Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Life (and Money) Tips We Wish We Knew in Our 20s

Episode Date: August 1, 2024

 💵 Sign up for EveryDollar today to create a free budget! Are there things in life you wish you’d known sooner? Well, you’re in luck! Rachel and George are here with important life and finance lessons, revealing things they wish they’d known in their 20s. Next Steps 📱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. 🎥 Watch our video where we break down the realities of adulting! Offers From Today’s Sponsors This episode is sponsored by DeleteMe. 🔒 Remove your personal information from the web and get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to https://joindeleteme.com/smartmoney Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍾 Bourbon Hugo Spritz Recipe: @kristiwithatwist   • 1 ounce bourbon • 1 ounce elderflower liqueur • 3 ounces prosecco • 2 ounces soda water   Instructions: Fill a glass with ice and add bourbon and elderflower liqueur. Top with prosecco and soda water, then stir. Garnish with an optional lime wheel and mint sprig and enjoy!   Listen to More From Ramsey Network 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights   🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💼 The Ken Coleman Show 📈 EntreLeadership Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy 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. There we go. Cheers. Wow. That's great. That'll leave a mark.

That's great. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about, which you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And today we are making therapists around the globe proud by doing a little healing work on our inner child, or at least inner 20-something. Yeah, that's right.

We're going back, you know. given some thoughts to what we wish we had known. This could go deep. We don't know. We're not sure where this is going. I don't know if I have that kind of depth. I will reach. It is going.

It is going. And while we chat about that, what do we sipping on, George? We are sipping on a bourbon Hugo spritz. We love a sprits. And we're going to give you the rating, reveal the cost per glass, and of course give you the recipe

at the end of the episode and in the show notes. So stick around till the end. That's right. Okay, do you think it's, like, rude to put this... I don't think it's rude to leave your garnish. I do think it ruins the drink. Why?

That mixologist Michael worked very hard on. Oh, my gosh. Well, now it just looks like a nothing burger. Okay. All right, whatever. I don't care. Live your life. Okay, because there's a trend going around, George,

where people are like going back in their lives, looking back in their lives, and recapping like, oh my gosh, this is what I learned. Like, I'm turning 30. Here's what I learned in my 20s. Don't you think older people laugh at that? They go, like, that's cute. You know what I mean?

What are you learned in your 20s? Yeah. Like, oh, what do you learn in your four years as an adult? Yeah. And like a 68-year-old is watching that going, that's fun. But I do think it's great. Hindsight is 20-20, and this episode is like hindsight is 20-something. Yeah, for sure.

That's clever. That's it. Write that down, writers. It's good. So is this like another version of these Get Ready with Me videos? I have not seen this trend as much. Oh, it's in the similar vein. I mean, sort of.

But it's like the things that I wish I knew or, what do they call them? Things I wish I knew. That's what did they title them. Is it usually during a milestone? It's during like a birthday. Yeah. And we're going to kind of reflect George

on our 20s, which was six years ago for me. Seven years ago. Oh, okay. Like the end of your 20s. Yeah, end of 20s. I was like, wow, Rachel, you're lying to the people about your age.

My 20s were a lot. Okay, what did you learn in your 20s, George, when you look back? Okay, over the last decade. This can be life and money. This can be life and money. Okay. Life, I wish I, it's

more of just this like it's going to be okay. I was so just hyper focused on I need this plan to work. I need this dream to work. And at every turn, it didn't. And I was fired from this job and this relationship didn't work. And yet I have an amazing life that I'm so blessed with. But in the moment, you feel like this is it. You really screwed it up. Look at all that time you wait. You idiot, you know, and I wish I was just kinder to myself more graceful. And on the money side, I would say you are so much more capable than you think. And where you are, is not where you're going to end up. Yes.

And it's easy to just get laser focus and think, well, I'm broke now, I'm going to be broke forever, and nothing good will ever happen. That cynicism can take root at an early age, and so I wish I could just hug him and give him some hope. Oh, give him a drink like this and just say, you're going to be okay. Yeah, as long ago was 21.

Make sure you're of age. Drink responsible. Not when you're 20, but when you're 21. Yeah, that's good. I like that. How about you? You've been at this longer than I have, you know, talking about money since you were three years old.

what's one money-related thing maybe you've learned recently I grew up fast I feel like in my 20s I got married young and I had kids in my 20s 21 Wow

because you hadn't graduated Yeah because I got married in December And my birthday's in April I was about to turn 22 Okay Yeah So married young What would you go back

And tell a young Rachel We waited five years Before we had our first So I had Amelia And Caroline in my 20s So I feel like I was like I grew up I mean, right?

Like, I feel like, and I was in the same career I'm in today. So there wasn't like... Well, to be fair, I feel like you've always had a maturity. I don't know if that's because of, you know, Dave and Sharon and, like, growing up kind of in the spotlight. In an old soul. Yeah. But what would I... But you carry yourself like someone who's older.

In a good way. Like 40. The best decade in my life that I'm predicting. No, I think I would tell... Okay, on the money side, I would tell her to chill. I think I was a little. little wound up. I think I kind of was like you to a degree of like, oh, this, this and this and

nobody has wound up as me. I don't know, like just, and probably like a level of that because of my job early on that I'm like, oh, I had to like do it. Yeah. We're thinking I could have been like, Rach, you're okay. You're okay. You're okay. Yeah, I think you're just so focused on the next thing that you'd never really enjoy the present.

That's right. And I think that's normal with life in general, but especially in your 20s. Yep. It's like, well, what's the, I got to get the degree. then I gotta get the job, then I gotta get the car, then I gotta get the house. I sound like a rapper right now. I gotta get the degree,

then I gotta get the job, then I gotta get the car, then I gotta get the house. Yeah, you know what I would? I wish I had started therapy earlier. Oh, that's a good one. I didn't do like really intense therapy till my 30s. Well, it wasn't trendy back then. Maybe so.

Am I on trend? I'm on trend. Oh my gosh. No, but I do think some like really good work and understanding yourself from a professional, like a professional. An unbiased, third party professional. Yeah.

Like, like, yeah. There's something in that that when you can, like, have a self-acceptance and awareness early on on everything, I think you just become a little bit more secure. And it's, and life's more peaceful that way. Well, you make very different decisions out of that sort of. Yeah, totally. Wisdom and your perspective, self-awareness, like, mindfulness, everything's just a little bit different and it's better. You sort of can rise, let's like an out-of-body experience.

You kind of rise above it and go, okay, what should I do here? instead of impulse and regret. Yeah. Not that you have some regrets. You've talked about your tattoos before. Who said it's a regret? I may get another one when I'm 40. Oh, that would be a fun milestone.

I'm not opposed. You don't have tattoos to you? I'm sort of surprised, George. I would have thought you had been a tattoo guy. No. And the reason is simple. Nobody would buy it. Nobody would be like, that guy would, yeah, absolutely.

They would be like, okay, he was, like, forced against his will. he's trying to do a thing he's trying to be cool really okay well I don't know and my mom would be very upset I'm gonna be truthful I don't want to make my mom upset while she's still alive and wellness earth

I'm just kidding oh man that's funny when you go back okay go back even another step behind that college age George money wise what would you say financially to college age George

gosh money just wasn't real in college like even when I started working I was living at home then you're living on campus And so it was just like, well, let me enjoy it. I'm young. So I didn't save a dime.

I went into student loan debt. I got the open two credit cards to try to build my credit score, racked up some debt there because they get you with the 5% cash back at restaurants and travel. And you're like, well, those are the fun things in life. Yes, I'll spend on that. And so I just made stupid decisions there where I could have been more diligent, could have avoided debt, could have been saving more. Because then after that, they get out of college, we'll have to spend two years undoing

all of the mistakes in debt that I accumulated. Yeah, totally. How about you? That's good. I mean, I think there's like a cycle that's always been in me of like, okay, like, you don't need to buy everything. Like, there's a level of like spending there that's always been true for me. I did a summer in Knoxville, Tennessee at the local community college.

And everyone did that to get like their history credits done because it was way easier at the community college. They basically just give you the pass. I didn't pay it on time. and I got the class dropped. Oh. And I was like, crap, that's why I was here the summer was to do that class. That's what it was.

And it was like this responsibility factor that I just didn't have because I was so free-spirited and like just floated around. Wow. And look at you now. Look at me now. So responsible.

Just sipping on an ice tea. Well, one thing about college that I wish I could tell, baby George, is that nobody cares as much as you think they do. Mm-hmm. Like, nobody's worried, like, looking at you, judge.

Like, they're too busy folks. on themselves to be thinking about you. And I think I was very, like, hyper-aware of, like, what does everyone think? And, you know, that stuff just doesn't really matter. So let's do a little speed round and cover some things we wish we knew in our 20s. And let's go through some different categories, starting with gas. Okay. Gasoline, fuel.

What about it? Well, I think one of the things we do in our 20s is we always just fill up enough to get to the next day. Because it's too expensive to fill up all at once. Oh, my gosh. I was a half tanker for sure. Or you go like, I'll just, I'll do it tomorrow. I'll fill up tomorrow. Just fill up your car with gas the night before.

Don't have that stress. The night before and when you have a, I remember filling up my tank as a full tank of gas once I had a job job that I was like, oh, I have the bandwidth to like do it. Because I would fill it up, y'all, a quarter or like half a tank. But when you had a full tank of gas,

that's when you really felt like I'm winning. I'm like winning in life. I never had more confidence than I was driving. Full tank of gas, full confidence. No one could stop me. Okay, here's one. Change your air filters. So I married a man who came from an HVAC company owns his dad.

His dad owns a HVAC company. Wow. So Winston is all about the heating and air. And Winston, I will never forget this, bought hospital grade filters to go in our first house. Are we talking like Merv 9, MIRV 12? I don't even know. I don't even know. I can text them right now and you can tell me.

He'll know the Merv. But it was like, and he, and I was like, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, what are you doing? I had never seen or heard changing air filters in my life. God bless. Can I tell you? I just changed my air filters yesterday in my house. You did?

Good for you. How often do you do it? And I bought enough to get by for the next year. It's very strategic. Well, how often do you do it? Well, they say every three months, but it could be more depending on your, you know, your lifestyle. We have dogs, so I think I do it more often because the dogs. I've got to text Winston.

We have a baby, so I want to keep that air nice and clean. What was the thing you said to me? Merf. How do you spell that? Ask him what the M-R-V is on the ear filters. M-E-R-V? M-E-R-V. Mine or M-R-E-A-8.

And here's the other thing I've learned by looking up. You're so smart. That's so great. I wouldn't go that far. It's called neuroticism, Rachel. You don't want too high of a Merv, actually, because it makes it, you get your H-Vax working harder. Okay, he did talk to me about this. Yes, I've heard.

I've heard. So you don't want like the top, top, top, even though sounds great, it's blocking you like COVID and, you know, ISIS and like, who knows what else, it blocks. Oh, my God. But you want something in mid-range. I love it. I love it. So, yes, the people that owned our house before us when we bought it had never changed it

the entire time they lived there. That would have been me all. And when I opened that thing, that would have been me as an adult. It was like tales from the crypt. It was disgusting. It was like a mummified tomb of a filter. Stop it. Disgusting.

Filthy people. Filthy. Get your filters changed. Terrible. Okay, this one, comparison. Oh, that's philosophical. I just, yes. This idea that I will be happy when, if I can just, you know, the grass is greener on the other side, like all that.

It was what you said earlier, which was very profound. Being in the present. Like, be in the present. And I don't feel like 20 old Rachel did. I was a dreamer. Look at me now, wanting to be in my 40s. Why? Still dreaming.

Not happy in the present. I just, I know. I'll be happy when I turned 40. I know. But that, yeah, in like, oh, that's what they have. That's what I should have. Like, that whole battle, like, get it out of here. Get out of here.

And this is what I would say, too. I was judgmental in my 20s. I did. I judged. You broke free from judgment? How'd you do it? And I just thought, you're on a vacation. I want to be on.

You probably charged it on your credit card. So it's kind of an envy. It's a envy, but I would slash it with a level of, like, what I thought was good. It's righteous judgment. Yeah, right. Yeah. I'm going to give the truth. And then I've realized life is so much more enjoyable when you're just excited for people,

regardless of how Nancy got her BMW. I don't care. Good for Nancy. Good for Nancy. That's wisdom, Rachel. That takes maturity. I like this. The grass isn't always greener.

You think their life is so much better. We don't know their life. You saw an Instagram post. You saw the car in the driveway. You don't know how hard their life is. Maybe they're going through some invisible hard things that you don't know about. I'm trying to be more empathetic like Rachel and give them the benefit of the doubt. Good for them.

So that's good. Next up, this one's very personal, gluten and dairy. Let's talk about gluten and dairy for the young folks out there. Enjoy it while you can. Oh my gosh. Rachel still does. I almost say it is maybe cool it on the bread and cheese every now and then. Is it really that bad?

Inflamed. Are you that? Every body's different. When did you start having an intolerance to gluten? In 2017, my daughter. my doctor had me do a cleanse. Three weeks, no gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol. It's actually a very adult of you.

Soy, corn, whatever. Like the inflammatory stuff. You basically just had, like, meat and vegetables and fruit. And he was a pretty, like, you know, holistic kind of natural doctor. Yeah. Kind of heal your body through food kind of guy. Love it.

I believe it. And Whitney's life changed because of this guy and, like, all of this. So I took it out for three weeks, put gluten back in, felt horrible. Got like canker sores, the whole night. And I was like, not for me. And same with dairy.

So I just try to avoid it. Gluten I avoid, dairy I try to avoid unless it's worth it, which is like Jenny's ice cream. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's fair. It's good. What about soy? Why are you okay with soy?

I try to limit soy, but soy isn't every. I mean, if you look at ingredients, which I know you don't, soy is in everything. It's terrible. Read your ingredient list, do your best, but also have some grace. Yeah. I'd say this, wear your sunscreen, you know? It's a good one.

My skincare routine has changed throughout the years, George. I'm on a very small. I got just one face wash. That's all I do. But I do sunscreen every morning. Wow. And it just helps the skin. On that one, it's probably the 30.

Okay. Tented though. Yeah, I've got an SPF 30 in my moisturizer. Oh my gosh. I saved a reel that I saw this morning. That people that use mouthwash, you use mouthwash? Yes. I'm going to send it to you.

It's bad for you, George. It actually will create Alzheimer's, a higher percentage of Alzheimer's later. I've already forgot you said that. Yes, I will show you the real. And I thought, see, dental hygiene. Who made the real? Okay, dental hygiene is like an air filter. Okay, up to a certain degree, absolutely.

Like, we need to brush our teeth, people. Like, yes. So you're saying like Merv 10, that's mouthwash. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then above that, I think it just gets, I don't know. I don't know if it's worth it. I appreciate good breath. It's all I'm saying.

Breath is great, yes. But you can. do that with like... Just brushing your teeth, not going to cut it. Brushing your teeth and your tongue and all that, and you're fine. You have a tongue scraper? Yes. Another game changer.

That's an adult... That's something I wish I knew my 20s, tongue scraper's. And flossers, which Rachel also has... I do like a flosser, though. If I have something specific happening, then I'm like, oh yeah, I gotta get... There's always something specific happening. You just don't know it. Not with a electric toothbrush, George.

That's a story for another day. Next up, see the world while you're young. What do you think about this one? Yeah. Because the vibe is like, well, Rachel, I don't want to wait until I'm 65 and I can't enjoy it. My argument is you don't have to wait until you're 65. I'm in my late 30s. So wait 10 years so you have the money and then go awesome.

What most people do is they go deeply into debt for some trip and then pay for it for months and they don't really enjoy it because it's sort of unborrowed time. It's true. So I don't know. Travel, I think it is great. And there is something to be said for traveling before you have kids and, you know, more responsibilities. It's harder now that I have a kid to go on like to Europe. I don't know how we would pull that off. How does that feel, George? Huh?

It hurts. Huh? Huh. What? Yeah. When you're sticking it to me right now? It's just a little tough sometimes. You're like, oh, wow.

I can't just like go off. Yeah. I mean, having a kid changes things. Now married, that's great. No. Maybe I'm like, oh, I got to do this before I'm married. I'm like, no, marriage doesn't change that. you can go, you're good.

I'm not a good traveler. Maybe, though, tough. Babies make it difficult. Yes. And make sure to pay cash. Budget for it, pay cash, and I won't yell at you. Saying yes. I'm a yes person because I enjoy everything usually.

Like, I'm like, yes, sure. Absolutely, I will go, yes, yes, yes. And I had to learn, I think, after three kids and you. Yeah, when did you get good at it? It's like, um. When you have you? like really good reasons? When I realized like not everything is a make or break and you kind of believe to a degree

like, oh gosh, I have to do this. It's a kid example. So sorry, I'm going to bring it in. But like one of my daughters, she was like in soccer and girls scouts, she was in all these things. And I was like, we can't do all. Like this is silly. Just from like a logistic standpoint.

And it was an easy drop of like the Girl Scouts. Love the Girl Scouts. I'm sure they're fantastic. Like you learn a lot. Like it's great. Then we started in the like the season of selling cookies. I was like, I'm out of it. here. I'm out of here. I can't. We don't have time. We don't have time.

First thing it's Girl Scouts, next thing you know, she's in an MLM. You know what I mean? It's not that far removed. George, no. Who's making money? Who's making the money? George, that is true. Those girls don't make a dime. She's doing the work. She's not getting paid. They get a patch. It's so true. If you want to join a charity, join a charity. Turns out our bond owns girls. No, I don't know.

That's your say. Oh my God. At least Boy Scouts, she'll learn how to start a fire. I guess they do that in Girl Scouts too. I was in Awana. Have you heard of Awana? Yes. It was a Christian version.

Yes. The Baptist version of the Boy Scouts. I have heard of it. We didn't learn how to tie shoes. We just did Bible drills. That's all. I could turn to Habakkuk like real quick. But I have no life skills whatsoever.

Did not come in handy. Oh, my gosh. I know. And I do feel like the Eagle Scouts, like when you get that high up. Oh, yeah. And I mean, you're basically a Navy SEAL if you're an Eagle Scout. It is interesting that a lot of Eagle Scouts, though, they dwindle, right? That whole part of the world dwindles.

But the Eagle Scouts, there's something there. If you're a guy and you're 18, don't they have to, like, camp on their own for, like, 408 hours and, like, build their own shelter. I think it's like a Bear Grill situation out there. And I do think when the ends of the world happens, that's where we're going to want on our side. Yeah. We're going to want an Eagle Scout. So befriend an Eagle Scout.

Yeah, yeah. So don't, you don't sell cookies, but be an Eagle Scout. And that all came from saying yes. I could not tell you the rabbit trail took together. The rabbit trail was I got her out of Girl Scouts because she didn't care for it. You got to say no. And one of the moms was like, I don't know how you do that. Like I can't say no to anything.

And I were thinking, oh, it's easy for me. I'm great. I really can't. I can say no. Well, you can do it with tact and point. It doesn't have to be rude. No. Oh gosh, no, no, no.

You don't have to come up with like all disclaimers and just. Yeah. We can't do that right now. But thank you for thinking of us. But some things I genuinely want to do. and that's what's hard. Yeah, and as a people pleaser, I want to say yes,

because I don't want to let them down. I don't want to upset them, you know? So that's part of it. That's something I've had to work on, for sure. Next up, drink more water. That's a big one. No matter what your current water bottle fat is. And I've learned in my health journey,

which isn't, I don't know if that's a journey, that electrolytes, you actually want electrolytes, not just bottled water. Like salt and water is better for you than just regular water. Do you know pH water's a scam? that's my conspiracy. I don't know what that is. You've seen where it's like pH water, 9.5 plus alkaline water.

That's what you've seen. Okay. It's a scam. Your body, it immediately changes the pH as it enters your body. So don't spend extra. And I go for spring water. I follow a water sommelier on TikTok. He's like, I don't know, he's sweet Austrian or something.

And he'll, like, rate water. And his big thing is you want to go for spring water over purified or, you know. Okay, that's fair. Because it actually comes from a spring. Most electrolytes, the healthiest for you. The best minerals are in there. It's good. So that's what I've learned.

I learned that water is complicated, even out of the faucet. You know, there's like lead and there's stuff in there that's not good and the government still allows us to do it. Why? We're not sure. Well, then I heard, like I was doing liquid IV, then I heard, oh, that's bad for you. It has sugar. Now we're doing element. Okay.

Now we're doing the salt. And now they go, oh, elements bad for you. Now we need every, just, Rachel, I cannot. I cannot win. We can't keep up. Just don't go with the trance. That's what we're learning. That's why we drink a cocktail every now and then.

Mm-hmm. Just to enjoy. Life balance. All right, George. Last one. It's kind of what pairs with my yes, that we were talking about earlier. But less is more. It is true.

Of actual physical stuff. Like, you don't need all this stuff. The minimalist type idea, I think, is more peaceful. I really do. Less stuff is just, it's more enjoyable. It's better. That's true. All right, George, let's wrap it up with just,

this idea, I think, and I wish everybody, regardless of age, I wish everybody just realized the control that you can have over your life and money. And I say that with the caveat, we don't control as much as we think we do in life. There's that element. But there is an element that, like, tactically speaking, when you're handling things,

like there are things you can do, decisions you can make that is going to help the outcome of your money. That sums up everything, all the advice, is, if I could go to younger George, I'd say there's so much more out of your control than you think, and there's so much more in your control than you think. And the problem is I was focused on the things I couldn't control.

I was hyper-focused. Should we write a book? This is good. This is good. Keep going. But anyways, you get the point. And so what I could actually control was the guy in the mirror,

the way I handled my money, how much money I put away from my paycheck, how much I was intense about attacking my debt. And that's, I feel like, what I had the most transformation of my life. Yeah. My mindset changed. My finances changed for the better.

And I went from broke to millionaire in 10 years by doing that, by following the Ramsey plan, by getting on a budget, you know, download the every dollar app if you haven't today. That's sort of the physical, tactical way you do this day to day. Yeah. And I think that's it. There's so many things out of control in life. Like, I mean, even health stuff we were talking about, but like stuff happens and, I mean,

anything. And you're just like, gosh, there's some stuff I just, you just can't control. But yet the things that I can't. I want to manage it really well. And I want to make it for my benefit and not for the benefit of others. And so being debt-free, living on a plan, having peace with your life, having margin.

I mean, like, these things are so good. They're so good to have in your money life. So. Well, let's cover a list of financial tips you wish you could tell your younger self. Mine would be budgeting can be fun. Oh. Yeah, I learned this in my 20s.

I was kind of an eh-uh about budgeting for a while. And it was the one time we were on a trip, Winston and he was like, don't worry about the budget. And I was like, okay, love you. You're like everything. It's so great. And then I realized, oh, gosh, if I don't know what the budget is, can I buy this at dinner?

Can I order that? Can we do this? If we do this, can we not do it? I started to feel out of control. And that's when I realized a budget, it really gives you freedom. It does not limit your freedom. And there was something powerful in that. And what I found is when I pre-decide how much I'm going to spend, I have zero guilt.

when I spend that money. Yes. There's no like shame spiral. Like I really shouldn't have. Well, if you did it and it was in the budget, you go, great. That's exactly what it was supposed to do. And so that's what I love about the budget that is underrated. Yes.

So great. It's just the amount of guilt you remove out of your life. And every dollar you all? Oh my gosh. Yes. Download it. I like, I track transactions every day. It's great.

It just keeps you in line. It's like the most, it's so, I was supposed to say reasonable. I don't think that's a good word for it. Reasonable. It's so reasonable. It's just like, it gives you what you. need, and that's it, and it's perfect. It's perfect. All right, let me give you another tip here. This is a hot take. There's no such thing as good

debt. If I could have told 22-year-old George that, he could have avoided a lot of pain because I thought in my head, well, student loans are good debt because I'm on an ROI and I'm going to get this amazing job on the other side because of my amazing degree. And I got to open the credit cards because that's good debt because it builds my credit score. And so I fell for all these stupid traps, and now I know better. I wrote a whole book called Breaking Free from Broke, where I dispel all the myths out there. Yeah. But that's a big one

that I think young people fall for. Yeah, and now it's the trend of like using it to leverage a life. I just saw a reel on Instagram today this morning of this family. And they're like, my wife and I have $17 million in debt. And we're not worried. And we love it. Because they have, yeah, and we love it because we have eight VRBOs or Airbnbs.

And they're like. Guess what? They're pitching their freaking Airbnb course. Yeah, I know. I know. But they're like, we make a million a month. They're like, whatever the crazy. you know, and you're just like, man,

and then a recession happens. And, oh my gosh, what are you going to do? People stop looking Airbnbs. What are you going to do? Like, I don't know. It's just the risk for me. That's my thing. I don't like risk.

I don't want to just, I don't want to, if something goes sideways, it's just on us, and it's a loss on us, not a loss that we have to then make up with a bank. That's a good word. I don't like it. Here's another one. I'll invest later.

I'll save later. I'll get out of debt later. That mindset will crush you. because later comes and you're now older and in the same place you were because you said you were going to do it and you didn't do it and life happened and things got crazy

and you didn't think about it and so just do it now. Get out of debt now. Go into the emergency fund now. Make the sacrifice now. It'll take you, you know, to follow the Rams you plan when we talk about, you know,

baby step two paying off all your consumer debt. On average 18 to 24 months. Yeah. That might sound like forever. Yeah. But now in my 30s, I'm like, two years flew by. Sure.

And I don't regret any of the same. financial success later, absolutely. Exactly. Emergency funds is your BFF. Love that one. Love an emergency fund. This is like, I love it so much. It really does feel like an old trusty friend.

It is. You see it? You're like, you know what? When everything goes awry or if it does, you're there. You're there, and it feels good. Have you given your emergency fund a name like Eric? Like Eric's there for me. No?

Just me? Mine's Rhonda. Wait, what? Ronda's trustworthy. You know, like, Rhonda's your ride or die. Like, she's a little bit... A little kooky. A little kooky.

But when you need to text someone, you're in a bind, it's 2 a.m. You got to get bailed out in jail. You know what mine would be Clark. Oh, Clark. That's a good one. Clark's are reliable. Clark feels reliable. Clark feels wise.

They don't have a lot going on. Clark is not that busy. Yeah, Clark is... He was cleaning the gutters, most likely. He's steady. That's my high emergency fun. Clark and Rhonda. There you go.

All right, here's another one that's kind of a lot. a hot take, generosity is one of the keys to contentment and being grateful. I believe that. And being others focused. Generosity is not a financial principle that people talk about a lot. And in our space of even financial people, no one ever. You got to build wealth and you got to enjoy the money. Y'all, listen, you cannot live a selfish life.

If you live with the blinders on and it's all about you all the time, 24-7, after a while, it's exhausting. Like it's just like and people feel, I don't know. That was me in my 20s. I was so just self-focused and absorbed. Yeah, it's like this hoarding. I don't know.

Yeah. And it's like, man, chill. Live with an open hand. You're going to be okay. And there's people out there that, and there's a part of me that I'm like, they need help. I'm like, and plug into what you love.

Like whether it's foster care, whether it's clean water, like whatever the thing is that like makes you feel like, yes, I want that in the world. Do it. Give to it. your time, like all of it. Generosity is one of the best paths to real joy.

It's great. Like spending money, it'll be gone in a heartbeat. Saving is like fun, but it's not going to give you immense joy. Generosity will get you there. All right. Well, it's almost the end of the episode, and we close out every episode with guilty as charged. And this is where our producer, Lindsay, gives us a new guilty charge question every week.

And if we're guilty, we take a sip. Linz. This is a good one. Are you guilty of reclining your... airplane seat all the way back. Oh, wow. Yes. Drink up, buttercup.

I will chug this. Yes. Miss Good Person, Rachel, over here. No, this is not a more, no. I will argue all day. Oh, my goodness. I'm all fine with this. You are probably the same person who doesn't use their blinker when they merge right in front of me.

It is how the seats are made. They were created to lean back. Here's the problem. If you lean back, everyone needs to lean back. It's a domino effect. My husband's 6-6 for people listening. What if he was behind you and he already doesn't have room? So like when you lean back, it's like they're laying in his lap.

I just got caught. I mean, what do you want me to say, Lindsay? That I would still do it. And Jordan will be mad at me. But you do it every flight? And you know what, Lindsay? I don't even look at the person behind me. Is that how selfish I am?

Maybe I didn't get dying. Maybe I never thought about it until then. It's just like one out of three times you're going full lean. Guys, can we be realistic here? Hold on. the seat recliner on an airplane is this much Burr. Yeah, but when you're already in this torture chamber

Every inch is like just crushing myself. Are you having it for real right now? Yeah. I never thought about it until I married Jordan. Hold on, you don't recline your seat back. For courtesy. Unless if there's no one behind me, I absolutely will. Anybody else not do it?

I don't do it. You don't do it. What? I give it like a little nudge. He gives it a nudge. A little nudging back. Wow, y'all, I am a full-on book. They're reading your book behind you.

They're like, that's a good one. I love that one. You're so funny. Here's my thing, though. It reclines this much. It's not that much. Every inch matters when you only have 14 inches. Not Southwest.

Southwest is roomy. Maybe not for Jordan. But it's roomy. Now, I went on a Delta flight. They got those seats real close, real close. And I was like, wow. It's not an eight-hour flight. You know, you're going to Boise.

You'll be fine. Just keep your seat up. Y'all, is that really a manners thing? Okay, can I say this? I wait until it's my turn to D-Bord. Thank you. Okay, you're welcome. That is a big pepity line.

I agree. You know what? And I judge those people because, you know what I think? They don't play a lot. They don't know. That's what I assumed. Unless there's like an emergency. I have thought sometimes, like, the people who looked really rushed,

I'm kind of like, I wonder if there's something going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's fair. But for the people that you know are to being annoying and they're just trying to like cut you, yeah, no. Yeah. Or like, I appreciate when flight attendants come on. They're like, hey, there's a couple of people with like really close connections. We let them through. I'm like, oh, I'll.

Go, girl, go, go. Or people verbalize it. I got a connection. I'll help you. I'll help you. Do you know what I did? Two weeks ago, we were flying back from Fort Myers. And I felt like such a great citizen and I loved every minute of it.

So is this selfish because I got such joy out of it? Or is it not? you ready for this sit back there's a little story time with rachel we'll make it quick so the flight lands the plane we're supposed to board lands right and everyone's deboarding and i see this lady and she's very like talking to the talking to the gate agent and she's kind of flustered and and i'm like what's going on so of course me i'm like well kind of listen uh she left her cell phone on the plane now you know planes they're very strict you can't get back on and she's telling them this is where i was sitting will you please go check it i know it's back

there, you know, and then a guy comes out and it's like, we can't find it. And then the gate guy was like, we got to start boarding, sorry. And she's like with her friends. And she's like, I don't my phone, you know, all this. And I was like, Winston, I got to go help. I got to go help. He's like, what are you going to do? I was like, I don't know, but I like have this like, I have to go help. So I went over to her. And I was like, hi, ma'am. I'm so sorry. I heard what happened. When I board, I will go look in your seat again. And if you give me, like, a cell phone number, I'll text you and let you know, like if I found it or if I didn't. Oh, wow.

And she was like, oh my gosh, thank you, yes. And I was like, but I wanted to so bad, y'all. I was like, oh, my gosh, yes, I will, I will. Well, it's a savior complex. It's great. I mean, this is it. This is it. So I bored my kids and I'm like, I got to get back to 48C.

And I found it. I found it. And I was like, what did you do with it? Oh, I went to the flight attendant. And I was like, this is a phone from a lady out there. Can we get this out to her? And she was like, oh, yeah, absolutely. I'm like, so I text the number.

And I said, I found it with all these exs to my choice. she like texted back crying emoji. He's like, thank you. You just saved me so much time. All of this stuff, y'all. Wow. I know. And then she said, you have a Venmo.

No. Yes, she did. And I said, please do not worry about whatever you would pay me. Go have a drink. Go have a drink and relax on vacation. And then she texted back and she said, I genuinely want to like give you something because you did save me like a lot of like my phone would have been gone. And George, and I thought, not a few.

Sorry. I don't know why. Well, I was going to say, did you give her my Venmo? No, but I thought, I did think, I have learned with the generosity point, I don't want to deprive someone of generosity. Because if I was in her position, I would genuinely. Don't block a blessing, Rachel. Yes, I was like, I would really want to, like, treat someone to, like,

and I, like, can I please, like, do something for you? I would want to do that if I was in her position. So I gave her my Venmo, and I said, you do not have to do this. But here it is, because I was like, I don't want to, I told her no at first. You know, and then she came back. I was like, no, please. And yeah, and so she invoned me some money and said, please, like, have a great not. You know, it was so sweet.

Anyways. What a great story. It was, y'all. Southwest should feature you in their magazine. Lean back. Person of the year. So anyways, I did a good deed. So my lean back, I can lean back on at least 15 more flights because I did my good deed on an airline.

It's your jewel in your crowd. I want, like, Southwest magazine, Rachel's face on the cover, the cell phone savior. Isn't it fun to help people, though, when you're like, I. I have the ability and, like, I don't know if I can come through. Isn't that fun, though? Does that give you a rush? Because Winston was like, I would not even thought about that. He was like, I'm thinking about the kids and we're boarding.

He was like, I didn't even like think about listening to other people's conversations. Wow. And you're like, well, while you're being a great dad, I'm saving the universe. That's a beautiful story. Thank you for that. And that does make me feel better about you being a terrible person and leaning back your chair. You're welcome. That's what I had to justify it with my great airline story that I felt all comes out in the wash.

I do. I love it. Help people pass on the good deal. Meanwhile, I'm over here trying to get my cocktail with an expired drink coupon, and they're giving me some lip. No, they didn't. They denied it. And then they finally tell me, we haven't accepted physical coupons since January 31st. Now, well, it would have been good to get an email from you guys, letting me know. Did you try and they said no? I tried, and they said no. Wow. Now it shows up on your Southwest ticket. If you're like an A-list preferred, you know, I'd, Okay. I'm not going to open up a credit card to get a free drink.

But I had like nine free drink coupons they send you because I fly a lot. No good anymore. Shoot. Sorry, George. Shame on you, Southwest. Oh my gosh. Unbelievable. Don't.

No, you're great. Southwest. We love you. All right. Who finished her drink first? You win this game. You're doing great. It was great.

Solid drink. You know, I'm going to rate it. I'm going to get 10 out of 10. Nothing you. I think I would order that again. Wow. I think I would order that again. This was.

A, you ready for the name? A bourbon Hugo Spritz Yeah. Is the name of it. And I'm going to go 9 out of 10. It's very nice. It's great. I don't have any notes.

Here's what's in it. Bourbon, elder flower liqueur, prosceco and soda water. That makes sense because you like the prosceco. So you get some bubbly with the bourbon. The elder flower adds a nice... A little sweet. A nice flavor to it.

Soda water, a little pop. The cost breakdown is $4.15 per glass. Not cheap, but remember, you got some praseco in there and the bourbon and the elder flower liqueur. But if you want to impress some friends, this might be the one. So get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend. Well, it's closing time, George. So thank you guys always for listening and watching.

Make sure to subscribe, comments. We always love hearing your feedback and share the show too. That's always a helpful thing when you share it to your friends and family, what they might enjoy. Sharing is caring. That's generosity. Share it. That is. And enjoy it because that's fun.

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