Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - “Spare” Change: Prince Harry’s 8-Figure Book Deal (and Our Takeaways)

Episode Date: February 2, 2023

Rachel and George are here to unpack Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare. Find out if Meghan is really to blame for all the drama, whether or not Harry is a fan of The Crown, and what multimillion-dollar celebrity book deals have to do with you.   In This Episode:                                                        ·      Spare or Snare—Rachel quizzes George on Prince Harry trivia ·      The magic dollar amount Rachel and George would charge to spill their tea ·      How to avoid major regret when making money decisions involving family   Helpful Resources:    ·      Get your finances organized, make a plan, build up your confidence, and kick money stress out of your life for good with the EveryDollar budgeting app. Click here to get started today! ·      Be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card when you take our listener survey: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7014625/cf367876c335 ·      Do you have a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George? Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it.     ·      Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices   ·      Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy     This Week’s Happy Hour Special:  Paloma Hermosa   1 egg white 1 1/2 ounces white tequila 1/2 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur 1/2 ounce grapefruit juice 1/2 ounce agave nectar 1 lime wedge   In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the egg white. Give it a good shake until the egg white turns into froth, then add in tequila, St-Germain elderflower liqueur, grapefruit juice and agave nectar. Pour the cocktail into chilled glass with ice, garnish with fresh lime, and enjoy! 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. Oh, nice little clink. Delicate clink there. Yes. Well, hey, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts share their thoughts on money and pop culture all with a drink in hand.

That's right. And today, I'm so excited, George. We are talking about Prince Harry's new memoir, spare, and the cost of airing dirty laundry and celebrity book deals. Ooh, yeah, we're going to share some hot takes about Megas, hairy, and some massive paychecks they've received with their newfound stardom. But let's first start with a drink, Rachel. Every episode, we try a new drink.

And today we have the Paloma Hermosa. I know, which is so fancy. Very culture. Vancy, schmancy, and it's delicious. We're going to give you the drink rating, the recipe, and the cost breakdown for making one yourself. So stick around until the end. That's right. Okay.

George, I can't wait to dive in to this book, Spare. Can we first say that this is very controversial? the fact that we're even talking about this? You have no idea. I read this last week because it came out, and I was like, oh, I got to read it because I've been watching documentary. I even read a book called Revenge

that was against Harry and Megan from a BBC report. Oh, yeah, I've been in the loop. You're deep in this thing. So when this came out, I was like, oh, gosh, I have to read this. And so I posted it on Instagram stories. Thinking like, let's just have fun.

I'm reading this. And the amount of hate that I've got, George, for even contributors. some of my financial well-being to him, people were not happy. So this is very controversial. I would have said it would have been, but it feels even more after my post yesterday. You're risking it for the biscuit, just talking about this. Oh, my goodness. Okay. Okay, so before we dive in to the book, George, how much do you know about Harry and Megan? I know almost nothing. I'm going to be honest. I saw one Oprah interview with Megan. Yeah.

And I've read a few tweets and saw a few posts. That's it. I barely know the story of what happened. Okay. So you're like, you're coming in. In my mind, Megan walked into Harry's life. All of a sudden, they leave England and they're in America, starting a new life as normal poor rich people. Normal.

Like they left billions for millions. That's kind of like how I see. It's one of those things. And they're so brave. Leave the crown. And they're so brave. Now, I mean, no one's done it before. So in that regard, I'm like, that's a pretty bold move.

So just to kind of back up. Give me the real story. Gets you up to speed. Okay, so they met the summer of 2016, and they used these nicknames H&M in the documentary on Netflix. Do they know that there's a store called H&M? It's very obnoxious. But she calls him, she calls him H and he calls her M, and it's, it is terrible. This kind of bothers me, like, when people say, like, hubby.

I don't know why. Like, hubby to someone that you're. you're not married to, referring to your husband, it bothers me. Do you know the one I don't like either? What? My bride. Oh, yeah. It gives me the ick.

I don't like that one either. I will say. So anyways, back to H&M. Not to be confused with the clothing store, the people. Much wealthy. So they, anyways, they meet. It's a pretty quick romance. They go five days to Botswana in Africa, and they go camping, actually, like, super low great.

And he even said in the book that, like, she didn't even bring, like, you know, perfume and makeup and, like, all this stuff. She came to, like, camp, and he loved that about her. Is this like a missions trip? Or is it a luxurious? Very low-maideness. Are they, like, killing lions? Like, what level of?

I wasn't there, so I'm not sure. But I would assume he's a prince. So there's probably a level of luxury. But I don't think they were, like, glamping. Well, it's known for his diamonds. Was he digging for diamonds for her there? I don't know. I'm not sure.

Okay. I don't know. But anyway, so that's where the romance really takes off. They get engaged November of 2017, wedding, May of 8th. all the things. So then Harry and Megan parted ways, quote-unquote, with William and Kate, November of 2018. Okay, what does that mean they parted ways?

Well, I think that they were like trying to be like the fab four and their offices were working together and all of that. But stuff got a little dicey, so they decided to kind of split their, I guess like basically what they're doing for the crown. Like you go and serve, right? Like they have like these organizations and stuff that they support. And so I think they were going to be a team.

and he decided to split. He basically quit his job. He went to a different job. All right. I think is what I would say there. I mean, it's pretty bold to say they have jobs. Like, I know they have duties, but calling it a job. You're more like a figurehead for a, you know.

You are, but you're working. I mean, you would consider that working, right? Maybe. I don't know. Oh, no. Okay. I mean, real people are working, Rachel, so I don't want to, you know, dig on real Americans who are out there. Oh, well, for sure.

Yes. You're sweating tears to earn a paycheck. I know, I know. But, I mean, like, they have to get up and be somewhere at a certain time. Sure. There's a schedule. They have to, yeah, abide. There's comp.

There's circumstance. There's all kinds of things. People aren't telling them where to go and where to be. Okay, anyways, beginning of 2020, that's when they stepped down from their royal duties officially. So that leads us to this year. January 10th. Of 2023, the book, Spare, which is a nod to him being the spare and not the air. I had to explain this to me.

So explain it to the listeners. What the heck does that mean? Well, he's the second in line for the crown when it was William, his older brother. So William was the heir of the monarchy. And he was the spare. So if something happened to William, he was like the spare tire. Think about the spare tire, George. So something happens to William, he becomes king.

Well, not anymore because Williams had kids. So now he's, yeah. So once William had a boy, it was like, now my chances are ruined forever. Exactly. No, no, no, no, no. He didn't want it. So no, he wasn't saying his chances were ruined forever. He was just saying, great.

He was happy about this. He was, and that's what he claims in the book, but other people would kind of make digs at him and be like, oh, no, now you're fourth in line, huh? And he's like, I really just had a baby. Like, I'm happy for him. Like, you chill out people. Okay. So anyway, so the book spare came out and sold 1.4 million copies on the first day breaking the publisher's record.

That's almost as many as your book sold. When you release Know Yourself and Know Your Money, it was up there. It was up there, too. Wow. I was the spare of that record, George. Oh, my goodness. 1.4 million copies. Yeah.

And it's basically from his childhood up until today. Yes, exactly. So what I would tell people is the first 75% of the book is, if you like royal stuff, it's not very controversial. I mean, he walks through the big moments of their life. I don't think so. Some people claimed it was on my Instagram stories that messaged me and hated me for reading this book. They were like, oh, my gosh. Franklin did it in autobiography.

Are people like, wow, that's gossip? I know. That's how I feel. It's his life. Okay. I'm with you on that. Here's my next question before we get into a fun game. But people kept saying in my stories, he's lying.

What a liar. Lies, lies. Like it was like this like that he's lying. So I want to know, and maybe you can't answer this for me, George. But when people said that, I'm like, okay, do people think, though, like he believes, that he's telling the truth? Or do people think that he's intentionally, truly, twisting the truth, knowing he's twisting the truth?

Oh. Does that make sense? Like, when we will say he's lying, I'm like, but he's saying what happened to his life. But do people really think that what he put in this book, he twisted purposefully? I think there's a narrative that he wants to put out there like any of us would, right?

I watch the Taylor Swift documentary, and there's a narrative she wants you to believe about Taylor Swift. Is that a lie? Maybe not, but there could be some twisting of details to make that person look a little better. That's what I will say. Do you think that he purposely twists details or do you think the way he viewed those details was in one way? I think it's closer to the latter. Okay.

That makes me feel better. Yeah. I felt naive for a little bit. I was like, would people really publish a book and purposely lie? Yes. I don't think this is what that is. Okay. Either way, this guy's getting a fat-pay date.

I'm glad that we're at least on the same page of that. Yeah, I don't think like he's a terrible person. I'm not in this boat of just like he's a terrible pathological liar. there's plenty of politicians we can have fun with for that. That we can point. But he's a guy. He's still a human, while we may have thoughts about him being part of the royal family. Yes.

And he just wanted out. He can have a hard childhood too. Yes. And he did. And everyone's like, he's so entitled. But I'm like, just because you have money doesn't mean that there's not problems and wounds and anxiety and depression and all the things, right? That's true. Money doesn't fix everything, doesn't George?

No. As if I have so much money that, like, I have no problems. I love that you think that. Tell him, George, all that money you have. You tell them. Okay, so I want to play a fun little game called Spare or Snare. So I'm going to read a statement and you have to decide, is it a quote from or about Harry's book, the new book,

or if it's what we're calling a snare, then it's just completely made up. Oh, okay. You ready? Yeah, I'm a little nervous. Never complain, never explain is the royal family's motto. I'm going false on that. That feels like a weird family motto for a royal family. That is it.

That's what he claims in spare? Yeah. The motto of the family is what does never explain mean? That you never go out and explain yourself. So he's explaining himself right now, which is a big no-no. So if there's bad press out there for you, don't explain yourself. You just keep on trekking. It feels like a real good way to suppress all of your emotions and end up in therapy.

Which is exactly his life. Never complain. Okay. Are you feeling? I'm already. I'm 0 for 6 right now. Are you feeling? Okay.

I got to catch up. Harry shops at the British version of T.J. Max and enjoys their sales. There's a British version of T.J. Max? If there is, he for sure goes there. Correct. Yes, ding, ding, ding. It's true. Love it. Harry has not watched the Crown. I believe that. I feel like he's got better things to do.

Snare. He watched it. What? So he claims, I know. King Charles... I guess he's not too busy working, Rachel. He has time to watch Netflix. He's got time. King Charles used to leave at notes on Harry's pillow to say that he was proud of him.

That feels like it should be true, but I also feel like that never happened. It did. Really? Yeah. And he still had that many issues. Well, his dad didn't say to him verbally, which probably brings up issues. Oh, come on now. It's a note on the pillow.

That's the way he communicated. What if Whitney just would leave you notes saying, I love you, but she never told you that in person? If she left a note on my pillow, like every night that says, I love you and I'm proud of you, that's good enough for me. That takes a lot of thought and intentionality. Have you ever done that for Winston? See how it would make you feel. No, but I say it in person. He would feel like a king if you said you were proud of him.

I say it with words. It means more written down sometimes. Oh, my gosh. On the pillow where you lay your head at night. Harry made this friend's reference in his book. She was Rachel. I was Ross. I can picture him saying that in a British accent.

She was Rachel. I was Ross. Right? Did he say that? No, it was actually. My man watched the crown, but not friends? She was Monica, I was Chandler. Okay.

He's way more of a Ross than a Chandler, and I think we can all agree on that. I know, but he went to Courtney Cox's house for a party in L.A. Yep. And he was like, and he used to watch friends all the time to make him feel better. So he would laugh and not think about all the sad emotions going on in his life. And, yeah, so he loved friends. So when it to Courtney Cox's house, he was like, should I tell her that, like, I felt like Chandler. He felt like Chandler, like his personality.

That's generous. We all think we're Joey and Chandler, but really we're a Ross. You know what I mean? But he's pretty funny. He's snarky. Why didn't he come out with a comedy book that if he's so funny? Instead of an emotional tell-all. Anyways, you got me on that one.

Harry was told at an early age that he'd be expected to provide a spare kidney or extra bone marrow for William if the primary error ever needed an extra. Yeah, that is suspiciously specific. So I'm going to go with the yes. Mm-hmm. It's true. Yep. Yep, that is true.

I would do that for a brother, though. You live. Bone marrow, a kidney. You'll live. I would get my kidney away. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

Good people. All right. I got like maybe half of those. I didn't do great. No, it's fine. You know what? Some of those were tricky. Wow.

But, okay, do you feel like you know Harry a little bit better? Sure. He's becoming more likable. he shops at T.J. Max and he watches friends. He's just like us. Just like us. He's just like us. Okay, so Harry spilled a lot of tea in this book, and how much was the advance, George? This actually shocked me. Harry got a $20 million book advance for his story, and that dollar amount is nothing compared to Prince William's inheritance, which is close to a billion dollars, which, you know, a thousand millions is a billion. And he got 20. So chump changed compared to his brother, life-changing if you're a normal person. If you're a normal person just hanging out in L.A.

Yeah, I know. So, again, this was in advance, which just means, like, for the book world, they will advance you a paycheck in advance based on the fact that they know they're going to sell, you know, a certain number of copies up to that dollar amount. And then after that, you get royalties. Not a bad deal. Not a bad deal. But the average book advance for a first-time author is $1,000 to $10,000.

That sounds more accurate. So if you're out there going, man, I got to sell my story. Get my story out there. Yeah. And that's actually, if you can even get in advance, if you can get published, that's hard enough as it is. Yeah. And the average book advance for more experienced authors, if you have a semi-successful track record, is 50 grand. That's right.

Now we're talking. Yep. But Harry again, blew it out of the water, George, with 20 mil. Okay, so was it worth it? What do you think? If someone paid you $20 million to hear all the juicy gossip from the camel? Oh my gosh. Would you really exploit, like, your family, though?

Because, I mean, he, I mean, listen, I am, I'm not mad at Harry and Megan. But he did, I mean, he talked about text conversations between Kate and Megan. I mean, he, stuff that, like, he would be upset about if you were in there. Oh, my gosh, yeah. Like, he's losing friends. He's losing, he lost his family. So there's a book How to Win Friends and Influence People. This is how to lose friends and hurt everyone you love.

That's it. That's really the book he wrote. So is there a price to that, George? Is there a price to that, George? Is there a price to pay? I mean, I guess if I didn't care about my family and they'd already cut me off, which is kind of like what's happened. I know.

Right? So at that point, you're like, I'll take $20 million, Bob, you know? So, yeah, that's the price. I'm taking it. I mean, I would give away my story for a measly $10,000 probably. 10 grand. Yeah, if you want to hear some childhood stories about, you know, my first talent show or like, you know, watching MTV at grandmas that my parents knowing,

happy to share all the juicy details. All the things there for 10 grand. More juicy story. People want to know what it's like to grow up Ramsey. So you could sell yours for probably an easy million. I don't know about that. If I said, if I promised to throw everyone under the bus. Yeah.

Oh, yeah. Denise, under the bus. Daniel, under the bus. For sure. They're going down. Yeah. Sharon, she's not going down without a fight. Good luck.

She would find out of swindle that money out of my account. You're going to have to free the country and change your name if you come after Sharon Ramsey. But a potential title, I'm just workshop in this. the straw that really broke the camel's back. Oh, for yours, that's a tell-all memoir. That's good, George. Yeah. That's funny.

And for you, maybe like, Raising Ramsey. Raising Ramsey. The untold truth. The untold story. That would be good. Sadly, there's not a lot of juicy details to my story. Now, I thought $20 million was a lot until I found out that it was not a record. Yeah, so the celebrity book publishing world is fascinating.

So Barack and Michelle Obama earned $65 million. for their book. $65 million, three times, O'Herry. That's impressive. Brittany Spears, who I think of right after the Obamas, she got $15 million for her upcoming tell-all. That's not bad. No, not bad at all.

For someone who's been out of the spotlight and had a tough go at it, to walk out of this with $15 million, doesn't hurt. That's not bad. Bruce Springsteen, $10 million back in 2016. Wow. So that's a little bit less these days. Well, inflation.

Bruce Springsteen, really? 10 million. That's kind of shocking. Yeah, it feels high. I've never been like, you know who I really want to know? Bruce Springsteen. Anyways. I don't even know music that well.

I don't know what he sings. You love a celebrity memoir. So you are the target audience for this. I've never purchased one. My wife bought the Jessica Simpson one, which I think you read. Oh, it is so good. And she loved it. She was freaking out about it.

It's so good. Yeah, I'd say my two favorite. Oh, it is open book. It is so good. And Green Lights, Matthew McConaughey. That was a great one. That was a great one. That one is the only one I actually want to read, I think.

It's great. And people did the audiobook, which is very smart. I take it back. I read Trevor Noah. He has one called Born a Crime. That's fantastic. Our mixologist Michael recommended it. Yeah, how was it?

Amazing. So good. And I like a funny memoir. So if it's funny, like, I know. Tina Faye had a great one out too. Yes. Bossy pants. Is that what it was called?

Bossy Pants. Julia Child, My Life in France. Andre Agassie had one called Open. So those are some of the best selling of all time. Davis finding me. Oh, yeah. Man, there's some other good ones. I know.

We've got to get reading, George. But they make a lot of money off these books. It is pretty shocking. Okay, so what do we have to learn from this? Oh, boy. So there's a lot of, you know, juicy headlines. Well, not like the most relatable story. Like, most of us aren't walking around trying to get multi-million dollar book deals.

But there are some practical takeaways. For one, when you're facing a career move or an opportunity with a major financial implication, like Harry to a spare, look at your motivation. ask yourself these two questions. What is my motivation behind this job change, this move, this big purchase? And that helps you just go, like, do I need to pause? Do I need to wait? Am I doing this with wisdom?

You know what? I just thought of this. Because what if his motivation was just, and I'm not saying it was, because I don't know him. I never want to put, you know, my thoughts into Harry. But there is something of like, I'm going to get revenge against them or something. You know what I mean? Like, if there's any, like, if there's any, like, your bitter, your vengeance. Vengeance? Yeah, anything in that category

that's probably not going to fulfill you. Resentment? That was the word I was looking for. Resentment. Well, I mean, this is a good way to do it. If you're going to make $20 million and have millions of people read it. But it's not going to fulfill. Like if that was his motivation or you out there, you know, if you're like, oh, I'm going to go show my family and move out of town just to show them. Like, right, like this idea that I'm going to get back at someone.

Well, it may be cathartic. Because who knows how many secrets this guy had to hold for how many years. So it probably felt good to just like, I put it out there. Yeah, but I'm saying if your main motivation is to like in spite of someone. That is a poison. Again, even for you, it's like, oh, I'm going to take this job. I'm going to hate the job. I'm going to show all those people in high school that told me I couldn't, you know,

or whatever the thing is. Still not a great motivation. If you do, yeah. So watch the motivation if you're doing, you know, if you have big decisions in front of you, make sure that it's somewhat pure. And the other question to ask is, will this benefit me in five years? is this going to be a long-term fix or is this a quick fix to a short-term problem? So that's a good, just kind of looking down the road going, you know, George, five years from now,

is he going to regret making that decision? Yes, yes. So talk to people about that, too. That's where I think having great friends that have the same value system as you, bring them in. Like, if you are going to make a big decision, like you said, it's going to just, are you just fixing a short-term problem or is it long-term? And praying about it, which, you know, people will just pray about it. But really, that can seriously.

help. I don't know if Harry's afraid about this. Is he a praying man? No, he's not a praying man. He even said that in the book. I'm not a praying man. Oh, verbatim. Yeah. Yeah. He did actually. You can't get more clear than that, Harry. Let's establish that money and family almost never mesh well. And money is entangled in this whole Harry situation. And we get a lot of calls, Rachel, as we host the Ramsey show, where money and family collide and clash in a bad way. And he usually comes down to a hard conversation about boundaries. Yes, for sure. I know. And it's so hard. because, again, I think sometimes it's very well-meaning, right? Like a family member lets you borrow money.

And then we took a call like this and, you know, and they couldn't pay it back or they couldn't pay the rents. They were living in their uncle's condo and the uncle got mad and stopped speaking to them because they don't, I don't think they communicated very clearly to him. So, yeah, it's just, I mean, again, a lot of the stuff that ends up being attention point is usually around debt. You know, you co-sign for your cousin or something, right? and they can't pay the car payment and you're stuck with the bill.

You know, we hear a lot of those calls, and it's usually around debt. And so, again, where the motivation might be like, oh, I'm helping, you end up hurting the relationship. So, again, that can be for everyday folks like us or a royal like Harry when he goes in and says, hey, I'm going to do a tell-all and not spare any details to the family and make some money. Well, and he walked away from a whole lot of money. Yes, he left. It's pretty big time. though, right?

That's why I was like, I respect that. This guy is willing to give up the riches of the world to have riches of America instead. I know. I mean, he did make, does it make you mad that he made that much money off this book, though?

Because some people are like, some people are like, oh my gosh, he wanted out of the spotlight and now they're doing a documentary. That part is funny to me. When you're like, I just can't be in the spotlight anymore, I'm gonna write to tell all with my face

as big as I can get on the cover and sell it for $20 million dollars because I don't want the spotlight. I know. And then the Netflix deal, I mean, if you're trying to stay at a spot right. A hundred million. All of a sudden. All of a sudden.

I think we get into. This is crazy. Yeah, but then it's like, okay, but do you want to tell it? But is it so important, though, that you would bear that to tell your side of the story? What is his end game? That's my question. To set the record. To set the record straight.

No, I don't think he's, he would say he's not trying to take down the family. He's trying to set the record straight because the family, Camilla and Charles's office, William and Kate's office, he claims. put out stories, allowed stories about Megan to come out, and they didn't go and defend her. They just let it happen. But in their defense, they let stories about Kate and Camilla happen too, right? Never complain, never explained, never explained.

No one's innocent here. I know. But hers, like, you know, there was some bad ones out there about her. So as a husband, you know, if things were said about Whitney, yeah, he's like, no. And then the paparazzi are everywhere. Paparazzi were the main factor, one of the main factors of Princess Dye. death in that tunnel in France. So it's like all of that combined. So I think for him, it was to set the record straight and to say here's my side of the story because there's so many lies out there.

And also you've got to be prepared for the consequences of any actions that you take. And this one, you know, I had a lot of zeros on it, had a lot of implications. And you have to think about who this decision might affect. I know. Do you think he'll regret this in like 10 years? Well, he looked back and like, man. No, I think he'll stand by it with confidence. You do. Later down the line. you imagine, like, writing a tell-all book like that about all your family and, like, dishing out all the stuff, I would think, like, maybe 10 years later, you look back and I think, mm, that probably wasn't like the classiest move.

I mean, I probably would have tried to, like, save some relationships, but it sounds like it could be over. Mm-hmm. I don't know that they're going to be fixed at this point. I don't think so either. Ooh. Gosh, that's a lot, George. It's a lot of tea you just spilled, Rachel.

I know, but goodness. Gosh, this, it can help us, though. It helps us learn some big stuff. The real question is, was it worth 400 pages of reading? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Wow. Yes.

If you have any interest in the royals, as I'm saying, is the first 75% majority of the book is just his upbringing. I don't think I could hold anyone's attention for 400 pages about my life. Yeah, because you're not like in Balmoral Castle in Buckingham Palace, George. Thanks for the reminder, Rachel. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Your royalty and so many other hearts, George. So many hearts. All right.

I think it's time for our last segment. Guilty as charged. This is where a producer gives us a new guilty as charged question. And if we've done it, we've got to take a drink and explain ourselves. And can we just give Lindsay a little bit of credit here? She got her wisdom teeth out, George. Oh, bless it. So she is here.

How are you doing? Can you talk? Yes, I can talk. Do they give you ice cream? What's the current state of wisdom teeth? What? Surgery. It's like, what do you get at the end of it?

What is that I mean? I don't know. What do they give you for wisdom teeth? Because tonsils, you get ice cream. What do you get when you get? Oh, I get ice cream now, too, but they're not buying me ice cream. I have to buy the ice cream. For how much you pay for wisdom, teeth, the removal, they should really give you ice cream.

I agree. A gift card. Well, maybe we should write them. You sound great. I can't tell. Thank you. I think I've been talking some more today and my jaws actually opening up more. So, cheers.

You're a trooper for being here. Okay, I'm interested to know if you even have something for this, but I liked this question. I may not have a story. Have you ever dressed down to conduct a financial transaction? So, for example, like buying a used car, negotiating. with a mechanic, that sort of thing. So have you ever, like, dressed differently in order to get the deal? That's pretty much what the question is.

Oh, my gosh. I think I've probably done both, where I dress it up. Okay. Yeah. With what scenario? Like, why? I feel like a home showing, I dress it up. That's fun.

You know, if I'm going to see a house. Sam's serious. Yeah. I probably wore it, like, a p-coat or something to go, like, wow, this guy is serious about home buying. Okay. He's not here to play games. but for the car purchase, I dress down.

Do you purposefully all that? Okay, can I tell you this? Yeah. We, when we went to go buy, we had to get a new car when we had the third cab. We ended up with a minivan. But before I was like, I want to go test drive some SUVs and just see if, like, we want an SUV instead. So we pull up in a 2010 Tacoma. That's what Winston, you know, had.

It was great. And to like a, into, I would say a luxury car dealership. We were looking kind of at the used area, right? but it was a nice dealership. And we are going out. And I probably looked home. I mean, like, I don't dress up in life. Like, I'm like, I don't even know what I had on.

Didn't even think about it. And the manager came out, or I should say manager, the sales guy walking around. He's like, oh, yeah, I'll be back. I'll be back. Nobody came to help us. And I walked in and they were like, yeah, we're pretty slammed. And I felt like pretty woman where I was like, I have X amount in a money market account that I can write

freaking check for this car right now, and you just lost my money. And I will, I don't think I can ever buy that type of car. I don't think I'll ever buy it. It made me so mad. They judged us. They went a thousand percent judged us. So if you walked in in a nice, fancy outfit, great posture. And a nice, in like a brand new car, all the things. Oh, yeah, they would be all over us, I bet, to be like, let me help you. But they would not, they would not see us. And I thought, Wow. Weird. It made me so angry. You feel that? I was just, who it was three years ago, and I was still angry

about it. I mean, perception matters? Julie Roberts felt? I mean, I really was like, Julia, I feel you. If I need to be taken seriously, I'm going to dress it up. If I don't want them to think they're going to get in my wallet, I dress it down. Okay, so you're purposeful about it, though. Oh, yeah.

I don't think I think I think about it. Maybe I should. Most transactions, I don't care. I went to Trader Joe's last night and sweats, you know? I don't think that one counts. That one counts. Negotiating your, I'm not trying to impress the Trader Joe's people going, wow. He's a sharp dresser.

Let's take this guy seriously. Trader Joe's. his eggs a little more, you know, safely. Definitely. I don't care in those scenarios. But yes, I do think it matters. And it's sad that it does. Sure.

Oh, my gosh. So if you want to hide money, dress it down. Yeah. It's a great question, though. Hey. Very creative. I love getting them on Instagram. So if you have a fun, guilty-est-charged question, you want us to answer.

DM us on Instagram. I'm at George Camel with a K. She's at Rachel Cruz, C-R-U-Z-E. And we might use it on a show. And people have been doing this, George. It's been so fun. I get a few a week. I know.

You probably get hundreds a week. And it's so, but it really is. In between hate for Prince Harry, you're getting some guilty-starch questions. People are not happy that I spent my money on him. They were like, he's a liar. I think he's just telling a story, right? You know what? I think they just hate gingers.

I think that's what it really is. He still has his beard. Do you know that William was required to shave his facial hair before his wedding? Oh. And Harry wasn't, but William was pissed at Harry for having facial hair on his wedding. I think he rocks the face. facial hair. Oh, yeah, I think it looks great. I know, but it was a, it was a point of tension between the brothers. That's a little sneak peek for you, too, in the book. Juicy stuff. You know, I'm going to

just read the spark notes. I don't know that I have the emotional bandwidth for 400 pages of royalty. You know what? You can get the audible, and it's him reading it. So you hear his British, I heard some snippets. It's British accent. I heard some snippets that are funny. There's some juicy stuff in there. About his frostbite. Yes. You can go Google that at your own will. That's a risk you're willing to take. All right, George. What do you write this drink? I'm going to give this a 10 out of 10. I was going to say the same thing. This is one of those cocktails you would pay $20 for at a fancy Nashville bar.

Because it is really fancy. There's a lot of ingredients. Bartender Michael Reddish did a great job on this one. Yes. It's got tequila, St. Germain, Elder Flower liqueur, lime juice, grapefruit juice, agave nectar, egg white, and a lime slice, and it still came in at three bucks a glass. Yeah, that's pretty good. That's impressive.

Yes. Can I give you a fun fact? Yes. The Paloma Hermosa means beautiful dove in Spanish. Oh. Thank you for that fun fact. And the other thing is a lot of people, they got beef with the eggwhite being in there. But I love egg white in a cocktail.

Why do people get mad at an egg white? Because it's like raw? They think it's gross to have raw egg white. But here's the deal. Egg whites, this is from Sergio Lianza, owner and bartender at Funky Dory in London, said egg whites add a velvety texture and volume to a cocktail. They soften the edge of sour drinks and make them feel lighter. and they also make drinks look great.

Okay, so if you want to make this at home, check out the recipe and the show notes and let us know on social if you've tried it out. You're going to love it. I guarantee it. It's so good. And feel free to suggest your favorite cocktail or mottale for future episodes.

Just DM us again at George Camel at Rachel Cruz, and we're dying to know what you think about this episode. I want to know, have you read this book? Are you like me? Okay, are you team – can we just say it right now? Yeah. Team Kate or Team Megan? Oh, I didn't know those were the teams.

Okay. Those are the teams. I feel like I'm Team Kate. I don't really have a reason for it. I just think she's more likable. I have trust issues with Megan still, and you know that. You know that. The Oprah interview was just very calculated.

That's all I'm going to say. That's fair. I think she can, yeah. She's a great actress and politician. I can see a level of that, but I think my scales tip over on the Team Harry, Team Megan's side. All right. I'm proud of them for leaving. Wow.

I am. Well, Harry, Megan, If you're listening, Rachel Cruz is proud of you, and you can sleep better on your pillow at night. Thanks to that. So share this episode with a friend. Click the subscribe or follow button. New episodes every Thursday. If you're feeling extra generous, leave us a kind review.

All right. We'll see you guys next Thursday for Smart Money Happy Hour.