Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Ranking People’s Wealth Habits, From Fake Rich to Quiet Wealth

Episode Date: April 2, 2026

💻 Shape what comes next for Smart Money Happy Hour by participating in our Spring 2026 audience study!   It’s not as simple as “broke” or “rich” anymore. Today we’re unpacking what kind of “rich” your spending says you are—from “fake rich” to “new money” to “quiet wealth.” Next Steps: 🎙️ Catch our episode Are These Common Money Habits Broke, Average or Wealthy? 🍸 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 20% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth.   Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍧 Frozen Coconut Lemonade    Recipe by: Eat Well 101  3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice  Zest of 2 lemons 1 cup full-fat coconut milk 1/2 cup granulated sugar  2 1/2 cups ice cubes  Instructions: Add lemon juice, sweetener, coconut milk, and ice to a blender. Blend until ice is crushed and the mixture gets slushy. Divide into glasses and serve immediately. Recipe yields 4 servings. Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights  🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not as simple as broke or rich anymore. Today, we're deciding what kind of rich your expenses say you are. And of course, we do it all with love. I'm calling that new money right there, okay? Looks like we found the Target demo for Air One. Tell me more. I'm shopping there. So this is the content people want. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers. Cheers. I've been transported. Oh, delicious. 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...

Oh, dad gummit, that sour really got me. Hold on. I felt it this. I got some limit in that sip. So zesty. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. Everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And before we get to the meat of the episode, let's talk about the drink. Today we're sipping on a frozen coconut lemonade.

Yes. And when I say this is zesty, I'm talking zesty. Has the punch we need. So stick around until the end of the episode. We're going to give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass. All right. Let's get into this, Rachel. It seems like every week there's a new trend about people's financial aesthetic or vibe.

And we've covered some of these on the show. You know, I'm going to say it's a Gen Z thing. And they give the new words, the new terms that the world uses. That is kind of their thing. Yeah, there's always like the stealth, wealth, or quite. luxury. Like there's always these new... Old money aesthetic. Old money aesthetic. It's always like... Martha Stewart vibe. Yeah, there's like these terms constantly.

Yeah. We can't just call it budgeting anymore. It's loud budgeting because we're talking about it. We're proud. Proud. We've got fake rich. That's, you know, very flashy lifestyle. Very Instagram showy. So these are all fun. Yeah. And again, I feel like we come up with new terms to judge people on. Not us. Could never be us. We would never ever judge. I don't do this show just to vent my frustration. about society and culture? No, nay. No, but there is.

The labeling and the perception is very real. I think people are more keen on it. They're getting into it. I feel like people now, it's more obvious. And so we're here to talk about it. Yeah, there's major differences between someone who has new money versus someone who is fake rich

versus someone who's just quietly building wealth. They're subtle, but they're there. So we're going to cover the differences by playing a little game with this fishbowl. Oh, yeah. So before we dig in, though, George, kind of the categories are new money, fake rich, and quiet wealth. So think, like, loud designer print, like, think like Louis Vuitton or Gucci and it's all over versus like a real cashmere sweater. So you got probably, I'd say, like, fake rich, right?

I'm going to go fake rich. Or new rich versus quiet millionaire, you know, the person that's like, I don't need to impress you. No logos. But the quality is fantastic. You know, if you go investing, I think about the. crypto bros and they're like hey yep that's new money we're gonna get on this train new money you know versus just like the classic investments you know just the steady s&p and real estate you know it's classic classic boring but that is timeless never goes out of style yes i think that's it but there's a lot

of financial decisions that we make in our lives that you see and that we see other people make and i think they could be into each of these categories under a full agree yeah which is where the game comes in and you know what some of these are choices and some of these are choices and some of these are terrible choices. So there is a range. It's not all bad, it's not all good. So we're going to sort of categorize it based on the one that we choose. Let's kick it off. What do you go for us? I'm going to go first. Let's see. Dun, done, done. Always having trendy accessories. Oh, like a luboo on your purse? That feels like a perfect example. I think so, yeah. And so this is a low-cost way to signal that you own new things, but very little cash actually is required

for this wealth symbol. Oh, wow. Yeah, so you're into all the little trinkets in life. You got all the little things, maybe not big, nice stuff, right? But, yeah, enough there. So would you say that's quiet luxury? Would you say that's fake rich or new money?

I'll say new money, because I feel like new really signals I want the latest and greatest. Okay, yeah. How about you? I may go fake rich. If it's like cheap accessories, Well, it could be nice stuff, but you're going into debt for it.

Oh. So all the effort is for the appearance. Did it say they're going into debt? I don't know. I just made that up, George. This is a money show. Well, that's the big qualifier there. No, it doesn't say.

Oh, very little cash. Okay. Well, that is actually required for this wealth symbol. Got it. So these are not expensive. I can see both. Yeah. But it's sort of like you want the look, which tells me it might be more fake rich.

Yes, that's what I feel like. Not necessarily going to debt, but you're trying to put on this kind of aura that I have money. I'm good, yes. Like, look at me. Everything's fine. I imagine this person doesn't leave the house without being very, like, kind of made up. Put together. Yes. Yes. Yeah, you're not going to see them in a, yeah. I was going to say a Lula Lemon sweatshirt, but that's a little bit made up. But they're not going, they're not going like the grocery store in sweats. Yeah. Right, right. Yeah.

What's the most casual you would leave the house, knowing that you might, like, get recognized by someone. Oh, I'm usually pretty. work, Rachel is put together. I would say out to dinner Rachel put together. Oh yeah. Daytime Rachel? Oh, we don't know if she

lives on, you know, if she has a home. Okay, what is your... We don't know. Give us some inside scoop. What is your tell that you have like... This is what I do when I'm unshowered and my hair's not done. This is my move. Oh, I've got

ugs on. I got the slipper ugs with a cute little band around it. We've got leggings and we've got like an oversized sweatshirt. That's the tell. But I will say, I got my back. Are we doing a low pony? Yeah, or up in the clip.

Oh. Low pony or clip. And now with my new hair. That's right. Actually, what can't you do? And I'll say that it adds to the oomph of even the casual outfit. People noticed, Rachel. They were like, wow, suddenly your hair got super long.

I know. Okay, I change my hair every like nine months. So it's like a rebirth, like a baby. The term of a... Don't love that compulsive. Growing a human is how often I change my hair. So it might be here in nine months. It might be here in nine months.

We don't know. Now, is that a personality thing? Yeah, I need a, I got a little, you know, itch to scratch. So summertime, Rachel... Are you going full bob? Full bob for the summer? Who knows? Well, no, I just got these.

So I've got these for at least through the summer in my head. Is it a lease? Emotion. You have to give it back? No, emotionally. No, emotionally, I've committed. Renting these. I've committed to these for, yeah, through the summer.

I'm going to say mid-September, something else is going to happen. Okay. So just mark it. I'm calling that new money right there, okay? She's trying to chase every trend. If the jenzyers say we're lapping off her hair, she says how low? I know. How high?

No, you know, I chopped my hair before Haley Bieber did. Let me just say that. Wow. I went short and then she went short. Haley Bieber did it because of you. She possibly saw my Instagram and thought she's cute. I like her hair. She checks to see if Haley Beaver's following you, and she doesn't.

Oh, man. That's good. But yeah, there's that. Because I'm enough of a mom, I've got to have the long sweatshirt. You know, I can't be... I can't be bopping around with, like, all... You know what I mean? Like, the workout gear that the girls wear, I can't be doing that.

Like, I'm a mom of three. You're not trying to fake it. Like, I just came from a workout. Yeah, no. No. Okay. Even though I do workout every time a week. True.

Facts. Factor. All right, next up. Our next money habit, leasing a new sports car every year. Wow. Fake rich. Yeah, that one's like all of the telltale signs. Yeah.

A sports car especially. Especially a sports car. I judge hard. Isn't it funny? Like in Nashville now, George, do you feel like the money's just gotten more and more in Nashville? Like I feel like you see crazy cars. And if I see an orange sports car, I automatically think you have a payment. Oh, wow.

So the color now denotes the payment. Is that bad or green? Like you'll see like a crazy green like Lamborghini or something. I don't know why I automatically think like because either they're not, they don't have to have a payment. Or for some people, they're like gazillionaires and they still just have debt because like they literally can handle the payments and it's nothing to them. You know what I mean? They'd rather not part with their cash right now. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Yeah, yeah. So I'm like you're either and you're either like beyond wealthy and like truly do have. the billions or whatever, or you're like, I'm almost there, but I can, like, I can, I can afford that payment, which would be a lot on like a crazy foreign car. I get it. But I do think they lease it. But look at the cars people are leasing. They are the fancier, nicer, flashier cars. They are always. They're not leasing a Honda Civic. No. Let's just be honest. Like, that's not happening. But this is, it's a tough one for me because leasing is one of my least favorite financial habits. Because number one, it's just dumb. You're basically prepaying all the

depreciation and then giving the car back. So you owe nothing at the end of this. You just paid pretty massive payments for the pleasure. And they go, well, Rachel, I didn't have to deal with the maintenance. Like, if it's a brand new car, you probably didn't have that much to deal with. No, not in like the first two, three years now. That's a tough one for me. And I ran into someone the other day, $1,100 lease payment on her Jeep Wrangler. Oh, man. And she was a teacher. That one was an ouchy. Well, that's another, that's a, I wouldn't think a Jeep Wrangler leasing. You wouldn't, but the ladies love the nice cars too.

So I'm not just going to lump the guys into this. Thanks for not serious. But I will say the guys, it screams like midlife crisis. You know what I mean? For sure. Yeah. If you're of that age. Now, if you're like old, you know, if you got white hair, I'm like, good for you, man.

Yeah. You know what I mean? Do what you got to do. He's in his last chapter. Let him ride out of the sunset. When you're a bro, it's like, I can't. I can't. sit down Chris.

Just sit down. Sit down. Oh, man. Oh, owning authentic art. So rather than a one-size-fits-all aesthetic from Hobby Lobby and Target, people who have curated art from their travels, from real artists.

Very cheap. I'll say this. If you use the word curate and you mean it, you are a quiet wealth. Yeah, you're quiet wealth. Art, art to me is quiet wealth. Because, I mean, everyone pretty much, would know a Louis Vuitton symbol, right?

Yeah. If you, like, so it's like, okay, people are going to know that about me, so I'm going to go. But when you spend money on nice things that no one knows what it really is, except for like a probably a small part of the population, no one sees. It's in your house. It's just appreciated art. How sophisticated, George? Very fancy.

Okay, I watched a, I don't know, I am going to tell you what it is. Don't judge me and or I'm not recommending it necessarily. like it was really good. But I don't necessarily recommend it. It's called The Beast in Me with Claire Daines. Is it a show? Yes, on Netflix. Okay.

Oh my gosh. So not safe for the kids out there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why I was like, if you watch it, don't judge me. But also, if you can handle crazy, it's crazy. But the wife of the writer in the show owns an art gallery. Or like he owns an art gallery and she was part of it. But anyways, but they're like wealth.

Super wealthy. Super wealthy in the show. Anyways, but they're like a, you know, and they have art gallery parties. I'm sure there's a name for that. Oh, yeah. Whatever those are called. They're just called art galleries.

Yeah, but there's parties with like the champagne and people are in like... Well, it's like I have a gallery coming up. A gallery, yes, or a showcase or what... I don't even know the terms. I don't even know the terms. But man, how fun would that be to go to a party like that? Dress me up, give me a glass of champs

and put me in an art gallery that I don't know what I'm looking at. And you're just looking at the... I can pull it off, though. Give me an hour. That's content right there. I don't think anyone would know. I think they'd tell pretty quickly. No, no, no. I just would do this.

As long as you don't talk, the more words you say. It's the face. Wow. You just have to say like, wow. And if I could tear up, like on cue, because it's making me so emotional. Wow. Like, it's really triggering something deep inside of you. Just it moved me.

That's what I'm going to say. This is a moving piece. You have to say everything's a piece. This is a moving piece. Yeah, this is a moving piece. Well, I'll tell you, you know, who's a very talented artist who has, like, made it in that world, selling out galleries, Michael Reddish's wife. So our mixologist, or previous mixologist, Michael Reddish, his wife, very talented, Vicki Reddish,

and she was the featured artist at one of these showcased galleries and completely sold out. And these are the fancy people. Was there a champagne? Oh, my gosh. And I'm like, there's a reason I'm not invited. Because I'd be like, do you guys have any that are like 70% off that are maybe like this big? I know. So like a print I could get of this, maybe a screensaver option.

But I will say, if you're going to get some art and you want to get quality, you've got to go with a true artist versus like the print or like the target version. But, you know, get what you can get with the money that you have. Don't go into debt for it. But as I get older, like, I want to be that guy. I don't know if I can become that guy, but I want to. Sure. You should get Whitney and I'll get Winston and we'll go to an art gallery show. I'm sure they have Minnesota.

Well, there's one she loves out of Memphis. and a family member of hers owns a bunch of pieces, and they're like really high, thousands and thousands of dollars for a piece. And it hurts my soul. Every time she's like, we should get one. I'm like, that was more than my first car. I think I don't know if I didn't do that.

Put a pin in that for now. Oh, man. That's good. So you know an investment, though, that is worth it for me. It may not be art, but it is cozy earth products. That's, that's attainable. And you use it, you know? It's on you.

Like, whether you're sleeping or the coat, the blankets. It's one of my favorites because it's still a little chilly here in Nashville. So I got my basket full of all my cozier throws. I love them. The kids love them. It's fantastic. The pajamas, the robe, the pants. I mean, all of it.

It's just wonderful. You could be head to toe decked out cozy. Yes. And even they're like sheets. They have a 10-year warranty, a hundred-night sleep trial. And so there's really no risk. And the thing is, you're probably not going to return it because it's that good. Because it's that wonderful.

Literally. I was with a bunch of girls. We were talking about, someone asked, like, I think it was about sheets. And, like, three of them were like, we love Cozy Earth. And I was like, I love Cozy Earth. I love it, too. It feels like an inside secret. That if you make the purchase, you're like, I get it now, Rachel.

I get it, yes, I know. So join the club, guys. Yes, so go to CozyEarth.com slash Smart Money, and at checkout, use the code smart money. You can get 20% off. All right, next up. Is it me? No, I was Art. You go next.

Is it me you're looking for? Okay, here we go. You're going to love this one. celebs that wear ball caps and ride the subway. They're just like us. They're just like us. So I've seen like Keanu Reeves, does this, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tom Hanks. A lot of, you know, they're just trying to be normal people and join their lives.

Just riding around, yeah. That's quiet wealth. Yeah, for sure. That's a very, you're secure. Yes. You don't need to be dropped in a limo everywhere you go and have a driver. Or even a new burly. Let's go down a slot there, you know.

There's something about being amongst the people. And famously, Dave Ramsey will not ride the New York City subway. I know. Wait, famously. Oh, yeah, because I shared on air, I think, about this. Because I decided on our trip that my wife and I were going to take the subway. It's confused. I will say New York, Chicago feels doable to me, Boston.

Like, there are cities that the system works. New York is very confusing. So I don't know if he'll do it not for the cleanliness of the... I think it's a mix of danger and cleanliness. Danger and or confusion. But, yeah. Would you write it? You wrote it with Whitney.

I did, but I think it was the last time for Whitney. Okay. Because it was, we almost witnessed a fight. Yeah. A woman got another woman's face because she thought she was looking at her. She was not looking at her. You know when you're like dazed, then you're just sort of looking off? She thought that was a stare.

Oh, no. She took it as a threat. Oh, no. And the fight had to be broken up. Oh, no. We step off the subway and step over like a puddle of blood from someone who was like coughing up and clearly. Oh, my. My gosh, George.

And as I'm rolling the luggage through it, I went and he was like, see, we should have done an Uber. But I was like, let's get the authentic experience. We're going to save 50 bucks. And I think when you live in New York, you can do that. Yeah. I think there's a part, like when you're in it, you're in it, you're in it. And you are, you're good.

That's why they can all do it. But when you're from Nashville, you know, and you go visit New York City, just Uber and walk, you know. We don't have public transportation. So when you do take it, you're like, whoa, this is wild. We have buses. Give us some credit. Doesn't take you very far.

Yeah, not really. That's a good one, though. I like that celebrities are a ride in the subway. Me too. Well done, y'all. All right. Buying front row concert tickets on a credit card. I always assume the front row people are either like super wealthy or went into a lot of debt.

I know, one or two ways. Are you with me? Yeah. And actually, I kind of think I probably judge more on the like fake rich. side of that because I feel like the Uber wealthy get the boxes. Oh, I didn't think about that. They're in the suite.

Yeah, they're in the suite. Yeah, with all the service. They prefer service over closeness. They prefer a private bathroom. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and I'm in that camp. You'd rather have the suite. I don't think I need a front row.

Have you been in a lot of suites? Like, do you remember a concert that was like you were living the sweet life? No, it'd be more like a sporting event, which would Oh, that's more your style. You know what I mean? Yeah. And we don't go to a lot of concerts.

Yeah, I don't know if I don't know if I've been to a concert in a box before, to be honest. Oh, CMA Fest. Oh my gosh, no, Taylor Swift. Lord. Well, how do you forget that one? I'm so sorry, my friend, Allison had an extra ticket. That's when I first went to Taylor Swift. And she blessed you with it.

Yes, she called me and I was on an airplane and I screamed. And Winston was like, hey, I mean, that's like you want to like a sweepstakes. Yes. the Nashville rain show of Taylor, if we can remember that. And I was covered, you know? And I thought, this is the way to live. Bless and highly favored. This is the way to live, yeah.

Covered with a head to detection. But I would say, yeah, more sporting events, which is great. Like, I don't. Yeah. So have you ever been front row at anything? Have I been front row at anything? Nothing that comes to mind. And I'm going like Disney on ice, not front row.

I mean, I'm going to all the things. It's not something you care about. Hot Wheels Monster Truck Live, not front row or sweet. Poor Chuck. Chuck Cruz. Yeah, all of the things. I know. I don't think so.

Basketball games. Football games. I don't think I've been front row. Wow. Have you? Like a comedy show. We went to a comedy show at Bridgetown, and for some reason the front row was available, and they weren't like, because it's comedy, it wasn't, like, massively overpriced.

It was, like, a normal price. Totally. you could do it. So me and my buds went. Okay. So that's a fun, but concerts, I'm not paying at like an arena show. But I don't want to be at the top either. So I don't know where that puts me in the like snobbiness. Like I need, I need the middle. Well, especially at Bridgestone, the nosebleeds are not a good experience. The sound is echoing. Yeah, there's a point that like it's not worth it. So I don't know what that means. But at the Rhyman Auditorium if you come through Nashville, not a bad seat in the house. So that one I don't mind being

further back. Oh, that was the Amy Grant-Vinskill concert. We set in the balcony. Very nice. Not front row. Look at you. Look at me. I'm way more low maintenance. A woman of culture. That's a good one. But please don't go into debt for any concert, let alone front row seats. Front row seat. Ken Coleman. Good show.

It's a good show if you want to check it out. All right, going on extravagant trips to Europe multiple times a year. People do this? Apparently. I guess that's a new money thing. It could also be quiet wealth, but I feel like it leans new money. I'm going to say new money. Europe feels... Oh, how about this?

If you post a better on Instagram, it's new money. That's it. New money, Instagram. No one knows you went. Old money. That's good. Stealth wealth there. Yeah.

The European thing feels new money to me. Okay, just stay with me, okay? Okay. You've done well. You've got two kids in middle school, and you're just like, oh my gosh, we're living that 40th world life. We're in our 40s, and we're doing well, and we're going to just go to Europe. Like, I feel like those people go to Europe.

They don't go to Thailand. or a safari in Africa. Do you know what I'm saying? Like all the big world traveling you can do, I feel like Europe is the go-to. And probably because it's the closest. Yeah, and it's a good start. Like, it's not too adventurous.

Oh, yeah, I'm not, I mean, I haven't been to Europe with my kids. I'm not boo-boeing it. It's like New York City, but in a different font. But it feels more doable for new money, but I feel like if you have like multi-millions, you're doing like big trips elsewhere. Does that make sense? Yeah.

I'm tracking with that. Well, Europe has such a game. You can do Europe as a backpacker or you can do Europe with the most luxurious experiences and finest hotels and food and Michelin Star everything. So there is a way to do it cheaply. I went on a trip in college. It was technically a mission trip. Thank you for serving the Lord in Italy. But Rachel, these people had never left Alabama, let alone went to another country.

And so they were just like, that's the awful tower, y'all. You know? It's like they, it was really hard to be a mission. We did like seven or eight cities across two or three weeks. And what y'all do? Like street ministry? We were staying in hostels. Okay.

I don't know if you'd ever stayed in a hostel. It's bunk beds with strangers all around. Yes. Group bathrooms. Oh no. Did y'all like tell the gospel in the hostel? Is that your mission trip? That was the goal.

Was the goal achieved? I'll never tell. You know, we planted seeds. That's what I say. We planted some scenes. It's like the mission trips you go to like the Caribbean when you're in high school. You're going to the Dominican Republic and you go for like three days and do actual work at an orphanage and then you go to a hotel. Well, the work ahead of it was really nice.

We read like a who's Tim Keller book called Life on Mission or something and it was all about how to live missionally. It was great. And we raised funds and support through letters. I bet you did. People paid for you to go to the Eiffel Tower. At 20 years old. Oh my gosh. Just eating pizza and gelato.

Oh my gosh. No, now a Europe trip sounds so fun. Like we haven't done that in a long time. I'd like to go back. I haven't been since. Yes. I mean, we haven't.

Mom and dad, they took us before we all had kids. So yeah. Would you go with your kids at a certain age? At a certain age, yes. A lot of people are taking their like little kids now. And I just don't have the, I don't know. I have no desire to do that.

I'd rather go to like the Bahamas and go to the beach. Do you know what I'm like, let's go take a nice trip where they're going to like play and enjoy. I don't think that, yeah, They would not appreciate it, no. I think they would see the Eiffel Tower, and they'd be like, cool. And then we'd move on. They'd be bored to tears by a museum.

I think so, yeah. Even though Amelia, so this is sweet, mom and dad take every grandchild when they're 10 years old on a trip. That's so fun. So Amelia and Lydia, the two cousins, turn 10 together, basically with like two months apart. So they're going to go. And mom and dad for Christmas and said, girls, where do y'all want to go? You can pick anywhere in the United States.

Love it. So we'll take you to, like, you know, wherever you want to go. Amelia said, Washington, D.C. So they're going to Washington, D.C. That is so cute. So I'd say, maybe Amelia would appreciate a European museum. I'm not giving my kids enough credit. Well, is she wanting to go there because of, like, the memorials and the museums?

The museum. She wants to see the White House. The Lincoln Memorial. Yeah, she has like a couple of things. She wants to see in person, she said. I know. So sweet. It is a fun place to visit.

Oh, I love D. I agree. For sure. And to see the White House. It makes you appreciate American Admonious. different way. Yes, for sure. Yeah. So maybe I should, maybe we should take our kids. I don't know. Where would you pick at 10? That's a tough choice. If I was like fifth, I'd probably go to New York. Yeah, that's a good one. Or like L.A. Let me see Hollywood. You know what I mean? Like my kids haven't

been to California. Something that would have been in a movie. Yes. You're like, now we're talking. Somewhere Mary Kate and Ashley would go. Yes. Wherever they would be, we'll be. All right. All right. Next up. Getting a he lock for home upgrades. Oh, man. This one feels like a blend of new money and fake rich. I was going to say kind of is new money to me for some reason. Well, the new money part is you have to own a house, which is already kind of a luxury. Right. Like you're doing well at that point to get a heloc.

Yeah. At any level. They're not giving broke people a heloc. So people that have helix tend to make a great income. Yes, exactly. Because you're adding another mortgage to your house. Yep. So I'm going new money on that one.

Yeah. This one's tough. There's very few things that I would ever tell someone to go backwark. and use your house like an ATM for. The only time it, like, I'm like, okay, is if sadly if you go through a divorce and you need to pay your spouse their share and you need or want to stay in the house,

doing a cash out refinance or a HELOC is sometimes the only way to give them that lump sum. That's right. But other than that, which is a very rare scenario, please do not take out a HELOC to build a pool or do the renovations. I know. It really just puts you at double risk.

Because if you miss payments, they can foreclose on your house. On your home. Exactly. So you're adding on so much financially. And variable interest rates on most HELOCs. Yes. So the rate and payment can go up and up over time, which is even scarier. Yeah, and if you follow the baby steps, if you can, if the HELOC is less than half of your mortgage, then we say to put that in baby step two.

So if you're paying off your consumer debt, you can put it there. But if it's more than half of your, right, so if your mortgage is 300,000 and the HELOC you pulled as like, you know, 175, just go ahead and put that in. baby step six, pay it off with the mortgage. But if it's less than half the mortgage, then you can put that in baby step two. Treat it like a consumer debt. Some people have like a $40,000 helock, right? And some have $200,000. That's right. Yeah. So depending on your mortgage and what the he lock is is when you pay it off. That's a tough one. And people who use helox to try to pay other debts off? Well, I was going to say that's it too. Don't use your house equity to spread out other debt. It's based, yeah, to substitute it basically. Not the move. Not the move.

Oh my gosh. I don't even know what this word is. You read it. Shopping. at where? Oh, shopping at Airwan. I don't know what Airwain. It's a grocery store in like L.A., California. It's where they have the Haley Bieber $20 smoothie. What? Haley Bieber has her own smoothie? Looks like we found the Target demo for Airwain. Tell me more. I'm shopping there. It's like a hilariously... I'm not going to Europe. I am new money. I'll say this. It makes Whole Foods look cheap, like a discount grocery store. That's how expensive everything is at Airwan. Okay. Like take whole foods and double or triple the cost of everything there.

Good night. There is like a TikTok trend where someone makes like a $100 peanut butter sandwich just by buying ingredients from airwashed. Oh, stop it. They're like the peanut butter, the jelly, the bread, $100. It's that level of insanity. Oh my gosh. But people go, I went when I was in California. I was like, I want to see what this is about.

Is there like restaurants in it and stuff? No, they have like kind of like. It's like a true grocery store. Grab and grow, like more like a whole foods. Okay. So they have foods that you can get there like in the counter. Do you feel like cold foods smells bad? Not that I've experienced

Maybe if you go near the seafood section Okay, I'm getting a yes from Kelly Okay What does it smell like? I don't know And I don't go in a lot Number one, I do deliver my groceries But if not, I go to Aldi or Publix

But when I would go into a Whole Foods Back in my organic day Where I just thought that's where I could only shop I always feel like it smelled Interesting Like, I'm gonna really take a good sniff Next time I'm there It has a very distinct smell to me.

So I automatically think, ew. But no other grocery stores have this smell. No, no. It is a very specific smell. Comment below if you're watching. I'm curious. If you smell this. Yes.

It's like a... Like a musk. It's like a farming musk. Good adjectives. That's it. I think you smell it and don't even realize that because you're describing it. Does that air wand smell like that too? No.

I don't remember what air wand smelled like. I was too distracted by the prices. I think I got like the cheapest thing there and I still spent like $10. So much. It was that level. It like stressed me out just to be in there. And people were, I mean, they were buying $25 soups. I was just like, okay, I guess everybody has money but me.

Just like a little, you know, you can like scoop it into the thing and eat it. It's $25, yeah. It's just like insane prices. Oh my gosh. Yeah, that one, that feels like a new money to me. And is it like nice inside? That's my big thing. Yeah, no, it's nicely appointed.

Yeah, okay, good. It should, as it should. Yeah. You know, like, our airports? You know when you go international and you're like, oh my gosh, there's like some nice or like crazy rich Asians, the movie? Yeah. I remember seeing that airport in Singapore and you're like, there's a butterfly garden in there. So you're like, this can't be done, right?

We can have nice, step it up. Nice airports and nice grocery stores. What are we doing? Europe had like self-cleaning public bathrooms. What is happening? What? Step it up. The McDonald's in France.

Don't tell me. Beautiful with a brioche bun. Don't tell me. Wow. This is not McDonald's. Why? Why are we so behind? We can do better.

We're so ahead and so behind. How? Amen. We're focusing on the wrong things. I think we are too. I think people would be happier with nicer airports. You know, we just need to do better, George. Amen.

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That's it. That's the habit. You own your home. And bonus points if you sign up a refinance to a 15-year fixed rate mortgage and pay it off early. Now we're talking. So you own a home, you're working to pay it off. Quiet wealth. Quiet wealth.

That's a quiet wealth trend right there. It's not a thing you're like most people don't like post on Instagram about. Yeah. You know, it's not a thing you're flexing unless you're like in the Ramsey tribe and we're all celebrating with you. It's not a thing you bring up at, you know, dinner. Yeah. And no one ever knows. We haven't made an extra payment on our mortgage this month.

Yeah. And that's a crazy thing about a house is like you could be struggling. to pay that payment, but no one necessarily knows unless you tell them. Or it could be like, oh no, we're paying double the payment to get paid off early. And no one knows. They just see the house. Or you could be renting the house. And no one knows, right, unless you're telling them. I think about that often, even just like on my street. We're just like, we don't know. They could be in, you know, a crippling debt to pay this mortgage. Yes. Or they could, it could be paid off. Or they could have millions and millions and millions.

And they're being smart. And they're like, yeah, I don't need to go buy a 16-acre farm. I'm going to just, yeah. Live simply. It's kind of a millionaire next door type mentality. Yes. So that's a good one. I'm a big fan of that one. I think everyone should do it in their lifetime.

And please don't go into retirement carrying a mortgage. That always breaks my heart. That's hard. If you're like in your 60s, still paying off this mortgage, which tells me you did a 30 year, you got the HELOC, you rolled it into another 30 year. Or you just kept paying just a payment a month. There was no aggression towards paying it off early.

It just is what it is. Make a plan. And what's wild, especially a 30 year, if you pay it in 30, the amount of money that goes to interest that you actually end up paying versus just the purchase price of the home when you bought it. Especially with current interest. We're talking $100,000, $200,000, $300,000, just in interest on top of the actual mortgage you took out. For loan and the money. Like, it is wild. Get it done.

That is some quiet luxury. When you own your home, you pay it off early. Simple life. We love it. Oh, two more. I thought there was one. Bonus. Sneaky, sneaky.

Sneaky, sneaky. Ooh, this is a fun one. Working the same job or in the same industry long term. That feels a quiet wealth to me. Yeah, there's something that isn't like you're not job hopping constantly. You're not chasing the next huge paycheck or bump. And I mean, I guess I live this accidentally. I've been here 13 years.

I guess that's long term. Yeah, because some people chase the like, oh, I can make five grand more here. You're here and they'll job hunt. You see that a lot in a startup world and in tech where it's like, well, I'm jumping from Netflix to Apple. Yes, yes, yeah. And so I wouldn't say it's necessarily bad, right, or wrong. I don't know.

I don't know if I have a strong opinion about it, but when you talk to people, especially like the boomers right now that are retiring, and they've been at their job for 30 years or whatever it is, and they've got a pension, they've got stock. I mean, they've got this whole package because when they retire, they are going to do great. And that longevity helped with that. And again, I'm not saying that's for everyone, but that feels, yeah, quiet wealth to me.

There's a consistency to it that tells me you've probably been investing in your 401K for a decade or two or three. Yes. And we saw this with teachers. They're the third most likely career for millionaires in our millionaire study. And teachers, what do they do? They're usually in that school system for a long time. And they've been investing into that retirement plan. How about this, George?

I don't know if it's true or not. I'm just popped in my mind. Yeah. not a lot of ego involved when this is this person. Oh, interesting. There's something a little flashy about being like, oh, I'm going to this next job for the promotion, whatever. I'm not saying that's bad.

Like, that's great if you're progressing in your job. I do think loyalty is not flashy and rewarding. Yeah, there's something about the like, it's not about me always. And maybe you see your work more as like, I work to live versus live to work kind of thing. But there's not a lot of ego if you're not. You know, it's like, oh, well, the company didn't do what I wanted, so I'm going to go find my thing. Does that make sense? I don't know. There's something along that. That's interesting. Well, sometimes you're sort of chasing that next title and you want that promotion. And that's fine and great. But I think if you've been at the same company a long time, you've naturally progressed and you're a little more secure without needing another title. Right, right. Now, that's assuming that you're treated right, you're getting raises. 100%. Yeah. Now, if you're phoning it in at your job. Yes. And you're doing it out of the laziness. That's one thing. Yes. But I don't know. There's something there, George. I like it.

All right. Last, this is the bonus question. You're ready? Ooh, having season tickets to your local sports team. That's an interesting one. This one I could put in two categories, depending if you paid cash or you went to debt. But I think quiet wealth, if you're just a true fan,

and if your team is terrible, I have so much more respect for you. Oh, Titans. If you're a Titan, if you've got season ticks and the Titans. And you have for six plus years, I don't know if you're smart. but that's unbelievable. That should count for like ministry time. That's such a noble thing to do. It's so true.

It's easy when it's like the hot team that crushes it. You know what? To me, that's back to the consistency standpoint. I'm going to go quiet wealth. Because you're like, I just like the team. I'm going to go to the games. Yeah. Because I mean rarely, unless you're, again, in a market that it's been like, I don't

know, I was going to say the Chicago Bears, aren't they going to move? Have you heard this rumor? I haven't been keeping up with the sports news. That's true. What's going on the wrong person to ask? The word on the street is, I think. I think Ohio. They're looking at Ohio. Down below, I don't know.

The border. Are they keeping the name? Anyways, I don't, I don't know. But I was going to use Chicago Bears as an example of, like, a very classic team. Like, hard to get season tickets, too, because they've been around for so long. They may not be the best every season, but like, the bills. I would say the bills are like that. Like, there's just these, like, nostalgic teams. So that could be easy to get season tickets and keep those because it's just exciting.

But when it's just your run in the mill, you know, the Browns. Whoa, brown shade. And I don't know. I'm just thinking of teams that are like, I know. But here's what scares me. When you get season tickets, there's specific seats. Yeah. And I don't know who I'm going to be sitting next to for the entire season.

Great points. And I've been to a Titans game. The people around me ruined the game. A lot of expletives and yelling. And I'm like, there's a seven-year-old with his dad here, dude. Isn't that crazy? No, yeah. People don't care.

They're so unaware. Can you emotionally regulate yourself, Brad? Sit down. It's just a lot for me. So that's why I would never get season tickets. For a thousand other. reasons. But you see the price tag, you're like, it's thousands of dollars for season tickets for most teams. Absolutely. I would for the Volz. Wow. If Winston came and was like, and again, they're

kind of hard to get, but. Yeah, a lot of Vols fans. But it was like if we like, that would be an investment and I would do it. Well, and you got to travel for that. I know. Go to drive a few hours to go to a ball's game. Yeah, I know. It's not even like local, local. No. But I would do it. I would do it. Go Vols. Why don't the Ramses have a suite that I can then join and eat some, you know, lobster rolls while I watched the big game. I will say Dave had some great seats in, like, that area. But he just wasn't going enough? When I was, yeah, when I was in college, like back in the day,

and then they went through a rough season. And then Dave was like, Dave or the team? Probably both. But Dave, yeah, Dad was like, I pay him for too much bad football. And so he dropped them. That's logical. Yeah, but that was probably, man, maybe eight years ago, yeah.

So they're gone. Well, if they get good again, get the sweet, Dave. I'll be there. Okay, George, that was fun. And I feel like you can kind of figure out, yes, the quiet wealth. You got the new money. That's where I want to land, I realized. I know, like all the spectrum.

But, you know, regardless of where you are financially, having a bank that is for you is so big. That puts you on the path to quiet wealth. It does. And that's where Fairwind's Credit Union comes into play because they are so helpful, not only from the customer service perspective, but the actual banking experience that you have with Fairwins,

it's so easy to get to even sign up for an account and you can do their smart bundle which is a checky account and you'll get the debt as normal be weird debit card which we love you get this you get a high yield savings account like to sign up for everything it took me like 10 minutes it was so fast and then the app is so easy to use and you can change money within their checking account and the savings accounts like it is it's so seamless it's wonderful and I was just meeting with the team and I was shocked. They are actively working on more ways to serve the fans to where they saw my YouTube video where I said, hey, make sure you use a debit card with no international fees if you're traveling. And they said, yeah, let's add that. And so now if you

travel to Europe and take the kids, no fees on those transactions and they'll even refund you for two overdrafts as like an almost like accident forgiveness. Yeah, it's like it's okay. That's amazing. So they're actively wanting to see you in. Go check them out. Fairwinds.org slash Ramsey to get the smart bundle or click the link in the description. Yeah, George, so whatever category you fall into, I think, always remembering, and even some of these examples, I think spend with healthy motivation. Don't spend to try to impress people. Like, if you want the season tickets to the game, you know, do it because it brings you

joy and it's great. Or the trip to Europe, don't feel like you have to post it on social media, right? Like, you can kind of actually know your motivation if you think is somebody going to see this purchase or am I doing this to fulfill something? So the motivation to spend is really big. I think always having a plan. And knowing where your money's going helps with some of that. If you haven't checked out every dollar, every dollar is a great budgeting app.

Check it out. We'll put a link down below. But yeah, those would be some of the things that I think about in these categories. Yeah. And I think spending your money on things that truly bring you joy. And that might be experiences with the people you love through travel. It might be a beautiful piece of art on the wall. But do it for you and not because you feel like someone

else will be impressed by it and always do it with cash. That's a good way to avoid regret when you got payments on that thing every single month. So good. Oh, well, you know, just put a, let's, let's shoot for quiet wealth, George, shall we? That's what I'm aiming for. Yeah, if we had a, target out there, that's where we're going. I love it. All right, well, before we spill the tea on our guilty as charged segments, uh, let's give the details of the drink and our rating. Hmm. What do you think? I mean, I'm, I'm going nine out of ten on this frozen coconut. lemonade. I'll say it was better while it was still very frozen. Yep. As it sits, you know, it sort of gets a little too liquidy, but it's still the

flavors there. It's creamy. It's got that nice lemon zest. So it's got the fresh lemon juice. You need that. The lemon zest, which I think adds a lot. Coconut milk and sugar. That's it. It comes up to $2.56 per glass. And this is one you can make for the kids, especially as the weather gets warmer. Make one of these bad boys? Everyone's happy. Okay, I think I'm going to go 8 out of 10. It's a little too little. Too sour for you? It made me do this a couple times.

I wanted to taste like a sour patch kid. Give me sour. Yes, a sour patch kid. And then I'm going to be honest, the whole blender, which God bless our team for doing it. Yeah, I told them, I said if you pull out a blender, you really love. I just don't know if I'm a blender kind of gal for the drinks. I don't know if I have the effort. Oh, for you personally.

That's a downside. You're like, would I make this at home? Yeah. The answer is probably not. I know. But only out of laziness, let me make that very clear. That's it. Yeah, for no other reason but that.

No other reason but that. It's a fun. It's like an art project with the kids. Yeah, that's a great one. Just love a blender. Just be safe. Just be safe. All right, now it's time for guilty as charged.

And this is where we ask each other a new guilty-as-charge question every week. And if we're guilty, take a sip. All right, question, George. Are you guilty of having an overly-ex-ex-ex-chered? bougie or overly cheap millionaire habits. Oh, that's interesting. I mean, yes, in both categories. What if we combine them?

Okay. Of like, here's the cheap thing I do, and yet I do this boogie thing over here. Okay, that's good. I buy really cheap jewelry. Like, I have a few nice pieces. Are those cheap? Bobble bar. Okay, this one is not.

But what's crazy is I've had that. I've had this since college. Oh, wow. This doesn't count because I've had it for so long. But a lot of bubble bar, a lot of Target, a lot of Amazon, you know. So I'm not spending more. I mean, I don't see myself spending more than, I mean, I'm not kidding. If it's over $40 for a piece of jewelry, I'm like, ooh.

There's some pause. It's really got to be worth it. But then I will spend as my. My husband calls it highway robbery on my hair. Especially this lady, she ain't cheap. I still don't understand the science behind this. I spent so much, y'all. Like, to the point that I was like, I don't know if people should know this.

Like, it's... Well, I know that generally if a woman walks into a salon, we're talking 300 bucks. Oh. That's for like, maybe like cut color if you're lucky. Yes. Okay, my normal was that when I didn't do extensions. The extensions, that's a whole other ball game. That's what I'm saying.

It's like a... Can I ask, are the extensions made from like horse hair of like a stallion that was like one of the Kentucky Derby? It's real hair. It's women's hair. So you can donate your hair? Women grow out their hair. Yes, it's like a thing. And if they cut like a certain length.

Which is a very, yeah. And then it has to match your hair? No, they color it. But then how does it... How does it attach? Oh. Do you want to know? Do you want to know this?

Yes. I think every man out there is like, Are you ready? Okay. So we have different. Is it literally like surgery? You're right. Are they gluing it to your scalp?

No. Okay. Okay. George, listen. There are different categories of extensions. Okay. You got your temporary ones, which are your clip ends. They just got a little clip.

And those look great. So a lot of women on TV will do those. And the clips are hidden through like layers. Yep. Yep. So you just like stick it and clip it in. You got the halo, which is like a fishing wire with fake hair all around. And women put it like right here.

And then you can't really tell because you put the top. layer of your hair over. Is that like a wig? Yeah, yeah, kind of. But it's, but you take it off at night. Okay. Okay, those are temporary. Then you got more permanent ones. So you got tape-in extensions, which are like two-sides tape, kind of what you're talking about. It's almost like

hot-cloth. It's like... To your scalp. To the hair. So you have a piece of hair and you do an extension behind it, an extension in front of you tape it. How do you watch that? Well, those are hard. Tapens are rough, and I did do those a few years ago, and they were terrible for my hair. Okay, so you got tapins that are popular.

You got the K-tips, which are little strands of hair, and then they take a bead, and they take one of your strands of hair and loop it through, and then they pinch the bead with, like, a tool. So you have your strip of hair with another fake strip of hair, and they do it all around. That feels like you take forever. Yeah, 100%. Okay, so then those are. And then you got the stoning extensions. That's what you got.

And I'm going to say, not to sound all braggy. they're the nice ones. These are the most expensive and probably the healthiest for your hair. So what they do, are you ready? When you said sewn, I just threw up in my mouth. No, no, I'm too your... I know, I'll explain it.

Okay. So this is the content people want. This is the content. Okay. So what it is, the extension looks like a strand of... Like a strand of hair. Like it's all attached up at the top and there's like hair down, right?

Okay. It's like a... Like a curtain. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I got a curtain of hair. Okay, so she takes my hair and parts it up. So there's like a part like this. Okay.

And then she, the bead I was talking about, I remember the beads. So she does like maybe five beads, like a bead, a bead, a bead, a bead, and puts a string through that bead. Got it. The beads, okay? And then she takes the strength of hair and she sews the hair that has like a strip

that's connected to the string that's in my hair. head so she sews them in. Does that make sense? With a needle? Like a sewing needle? Yeah, but it never touches my scalp because it's the string that's attached to them. She's literally doing like sewing each. She's sewing. Yes. So I'm sewn in. Sown in extensions. Yes. How do you get them out? Well, so then they say in. How do you unsew it? So they grow because your hair grows. So it grows with your hair. So every seven to eight weeks, they got to take them out and move them back up. So you got to do the process all over again. Or if you, if you're done with them. They'll just take them out.

I'm learning so much today. So that's it. Thank you. No one's ever explained it to me. They don't teach you this stuff in school. You're welcome. So guys, if you're wondering why it took nine hours and why it was $1,000, now we know. It was like they did a surgery. Oh my gosh. It's a lot. There you go. Okay. Have you done your guiltiest charge?

I can't beat that, but here's my kind of go-to. The overly cheap millionaire habit is I order water at restaurants almost always. I just feel like a drink. It's overpriced. I don't need the extra calories. Yeah. Water's great. I'm fine with tap water. And then I have currently a laundry service. That's right. Because once my dog became cripple and we had an infant and toddler, we found the service. They were a cleaner. We didn't use them for house cleaning, but we found out they do laundry.

And I think it's 40 bucks a week. And you can give them two giant bags of whatever you want. And it comes back folded in bags. Oh, wow. Like three days later. That's unbelievable. And that has saved a lot of marital fights. I'm so glad. Of like you left it in the washer overnight.

You know what? Well done, George. You deserve it. Again, I don't have many hobbies. You deserve it. And so I trade that fun money into this is fun. Yes. Not doing laundry all weekend long.

This is what I want to put my money. Well done, George. Thank you. It's good. I'm buying back my time, guys. That's how I spend my money. I love that. Well, if you have a guilty-est charge question for us,

make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel. We love getting them. And if you love this episode, check out the episode, are these common money habits broke, average, or wealthy? We will link it for you. And make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of. Smart Money Happy Hour.