Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Subtle Habits That Reveal a Quiet Millionaire

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

📈 Plan and save for the future with Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Investing.   Good manners, simple style, old-school investing—today we’re unpacking subtle “quiet millionaire” habits and teaching you how to build wealth the right way.   Next Steps: 🎙️ Catch our episode Things That Scream “I’m Pretending to Be Upper Class”. 🍸 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. 💻 Figure out your next financial move with Ramsey’s Get Started Assessment.   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: 🍹 Apple Ginger Fizz Mocktail Recipe from The Mindful Mocktail 3 ounces still apple cider 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice 6 mint leaves 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar Pinch powdered cinnamon  3 ounces ginger ale Instructions: Place apple cider, lime juice, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar and a few ice cubes into a cocktail shaker. Clap the mint together in your hands to release the scent, and add to the shaker. Shake for about 20–30 seconds until ingredients are combined. Pour into an ice-filled glass and top with ginger ale. Stir gently, garnish with mint, and serve.   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

Does Flashy always equal wealthy? Today, we're going to tell you how to spot a quiet millionaire. My next purchase for a midlife crisis, I have two. I don't know who invented Roman Shades, but they think very highly of themselves. I'm going to just throw this in there, and then we're going to end the episode. The loudest, obnoxious money play right now on Instagram. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel.

And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Let's fall in glass. That's really nice. Or actually, is it summer? What season are we in? I don't know, but it's delicious. I'll never tell. Well, this is the show.

We're two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. Everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And gather the children round because we have a mocktail today that we're sipping on. This is the Apple, Ginger, Fizz, mocktail. And we're going to give you the rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode.

But let me just say, I got the purple straw. Rachel got a green straw. I don't know if that was intentional, but let me tell you, I'm very secure. It doesn't matter You feel great about the color strong You know, it can go both ways George

I just don't look good in a purple It's not a color I would choose for me Yeah I would say that You did your colors though didn't you I didn't do my color Someone projected what season I am Or whatever it's called

Yeah the color wheel Or the analysis There's a color analysis I think it's like an MLM now You can go like a party But I'm good But yeah, purple was not part of yours.

Not my color. Okay. Well, George, the Internet loves to come up with new phrases when it comes to wealth. Yes. We've heard of subtle wealth. Yes. But now we have old money aesthetic. That's a whole genre.

Uh-huh. Stealth wealth? Yes. I like that one because it rhymes. You got quiet luxury. That's a good one. Okay, the old money aesthetic, is that what you're saying? Yeah.

Okay. This is a trend. You know this. Via Instagram, my algorithm is showing me. The interior design, like style now is going back to, I don't know what decade. I don't want to say 80s, but like kind of late 80s, early 90s, kind of that farmhouse, like, they're doing colors and patterns where it used to be like just white and red and gray. We're getting away from the sort of minimalist sad.

Yes, they are coming back around to like warm paintings and like patterns on furniture and all of it. Oh. It's kind of, it's giving class. see 90s vibes again. Wow. It's very interesting. I'm not mad about it. My house doesn't look like that at all. So that becomes in style. I'm screwed. Now you change it all to keep up with the trends. I know. But by the time you do it, it will revert back to minimalist clinical depression beige, everything. I know. It is so true. But the work. Sorry, it's tope. Okay. Call it what you want, guys. But you know, you watch like Home Alone in that era, and it is a cozy. Yes.

Coziness to those kind of houses. Anyway, but that aesthetic is coming back, which is kind of that old money aesthetic in my head. Like it's, I don't know. There's a... Yeah, Ramsey, we call it financial peace. Oh, what a phrase. No, but there is something about

when you do build wealth, though, that you don't feel like you have to flaunt it, you know, with the fancy labels and all the name brand stuff that a lot of wealthy people out there that actually have net worths of millions of dollars. You would never know that they were millionaires, you know? It is that kind of quiet luxury.

We call it secret millionaire. Yes. And I love it. Well, I saw a video. It was an interview with a guy who sells Lamborghinis for a living. Okay. And he was like, the people that come in here are not wealthy people. It's like middle class people who are drowning in payments, drowning in debt,

who are wanting to drive these cars to look like they have wealth. Oh, interesting. Which was very interesting to me. People who actually have wealth are not going to the Lamborghini dealership. Yeah, they're not buying Lamborghinis. They may be buying like a old, you know, like a Lexus or something, right? Probably a nicer car. Or they want a classic vintage car.

Yes, sure. You know, like Dave Ramsey, he's got some cool, like, classic cars, but he's not out there in a Lamborghini. No, no. But I do think, I don't know, the classic cars is kind of old man. That is you think? That is an old man hobby, I will say. A little more old man than quite luxury. Does he have a newer Corvette and a vintage Corvette?

Right don't Rachel's not the person to ask I don't know I think so I think you're right Yeah okay we're getting some we've heard him talk about it that's why I mentioned yeah We're getting some thumbs up and it's cute it's like a little like monopoly car Please don't tell Dave Ramsey his car is cute Like it could be like going around the last thing I can pick up Dave and Sharon just do do too park place Like they're like should be on the board

Hey guys if you ever run into a grown man never call his car cute Okay. Oh, man. Just a little guy there. Well, here's the key. Confidence is quiet. Insecurity is loud. So the louder your truck, the more I know about you.

Okay. The louder the car. Yeah. Quiet millionaires tend to be more practical, less try hard. Yes. And we're great if you spend your money, right? We just want you to spend it intentionally. And there's no shame there because it's great if you have a great, you know, big purchase you want to make.

You're on Baby Step 7. and you do it like that is not wrong. That means you got no debt, no mortgage even. You've paid off everything. You're living and given like no one else. Can you go first and tell us what is one sort of flashy splurge that you have shamelessly saved for and bought in babysat? I would say my Tesla.

Oh, the car itself. Yeah. It's like this is a, it's a flashier car. I think, I mean, I would not call a Tesla. It's not a minivan. I would not say it's flashy. It's not a mini van. But the Model S is a very Batman-esque car.

Yes. It's giving Batmobile. And I went like kind of Kardashian. and I went like white interior. Oh, yeah. So I went a little bushy. For some reason, white interior does say, I'm risking it all. I know.

It does with three kids. It's not smart. Would you call it a midlife crisis? But the magic eraser is great. You can use a magic eraser on your seats? Yes. And that's what they said to do. Who's they?

The Tesla people. Wow. That's what it's called, right? The little sponge. I don't think they're called the Tesla people. But yes, the actual eraser, it's a magic eraser. But yes, on the seats and it gets everything out. I didn't know that.

Yes. Okay. A midlife crisis. No, my next purchase for a midlife crisis, I have two. Oh, I love it. It's just getting in my head. Keep them going. I'm going to go in the car sector when I get done with my minivan.

What does that mean? When the kids have outgrown it? Yes, when I move on, because I was supposed to move on when Charles went to kindergarten. When we bought the minivan, Charles was like five weeks old. You conceded saying this is temporary. And I said, like, let's get it. We'll get it for five years. It's my five-year car, and we're here five years later.

And I can't get rid of it. It's too practical. It's too practical, George. It has, like, no miles on it because we just like... Yeah, too around town. You're not doing road trips. No, so I just, like, I don't know. It's just...

Yeah, I can't get rid of it. So when I get rid of it, I feel like I'm going to, like, have middle schoolers. And I feel like when moms hit middle school age, that's when stuff starts happening. That's where the next midlife crisis comes in. What are you going to do? Are you ready for this, George? Oh, you're going to get the eyelift thing?

I want to get my eyelids done. I have hooded eyes. Thanks, Dave. Genetics. I've never, is that a thing I can Google? Hooded eyes? Oh, it's a real thing. Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, yes.

There is a thing. All the greats have it. All the greats have it. Okay. But, but yeah, so you just, it's called an upper, upper bluff, bluff, Bluff, upper bluff. I don't know. Anyways, when I get that done, George, you'll know.

That's your next luxury, shameless splurge. Yes, yep. Okay, I went real vulnerable. What are you going to do? I have no vulnerability. Come on, George. Do you want any plastic surgery? It's really all about my kids at this point.

No, no plastic surgery. Did you get Botox ever as a dude? No tattoos. No Botox. I might go to like Turkey for like a hair transplant one day. That'd be cool. But my hair's in good shape. You know, I got a little on the crown there

that could use some love. but other than that, I would say the new house, we moved, and we did some house upgrades that, like, put a pit in my stomach a little bit. Okay. When you pay for these things and you're just, like, bleeding money. Yeah. So, like, a water filtration system. Our water was super hard before, and so my wife was like, please, I just don't want greasy

hair. Can we please get the system? Every bathroom is going to have the clean. But why does that cause greasy hair? Do we know? I don't know. She blamed the water. Okay.

Does it cause your hair to get greasy faster? I think hard water is just harder to, like, get things clean and I don't know. Okay. You can Google it. Okay. I'll get GPT it. So we got the water treatment thing. Let's have your lady tell us about it.

She'll know more about it than I do. Okay. But I conceded. It's a water filtration. That was a big splurge. Yeah. That's not a midlife crisis, though. It is for me.

Okay. Yeah. Also, just getting, like, window coverings. Like, I didn't know that you could just, like, my first car didn't cost as much as window coverings for an entire house. So, you know, I'm learning a lot. I'm so sorry What? I need hobbies

What's window coverings? Like, you know, Roman shades Oh, I'm sorry If it has to word Roman Yes, window treatments is what I would say Yes

Then coverings Because they don't always cover it I don't know who invented Roman shades But they think very highly Of themselves It is so Like Caesar himself

Must have invented these Well they're not any typical shades They're Roman shades And they cost 10 times as much as any other shades Yes, I agree. I concur. So that's where I'm spending my money to look flashy. So you pass by my house.

Not very quiet luxury there, George. So loud. Oh my gosh. So let's do a deep dive on what it actually looks like to be a quiet millionaire in today's society. Yeah, some of the aesthetics, the social cues, and really the proven financial principles that these people have taken on in their lives that have gotten them actual wealth, real wealth. Which I love to see.

Let's start with aesthetics. Okay. That's what really matters in life. That's super fun. The outward appearance. It's the first thing you see, it's the first thing you judge. Very important. It's the timeless style, George.

So think about JFK Jr's wife in the 90s. So you got Carolyn Kennedy, timeless style. Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Chanel. So anything that really has a tag that's like 100% whatever. It's like 100%... A pure material. Yes, of leather, cashmere, like 100%.

But it's, again, the colors, it's very like creams, navies, blacks, Hunter greens. Like, it's a very, there's a look. There's like an aesthetic look. And they go more of that versus like big flashy logos. Loud colors, loud patterns, big logos.

Yep. Yeah. That's not really what the true wealthy people are doing. Yes. They're a little bit more under the radar, even with their style, very timeless. I'm going to say this, George, look at this. That looks like cashmere from here.

Okay, so like this, yes. Like a very simple plain cashmere sweater, right? Timeless. So the last year lifetime. That's all you need. Yep. So there's something about that. I wore it for this.

George, look at you. You got corduroy. That's a timeless. I went with a tan corduroy, a navy t-shirt. A child's book to your... Corderoi, you know, corduroy is a book. No, that's true. With a little bear?

There's no kid's book called Kashmir. That's true. I do love the book. We actually read that to my daughter. It is really sweet. She has a little corduroy teddy bear. No. With a little green?

Yeah. Overalls? Precious. Timeless, George. See? Look at you. Me and Corto Roy. Look at you.

Dreaming big. I love it. Next up on the list, classic cars. Okay. Nothing too flashy, nothing too loud. Brands that offer

reliable luxury. Yes. So actually when we did our study at Ramsey Solutions about millionaires, Toyota, Honda, all of those were on the list. Accura, Lexus, BMW.

But those others, which are a little obviously higher end. You've got your Lexus, BMW. So it's more of like that range. Which is essentially Toyota and Honda. Yes.

By the way. Fun fact. Versus like the Lamborghini like you're talking or like the big crazy foreign cars, you know. Super luxury, Porsche, all those. Yeah. Do you say Porsche or Porsche? I know. Can I tell you I hate saying Porsche because I feel like it feels pretentious.

But it's the accurate name. And I said Ralph Lauren, but apparently people say Ralph Laurenne. Lauren. Yes, it's like a thing. So I don't know. That's what we do. We buck the trends, don't we? Yeah.

Don't fall for the trends or you'll fall for the traps. A smart man once said that. That's what you said. We eschew the trends. Next up, a modest paid off home. So think 90s luxury, four bedrooms, suburban golf course. They bought it, paid it off, and they're just invest in the extra. So there's some contentment there of like they're not always trying to just upgrade to the next thing.

We're already seeing a theme here. Yeah, that they're good with what they have and they'll just keep building well, feeling good about themselves. They're fine. Yes. Now, you might walk into their home and go, this is a beautiful home. but they could have more extravagance. Okay, that's a great point. There could always be more.

But they are great with where they are. They don't have to continue to upgrade. And that I think that that is a mindset that keeps people paycheck to paycheck. Is, oh, I get a raise. Well, I got to up everything. Lifestyle creep. Yes. That if you kind of just stayed where you were, you're good.

Then you just build wealth on top of that. Well, I think young people fall into this trap because they're trying to have what their parents had, but they want it 25 or 30 years earlier. Yes, that's true. But they go, well, my parents have a five-bedroom home. I want that. And it's like, yeah, but they worked their whole life to get that. That's right.

Even if it was cheaper, like we know housing prices are insane. But there's still this level of just like, well, I don't have that yet. I want to get it quick. It's the instant gratification. That's real. You know one of my financial goals in 2026, George? What's that? Is to stay safe on the internet with all my info.

Look at you. I know. I want it removed. Get it out of here. Because, did you know, that data brokers will collect your data. And you guys, this is like your name, your address, old addresses that you've been at, phone numbers, family names, kids' names, all of it. They can go and, like, collect all your data. And then when they want to go and spam you or scam you, they go to these sites, pull out your information, text you all the things.

We don't want that. No, no, no. So delete me, goes in and removes your information, which makes you harder to find, which is one of my goals. Yeah, we talk a lot about offense when it comes to your money, paying off debt, building wealth. But you've got to focus on defense, too. And this is a great way to help protect as you build wealth. And so check it out. They've got a great deal for our listeners out there.

You can get 20% off any of their annual plans when you go to joinbelitme.com slash smart money. Or you can click the link in the description. This is the year you take control of your data privacy once and for a while. Yes, I'm telling you. You need it. You want it. Do it. Okay.

Next step, usually old money is literally older, right? So people that have won over the long term, they're in their 50s, 60s and 70s, right? They are not 23-year-olds who are just like, you know, making all this money. No, they have built wealth over time. And I would say in a steady, non-flashy way as well. And there's something about that that gives a level of stability, which we love. That's what we're shooting for. And I love to see it.

I love, you know, people come to the Ramsey show and watch it live in our lobby here, our Ramsey Solutions. And it's so fun when people come up and they're like, we're babysaps millionaires. They're like, tell us. And you're just like, oh, my gosh. And they always whisper it. They do whisper it, don't they? They always kind of lean over, like they're going to tell us a secret,

and they go, by the way, we're babysaps millionaires. Yes. Because they're like, they don't want to make a scene. Yes, I know they're quiet. Literally quiet. Literally. I think that's a good caveat. If you're a loud person that tells me a lot about you.

And you're, yeah. I've never met a super loud person that also is wealthy. Maybe except Dave. He's pretty loud. He's got a good vibrato on him. You can hear him coming across the room. She will. I'll give a good show.

But Dave's also pretty quiet in a lot of ways, which is interesting. Yeah, but I think it's about the subject at what you're talking. If you're sitting there yelling about, I say yelling, shouting loud, obnoxious about how much money I made this year, oh, I got this and this going. You know, I'm making this and this. This part of me, I'm like, which is most social media videos. Why do you need to, yeah, what's the need? What's the need?

That's the funny part. Actual wealthy people aren't out there making like social media videos like, you know, Here's how I, it's all these like influencer types with a course to sell about how to get rich quick and leverage debt. Right. I can't wait to not use social media when I hit 60. Look forward to that thing. And you just say, when I retire, I'm retiring from the internet as well. You know what?

I think that's a good goal. That's probably a good life. I think I'll live longer, don't you think? I might even live past 80. We'll see. Speaking of social media. That was from another episode if you know it. It's called a callback for the true fans out there.

Yeah, if you know, you know. Social media into social cues. Ah, love it. This plays into what we were talking about. They ask more than they talk. Okay, so you're quiet millionaires. They're interested. They're interested in you.

They're curious people. They're not here to be like, here's about my life and here's my. It's not funny. They're fine. It's not funny. You know. Very secure. You know people on both ends of the spectrum.

Like I could date, I know people. And they're fine people. Yeah. But you're like, oh, yeah, I know people that, yeah. I also know wealthy people who also talk a lot. They're not my favorite, but I know them. Yeah, that's true. Yes, this isn't like a black or white.

Yes, but in general, if you had to stereotype. Okay, I like it. Highly disciplined. So they have a routine. They are consistent, you know, even a uniform. Think of Steve Jobs. He's got his black turtleneck, you know. They are...

What would be your uniform if I had to just say, Rachel, you wear this one thing forever? That's a great question. I'm going, is it seasonal? It has to be all season. Oh, man. But you're indoors, 90% of your day. Okay, I'm going to go black sweater.

Okay. I'm going to go these jeans. I love a wide leg, comfortable. Okay. And some plaques. Oh, yeah. This is pretty much. I just wear this outfit.

Wow. Yeah. I got it on. That's good. Yeah, similar. Normally what I do is black jeans, black t-shirt, and then I'll throw on a layer at work for different video shoots and things. That's smart.

So that's kind of my Steve Jobs outfit. It's just black on black. Some sneakers. Very quiet millionaire. Yeah, that's what I do. But it's more for practicality because I hate changing. Yeah.

All right, next on the social cues of quiet millionaires picking up the check. Oh, love this. Real nonchalant. Not making a scene, not going, hey, guys, I'm going to cover the check. Just kind of sneaking over to the waiter, handling the card.

They come back. And everyone goes, what happened? Oh, no big deal. I just want to cover it. I love that. And I'll shout out, my brother does this a lot. Oh.

When he's out, when he's visiting, he'll be the guy to sneak over to the waiter. He said he's going to the bathroom. What he's really doing is sneaking his card to the waiter to cover the meal. I love that. And they come back with the bill and then we all go, what? Yes. No. So great.

But it's very nice. So I think that leans into generosity without flaunting it. Yes. And I love paying for people's meals and they don't know you've paid. and so you just are like, hey, just put their tab, whatever it is on this card. And then you leave. And you like, okay. Do you do that?

It's my favorite. We've done it, yes. For like random people? No, no, no, no. Oh. It's like people we know. Or there was an event where a few people kind of came up. So once I was like, hey, let's cover their meals tonight.

You know, which was nice. But yeah, it's usually like people we know and we see. And we're like, oh, like, yeah. That happened, has it ever happened to where someone covers your meal? Yes, and I'll never forget it. I'm going to shout them out. Bill Hampton. Yes.

So Bill and Amanda, Bill used to work at Ramsey. And we were just married. We didn't have kids. I mean, this was like, golly, we were probably living here

for two years. We went to Puckets in downtown Franklin. I will never forget this. We were 24. And to like, go out to eat. It was like a Friday night thing.

And I remember we had to spend under like $75 to stay in the budget. It's like Winston got a water. I think I got a sweet tea. Like I just remember like we, I don't think we got an appetizer. Like it just like I remember that feeling of, of just being like, hey, we can't, it was not the days of like, oh, yeah, okay, whatever.

It was a, we had to be very, very aware of what we're ordering. And it was going to be out of our budget. It was like one of the four times we could go out to eat. And we saw Bill and Amanda, and he paid for our meal. And you would think he gave us like a million dollars. We literally were like, oh, my gosh. I look back now, it was like 75 bucks. But for us as like 23-year-old newlyweds, it like, it was the biggest deal in the world.

I love that. I just remember that feeling. And so especially young couple, yeah, if we see people, we know, especially if they're younger. I'm like, oh, all day. I will pay that forward. Just another feeling. It's so great. They're like, oh, gosh, you get to go out to TV again. That's a fun thing to budget for in your own budget. Once you're out of debt and you have the emergency fund, just budget to cover people's meals. Because it's one of the nicest things you can do. Yeah, we did that this year, George. We changed up our giving, and so we have a line

item in every dollar for extra giving that we have month to month. So we just have a fund, and we try to use it. And so we try to find ways to do that, like to spend the money. But restaurants is one of the things, yes. I love it. So if you're able to budget, like, extra giving in the budget to do that kind of thing. Whitney and I are going to show up at the same restaurant as you. Just to see. Poor little Georgia Whitney over there.

We should definitely. Their Roman shades are so hard to, like, open and close. They've struggled so much today. So European. So, man. So timeless. So tired. I fanned that to me recently.

My wife and I were out with our baby girl. And they paid for you? She ran in. She didn't even want to say, I like she was too she just kind of like paid for the check and I went who I'm sorry who was that that and she's like oh she's over there and I went and talk to her I was like hey I just want to say thank you so much and she's like no problem like I went through financial peace university and like what you guys do just means the world and I just wanted to bless you all and it was just like the sweetest

thing to do that number one anonymously sure totally which is even more of a flex yes that's super quiet wealth yep I love so it made me want to pay that forward and do that for other Love it. Okay, next up, they have interesting hobbies. Oh, dang. I need to work on this one. Golf, gardening, charity work. So they, you know, when you have margin, you don't have to stay, you know, in the grind of work all the time.

You know, you're able to be a little bit free even with your time, which is definitely, I would say, a luxury. Yeah. This is me. It says, disclaimer. If you're currently apparent in your mid-30s and you're eye rolling at us, it's normal if this isn't a reality for you right now. Thank you. Thank you so much. This is my reality right now. I look forward to having hobbies one day.

I know. It's hard. What do you think I should do? Because all my neighbors are like, hey, you should come golfing with us. Would you cycle ever? Would you ever cycle? Like on a bicycle? Uh-huh. Like outside or inside? Like a spin class?

No, like out on a bike. Like toward a France level, speedo situation. Now it feels super dangerous. I don't know. I just feel, I feel like you could cycle, George. I don't know why. Just saw you on a bike. I think I should be mentoring youth or something. Something that isn't like going to get me injured.

I think travels up there. Now mini golf, if I could start like a mini golf, like why go to the course for the day when I can go to the tiny course? Yes. Pickle ball. Yeah, I did play with our friend Ken Coleman. How was it? It's good, but the environment has to be right.

I need to be playing with people who are worse than me and the temperature has to be below 75. Preferably cloudy. Your boy's not trying to wear sunscreen. Picky. I know UV can penetrate the clouds and it's actually, I get it. But still, no. But still.

No, I'll find some hobbies. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Well, one of the best things I think this year for me personally is all the cozy earth stuff I own. It's a year of cozy for you. George, I'm not kidding. You're a cozy era.

It's one of my favorite things. Like, I will leave this workplace and I will go home. And I'll be putting on my cozy worth pants and my sweatshirt, my socks. I mean, all of it, seriously, it is one of my favorite things because you can get dupes on Amazon, like for things, right? But there is something different. It just feels different when you buy the real stuff and it is quality products. And I'm not just talking about clothes. This is sheets and blankets and skin care stuff.

Like, it's just amazing. Everything they make is luxury, quality, and it really is the best. Every time I get home, I immediately, I'll hug the babies real quick. I go change into my loungeware. Yes. It's a routine for me, and I love when I slip into those joggers. It's just the best. It makes the night even better.

Yeah, and it's become the place where I get gifts. Oh, yeah. Like if someone has a birthday or something. Great gift idea. Yes, I would love to get you. Yes, something from there, because, again, everything is so quality, so, so quality. So go to cozy earth.com slash smart money and use the code smart money for 20% off. All right.

Next up, George's financial habits of the quiet millionaires. they own not owe. So debt-free living is their specialty. And once you're debt-free, you know you want it to say that way because then you get to save money and build wealth. They're like, why would I go back into debt to owe other people money? That's right. And now the caveat here is people are already listening going, I know wealthy people who have debt. There's a difference between leveraging debt for some kind of investment versus consumer debt.

And what we found doing our millionaire study, they're not carrying. consumer debt, they're not carrying credit card balance, they don't have car payments. Yes. The true millionaires out there that are actually in reality, not on social media, they simply don't deal with debt. Oh, stuff, yes. And that's the videos that I love when they do these millionaires on the street is like majority of them are like, yep, we just paid off everything. We don't have debt. We just have investments and use the investments and travel and do things. So it is a very true

thing that being debt-free not only contributes to your actual net worth, like the number itself, but also the peace of mind when you don't owe, it's amazing. Whether they intentionally followed the Ramsey Baby Steps or not, they kind of went down this path where they said, if I get out of my consumer debt and stay out, if I have an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses, if I build wealth for the future through investing, I'm going to be okay. Yes. I'm not going to be stressed about money. I'll have money left over to do things I actually want to do, like give or travel. That's right. So you guys, remember these steps. Get a $1,000 emergency fund, build that.

up, then pay off all of your consumer debt, once it's all paid off, then build up a fully funded emergency fund of three to six months of expenses. That's kind of the step then to free up your income, then to invest, which is what these quiet millionaires do. They have old school investing strategies. So they are, man, they're in the Roth IRA, 401K. You know, maybe a brokerage account here or there, some index funds. Some non-retirement funds. Yes. But, they are, there's nothing flashy about. If you asked them how they did it, no one is like, well, I just downloaded the Robin Hood app. And then I, yeah, I got into crypto early on.

Like, sure, there's maybe like 0.001%. Sure. A majority of people. Got lucky. But most of them, just traditional investing into the overall stock market through mutual funds, which is giant groups of stocks instead of one. And so the key is they got the financial literacy they needed or they work with a pro, like an investing professional to help them with this.

instead of going, well, I just don't know, I'm scared. I'm scared of the stock market. Yeah, that they don't do it. Right. There is more risk in not investing than there is in investing the right way. That's right. And I love this strategy too because it's not stressful. Do you know what I'm saying?

Like if you're in and out of the market all the time trying to sell this, sell high, buy, like, oh. How often do you look at your investments? I mean, I hate to say it. Once or twice a year. Once a year when we sit down with our investment professional and we like look at everything, that's it. And it's for the long run. Like we'll do tweaks, I guess, a little bit here and there. But it is nothing massive. And you just ride the course. So you're not worried about like, oh, no, this happened, this happened, because you're like, okay, I have literally a few decades for this

to straighten out. And it will. So I like that. I kind of like the, I don't have to stress about it. Keep it simple. And if you guys want to understand this stuff, you're going, hey, it overwhelms me. I don't know what I'm doing. I want to be more confident. You can go check out the Ramsey investing guide. It's completely free. We'll drop a link in the description for you to check that out. And that will give you the confidence you need, the boost you need to get investing to build that compound growth. Love it. Next, George, their entire financial strategy isn't built on airline miles. Now this is you, so we've said for a long time, millionaires didn't get rich because airline points. People got, we never said they get rich because airline. Here's the concept behind it,

is that you're chasing the wrong things. You trying to finesse the system and get the points and get the cash back and get the miles. You're playing the wrong game. You're playing the game the credit card companies wants you to play,

which is spend more than you normally would have, potentially go into debt, paying us 29% interest, all so that we can give you some measly points in miles, like give you a free hotel stay every once in a while. And they think that's what winning is.

So we need to redefine that for these people. Yeah, when you get more excited about getting a free airline ticket, than the percentage of your income you're putting into investments. That's the big question. Probably the wrong priorities. How much are you investing every month

versus how much are you talking about your points and miles? Yeah. So it's a bigger strategy. They're not looking at those tiny little nuances of trying to finesse a game. They are. They are beyond that, George. I love it.

Also, no student loans. So if they had them, they pay them off, and they prioritize their kids. kids' education, and so they will save up for their kids to go to school. And that's part of the proven plan that we teach. So once you're out of debt, once you have the emergency fund, once you're investing 15% into your own retirement, that means you have your own mask on. Now we can help out the kids by putting money away into a college fund. I personally use a 529 plan. And what's cool is you don't have to use your state's 529 plan.

So they're state-specific, but I think mine's in like Utah. Yeah, there you go. I'll be honest, George, I don't even know if I know. I'm going to find out. I'm going to ask Winston. Winston's on top of this. I know, because we have one for each of the kids. But it's a simple way to invest to have compound growth that has tax advantages. And people always go, what if they don't go to college, Rachel?

And I go, what if they do and you don't have $100,000 to cover the deficit? I know, it's a lot. So I'd rather have too much. And also, you can now roll over 35 grand into a Roth IRA if they don't use it. And there's all kinds of stipulations and rules. So you can look into that. And then the other part is if they get a scholarship, you can actually pull money out of the 529 plan against that scholarship with no penalty. Well, Rachel, everyone's trying to get their money right again.

And the problem is if you don't have a bank that's actually fighting with you instead of against you, you're going to have a hard time. And who you choose to bank with matters. And it's why I love Fairwin's Credit Union. It's the easy choice. Yeah, they're amazing. They make everything so simple. I know when we signed up for our smart bundle, which is the no-fee checking account, and you get the Ramsey debit card, the Beware debit card. It's awesome.

And then a high yield savings account. When we did it, George, it was so simple. Like, it was so easy. Everything just flowed. I was like, oh, information, is that it? And then they called the next day, customer service just to make sure everything was fine. Like, they're amazing. So the people behind the scenes are incredible.

They love the Ramsey principles and working with us. Because we talk about banks a lot, you guys, and it's usually in a negative fashion, but you'll never hear anything negative about fair wins because they are amazing. Not only the service that they provide, but also who they are. And if you're going, well, it's online. what if I need to do something in a person? Well, they have a whole network of credit unions that they partner with

and a whole network of ATMs, so you don't have to worry about that. So go check it out for yourself. Go to fairwinds.org slash Ramsey to get that smart bundle or click the link in the description. All right, last but not least with our quiet millionaires,

George, they still budget. I thought once you get rich enough, you just don't even budget. Can't believe that. No, I will give the caveat. I do think for, if you really do have no debt, no mortgage, all of it,

they're probably not very, very, very detailed with it. I feel like I have talked to more and more people, but they're big buckets. They know where their money's going still, but they're not worried about every little $5 charge here or there. Well, there's so much extra margin. Yeah, it's big buckets that they use.

Now, I will say, I still am very, very, very detailed with our budget. I still track every transaction because it just makes me feel good. But I can see people living on Babysup 7 because I've talked to some of them, like on the Ramsey cruise and stuff, like we've interacted with a lot of these babysaps millionaires, and we'll talk about budgeting.

Like, yeah, we're a little bit more, which I'm like, that's great. When you get to that point, you can be more general with it, right?

You don't have to nickel and dime yourself every little thing once you get there. Reconcile every penny. Right. But they still have these buckets. They know they're giving. They know they're investing. They know their lifestyle.

Travel, right? They have buckets for travel. And I just appreciate that, that they're still really intentional with their money. It's how they got there. And there's a level of managing it well that continues to let them have wealth. And budgeting is that. Yeah.

Back in the day, I used to think budgeting was like for broke people or excel-loving nerds. And I realized that I was broke until I started doing a monthly budget. It was just super freeing to actually just pay attention to my money and realize, oh, I made good money. What am I doing with it? Oh, here's where it's going because I'm tracking transactions now. And all of that becomes a habit that forces you to go, where do I really want to spend my money? Do I want to pay off debt? All right.

Put your money where your mouth is. Put it in the budget. Plan for it. That's all the budget is. And if you want to spend money, the budget's not going to shame you for it because you created it. That's right. Plan to spend.

Put the travel fund in there. Go for it. That's right. Put the Amazon earrings in there. Go for it. Throw it in there. You go, girl. Yeah.

And if you haven't budgeted before or maybe you have, make sure to check out every dollar because it is an incredible, not just budgeting app now, but it's going to help you work the whole Ramsey plan and give you recommendations, digital coaching. Like there's so much to it. So we are really excited about it.

Yes. Go check it out. Links in the description below. All right, Rachel, if you had to choose your number one millionaire money habit of financial teaching you swear by that will work for everybody every time, what would that be? That's a hard one. I'm going to say consistent investing. Yeah, if we're talking millionaire, we're talking about wealth.

Yep. Yeah, I'm going to say investing. Always invests. Don't skip. Keep going over and over and over. But I do think you have to be debt-free to do that, is the debt-free living. to I very much subscribe to. Yeah, because most people, when we talk about investing, I'll say, hey, if you invest,

however much, $700 a month. And they go, well, nobody has $700 a month. And I go, what's your car payment? What's your student loan payment? Turns out you do have that money. You're just giving it to a lender every month instead of building your own future. Yeah, people easily are spending $1,500 a month on debt payments, non-mortgage debt payments. So if you think about keeping that and investing that money instead, what it can do is like

mind-boggling. So how about you? Yeah, I mean, millionaire money habit, I would say, like, automate the stuff that's good for you and add friction to the stuff that's bad for you. That's good. I think millionaires do that. Yeah. I like that. So, like, automating it, meaning, like, I have a system where the money in my 401K just goes there before it ever hits my paycheck.

So they don't see it. It's out of sight, out of mind. It's not living rent free in their head. They're just going about their life. There's a reason they seem more peaceful and free. Yes, they don't have money stress, but also they're not trying to keep track of a thousand things. They have a pretty simple financial life more than you would even think. I mean, when you look at Dave Ramsey's entire wealth, it's real estate and mutual funds.

Yep. He doesn't have 17 things going on. Now, the minutia of it can get complicated, but he has people, experts in his corner that do that. And so that's the other piece, the millionaire money habit, is offload and delegate the stuff that you don't want to deal with or don't have expertise in. Yes, have a team around you. I think that is so smart, too. It's huge.

I love it. All right, George, before we spill the tea in our guiltiest charge, segments. Give us the Dietz on the drink. This is the apple ginger fizz mocktail coming in at a dollar and 78 cents. Okay. I feel like it's... This is hitting. My rating is a 10 out of 10. I'm going to say the name is scarier than the drink. I don't know why the name's scared. Yeah, Apple ginger fizz feels like it should be for a toddler, which you could give this to a toddler if they can handle a little fizz. Also a lot of sugar in this. Yeah, I'm going to go 8 out of 10. Okay. It's a little tart for me. But you like I like it tart. You like the tart. I want to feel like someone punched me in the mouth.

I feel that a little bit. I'm not going to lie. But it's like a sour candy almost. It's good. Yes, it's almost like a sour candy. That's a good way. It's got apple cider, lime juice, apple cider, vinegar. That's got a little punch to it. Yeah. Ginger ale, cinnamon and mint leaves. Ah, it's refreshing. It's refreshing. It's said it at the beginning when we first took a sip. I was like, ooh, that's fall. Kind of feels fall, but then you're like, no, it feels kind of summer. It's like an in-between seasonal drink. I like that. So get the recipe in the show notes, give it a try this weekend, see what the kids think.

That's what really matters. Think about the children. Think about the children. Now it's time for guilty as charged. And this is where we ask each other a guilty charge question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, you ready? Oh, boy.

Do you have any loud millionaire habits? Oh, gosh. A habit? I guess telling, I mean, part of my job is I'm trying to make it aspirational for people to build wealth. So I have to say, like, hey, I went from broke to millionaire. And people look at that like I'm trying to flex. Oh, okay. And talk about, oh, he's always talking about, like, no, I'm just telling you, as the average George, like this is where I was and this is where I am now.

Okay, that is true because you said earlier in the episode, all these, like, hey guys. What's up, guys? It's your boy. It's exhausting. That's why you hate social media You want to get off That's why But my loudest thing

If you just like looked at me at face value Yeah I think probably I guess my watch Because it is a luxury watch Yep And as famously known It's an inherited item Yes

So I did not pay retail price for this But it feels flexy Like I still a little Like I'm trying to get used to it Okay We're wearing it in public It's been a while too Since you've had it

I'm getting you Yeah I've become more comfortable with it Because I was famously an Apple Watch guy, but then I realized I'm not even really using the functionality of this watch. I know. Yes. How about you? You know what? You have a bag that's like a nice bag. I don't know bags. Oh, yeah. You could have told me it was from Target. I would have known the difference.

Yeah. But it's apparently a designer bag very nice. The ladies in the office know. Yes. I know. And I don't, I've heard it pronounced like 30 different ways. Oh. Go Yard, Goryard. Like there's all these different ways people say it's, but it's that. Is it French? Yes. Okay. French people, let us know in the comments. The thing about it is you can't buy it online.

Oh. So like a Louis Vuitton or, you know, some, you know, a Gucci, you can, like, order online. You have to go to the store. So I went to the one in Beverly Hills. Yes. Okay. I was in L.A. But you've been in Beverly Hills like once.

This is my, this is my, this is my, this is like you're hanging out there. This was my story of, I mean, this is like an old story now. It's over a year old. But I was in LA for work and Winston was with me and it was my birthday weekend and he was like we should go get you that back

Yeah because yeah I think there's a store maybe in like Miami New York I mean I don't know I'm making this up Miami New York Chicago LA Vegas I don't know

Like yeah The nicer shopping areas And then of course International And I like it too because you know you know it The pattern But if you don't know it

You would never know It is a quiet luxury Yeah there's kind of like a vibe to it, which I like. But I feel like now people, I feel like it's become more popular now. Like I see more and more of it. Fool me. If you're a dude, you will not know this purse. Okay, yeah. So I like that about it, you know? Yeah. I like that too. Can I tell you, I got my wife a push present, which guys, if you didn't know, I learned this the hard way, there's something called a push present. When a woman is about to give birth, you have to buy her a really nice gift to say,

you're awesome. Let's spend even more money right now. I thought like the hospital bill is enough. Oh, my gosh. So, yeah, I got her a push present and got her these, like, luxury sunglasses. Oh, yeah. She found basically the same ones, like, Amazon knockoff, and I swear she wears those more. No, that's tough. They're just as good. Yes, that's tough.

So, I don't know. I'm just sort of like... Yeah, the sunglass game, I could go... I do Amazon for that. I don't really... I have one pair of raybans. That's the nicest sunglasses I have. Yeah.

But there's something about a real bag, like, that's leather. Like, the quality genuinely is great. Like target bags and stuff. Yeah, the strap spray. Will you pass it down to your children? Oh gosh, that feels. Will they be fighting over this bag one day? I don't think it's that rare.

Or will it be out of style like a Vera Bradley or something? Sorry if those are... Sorry if you own one. I'm not trying to be mean. I just... I love a very Bradley tote when we travel. A duffel. Now that is loud.

I wouldn't say it's luxury, but it feels like... It does look like a quilt. A grandmother's quilt. I get it. I know. Okay, I'm going to just throw this in there, and then we're going to end the episode. When we are filming this, as of right now,

the loudest, obnoxious money play right now on Instagram is the sorority rush videos. There is a thing, a world, which I was a sorority girl. Never was this my world. We didn't have, X in a horseshoe, we didn't have social media. I think we had Facebook.

We ended up getting Facebook. in college, but like, we didn't have all the other things. And these girls, George, will, like, do their O-O-T-D's outfit of the day. Oh, I thought it was the Rush Dance Videos. Well, those two, but they say what they're wearing to these, like, rush parties. And it's like thousands of dollars. Doesn't it get tedious to just say, I'm wearing Lulu? I'm wearing Lulu.

Oh, my, no, George. They are, like, design. I mean, it is crazy. So anyways, that comes up in my feet now. And then I'm so stupid. I watch, like, three of them. Now my old algorithm is, like, rush, talk, whatever that is. And I'm like, oh my

Lord. Yeah, Whitney showed me a video. I mean, it's crazy. So that to me is like, that is like, love you girls. I would say sorority in general is just loud. Anything sorority related is like I'm trying to be better. But it wasn't like that though. Or maybe it was, and I was blind to it. Well, we didn't have social media. So I think there wasn't

a flaunting. I'm telling you, it's yes, it's not good for society. It was a very localized level of flaunting. You know what I mean? You couldn't get past your campus. Right. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, anyways, that feels like the opposite of quiet millionaire these days. So keep the prices to yourselves.

What, am I in mom? Yeah, you're getting old when you're judging girls in college for just living their life. I know, I'm sorry, love you girls. Good luck. I mean, it's not like they paid for it. Like daddy and mommy paid for the, you know what I mean? And then their dorm rooms, I won't even keep going. There's his one girl watched her videos.

They were putting wallpaper on her door room, on her dorm room. I don't know, but ours at UT, the dorm is now torn down because it was built like in the 60s. It was. Dorm rooms should look and feel like a prison. It was. I stand by that. Genuinely. Cinder blocks.

I mean, it was very sad. Now, bringing like a mattress topper, I understand, because I have trust issues. Sure, sure. With used mattresses. But again, that in and of itself is not bad. It's the standard at which now that creates everyone feels like that's normal. Now every young girl feels like she has to live. live up to that. And then that's the level of comparison. When you're in college, and you shouldn't

have that. We should be the ones dealing with keeping off with Joneses, you know? Not for them, these innocent little 18-year-olds. Add them to your prayer list. Add the entirety of rush talk to your prayer list. Man, we watched Freaky Friday with the girls last night. Did they love it? They loved it. And that was Lindsay beforehand. And then she went down, we prayed for her, and now she's back up. Wait, you mean we as in a family or like you as in you? I just felt there's other people that prayed for her too. And they're out there. They're out there.

Some prayer warriors. Yeah, Demi Lovato, doing great. Oh, she added to the list? I prayed for her for a hot second. Bieber's still on the list? You know, Beep's. I've been worried about him. I love you, Bebs.

And yes, I am thinking about you and praying for you still. But I trust you. Did we add anyone else? I did see, Amanda Binds and that I'd be very sad. I may add her. Amanda,

Holy Spirit's coming for you, girl. Just get ready. I'm about to release it. But here's the thing, now if there's any progress in Amanda's life, you will take credit. That's your toxic trait. Just call me a prayer warrior. I love it. I love it.

All right. If you have any guilty charge questions for us, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel. And if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to check out our episode, Things That Scream, I'm Pretending to Be Upper Class. That is coming up. Next, we'll put a link for you as well. And make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.