Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Save a Dime or Save Your Time: How Far Is Too Far?

Episode Date: October 17, 2024

💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app!   On a scale of “water only at restaurants” to “extreme couponing,” how far would you go to save? Rachel and George weigh in on what savings hacks are really worth your time.   Next Steps: 🎥 Watch our video Cheapskate or Resourceful? A Wake-Up Call With Sharon Ramsey 📱Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it. Connect With Our Sponsor: 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🥧 Caramel Apple Pie Mocktail Recipe: Merry About Town Ingredients: 6 cups apple cider 1/2 cup caramel syrup 3 cups sparkling water 2 tsp cinnamon 2 apples 6 rosemary sprigs Brown sugar (for rim) Instructions: Mix apple cider and caramel syrup in a pitcher and add cinnamon. Add thinly sliced apples and rosemary sprigs and let sit for 20 minutes. Pour sparkling water into the pitcher and mix. Rim a glass with brown sugar, pour mocktail, 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. Cheers, George. Cheers. Wow. Fallelujah, that is good. Fall in a cup.

Is that not a T.J. Max candle at checkout, Rachel. That is, I mean, if Bedbath and Beyond was still around, they'd be selling that in the store. Let's be honest. We could make good money just bottling this stuff. That mocktail. All right. We'll tell you more about it later. Wow.

Well, this is the show. we're two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And today, we are asking the question, how far is too far when it comes to your money and saving a buck? We respect the hustle to save a buck, Rachel.

Yeah, and there are decisions to be made in our daily lives that, well, the question is, is it too much? Or is it worth it? Worth the squeeze. You heard that line? I have heard that line. I don't like it.

I like to say it because it's uncomfortable. Or dime versus time, you know? Oh, that's a fun way to say it. Yeah, yeah. So we're going to talk about that. It's basically called your opportunity cost if you're an Econ 101. Right, nerd.

That's what they talk about. So figuring out what's worth it. But what are we sipping on? When you go calculate your joy over there. Well, we're chatting about this, George. Yeah, we are sipping on a caramel apple pie moktail. Can I just say that on the paper, it says caramel. Not caramel, it says just C-A-R-M-E-L caramel.

which that's different. I spelled that. Is it incorrect? Well, Caramel has a, is 2A, C-A-R-A. Well, then maybe I should go back to school. Carmel's just real southern. You know, I'm going to be honest, Lindsay. I don't see it.

Thank you, Rachel. I don't. I don't see a typo. I don't see a typo. Okay, so in a last, you know, recent episode, we did the whole Would You Rather? This, we're going to go back to another fun game. A little truth or dare. Oh, did you ever play that growing up?

Did I ever play truth or dare? I feel like every kid played truth or dare. Yeah. No, no, we played it for sure. Did you know I play truth or dare? We for sure. I wasn't invited to environments or scenarios in which this game would happen.

Can I just say that? I've been so sad. I was in the Arabic Baptist youth group. All right? I wasn't going to parties where cool people were there. I was in a gymnasium of a church. You know what I just had a first? We literally would pray through the new year.

Do you know the movie? She's all that? Yes. But she walks on the stairs in the red dress and Freddie Prince Jr. is like down there. I like have this like vision of George like getting a makeup. He's ready. That's me. That is me.

I am Freddie Prince Jr. in a lot of ways. All right. So I never got to play as a child. Let's play this right now. Truth or Dare. Okay. Go. You have to say what you would choose.

You want truth or dare? Oh, oh. Oh, I'm going truth. Have you ever added something extra to the cart just to get free shipping? Oh. You didn't hit the limit. Truth. Yes.

You don't say truth. Okay. Now I'm wondering if you've ever played. Truth. Yes, I have. I have. Okay. I've added a T-shirt.

A tank top. A single tank? Throw in a $9 item and get the free shipping. Yes, I have. Good for you. Yeah, have you? Yeah, I for sure have But it's usually like a small item

And it usually involves hair care I'm gonna be honest I'm gonna be honest I got a trial size grooming gel Truth or air for you George Truth because I don't want to get up Or have to do anything

Okay, so have you ever driven further Than you had to To a gas station to get a lower price on gas 100%. I'll use an app like upside or gas buddy Oh yeah Oh they're ripping us off I'm not gonna

How far will you go? I will not go far off the beaten path. I'm going to lose more than five or so minutes. I'm going to stick to whatever soon by. Okay, that's fair. But five minutes of my time is worth it to save upwards of $10, $20. That's fair. Yeah, because I think there is this high-level view

when you're living with money that when you are frugal, you're naturally going to save more. But there again, it can be a fine line. Because on one side it's like, oh, yeah, wealthy people became wealthy because they made smart decisions. They didn't spend money on stupid stuff. They were investing, they were saving, They were buying things like reasonably priced, right?

But then it can go too far, you know? The frugal mentality. There's a limit. We've all seen extreme cheapskates. Yes, yes. So you can get to this point where you're like, okay, I'm going out of my way so much that I'm losing time, valuable time, which is obviously a resource we all want more of,

just to save a dime, right? Or just to save a dollar or $10. Time versus time. So the question is, yeah, what is worth it and what is not? And I think with me being probably the more frugal one, you know, a little more resourceful trying to find a deal, you being more trying to buy back your time, I think it's going to be an interesting conversation.

And I would love for the listeners and viewers to vote along with us. Yeah. Are these things worth it? So let's know the comment section. Which I would say, again, this is one reason why I love the budget is because it does allow you to kind of give those guardrails naturally. Like, okay, do I have the margin to spend a little bit more for the convenience? Or do I really need to figure out a deal and make it work, right?

That's a great point. If you want the convenience, just budget for it, and then you don't feel guilty afterwards. And the best tool to do that is every dollar. And you can check it out for free. Just go to every dollar.com slash smart money or click the link in the description. So good.

All right. So yeah, let's play the little game. Let's have some fun. Save a dime or save your time. So we're going to go through some money-saving hacks tips out there. I'm going to share our hot takes on whether it's worth the time and effort that goes into it. We might have different takes.

All right, I'm going to go first. Sale hopping at multiple grocery stores each week. Is that a waste of time? time and a waste of gas or is it worth it long term. Ooh. Okay, so sail hopping in multiple grocery stores. It's just like I'm going to go to Aldi and Costco and Kroger. I'm going to say up to a two store limit for me.

Okay. I'll go to two stores. What are those two stores for you? Those are Costco. Where can we find Rachel? Costco. Okay. And then I am bougie, y'all.

I do love Publix. Okay, that's fair. So I'll go there. Yeah. Every now and then I'll hit a Kroger. Kroger has some good stuff. Okay. If I need some staples and it's closer, I will go there.

But Costco and Publix, I will hop between those two, depending on what the item is of where I can buy it. That's legit. I am more sale conscious. Like if you look at my, if I did an Instacart, for example, everything in my cart will be on sale. Really? I will only shop what's on sale. So it's a strategy I use. Really?

If I can, within reason, if there's something that's like, I need this exact item. Milk? Exactly. But then again, there's always a different milk on sale. I'm not super choosy. So you go off of the food item because I go off of the meal. So I'll think through like, okay, I can make a salad and chicken on top for me and Winston. The kids kind of mac and cheese and the chicken. So what's the cheapest within that genre? Does that make sense? Yeah. And I go based on what's on sale. So I'll go, okay, what is it a meal plan based on what's on sale? Yeah, I go. What's a protein on sale? What's a carb that's affordable on sale? What's a veggie that's on sale?

And I'll go, all right, that works. So, like this week we did... I think I like more control over my destiny than you do. Wow. I like the variety of going, ooh, let the sale choose my meal plan. That's even easier. Yeah, but you get asparagus.

And you're like, I'm going to make an asparagus casserole. We did a broccoli this week. That was our vegetable of choice. Okay, because it was on sale. Whitney shopped at Trader Joe's this week. And that's just what she chose. She likes Brussels and Brooklyn. You know, I wish I was a Trader Joe's gal.

We'll get you there. Well, it's been like a one-off for me. But I wish it was one of those, like, oh, I shop at Trigger Joe. Well, not everything is, like, it can be more expensive for certain items. Okay. But it's a great, like the portions are right for a small family. Yep. And then we go to Costco for the bigger things or Sam's Club.

So, all right. So, yeah, sale hopping. In a sense, I would be more likely to do that than you. Yeah, I would say that's true. All right, next step, researching promo codes for online purchases. I'm 100%. I'm the promo code king. This is you.

This is you. Rachel will text me being like, hey, do you got a, I'll, I'll, I'll take one if you got one, but she's not going to do the research. When's the last time you used one? Unless it's within my app. Like I have the Papa John's app. I have the Chick-fil-A app. Like I have some food apps.

And within the app, if it's there, the promotion's there, obviously I use it. But I don't. We're still doing the Papa John's thing. I love Papa John's. And I'm a Marco's guy. I love Papa Johns. I, the crust at Papa is so good. It is so good.

So I haven't tried a gluten-free of Papa John. don't even know if they have it. I don't know. But Marcos has a real good gluten-free. We like our toppings. We know what we like. Yes. What's your pizza?

Pepperoni's and banana peppers. Okay. It's my favorite. Can someone explain the difference between pepper and pepper chees? Okay. Pepper chis are more are spicier. And they're not as available. So Papa John's, this is what I like them. They give you the pepperini, the full pepper in the box.

So you, hot and then heart with your piece of me. You get both. Is that what you do? do? Oh yeah. I got my peppercini in one hand and then I got my pizza pizza. And then you take a bite of the pizza? Yeah, and then you put hot red pepper flakes on top of your pizza too. She gets it. Fantastic. Red pepper flakes are game chained. All day, all day. That or the Jets, Eugene. If you have Jets, and go to the Eugene. It's sausage, banana pepper, red onion. Oh, fabulous. That

sounds great. Whitney loves one at Marcos. It's a white sauce, not a red sauce. Oh, okay. You lost me there. With grilled chicken and green peppers. Yeah, I can't do the white sauce pizza. Give it a shot. I have. I do extra red sauce, sausage and pepperoni. Old world. Have you had the old world?

The little puppies? Oh, the little guys. The little guys. Yeah, good one. Game changer. A little spicier. I love it. You know what I don't like, a stuffed crust.

Not for me. Don't eat it. Don't eat it. Trust is already like, let's tone down the crust. You're overestimated how much we want to eat bread. And then they give you that garlic sauce, which you're supposed to dip in, but I pour it over my pizza. Oh, that's a good one, too. It's so good.

I'm hungry. Wow, I wish we did that. We are hungry. But yes. Are you getting sticky from the old... Yeah, a lot of caramel. I've got sap. I feel like Buddy the elf.

A lot of caramel on here. A lot of stuff. I can I tell you, when it comes to promo codes, this is not, they are not sponsors, but I love honey and slip deals, and sometimes we tell me not to find those promo codes. I just did this with Marcos this week. My go-to promo code to save 30% did not work.

So I had to settle for a 25% instead of a 30%. Dad. It hurt. Can I be honest, it hurt a little bit. I'm sure. Did it ruin your night? Or did you bounce back?

I wouldn't call it a night ruiner. Because I still think pizza is an affordable option to feed your family. Resilience. Yeah. Good for you. Good for you. Okay, how about this? Paying debt off over the course of several years.

Oh, is this worth it, dime versus time? Yeah, where it's like, okay. I'm not going to like sacrifice my lifestyle. I'm going to just pay for it over the long haul. Several is the operating word. I would go, if it's going to, take like I want to make the pain a shorter time frame so two years two and a half years now we're talking if it's going to be three four or five years we got to really find out a way to get some

extra income or cut our expenses yes for sure so yeah I would say it's always worth the time because you're getting money back right the amount of money you're paying not only in payments but the interest on top of that it is it is so worth just to buckle down like you're saying and saying I'm going to just cut everything get extra income and do it in a short amount of time so And I paid off 40 grand in 18 months. Our friend and fellow personality, Jade Warshaw, her and her husband, took him seven and a half years

because they had almost half a million in debt. And so regardless of how long it takes, be intense about it and knock it out. It's always worth it to free up your income for the rest of your life. So good. All right, next, George. Finding cheap parking far away

and walking instead of paying $15 for the garage or a valet fee. I am that guy who... You're a walker. Well, I will do excessive research before. And there's an app called Spot Hero. There's other parking apps out there. So I can pre-book a parking spot in a garage, and I know exactly how much it's going to cost.

Oh, wow. So it'll show you on a map. How do you pre-park it? Because what if someone pulls in and just parks in your spot? Well, it's a parking garage. And so you're pre-paying for a spot. So I don't know how that works. Oh, a spot, not like a specific spot.

Not in a specific spot. And so I'll know, hey, if I'm going to the show downtown Nashville, I can pay $10 for the library parking garage. I got you. Versus paying 25 for the one right next to the venue. When I could have driven or walked an extra five minutes. Yeah, how far are you walking? Let's talk blocks here.

Let's go big city. I am a 10 minute is about the max walk. If it's a 15-minute walk for parking, I try to find something closer. Yeah. Or street parking. But I will always look for street parking first. Always. Which is more rare in Nashville because they've just taken over with trying to get you to pay for parking.

Yeah, it's not a lot here. But I'm a big fan of just taking a little bit of extra time. Yeah, I would go to 10-minute walk. You would? Yeah. Mm-hmm. What about valet if it's offered? Airport.

I'm going valet. It's my bougie trait. That's your toxic trait. I love a valet parking with airport because you got your suitcases. You got everything else. It's worth it to me. But yeah, we, yeah, I say we would walk. But then if you circle the block like five times, then I'm like just pay.

Yes. Like there's a point I give up. And I just... I'm not going to circle for a half hour. But if I can circle for 10 minutes, I would do that to save $20. Yeah, for sure. And it's healthy to walk after a meal. Oh, I didn't think about that.

It's a big deal. I know. So after a big meal, you're like, oh, let's go walk the city for a little bit. And weather dependent as well. That is true, for sure. But if it's free valet, I'm open to that. But what I hate is, like, locally, there's a place in Franklin that does this, which is not like a big city parking situation.

And the valet will move your car like three feet. I'm like, I can go park. Oh, yeah. It's not a big city park. It's a normal, like, suburban parking lot. I'll go park myself. Yeah, yeah, yeah. sure because then you've got to tip the valet.

Always tip your valet. Yes. Who doesn't tip your valet? But if I can avoid it and park myself, I'll tip myself. Do it all day. How about this one? Going to pick up an order instead of paying it for delivery service to bring it to you. Now, this is a no-brainer if you're getting out of debt.

Don't pay for delivery services. Do it yourself. But I tend to err on the side of going to pick it up myself if it makes sense. So that's me 90% of the time. 90% of the time you might go for the delivery. You know, we don't do like an Uber Eats, though. Like, I don't do, I mean, groceries I will deliver at times, but food delivery services, I don't do it except for pizza.

That's fair. So, like, if we're going to go out, we usually go out. We don't usually get it to go. Yeah. I don't know. I have probably DoorDashed or Uber Eats, like, I can count on one hand how many times I've done that in my life because it hurts my soul to see how much of a rip-off it can be when you're adding up.

Number one, they're charging more for everything on that menu. Then number two, there's a delivery fee. The number three, you're adding tip on top of all of that. Yes. So a $10 meal could end up costing you 20 or more when you add up all. So it just, for me, if it's pizza and it's a big group of people and I can't leave the house or don't want to, I'll get it delivered. Totally. I will always deliver pizza.

Will you always pick up? Oh, I will attempt to pick it up. Oh, wow. Okay. Less than 15 minutes one way. I'm such like a 90s kid. I feel like delivering pizza is like the... It's a real treat.

I'll tell you that. It's a real San Francisco treat when I can just get the pizza. delivered. But something about me feels good when I got to be the delivery driver and save my family that, you know, five or eight bucks on delivery fee plus tip. You know, heroes don't all wear capes. Well done, George. Well done. They wear corduroy denim jacks in case you're wondering what a hero looks like. Oh, okay. How about this, buying things in bulk when there's a major sale? This is the Middle Eastern in me. I love a bulk purchase. Give me a bulk purchase. I'm doing the price per ounce. I'm doing the calculation

on my phone and I'm going, let's buy it in bulk. Yeah. Caviot, I need to check the expiration date. If it's something that will expire. If it's a perishable item, I'm more cautious. Yes, agreed. But soap, dove soap at Costco, give me 80 boxes, absolutely.

80 boxes of Dove So? I'm exaggerating. Probably 20, though, a big old thing and you're like, that will last me forever. Wow. So great. I love bulk. I do.

Yeah, it does, because then I don't have to go shopping as quickly. You're not going every week to get this thing, and you're saving money along the way. So, you know, Costco, Sam's Club, it can be a good deal, but I also, I try to only buy things that are on sale at Costco. Another toxic trade of mine or Sam's Club. If I can get it on sale, I feel even better. Even more. Totally. Even more bang for the buck.

Yeah. And you can return it at any time, no questions ask, which I did. We know that. The other week with a full-on grill. You returned a grill? I returned a grill. Why? I don't know if it was user error or the grill just wasn't great.

But we used it at my daughter's first birthday party, and it almost ruined the party. No, did it fire? That was the second time I used it. There was a grill fire, which did know it was a thing. George, I don't know. Are you like a grill master, though? My question would be user error.

No, but it's a, what's it called the Easy Bake Oven? It's the Trager. It was like a Trager Jr. from Costco. And you plug it in, you set the temp. It's supposed to be like no frills. What happened with the birthday? The birthday, we could not, I couldn't get the thing started. I couldn't even get it to like go to turn on essentially.

I hit the power button. I was going to say, is there an on button? There is, but then there's like, it has four buttons and they're not labeled. And you're just hoping and guessing, like, which ones you have to hold together to get the thing ignited and get the pellets going. Did you ask anyone for help?

I made the mistake of calling customer service. And it was some dude following a script. He had an accent. He clearly had not grilled before. Because he just kept going through his script. He was like, do you have an account online? and I was like, no, tell me how to get the grill on. It was very frustrating.

I eventually got the grill on. Then my dad was handling the grill. The pellets were not feeding in, and that grill went down in temp. So I was like, I give up. I'm going to Costco and returning it. I'm glad you did. But then they took it back. They took it back.

Dang. I wouldn't say happily. They were a little bit like what's going on with the grill. It's a few years old. And I went, it hasn't worked for me. Yeah, just not working. Yeah. And their policy is, other than electronics,

appliances jewelry. At any time you're not satisfied, bring it back. Full refund. There you go. Good for you. There's my take. All right. Driving to your vacation instead of flying because of the high cost of flights.

This depends on the destination, of course. What is the most you'd be willing to drive? Call me boozy. Call me boogie. I'm a flyer. No more road trips for the cruise family. Y'all, I, we could go. What's the distance?

You're like, okay, this is a flight-worthy destination versus a driveable. Like Atlanta is what, three and a half hours? Yeah, yeah, I'd say five hours. Five hours or less, you're willing to drive. Yep. Five hours or more, we're flying. To be fair, is Winston driving most of the time? Oh, 100%.

Okay. I'm the passenger princess. Or what do they call it? Yeah, oh, yeah. I've got my phone. Oh, yeah, I'm not even aware. Because my kids now, we only give them tablets on road trips or on flights. So they're like on drugs every time we like travel.

They don't get on. Oh, yeah. So I don't do anything now. What are they watching? It's great. They play games, a snake game that you've got to eat stuff. That's their big thing. That feels like a good thing.

I know. They love games. And one's a color in per box thing, Amelia does. So the reason they want to travel is not for the destination. That's what we're learning, yes, that they just went their tablets. What if it was a vacation where you just drove around and let them play on an iPad? They would be none of the riser. They would be fine.

They would think, wow, what a great trip that was. I know. So, yeah, but all that say, five hours or more, we're flying. I'm going to say if I can save like $100 per hour. So if the flights are more than $100 for every hour I save, then I'm probably going to drive. Okay. Within limits.

Yeah, what's your limit? What's your hour limits? Now with a baby, I realize my wife is very like, we're not going to drive in a car for eight hours of the, you know. So we're still at that stage. So we've been flying mostly to Florida and to Boston. That's where our families are. Sure, sure.

Which are pretty easy flights. My key is it's got to be a nonstop. I don't do connecting flights if I can help it. At reasonable times, I will not fly before 9 a.m. It is my limit. What? Because the earlier the flight, the more chaotic the airport is with more people and more stress and less sleep. I think I would challenge you on that.

Go ahead. Challenge me. You get an 8 a.m. flight. You got to show up at 6.30 at the latest. What? We got a lot of luggage because the baby stuff. No. So you got to wait in line for the baby.

Oh, you're still checking. We carry on. We carry on. If it's just me solo, who cares? But with the baby now when we're traveling with family. I know, I forgot about those days. All right. You know what?

Okay, so eight o'clock, you board at 7.30. Then we're there at 6.50. Risky. No. Because sometimes those lines at 650 are out the door. They're not with TSA precheck. Or then you just look to take a sad little family and say, we're late for our flight.

Can we get you? It's the bad drop. That's the issue. Can we pass you? Can we pass you or late for our flight? Is that what you say? Oh my gosh. Poor family.

No, I've never had to, but worst case scenario, I 100% would. I'm so sorry. But Nashville, we walk right up every time we fly to TSA. America, let me know in the comments. If Rachel asked you, of course you're going to say, oh, absolutely. If I ask you, you're like, the line's back there, Bucco. You're going to wait like the rest of us. Get back there. Get back there.

Oh, George. It's a lot of stress. It is. But if I can save 100 bucks per hour, I'd rather fly if I can. I'll say that. That's fair. I know. Flying's gotten more expensive.

And like to Florida, that trip was like, it can be an eight and a half hour drive. Sure. Yeah. To see the family in Boston, I wouldn't even dare make that grass. I would skimp on food and be like, we're not going to eat out nice. Like, we'll just get whatever to go. We'll get easy food. Yeah.

To save money to pay for flights. Like I would find ways to like find you about it. Even for the holidays, we looked and I was like, I'm not paying $1,300 for flights. It was the cheapest to get to. Yeah, that's hard. During the holidays, they up the prices. And I was like, forget it.

They can come see us if they want. Yeah. So, George, I think the point of all of this, though, is you've got to have boundaries in life. We can't all just get what we want all the time. You have to prioritize and know what is worth your time because your time is, in essence, you want to be able to have,

I mean, to me, the life, quality of saying, gosh, I have the spare time, it gets worth it in a certain season, right? Yes. So that's why I think getting out of debt, getting yourself some margin, all of that, to be able to do some of the conveniences, like we talked about this episode. Because you're not mad at the convenience. Because you're buying back your time, yeah. And I think that there's a point in that that is great. And that's where the whole, like, does money make you happy idea?

I think that it can provide conveniences, right, in this kind of way. That's beautifully said. And I'll add to that. Your priorities will always dictate your boundaries. Oh, beautifully said. Tweet that. No one tweets, but you can into the abyss. All right, well, it's almost the end of the episode, George, and we close on every episode with Guilty as charged.

And this is where our producer, Lindsay's last guilty as charge. So let's like go down memory lane for a hot second. So George and I have this idea of this podcast. This hairbrained idea. This, and this was years ago. This was probably, this was before. No, it was before that because I remember doing a board thing talking about it, me bringing up the idea in 2020 during COVID. I think you may have done that, but I don't think you told George until later.

I didn't know. Yeah. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Wow. Talking about me behind my back. Well, just say 2020, 2021, we had this idea of a podcast or I had this idea. I think you're a part of it.

No, no. Credit to you. But I was like, gosh, it would be a great podcast to like have a cocktail and talk about what people are talking about in the world and relate it to money. like this could be a fun because the Ramsey show, you get some sad, like heavy calls. Like this could be a lighter, more fun that people could introduce their friends to. So if you haven't already, share the show, right?

And like all of it. And true story. I was talking to Dave. And I was like, George and I could have this all this. And he said, would Lindsay be the producer? Lindsay needs to be on the show. And I said, yeah. I didn't know that.

I didn't know that either. Yes. You're just going to drop that on us now. Now I'm getting emotional. And I'm already emotional. From the very beginning, the brainchild of this was us three, was like the triad.

And y'all, I'm so, I am so sad to say. It's so happy that this, though, is Lindsay's last show. For good reason. We're so excited for her. Yes. She's having a baby boy. Not George. You're a baby boy, too, George.

Oh. But really. You've been an amazing producer. You have fought long and hard to just make this show reality and then to make it what it is today. I mean, the re-do I see your eyes glazing? I'm getting a little, I don't know, maybe I, maybe, I think your hormones are contagious. I know.

Uh-huh. I know you're 30 second and a half weeks. I might be like a week. I don't know. Early stages. I know. It's a big deal. It's a lot.

It's a lot. We are going to miss you a lot. And the work that went in on the front of this podcast that Lindsay headed up. So you guys will never know. The restart, the amount of stuff that she had to do to prove this out, it was so much work. And you believed in it. I know. love you so much. And before this,

Y'all, Lindsay and I worked together. How long has it been? Oh, I mean, I've been here almost 10 years. I mean, we've worked together for almost 10 years. The Rachel Cruz show is what it is today because of Lison. And everything, I mean, the whole thing. Lindsay is. 23-year-old me. Yes, with Diana.

Yeah. Remember, yes. And we were like all the way back. 23 and me before it was a thing. Look at that. Oh, my gosh. But we are, we are thinking of you, praying for you and baby boy that everything goes so spursly.

We are so excited. And we'll be sure to, can we update the listeners? and viewers when the time is right. Picture and stuff. Good for it. Because here's the thing. The YouTube comments are already flying. What?

You know what I mean? So they're going to miss you. They're going to miss you. Yes. You have big shoes to fill, but we have some shoes that are going to be filled. And they're going to be fun. And they're very excited about.

The shoes getting bigger, I feel like. It's a big shoe. Fun. Let me say. The shoes that are getting filled. They're Texas-sized shoes. Can I say that? That is true.

Yes. We got a legendary. producer to step in. We do. That works with crazier shows than us. So we feel very confident. But we love you, Lins. We love you.

We do. We'll miss you. Oh my gosh. Leave a comment and let us know how much you love producer Linsie. Give a hand's heart emoji. We need a Sarah Borellis montage, like arms of an angel with all of your best, all of your best moments. Actually, you guys can sing.

Rachel, that is a great idea. No, no, no. Not on the spot. Oh, no, I'm not doing that. No chance. She's an amazing singer. Lindsay's an amazing singer. No chance.

But part of it has to be when the clip with Rachel talking about Miley and she was trying to reenact Miley. The journey is the worst. Miley is the dog will be burned into my brain forever. Not for good reason. So please go watch that episode if you can. I think it was the one that came out the first week of this year. I lost my mind. All right, we're back.

Have you ever impulsively bought something you didn't budget for? And what was it? Yeah, I mean, I've got some. I'm not scared. Okay, I'm not ashamed. Mine's from my children, so I feel good about it. Okay. What a great mom.

Basketball. Our middle child is going to do basketball. We've never done basketball as a family, and it came up literally in like a group chat. And I asked her, would you want to play basketball this winter with all your friends that are doing soccer? like yes and I said sure but it was $215 to sign up that was not in the budget so rearranged some of the stuff

added a line item put it in the budget but it was not originally for it so it didn't derail anything but it was just like alright we got to figure this out yeah little things here there little tweaks if you will yeah does that count yeah I would say

so mine was a lot pricier but I don't I don't regret it but it was definitely like a non-George splurge. Who was it? So Whitney's grandpa passed a while back. Not super recently. But then grandma, going through all the stuff, said,

hey, he's got this old Rolex watch. Would you want it? And I was like, absolutely. Are you a Rolex king? Here's the thing. So they said, here's the idea. You can't sell it, but if you're going to wear it and you're going to enjoy it, we want to give it to you for free. And I was like, oh my gosh, what an honor.

So it needed some fixing up. So I take it to the jeweler, to the like, whatever, they sent it off to Rolex for an estimate, and it was over $1,000 to get the watch repaired. Oh, wow. Which, you know, hurts my soul. Sure. How much was it worth?

I've had a Series 3 Apple watch that I bought. How much was the Rolex worth, do you know? I don't, I'm guessing, I think from what I can tell, I need to get it appraise, but I think it's probably a $5,000, $6,000 watch. So in my mind, they went, okay, would I pay $1,000 to get a new to me Rolex watch? Absolutely. But that wasn't in the budget. This was sprung on me, but I needed to get the repair done in order.

to use it. So we have been saving for a new house, and so we used some of the new house savings and went, all right, I'm going to make that up in the long run over the next year, and I will get this repair done for the heirloom jewelry and, you know. Do you like it? Is it cool? I'm picking it. They just text me today and said the watch is ready, come pick it up. But when you saw it though, is it like the size you like? Oh, it's beautiful, yes. And he was a smaller fellow like me, and so I think it's going to be, I get to carry the legacy of my wife's grandpa, which is cool. So I'm excited. But again, when people see me, they're going to be like, oh, okay, Mr. Rolex.

I'm like, no, no, no, no. Like, trust me, I'm not this guy, but it's a beautiful watch. All day. So I'll wear it with no shame. I love that, George. So can't wait. You'll see it on a future episode of Smart Money Happy. Maybe you can come to Caroline's game wearing the Rolex and we can say no budgets.

You know me, Rachel. I am the last guy to do, like, I'm not trying to flex. I'm kidding. You know what I mean? I know. But do I want to show up to a little league soccer game wearing Rolex for fun? Sir. Me and Winston broing down,

talking about the big game, coaching them up, yelling things at them, absolutely. All day, every day. So that is my, yeah, was not in the budget,

was impulsive, we made it work. I think it was worth it. I love it. That was a good one. So good. All right, who finished their drink first,

George? I think it was you. I know, it was you. It is a very sticky drink, but I do, caramel is my favorite acutumache. Topping, okay.

It's Winston's. Like, if it was ice cream, forget the hot fudge. I'm sick of hot fudge within three bites. Yeah, that's what Winston says. Caramel says, too. I think this is a guy I think because my husband is the same way.

It's so weird. And I don't like caramel. I like a milky way, uh-uh. Love a Snickers, but the caramel part of like... What about a payday? A twix. Nope. Give me a Snickers.

I'd be twicks by your hot take on that. But I like hot fudge. I would do hot fudge. Grouse, basic. Wow, unbelievable. What would you rate the drink, first of all? Oh, I'm going nine out of ten. It's a little sweet.

Okay. That's why it's not a 10 out of 10 out of 10. Like the sweetness level is just like a tad much. But it's so good. I think as the ice watered it down, it tempered the sweetness. I'm going to go 10 out of 10. The only way I could improve on this moktail and call me bougie, if you add a little bit of a crisp apple flavor.

Oh, okay. It's a little bit of the bubbles in there. Yeah, you get a little bubble. That would have really taken this up one notch. Okay. But still a 10 out of 10 moktail for me. It tastes like an apple pie. I like it's great.

It is great. Very good. So the cost breakdown, $1.38 cents per glass. Not bad for a 10 out of 10 mocktail. And here's the ingredients. Apple cider, caramel syrup, not caramel, caramel, caramel syrup. Don't know if you can find that in the store. Cinnamon, apples.

You got the fresh apple slice in there. Rosemary, again, fresh rosemary, game changer. And brown sugar. So it's a brown sugar caramel rim. That really adds to it. I would personally add sparkling water if you want to take it to an 11. I think that would have just really been the apple on top instead of the cherry in this case. Wow. There you go.

So get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend. Your kids can enjoy this one too. And fallelujah to all of us. Fallelujah. Hallelujah. Well, it is at closing time. So if you guys enjoyed this episode,

make sure to leave a review, subscribe, be part of the community. Share it with your friends and your family. And if you've not checked out, the episode was Sharon Ramsey, which was our most popular, one of our most popular episodes. One of my favorites of all times.

Make sure to do that next. And we'll see you next Thursday on an all new episode of Smart Money. Happy Hour.