. he would play with you. So yeah, it's a great game. Friends, family, great memories. So if you want to check it out, just go to Walmart or wherever you buy games and start making memories with your family by playing Tappel. That's right.

All right, George. So back to some marketing talk. So I think another reason that all this kind of gives us like the ick is just because, you know, I think a lot of us buy things based on branding. Like we either know the brand or we see the label and it feels a certain way. It looks a certain way, right? Is there a brand for you, like in the, you know, let's say the household toiletries kind of aisle that you're like, I just know this brand. I trust whatever they make.

I'm going to buy it. I'm going to say dove. She's a dove woman. My deodorant bar soap. Yeah, it's just a, it's just a, it's a safe bet to me. It just feels truthful. Wow. It feels truthful.

They feel like they tell the truth, but I'm scared in this episode. I'm going to learn they tell them. You're going to learn a whole lot you're not going to like. For me, it's honest. I don't know why. Yes, that's another great brand. Jessica Alba. I love method.

I use their body wash. And for some reason, like, I like the rubberized texture of their bottles. Yes. And their branding is very clean. And I feel like the ingredients are clean because of that, even though it's probably not. I know. It's probably killing me. It's fine.

Let's be honest. No, but all of it, it is amazing. It is amazing how we see something and the way it makes us feel or look, you become loyal to that brand. Well, it's true that sometimes a certain brand has better quality, but most of the time, the only difference is the branding and the packaging. Yes. Okay. So what's crazy is that we think we have the illusion of choice. So to your point, you know, you go buy deodorant and walk down Target and you see, you know, a plethora of options. And you think, oh, my gosh, I have so many options. How wonderful to have all these options. To choose from when what's the reality, George? Well, here's the definition of the illusion of choice

To set us up here The illusion of choice is a flaw in our brain's way of reasoning That causes us to believe that we have more control over our lives Than we actually do Amen It's so existential It's just, it's like That's what I should have like tattooed on my arm

That's like my life's calling right there It's a long tattoo We all feel like we have control And we think we are doing this and no We're in the matrix There's people pulling strings all over the place There's some Jepetto out there We're just little Pinocchio's

And I think on much bigger topics than this, and then it gets down to like your cosmetics or your soap. That's true. It's very sad. Well, the variety of consumer product brands creates the illusion that you have unlimited choices. But the reality is there's a few big companies that control what you buy on a regular basis. Yeah. And there's a really great TikTok video by cancel this clothing company. His real name is Ian.

And again, he does what I said. He goes through the target aisle of all deodorants. And he finds and realizes that, yeah, there's not all these choices. Really, all of these are made by one of three companies. There's three big dogs that own them all. Yep. Well, let's run through these, Rachel, because I think this is going to blow some of the listeners' minds right here. So Unilever is one of the big dogs.

They make Dove, your favorite. That's be so sad. They make Axe. I'm in the same category as X. Same category as middle schooler. Meading our wing. They make degree. Oh, man.

And they make Schmitz. Never heard of it. You haven't seen Schmitz? No. Kind of a cleaner brand. Right? The natural stuff. It's like a little like elevated.

I'll go with Schmitz. But man, Axe. Really? Same company. You're no better than middle school boy, Rachel. So don't think you're all fancy getting your dove. Heartbroken is what I am, George.

Well, let's move on to another conglomerate. Okay. Colgate Palm Olive. I've heard of Colgate. They put a dash there. It's just one company, Colgate Palm Olive. Oh, man. They make Speedstick.

They make lady speed stick, and they make Tom's. The shoes? No. Tom, have you haven't seen like Tom's toothpaste? Yeah. Nope. I use Tom's toothpaste. See?

I feel like all of these major... Is it like all natural? Oh, man. I'm seeing a theme. Are you seeing a theme? All of these major brands have like their clean, like kind of hip indie look. But it's all from the same place. Probably.

Yeah. In my head, Tom's was like their own thing. You know? No. You're right there with speed stick. Rachel feels like she's been misled by a dove and me with Tom's. Well, we're not even done, Rachel. The last one is a big one, Procter & Gamble.

Oh, P&G, as we call them in the biz. I know them. You know P&G. I know P&G. They make Old Spice. Yep, fair. They make Gillette. Yep.

They make native. Yep. And secret. Mm-hmm. For some reason, Procter and Gamble doesn't surprise me. Because it feels like a giant company. Huge. So I expect a lot under them. Okay.

Don't expect of. But Unilever, you were blindsided by. Yeah. Is it going to change what you buy? You're going to start buying Axe now since the same company? It's basically the same thing. Rachel uses AX Deodorant, we all know. All right. So the point of these videos.

I wonder if anyone uses Axe. They probably would be too embarrassed to even admit it. I feel like there's dudes out there still rocking it. Just comment and just say Axe. Is there an axe emoji? So it can be like this hidden thing between just the listener? Yes, comment in the comment section wherever you're listening. Or just like review, just do a little axe.

So we know you're out there. Axe bros. Or if you use dev. Well, I know there's a dove emoji. Oh. Yeah. Why are we so impressed? Is it Rachel's knowledge of the fact that there's a dove emoji?

I think that's what was impressive to me. Okay, so let's talk about the prices because that's what really affects our money. Because you're buying things. And again, you feel like you're buying a certain brands, right? Like, oh, it's native and it's. Well, native, can I just say because my wife gets native and it's like $19 a stick. I'm like, what is in that? Yeah, that was $17 that I just looked up.

Yeah, it's very expensive. So there's that. So let's go through some prices here. Unilever. Dove original clean deodorant 298. Axe Apollo anti-sweat Dioderant 497. Degree original shower clean deodorant 318 and then Schmitz, which is their clean green, lavender and sage aluminum-free deodorant 1369.

Dang. Okay, but they can't lie about the aluminum-free. So there is probably cleaner ingredients, though. Yeah, I'm sure. Yes. But here's my question. Is it five times the cost because you took out aluminum? I'm just confused by that. Well, your lift notes in your armpit is like a really big place that chemicals get in.

When did you go to medical school? This is when I got sick. This is when I got sold a native. It's like, yeah, like your lip notes are a big deal. So a lot of my friends did like homemade deodorant and stuff because it's a... If I'm unilever, I'm going to be like, you know, Dove has aluminum, Rachel. you should buy Schmitz Schmitz

if you really want to take care of your family if you're a good mom and then I'm like, wait, it's the same people marketing to me telling me that I shouldn't put a lumenum in my body. Isn't that wild? That's crazy.

Okay, Colgate. Okay. Speedstick regular men's deodorant, 247. Let's go speed stick. Yeah, that's good. It's solid. Lady's speed stick, shower fresh deodorant, 242.

And I'll just say, I'm proud of the fact the ladies deodorant is cheaper. I was going to say we did an episode on this George. On the pink tax. Yes, and this doesn't have it. So,

Speedstick. Way to go. Great job. And then Tom's unscented deodorant, 484. Not the shoe company. 484 for Tom's unsented. There you go. That's what you can get.

If you don't want to smell like your own B.O., you can just go with that. Just do that. Yep. Okay, and you got Procter and Gamble. And Old Spies, high endurance deodorant is $3.97. Gillette, clear, dry, tech deodorant, 597. It's got the tech. Yeah.

Negative, you ready for this? My native, natural coconut and vanilla deodorant. $12.97. And then Secret Shower, Fresh Deodorant, $3.97. So what I'm hearing is most deodorant is

about the same price, but when you get into these clean brands, aluminum-free, fancy clean branding, it's going to cost you. An arm and a leg. Absolutely. An armpit and a leg, Rachel.

I got there. All over it together. Okay. And you know what else, George? You know this little, you got on your face? Spectacles?

Yeah. So apparently there's conspiracies around this, too, Of the whole like sunglasses and eyeglasswear, it's a big deal. So there is a company out there called Luxottica. They own over 150 brands of glasses. So think about these companies you've heard. Oakley, Rayban, Prada, Burberry, Chanel, coach, Vogue Eyewear, Polo Ralph Lauren, Michael

Corse, Tori Burch, and many, many more. And here's the kicker. It costs them anywhere from $4 to $50, depending on the brand to make. And they can sell these glasses for like $150. for Oakley's and up to 500 bucks for Chanel. And one company owns them all. So we think, look at all these choices we have. Nope.

It's all going to the same. Okay, so my question is, though, because Chanel is its own company, right? Or Oakley is its own company. Right? Or no? Well, Chanel is its own company. This isn't just like the manufacturer.

But Luxottica makes them all. Yeah, like they have their partner with this brand. So it's the manufacturer of who makes the sunglasses. So it's the same, they could be using the manufacturer. exact same, like, plastic and everything. But to your point, Luxottica is not the mother company for Chanel.

Like Procter and Gamble is the mother company. It's who's making the sunglasses or glasses specifically. Is this, yeah. And it's all probably coming in the from the same factor. I mean, like, no, it is. Yeah. So your $4 glasses and your $400 glasses. Well, and you know why it's 400?

It's just those little Cs that overlap. And that's what you, I mean, Yep, that's the truth. That's what you're buying. You're paying for the flag. Is it worth it America? If it's in the budget, yes. And my vote is,

I don't know why the sea matters. I know. I'm just trying to get people the freedom to spend their money if they have it. You're right. Because you live like no one else later. You can live and give like no one else. And my wife is like, yes, Rachel, you tell him.

She's definitely doing that right now. I am for you. I am so for you. So Rachel, this affects so many different industries, from food to beauty products. Everything we buy, it's all kind of a farce. But there's one big one that we have. have to talk about. Okay. And that is the Black Rock conspiracy. Yes, this is a big deal to the point

that, like, it affects your investments. I mean, like, there's a lot of, a lot of things with Black Rock. So I'm going to let you kind of be the stage here and describe all of it because it's still, I don't know. Well, those three companies we just talked about, Unilever, Colgate Palm Olive, Procter and Gamble, this is the crazy part. They all have the same partial owner. It gets even deeper. Oh, my gosh. The pyramid just keeps getting smaller and smart. And who's the top? Black Rock. It's the villain behind the other villains

and it is giving some Avengers energy. We're feeling all. You know me. So, yeah, I've heard of Black Rock. I haven't looked too far into it. Yeah,

I haven't dove into this topic. But I know it's very controversial and I'll give you a little tidbit about them, Rachel. They're an institutional investment firm that manages $9 trillion in assets. Nine trillion. So basically so many companies

are under them that they are. Yeah, there's millions, there's billions, and then there's trillions. So it's the largest money manager in the world right now. And for context, the current GDP of the United States is 26 trillion. That is wild to me that this one firm produces a huge chunk of the U.S. GDP. Here's another comparison. Household debt in America across the board, including mortgages, is at $17 trillion. That blows my mind.

So BlackRock manages about $3,000. percent of the total U.S. GDP. GDP. It's a majority of, or not majority, just under half of what's going on. One giant investment firm. And you probably have investments managed by them. They manage lots of 401K plans, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, or ETFs. And they actually started ETFs. Oh, no way. They're at the beginning of everything. It's so crazy. And they're really good of what they do, which is maximizing profit. That is why they exist. So basically, their success as a company is due in part to their investment strategy, which is to diversify as much as possible and avoid risk.

So they even built an algorithm called Aladdin to help spot investment risk. Don't sully his good name. I know. They took Aladdin and, like, buried him. Man. Well, maybe it's because they're little street rats. That's what it is. Great. Before he turned into the Prince, Prince Ali. Well, as we alluded to earlier, there's an alleged conspiracy here that Black Rock is secretly taking over the world.

Yes, and as a result of their investment strategy, BlackRock is now a large shareholder and many companies that are supposed to be competing with each other. So you lose competition. Yeah. That's America's all about competition. The free market, Rachel. Yeah, and it's actually owned by one massive company. This is the new monopoly. That is so wild.

That is so wild. Oh, boy. So this is a lot. So we're basically talking about how these massive corporations basically own everything. It's kind of depressing. Not going to lie. A little bit. Yeah, we think that we have all this, like, choice, but really it's all owned by the same people.

Okay, so the question is, what do we do about this? So I would say, you know, if you're really passionate about resisting the mega corporations, then, you know, you're like, okay, you have one choice. You either are part of it or you're not. So that means you'd have to, like, make your own deodorant. Yeah, I'm out. I will just give blackrock my money and I'll... I know.

You could talk to your financial advisor, take Black Rock out. That's true. People have done that, which. So if you're investing in funds, you're like, hey, I didn't know I was investing in those. You can choose to invest in different funds. Yeah, so I think it's just one of those things. If you feel very convicted about the way the world operates with corporations and all

of that, you can choose to eliminate yourself. We still have a choice as a consumer. And you can be aware of the marketing tactics that lure you into buying all of these expensive products that are using the same ingredients when there's a cheaper version out there. So doing your research, stay informed. That's an important piece of this. That's exactly right. Yep. And also I'd say change your perspective because most of us, we can't change these companies' business plans, right? I mean, it is what it is. Yeah, I can pick it out their front door, but it's not going to mean anything's really going to change. Let's be honest. Yep.

So we can't control Chuck E. Cheese. We learn that. They're going to do me dirty no matter what. Yeah. So it's kind of like, what do you want to fight? I just have a lot of life going on. Well, as people of faith, I think it's important to note that if that's you out there. Yeah, you have convictions about something. Yeah. And sometimes I trust God has the whole world in his hands. So I don't let anything spin me out of control. Sure.

Because that assumes that I have some level of control over this. I'm going to do something about this. Yeah. But it's a good reminder. There's a lot of things we can't control. And that's a good reminder. Circle back and go, what can I control? Me, my house, my money, the decisions I make, the things I buy.

And I think it would. So for me, after this episode, I don't know if you feel this one. way listeners and viewers. But I'm like, okay, if I'm like doing my every dollar app, and I track my transactions every day, like we get a lot of Amazon coming in because we buy a lot of stuff on Amazon or, you know, your target one hits or whatever it is. I do see, oh my gosh, here's what we're spending on what a coffee, curag cups, like whatever it is that we're spending money on. You can think, hey, if it's all coming from the same company, is there a cheaper version? It's kind of we talk about store brands, you know, like, you know, like, yeah, that you can

time, be like, okay, but is it all kind of the same? And can I save some money and a few dollars here and there? And if you want that native deodorant, budget for it. And like you said, Rachel, there's nothing wrong with that, you know, but as long as you're informed, you're doing it for the right reasons. And that's the thing you want to buy with money that you actually have today. Yes. Then go for it. And you can do that with freedom and no regrets. So good. No regrets. All right, George, well, I think it's almost the end of the episode. And we close on every episode with Guilty as charged.

And this is where our producer Lindsay gives us a new guilty as charged question every week. And if we are guilty, we have to take a sip. Lindsay? George is already taking a sip. Why don't have to take it away? He's guilty. I love to.

You can take a bite of wing. You can take a bite of wing. Okay, so this question came in from Alexis on Spotify. Whoa. That's cool. Yeah, she says, are you guilty of ever stealing

someone else's story or joke and pass it on as your own. Oh, man. Oh, man. Yeah. Not quite story, but I would, yeah,

you hear a funny joke and it suddenly becomes mine. And you claimed it. Oh, I think I, for sure, probably, or like, reused a saying that made me laugh

and then I end up reusing that saying in, like, situations, because I think it's funny. I've probably stolen lines from Rachel, to be honest. Oh, George. Accidentally.

Like quotes? Like, you know one thing I say? Like on stage. You know, we speak for a living and so talking about money and I'm like, where did that come from? I don't know where? And I'm like, oh, Rachel said that. Hey, do you know what was mine? Can I say this?

Yeah. And it has been stolen. I came up with a budget as permission to spend. That was me back in 2012. And no one else had ever said that. Justice. It's like permission to spend. And now everyone says it, which is great because it's the truth.

But that was me. You know what? From now on, I'm going to start saying, like my good friend Rachel Cruz says, a budget is permission to spend. Please give me credit, because it was. That's a good one. It was me. Well, you know what I say? Because Dave always was like, zero-based budget. Here's what you're doing.

Here's your forms. And then I came along in 2000, well, technically, oh, 9, but, or no, 2010. Oh, 2009. Yeah. But it gave me a little bit to get on my feet to get my own stuff going. Yeah. And I had the epiphany. A budget gives you permission to spend.

It does. That's what it felt. So I started saying it, and everyone's like, that's great. And then Dave started using it. Yeah, 10 years ago, it's been a decade. That's Dave's thing, Rachel. And you're like, I invented that. 11 years ago.

What have you invented that I've probably stolen stuff from you, George? I don't think I have anything more to stealing. No, I feel like you probably have said stuff. Yeah, you do jokes. Deloney. I feel like we've stolen stuff from Deloney. I have facts are your friends. Sorry, Deloney.

You know what I've stolen from Rachel? I usually credit you, though, when I say give a little until you can give a lot. Oh, thank you. That is in my book. I once tried to get Rachel credit and I got called out because it was not Rachel who said it. It was Teddy Roosevelt. And I was like, my ball. Okay, so maybe Rachel didn't ever invent you have permission to spin.

We're going to find out that it was true. I was like, my good friend Rachel says comparison is the thief of joy. And they're like, Teddy Roosevelt says that. You quoted me on that one. That's a famous line from a president. Yeah, I know. Can I say one that's even more embarrassing? No, here's mine.

No, no, mine is comparison will not only steal your joy, but steal your paper. check as well. That was me. I added a little teddy flare. But it's like telephone. It's like telephone. Eventually. So on air. I'm sitting next to Dave, I'm sitting next to Dave, the Bible says adults devise a plan and follow it. Children do it feels good.

No, you didn't. And Dave didn't call it out. He was just like, no you didn't. He let it go, not trying to embarrass me. And then after the break, I was like, that's not a Bible verse, is it? And he's like, no. He's like, that's something I just say. And I was like, oh gosh. I just Quoted Jesus, but he didn't ever

I attributed a Dave Ramsey quote to the Bible. That's funny. To be fair, it sounds like a Proverbs message version. That's really funny. To be fair. That sounds, okay, I said something at the influencer event and said it probably some old president had said it. And it was actually Dave that sold that said it. They like pulled up the quote. Were you there for that? I remember that. I can't remember what it was. It was basically like your pile of failures you're standing on or something. Success is a pile of failures that you're standing on.

Yeah. And I said a president probably during a war. you know, said this. And then they found it on, I don't even know if Dave really originally said that. General Ramsey. I don't know. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah.

Anyways, yes, Lindsay, we are all guilty. We're all guilty. We're all guilty. I do try to give credit. Like, I don't try to intentionally steal me. I'm like, I'm going to say this. But if I ever say something that someone else is, call me out. And I'll say, I'm sorry.

You do give John Deloney a lot of quote. Well, actually, not even John. You say a psychiatrist that John quotes about the guilt versus. Yes, choose guilt over resentment. Yes, and you always quote, you quote the other people. Because I know it wasn't John. Because I appreciate that, yes. Because then John's going to be like, dude, I didn't say that.

It was Dr. Gaboramate said that, you know, and I'm like, oh, I don't want to get, I don't want to get involved with him. Sounds like a scary guy. Sounds like he owns Black Rock or something. Exactly. So give credit where credit is due. That's right. Oh, man. Okay, so I finished mine first.

I loved this drink. It was delicious. And it's so simple. Just a quick take on a margarita, something different. So this was a Mexican. surfer, all it has is tequila, pineapple juice, and lime juice. It was so delicious.

That's it. And the cost breakdown comes out to $2.79. Oh, my gosh. Not bad for like fresh pineapple juice, fresh squeezed limes. Yeah. So go try it at home. We'll put the recipe in the show notes. And I want to know what your rating is, Rachel. What do you rate this drink? I mean, I'm going 10 out of 10.

Whoa. I think I would, I would order that at a restaurant. I think about like a four o'clock Mexican, you know, pre-dinner, like you're out with chips and salsa with friends on a patio, Mexican surfer. You know what would make this even better? Fresh jalapenos in there would, it would be a game changer. Be so great.

You know what else would be so good? Chucky cheese wings. Luckily, we have those, Rachel. So glad we do. So delicious. Well, I'm going nine out of ten. Okay. I wanted a little more pizzazz.

Oh, you need a little something. I wanted to be a little punchier. But I think Ibu nailed this drink. So shout out to Ibu. Yes. Well, you guys, if you enjoyed this episode, Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss a new episode every Thursday. And also leave a review because that helps us so much.

We love them. That helps us stay on the air, you know, because it gets the show out to more people. More people get to listen to the podcast and watch it on YouTube. And we want to spread the joy. And best of all, it makes Rachel's heart happy. Just do it for that reason alone. It does, yeah. So we'll see you guys next Thursday on a whole new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.