Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Surprisingly Simple Things That Make You Feel Wealthy

Episode Date: June 18, 2026

📈 Need help with investing? Check out our free guide!   When was the first time you didn’t feel broke? Whether you have an answer to that question, or you’re wondering if that day will ever come, today’s episode is for you! Next Steps: ·   🎙️ Catch our episode Reacting to: “If I Can’t Buy a Home, Why Don’t I Just Be Gorgeous?” ·   🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour ·   📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Leave us a voicemail with your question at 877-306-1517 or send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it.  ·   💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar.   Connect With Our Sponsors: ·   Check out the FAIRWINDS Credit Union exclusive account bundle. ·   Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. ·   Get 20% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth.   Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🥂 Grand Mimosa Recipe by Inspired Taste ·   1/3 cup sparkling wine ·   1/3 cup orange juice ·   1 tablespoon Grand Marnier Instructions: Add the sparkling wine and orange juice to a champagne flute. Top with Grand Marnier. Serve and enjoy!   Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights  🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When was the first time you didn't feel broke? Whether you have an answer to that or you're still waiting for that day, today's episode is for you. I think I judged the most on cars to people. Yeah, there's things that I will always be frugal on. There's things I'll always be willing to spend money on. I think I look more at the prices at the grocery store than I do a restaurant. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

I'm George Campbell. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Cheers. Hmm. What a mind. vibrant drink this is. You all right?

Uh-oh. Does that ever happen to you when you drink something? And for a second, you have to like use your brain to think to like swallow. And if you don't, it like stays there and then you're, oh my mouth's a choke. Does that ever happen to you? No, I think. I think you had a stroke. No, that's what it probably looks like.

You don't just forget how to. It happens on airplanes sometimes. It'll. That's like you problem. I think so. I'm trying to think like, mm. Yeah, and then you're like, oh, God, it's now been two seconds, and I haven't like naturally just swallowed without thinking about it.

Your body's not having the reaction to swallow. Yeah. Wow. Anyways, well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about, everything from pop culture, current events and money. But first, let's talk about what we're sipping on that almost killed Rachel Cruz. This is a grand mimosa.

What makes it grand? None of your business. You'll find out at the end of the episode. Stick around for that. We're going to give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass. Oh, my gosh. So, Rachel, I have some news.

Hot goss, if you will. Okay. Were you aware that Facebook posts can be positive? Upbeat even? Optimistic? Upbeat? Hopeful?

Upbeat? The Lord is at work on Facebook. Yeah, I was going to say, there's still miracles today. I really do believe. So I do think Facebook can be a positive place. I was scrolling through one of our, Now, here's the thing. It's in a Facebook group.

Yes. So the Baby Steps Millionaire's Facebook group, there was a post in there, and the responses to this prompt were nothing short of inspirational. You ready for the prompt? Go. What was a financial milestone that made you feel wealthy? Oh, that's a great one. You want to hear some of the answers?

Yeah, yeah, given to me. Okay, these are from the wonderful people in this group who follow our content. Should we give a, like, yes, that's so weird, or yes, I get that. Let's give a response. A little react. When I could afford Disney World and Universal Studio tickets for six days of fun with my grandkids. Oh, that's living the good life. That feels wealthy to me.

That's 10 grand, right there. And the joy. So much joy. With the grandkids. Is there any better way to spend your wealth? You should tell Dave and sharing that. Take little Charles and Amelia and Caroline. Forget the other ones.

I know you have a lot of them. Focus on one at the time. Here's another one. hitting the $15,000 mark in savings. Oh. You know, that $15,000, I do think, you know, $5,000 a month. That covers most emergencies. Yes.

And it's like, that feels like a solid three months or so. Yeah. For a lot of people. And that, yeah, that 15 mark, I like it. Outside of like a nice car or a house, $15,000 buys you pretty much anything. Which is cash. Yeah. Yep.

Mm-hmm. That's a sauna. It's great. All of it. All of it. All of it. Okay. Next one. for work. Amen. You know, amen. Sometimes it's the humble side. You don't need the 15 grand.

You just need that extra for Chipotle and guac, you know. That's right. We're blessed and spoiled with the Ramsey Cafe cafeteria here. Oh, yes. So I haven't packed a lunch because I found I can get food here as cheap. Yes, because they subsidized some of the pricing. So it's very nice. It's like 1950s pricing out here. Real nice. It's great. All right, here's another one. What was a financial milestone that made you feel wealthy. Being able to give my boss two months notice that I was retiring at the age of 60, as planned, right on schedule. Sounds very efficient.

Wow. I feel like two months, like everyone's kind of like, all right, you can go now. Like a month in, they're like, wasn't that person leaving? I know. I agree. Yeah, we get some retirement runways here at Ramsey and they're here for months, you know, but you keep thinking, wait, oh yeah, you still got a few more months. I don't want to overstay my welcome.

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll give you two weeks notice. Not for retirement, George. Yeah. No. Well, I guess with my job, it's a little harder. Because if I'm here or not, I mean, think about it.

I'm 37. But when you retire, you're not, like, rushing to get, I mean, you're like, there's a plan. And I think sharing that with the boss is a good thing. Yeah. Right? Who would I share it with? Do you think I should tell Dave?

Tell me, George. I should tell you first? Sure. As a friend. Yeah, and a co-worker and a co-host. Okay, and as an acquaintance as well. Yeah. That's great.

Well, by the way, I love this because it's why investing in retirement early matters. The fact that they were as planned right on schedule is so rare in today's world. When there's a plan. They retire without a plan without enough money. Yes, so planned out. So we have an investing guide for those of you that are interested. We'll drop a link in the description if you want to be like this person and actually retire of dignity one day. All right.

Next one, you want to take this one? Yeah, being able to buy groceries at my preferred grocery store and not worry about the total. man, that's a feeling. When you're not looking at the car going, okay, that's 67, it's 80, 90. I know. I still will look at prices

at the grocery store. You know, it's weird. I think I look more at the prices at the grocery store than I do a restaurant. That makes sense. Is that a toxic trade? At a restaurant, I feel like

you are so carefree. You're like, it's time to enjoy. It's my place of happiness. The grocery store is, it's a war zone. It's a war zone, and we're in to make ends meet, meaning like we are eating in and we are cooking, and we're going to be smart about this.

We are making smart decisions at the grocery store. It just feels like a place that you don't want to be irresponsible, you know? Yeah. Grocer store feels like a responsible place. Chili's? Bad decisions happen. Not so much. Maybe the extra app is being ordered.

Bad decisions meet mediocre food. Chili's. That's good. You know, I was just at Costco yesterday, and I had the same thing where I looked at a receipt. Almost everything I bought was on sale. And I was like, why is this my toxic trait? Because you were like looking for it.

But then I thought, well, I got to get more because things were on sale. That is fun too. Okay, last one on the list here from the Facebook group, a financial milestone that made you feel wealthy. The HVAC going out and being able to write a check and cash to replace it. Oh, that feels nice. The HVAC is always our example of what the emergency fund, I feel like. So on the Ramsey show today, I hosted.

You had an HVAC one? No, we had the question of the day was specific to Dave, and it said, Dave, do you remember when you were starting out the baby steps? and like building the program, did you ever have to dip into the emergency fund? And he, yeah, and he like remembered the house. It was the house that we moved in when I was eight. He, like, say the exact situation,

and he said it was like the first time of using an emergency funds because it was like close to 8,000. The whole, like, then, where now it would be like 18,000, you know, 18,000. Yeah, this was the 90s? Yeah, 96, I guess. Yeah, but anyways, we just had that. And Dave talked about it. So maybe that's why he uses it as an,

as an example so much. The guy has a memory of an elephant. It's very impressive. It's wild. But the H-FAC thing is real. That's a good one. It's a high-ticket item and it's a need. And what's the thing?

Most people go into debt for or put on payments. And so to be able to write the check and be done with it and get your heat or air going again, that's a life-changer. Okay, George, you became a babysaps millionaire a few years ago. Do you remember a time that you were like, I feel like I'm in. And it can be something as small as like, being able to eat out at lunch, you know what I mean?

Or something as big as like an emergency fund. Yeah. The moment I felt like I've made it. You're like, that feels good. So we paid off our town home, and then it was a little bit after that that our net worth hit the million, between the house being paid off and our retirement. And so hitting that number didn't do a whole lot. It was cool.

Yeah. But there wasn't like a life effect until a little bit later when we got into our next house, and we got to retire Whitney from her. career. That to me, when you can retire your spouse, financially, because you don't have debt and you have the income to support the family, I was like, that to me is making it on a family level. It was cool. And then probably the nerdier side was doing like the little home upgrades, getting the garage floors, epoxyed. You love an epoxy. I love an epoxy. It loves a garage floor. In my head, like only the richest people had epoxyed garage floors. So the fact that I,

could get it from my little home, I was like, what's up? My friend, she just did a ton of renovations on her bottom floor. And so we, just this week, and we walked through her garage. And I said, I was like, my gosh, Katie, your garage floor looks so good. She said it's like one of the top three things they did that she's obsessed with. She's like, I literally walk in my garage all the time. She's like, it just feels good. It just feels nice, you know?

I was like, it's so true. That is a good one. Yep. Yeah, but I'm on that there's different stages, I feel like, and it kind of gets elevated. Like being able to pay cash for our home was like, holy crap. It was such a monumental goal for us, years in the making, we've worked so hard for it, and then I did it. And it was like I landed a trick that I didn't know I could do.

And even Whitney was like, I can't believe we did that. I'm like, I know. I know. But it's, you know, when you're on the same page with your spouse and you're just both aligned, you're willing to do anything to get there, it is amazing what can happen. Whether you're in baby step two or in baby step seven for the paid four house. No, I love that. What about you?

Now, you grew up a Ramsey kid. Personal finance was always a conversation. you were born when Dave and Sharon were going through bankruptcy. Yes. You were super young. Yeah. And then they climbed out of that starting Ramsey, starting financial peace and all of that. But was there a moment where you were an adult where you were like, oh, we're on our own.

Like independently, we've done this. Well, it's funny too because mom and dad, the way we grew up, I never felt like we were like the rich kids by any stretch of the imagination. We probably weren't for a while. Yeah. But I, you know. But looking back, I'm like, oh. okay, I had probably pinpoint with the company and stuff when they were probably doing a lot better

than they were like putting off right to us. Because they're very grounded normal people. They're not like the type to want to just flex. I went to Chinatown with my mother in New York City to get knock off purses. And she would still do that today. That's how we roll. I'd go with you, Sharon.

No, no, Sharon will buy the nice stuff today. But you know what's funny, I have this vivid memory because we're drinking orange juice of when Winston and I, when we got married, and we were young when we got married, okay? So like, I still had a semester left of college. Talk about a Southern girl.

So you were like 21? My gosh. 22? 21, y'all. Winston was 23. I know we were babies. How our parents let us got married. We don't know.

But Winston was working at his dad's heating and air company, doing installs. And I was still in college. I mean, like, yeah. So that was our, that was us. And it was not like, my parents by any stretch of the imagination was like, here's money every month.

It was like, all right, how are you guys gonna pay bills? How are you gonna do this? So yeah, so it was, it was, yeah, we lived, we lived, you know, with a tight budget. So I'm saying I was to say, when we got married, the night of our honeymoon, we spent the night in a hotel in downtown Nashville at the Hermitage Hotel, which is a very, very nice, it's one of the nicer hotels

for sure in Nashville. The only at that point, 16 years ago. Really the only super nice hotel then. Now there's like a thousand downtown. Yeah, there's like JDA, Yeah, there's all these other nice hotels. But it was really like the main wine before we flew out for our honeymoon. And I remember we woke up and we were like, okay, let's get room service before our flight.

And we were looking at the menu and looking at the prices. And we like split pancakes. I remember. I think we split a pot of coffee. And then I remember seeing orange juice. I was like, gosh, orange juice kind of sounds nice. But it was $7. I mean, how much is orange juice at like a, you know, five, seven dollars?

I mean, it was not like outrageous, but it was enough that I'm like, oh, that. I would feel that. We would feel that in the check. Gave you some pause. At that point, yes. And I remember talking to mom and dad and we got home from the honeymoon and all of this.

And I remember saying like, okay, if you guys were to order a room service, like, when do you just order the orange juice and not like think about it? True story. Dave's like, oh, I'll order it now. You'll be fine. You know, whatever, whatever.

My mom was like, I still don't order orange juice. They overpriced it. Yes. That is too much. She still won't, you know. But I remember thinking, when I can just order orange juice at room service, right? I'm not just talking about it in a restaurant like because they charge,

they up charge you for room service. So that would be making it. Wow. And I remember when I did, George, and it felt good. And I ordered that orange juice and I just said, I'm doing that. Yeah, years later. Good for you. So that's mine, George.

Yours is paying for a house and cash. Mine is just ordering orange juice. That's pretty good. But I do used to felt like thinking like, oh my gosh, we're doing good. Yeah. Where's your own good? Well, I do think there's a muscle built there to where, like, Like the first car that I bought that was not like a beater $6,000 car,

it like scared me to write that check and to swipe that card. Yeah. And now it's, you're used to it. And so it doesn't like scare you as much. Right. Like you're still like, that's a big number. You still understand that. Yeah.

But there's not that like, oh, we're doing it. Do you still have your quirks of like when you get a thing, when you get a situation, you're like, okay, I could, I'll be fine. Like, I'm just thinking, I moved my car at lunch. Actually, I left a meeting where you're. at. I don't even know if you knew. I saw you skid-out. Real quick and I came back because there was an open spot to charge the Tesla. I did wonder where you went. Charging at work. When I get to charge at work and I'm at like 30% and you

get to charge all day, I feel like I've won the lottery. That's a weird, frugal hack for you. I have a weird thing about that. Yes, it gives me such energy. Yes, it gives me such energy. So the team gave us some categories of common things people spend money on and we have come up with the I've made it moment within that category. Of how you know you're at a different level. with your finances. Okay, so first up is food. What can splurging look like when it comes to the food category of your budget? Okay, let's start with like groceries, not eating out. We'll get to eating out. Groceries, I feel like, is when you are not thinking about the price per item that you're putting in the cart. As much, yeah. You're getting what you need, maybe even a few other things,

and you're no concern in the world. Right. Lots of buffer. Yes. You're getting like the name brand over the generic brand or the one that's on sale just because you want it. Yes, that's fair. That's an I've made it moment. Yeah, I think going out to eat would be not really looking at prices. Yeah. Would you say? Yes.

To a degree. I mean, obviously, if you're like, well, the chicken is half the price. I just do the chicken, even though I want the steak. Yes. It's $25 versus $50. But when you go for the steak, it's made it, right? The steak is how you know you've made it. Especially if you grew up in the 90s.

I swear there were no restaurants in the 90s. Did you feel like this? I talked to some other podcasters about this. And yeah, we were, like, thinking through, and I don't know if it's where we lived in Natural Web, but people, you just didn't go out to eat. Like, the Olive Garden was a treat. Oh, yeah.

There was an Olive Garden, there was a Shoney's. And, of course, like, a little bit of fast food, but nothing. There were some, like, chain kind of places. Like, you drive through Bruntwood Franklin right now, and I'm like, I mean, restaurant after restaurant, and I just don't think it was like that then. Yeah, I do think the world changed where people wanted a higher-end experience,

and you had foodies, start to come on the scene. I guess so. And they could just make so much money in the food industry. And they just started popping up everywhere. But I just don't think that there were, I don't think we eat out like we did in the 90s. I think the 90s was, or maybe it's just because we were a different time. We didn't. And we didn't go out. I don't know. Oh, you know what a good one is for eating out. And I still struggle with this, as you know, is the appetizers and desserts. That's an I've made it moment when you start going, oh, let's get some apps. I go, wow. Wow. You've made it. Look at you go. Because if you grew up like not having much,

That was not even on the table. No, yeah, yeah. You don't do apps. It was like maybe you get an entree, but it's a lower tier. For sure. Maybe you're going to split it. And the kids meals free, probably. Kids meal, you go on the Tuesdays when the kids' meals are free.

100%. So I do think when you get the appetizers, especially multiple. Okay, you know what's real bougie. What's that? You've really made it when you order a decaf coffee with your dessert. Oh. And you go to the next course. And you're still talking and having a good old time.

That's next level. That is, right? A decaf? Can I get a decaf? Yeah. I went out for my birthday with two of my guy friends. Yeah. And he got decaf espresso and we got gelato. We each got like ice cream for dessert. Uh-huh.

And we poured it over the ice cream to make an affigato. What? And let me tell you. What is that? Affigato is when you have espresso poured over ice cream and it creates this really delicious, the bitterness and the warmth of the espresso mixed with the cold, sweet of the ice cream. It's otherworldly. It's just wonderful.

Yes. And so that to me is like, felt luxurious. A hundred percent. The fact that we'd already spent a good bit of money. Are we in Italy or? Yeah, we got like a couple of cocktails, entrees, a bunch of apps.

Then we're doing dessert. George, I'm so proud of you. Where did you go? Can you name you off the restaurant? Oh yes. Palado's great. Yeah, the new one by the Cool Springs Mall. We had mothers stay there.

Yeah. Delicious. And you know what? So generous. They covered the whole meal for me. Which I was like, guys, no, I cannot. Oh, the friends. I thought you met the restaurant.

No. Give me the name of the mansion. No, they weren't like fans. Like, guys, the meal's on us here. I thought you meant the restaurant covered it. No, my two friends, they cover, and I, it was so nice. That is very nice. Outrageous generosity.

Don't worry, don't worry. You know, that's another how you know you've made it. You cover the tab for the table. For the table. Or you see someone else in the restaurants that you know. And you cover the tag for them. Or a stranger. We'll pick up their bill.

You know who's good at that Winston Cruz. He thinks about that all the time. Really? He picks up the bill. Yes. For people. Yes. Has that rubbed off on you?

Do you think about others? No, but I'm usually the giver between us. You are. I'm more of the one to be like, here, take my money. But like, yeah. Which we've learned in a previous episode, very generous tipper. At one point, tip like 2,000% or whatever it was. A hilarious amount.

That's right. But a very attractive quality. Generosity? Yes. Be generous in front of your wife. It's a very attractive quality. A stingy man is not generous because you go, wow, my whole life is going to be extreme cheap skates with this guy.

Yeah, but when you have someone like, hey, you're going to live freely. I love that. Okay, that's a good one. And where you shop as well for food. I should mention that. What do you mean? Like if you're always shopping at the discount, grocery. I don't know, though.

I still love an oldie. Oh, you don't have to get me started. But that's what I'm saying, though. I think you could have made it. But when you can pop into a Publix or Whole Foods once in a while, you're like, oh, sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'll still, I don't know.

The grocery level for me, I have no I've made it moment feeling there. It's the restaurant where you're like, oh, my gosh. That's where the real decisions happened. Okay, the other one, George. This is like all my favorite things. Vacations. Okay, what is the I've made it moment for vacation? I mean, we're talking about food.

Food on vacation. I think when you go out to eat for meals, especially if you have a kitchen where you're staying. For so long it was like turkey sandwiches for lunches. You're making scrambled eggs in the morning. And then maybe some nights you go out, some nights you don't. But when you're like, no, every dinner we're going to go out, that feels nice.

Or like, that's a good spot. Or a delivery to the beach condo. Oh, I don't think I've ever done that. Should try it. I should go to the beach. Yeah, vacations have such a scale because you can do vacations that are super cheap, not Ritzie. And then there's, there's no ceiling for how nice of a vacation you could take. But I do feel like we used to stay at a lot of like Best Westerns.

Yeah. You know? For sure. Which no shade on Best Western. It's a quality establishment. See, we are a holiday in family. That's a step above, I feel like. Oh, the best.

West Western? Yeah. All right. All right. I'll take it. And so I think staying in those hotels and now when you're at like a Marriott property. Yes. You know? Even a courtyard might do the trick. At a courtyard Marriott where they have the buffet in the morning for you. Yeah. You pour your own, pour your own waffles. That's a big one. Yeah. And even, I don't know if we're going to cover this. I'd say the rental chairs at the beach versus bring in your own. That's such a perfect example. That's a, that's a boogey move. Because it's like... It's convenient. It's a lot of money when you think about it.

But then also, what you're getting for the value to not drag all of that stuff out there? Yeah. And you got some college kid with a big drill, getting your umbrella. Yes. Some super tan fit dude. You're like, hey...

Thanks, Jason. Get my umbrella up. Appreciate it. And you got like a nice reserve spot, the umbrella's up. You're not having to like finagle your own umbrella on the sand. It's nice. The wind's taking it away.

For sure. That's a good one. with vacations. Yeah, I love that. But when you go on vacations, you know, you're filling out so many forms, right? Your hotels and your book and flights, you're doing all this and all your personal information's online when that is happening. And so having delete me on your side in 2026 is so crucial.

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Yes, because I think that's what's wild when you learn about this world is that some companies will sell your data, and then it goes to these data broker sites that end up, again, selling your data to other companies. It's like, and so when they can take the middleman out and say, no, your information is not there, then again, yeah, your information is not going to be all over the internet to all these other places. And you're not getting crazy, you know, emails and texts and all of this. So delete me is amazing. That's a good I've made it moment. Go to join delete me.com slash smart money

and you can get 20% off their annual plans. Let's go to cars, George. This is a great category. Is it? See, I don't feel that as much in my bones. I felt it more on vacations. I don't know. The car thing just doesn't.

It doesn't do much for you. I mean, I have a nice car, so I probably, I mean, like, I don't want to be completely like, oh my gosh, I don't care. And it's a nice car. But when I'm in my Honda Odyssey, I'm good too. I mean, genuinely, I'm like, yeah.

Hey, the Odyssey is a sick whip, as the kids say. I think that's a, that's the I've made it vehicle for a family. That is true. Okay. Every family wants the Honda Odyssey if they're in the minivan space. It's a good one. They'll settle for a Pacifica or a carnival. Or a sienna.

Or a sienna. No shade to the sienna. They're neck and neck. But the Odyssey. But I'm a Honda man. Okay, that's fair. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, I don't know.

I think, I think, okay, if I'm being honest, I think I judge the most on cars to people. Like if I'm going to be in my, like, evil side of Rachel, judgey side, I'm not really judging the vacations as much. Like, I see someone in Italy and I'm like, good for you. Like, that's great. I see someone driving like a brand new escalade. And I automatically think, probably car payment.

Oh, whereas vacation, you're not thinking about who paid for it. No, yeah, I think they probably just saved up and paid. I don't know. It's like a subconscious weird thing to me. Yeah. So cars is a hard gauge for me with people because I can be, not judgey that they're driving it, I don't care, but of how they acquired it. That's important. I'm probably a little bit more judgy on that.

Well, for the Ramsey principles and what we recommend is buying a used car in cash and not buying a new car until you're a net worth millionaire. That's right. Where you can stomach that hit on depreciation. And even with used cars, I think being able to pick out a specific make and model is kind of an I've made it moment in and of itself. Now that's a good point. Well, you can be choosier and I go, well, I don't love that color.

But I'm going to do it because it works. It doesn't have the features I want. Yep. And so my last car, so I've had, you know, my old Tesla, which is now getting a, it's up for auction pretty soon here. Oh, it is? I thought they sold it. They're in the making of selling it.

But I got a newer Tesla that has the self-driving. Yep. That to me was the I've made it moment. That's truly the one thing I think has added the most value to my life. in the past year. And you wanted it. Before you had it, you're like,

if I can get that. And it was the specific make and model, and I had to get it shipped from like a dealership in Virginia. Yeah. And deal with a shipping company. Do you use the, yeah,

the self-driving all the time? I would say exclusively. It has like six cameras. Oh, yeah. No, it's great. I have two eyeballs, and I'm a human with a lot of distractions. That car's one job is to watch.

And it's saved my life multiple times already. Because you were like, I didn't see a car coming out and it went to a full stop. And I went, what's the deal? or it pulls me on the side of the road and I'm like, what's going on?

Oh, there's an ambulance and cop coming right behind me and it pulls over to give room. Wow. So there's some pretty cool features. That's amazing. That's a good one. Being able to like just walk into the dealership

or just know you're paying cash, you have that kind of buying power is a very much and I've made it moment because so many people, they can't fathom saving up 10 grand, 20 grand, 30 grand, 30 grand, 40 grand for a car. So that to me is a great sign that you're saving some muscles there.

really well. You have the margin to save up. Yes, yes, that's fair. And you don't have to worry about, you know, as much maintenance and repairs, hopefully, as you get nicer cars that you can maintain. For sure. For sure. Love it.

Flights. Wednesday, I've made it. RIP spirit, by the way. Not, not wild. What a wild story. I saw videos on Instagram. Like, during the, like, at 8 p.m., they like went to a gate full of people. They're like, well, we shut down.

We shut down just about an hour. go, so we can't fly. And you're like, what? The funniest thing, they were like, hey, no more flights, no more customer service. And the joke was, they had customer service? At what point? Oh, God bless. I think like booking the non-budget airline is already like a step where you go, oh, wow.

You know, I felt like I made it when I chose not to connect. The non-stop. The non-stop is, and usually, not always, sometimes pricier. And so we would always like, oh, just connect to get the better deal. Have a layover. It might take a few more hours. Mine's not so much like the time of booking. Like I'd still get up early to make a flight.

You know what I mean? The time doesn't bother me as much, but the connection. That was big. That's true. I'm a time guy. Like if I... You hate an early flight. I hate an early flight.

Man, I love an early flight. Because I reverse engineering and go, okay, the flights at 545. I got to wake up at 2.30 to get to the airport by 3.45. Wait, wait. You get to the airport at 3. flights at 545? No, I'm just saying in general. Okay, okay. And you've got especially with like a family that takes even more

time and you're just like bleary-eyed, exhausted. That's true. It can take you out. You get your destination tired. I don't sleep well on planes. And so being able to go, you know what, I'm going to get the 11 a.m. It's a little more expensive. I'm going to do it. I'm not doing the red eye. Not, no, I would do an early over a red eye. That's a good one.

Well, that would not be good. But I still think first class is a scam and I will not do that. You know, I've started, you know, for a while, George and our friendship, I was a little pro where I was like, if that feels, it's fun if you get to do it. And I started backing off that stance. I'm more with you now. Wow. Yeah. I just think most airlines, it's not enough of a premium experience. Sure, international is a different story. But if I'm flying to Dallas, why pay $700 more? Yeah. That's insane to me. Like that's pretty crazy. So, I'm with you. I'm with you. Well, oh, I know, if I did have to take a red eye, I'd have to be comfortable.

which means I'd have to be in all my cozy earth at leisure because I'd have to snuggle up in that seat, hold myself like the fetal position, and try to go to bed through the night, which would be so bad. You're hoping the flights longer. You're so comfy. So bad, that's right, that's right.

Don't bother me. No, but Cozy Earth has amazing products, just the quality of what they have, you guys. The sheets, the bedding, the towels might be my new favorite. I've been rocking those. They're amazing. I mean, so wonderful. When I have to put that towel in the laundry,

I'm a little bit depressed. You're a little sad. Until it's clean again. Like, I want that clean and back in my drawer. 100%. I know. And the sleep sets, my wife loves the sleep sets. I got my own now.

Yes. They have a new like first layer lounge set, like shorts and a tea. Because I sleep hot. Especially for the summer. It's fantastic. The best. It's got that like stretchy, cool feeling material. And actually the shorts are cute.

Thank you. For the guys and the girls. They've got the band. It's like the Calvin Klein look. Yeah. Yes. Very stylish. So go check it all out and get up to 20% off.

Go to cozy earth.com slash smart money and use our code smart money at checkout. And when you get the post purchase survey, which I know you will, make sure to let them know that Smart Money Happy Hour sent you. Okay, George, let's end on the same inspirational notes that the Facebook comments gave us earlier. So one of the ultimate, I'm not broke any more milestones we hear is when people have an emergency fund, which is we say three to six months of expenses in liquid savings, like in a high yield savings account, to cover those unexpected costs. Yes. So we asked our team around the office, to share an emergency fund success story.

And we talked about that 15,000 one at the beginning of the episode. So again, the amount ranges, depending on stage of life, where you are, what you have, all the things. Yeah, and the age range here is like 26 to 63. So very different places financially, but they're all working the baby steps. And if they can do it, you can too. Okay, so the question was, what are some emergencies you are able to cover that the past version of yourself would never have been able to afford? We had Luke W. say I had to get four new tires last week, $987.

No problem. Brilliant. What are you singing there? No problem. Kenny Chesney? Yeah. Feeling a little cribby. No shoes, no shirt, new tires, no problem.

Did you hear that humming? That's how musical I get. Honestly, that was the best I've heard from you. So stay right in that zone. I think it's a sweet spot for you. It was so good. All right, Andy B. one of my favorite guys

my daughter came home from college with quote nubs for tires so I use my emergency fund to buy her a new set before she drove back to Knoxville Oh what a dad. That's such a sweet dad thing to do. We love an American dad. Can't send her back out without new tires.

I'm going to take care of those tires. Isn't that why daughters come home for their dads to like fix all the things in their life? I remember my dad filled up my gas tank one time. I was home riding and we stopped at a gas station and I remember he was like I'll get it.

And I thought, you do feel like you won the lottery at that. When you're a teenager, you're like, thank you so much. My daughter's like two, but this makes you want to do all these things for her. So she knows what a real man is. That's what's up. Abby W. said, oh, I just got the first little whiff of this sentence. George, this is for you. I love this.

My corgi broke her toe. And I was able to cash flow it for $700. George. That is a tune up compared to what I had to spend. sweet Abby Okay Color me stupid But I never thought about dogs having like

Tote Broken toes No Like I know you have a paw Like a broken paw But like there's separate little bones In each I mean I think so

If it's But in a human toe They feel nubby to me though Because I have broken a toe On my human foot And all you do is just tape it together There's nothing you really do Yeah they has to heal up on its own

Yes So would the corgi toe be like taped? Did it have a little? little cast? Did people, did other dog sign it? No, there's no cast. That's what I'm saying. There's no cast. They only wrap. They wrap your toes with your other toe. Interesting. We'll have to ask Abby about that. Abby, we got more questions. But those corgis, they're built different. They're very just low to the ground and awkward. I love it. All right, Samantha E. said, my third kid. Oh. That was an emergency?

She's the best. Was it a surprise? What makes that an emergency? We love her. Sam, one of our writers we love, or our writer, not one of. She is the writer. What we're looking at here? It's all thanks to her. All gold for her. I cash flowed a $40,000 home renovation, and the week I moved in, my HVAC went out. Hey, what's $5,000 more when you got it in the emergency funds?

I love this story. Because most people think, well, I'll just use the emergency fund for the home renovation. Yeah. Because I have the money. That's right. an emergency happens. That's right. So it's why we say, no, keep it separate.

The home renovation, not an emergency. Cash flow that, save for it separately. Because if the emergency comes up during it, you can so cash flow it. And that's where a sinking fund in a budget in your every dollar app really comes in handy. All right. John V. said one night after dinner, my oven decided to fry itself. Oh, no. Melted wires and all.

We replaced it on a random Tuesday and moved on with our lives. Love that. That's a nice one. Also kind of frightening. Like, what was going on behind the scenes? What was happening? Who installed that thing? Yeah.

I feel like there's a class action lawsuit there waiting to happen. Oh, my gosh. Wow. Well, there's something else we need to talk about, George, that not really an emergency, but could be seen as an emergency, is switching your bank. Well, a good place to put your own emergency fund. Oh, is in the bank, too. That's right.

Yes, at a high-yield savings account with Fair Wins. So Fair Wins has a smart bundle where you have a no-feet checking account. You can have up to 10 high-yield savings. savings accounts. So one of those can be your emergency funds. One can be the home renovation fund. Yeah. A great way to upgrade your life. Yeah, just keep on saving in those high yields accounts. And then you also get the debt as normal, be weird, Ramsey debit card with it. But fair ones is amazing. We've switched our banking and I love using my fair ones debit card. It's the best. Have you seen the wand thing where people use a wand and put their like credit card in? Yes, I am.

So I want to do that with my fair one's debit card and make a video of me using a wand to pay it Starbucks to be the most. Because you have your own money. So you don't need to borrow money. You don't need a credit card. You just... So that's what I'm going to do with my Ramsey themed Fairwinds card.

What are you going to do? Go get one for yourself at fairwins.org slash Ramsey. You can get that whole smart bundle with the fee-free checking and high-yield savings. Okay, here's what's wild, George. 37% of people cannot cover a $400 emergency in cash.

Woof. So if you can, you're probably doing better than you think you are. But again, wake-up call of things are going to happen in life. And yes, you may, we hope you're on the Ramsey plan to have some stability with your money and actually make it so you can do these fun things we've talked about in the episode. Ordering apps at a restaurant, you know, all the things. But for real, starting out wherever you are. So some of you, you are starting out with the

emergency fund. So even a starter emergency fund, baby step one is $1,000. If you have that, you're doing better than almost a fourth Yeah, a fourth of America, which is wild. Well, did you see my post from last night that I'm sure you don't follow me on Instagram too closely? I do follow you. I don't think I saw it though. This is what I posted.

Can you read it to the audience? Okay, it's all these different cans. You got spin drift, Waterloo, LaCroix. She's using Instagram. The post-Costco fridge stock is unrivaled. To me, this is living like no one else. Fun. This is my most recent I've made it moment,

is stocking the fridge with like eight different cans all the way back from my Costco run. We'll put it on the screen for the people. I don't mind sharing that with the world. Now, that makes me feel safe. It just makes me think there's such a spectrum of like fun I've made at moments. But really what it is is you have some margin. Yes. You're not worried about something happening in life because you have the right insurance.

You have the emergency fund. You've got the margin to invest and build wealth for the future. So I just want to let everyone know. And it's worth the short term sacrifice to get there. It really is. goalpost always moves. So if you're waiting for this like, well, one day I'm going to know I've made it. We kind of joke today with some milestones, but the goalpost is always moving. So enjoy your life. Live and give generously now. There's always going to be a bigger, better thing you could have.

And so learning to be content, which Rachel preaches a lot. Yeah, be present. Be grateful for what you have. I love it. Good lessons learned today. Well, before we spill the tea on our Guiltiest charged segments, let's give the details and our rating, George. This is the Grand Momosa. It's got orange juice, sparkling wide, and Grand Marnier. Which is like an orange liqueur. I don't like not like it. It's pretty sweet. Maybe the orange juice? Well, the Grand Marnier is a little sweet. Okay.

Because it's like an orange liqueur. So it's a pretty sweeter drink. So I'm going to go seven out of ten for me. Just because it feels very sweet. And I like more of a salty. Yeah. It reminds me of an orangina. You ever had one of those? Very classic in a cool glass bottle. But kind of a sparkling orange beverage. Okay. Yeah. I'll give it a seven out of a. 10 as well. Okay. Like I like a mimosa, but again, it's very sweet. Yes. So I prefer like a more

Bloody Mary. I know you hate those with a burning passion. I do not like, like gross. But if I'm going to go for like a brunchy thing, I'm going to go more brine. I mean, you like dirty martinis, which are very briny and olive. I figured you'd like some of them. I know. And every time I try a Bloody Mary, I want to like it because I would think I would, but I don't. Maybe you hate tomatoes. What do they do to you? Yeah, I'm not a big fan of tomatoes. Well, hey, it comes out to $3.30 for a glass of this. And if you're a big fan of mimosas, you're going to love this one. So Get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend.

All right, now it's time for. Guilty as charged. And this is where we ask each other a guilty as charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, the question is, were you ever guilty of stealing something as a kid? Oh, my gosh.

Did you ever steal anything? Other than the hearts of many young ladies. Of course. Other than that, yeah, there was a thing that still sticks with me is like, why did I do that? Like, that was so out of character. It's not who I am. but there was like a wallet on the floor of the school in the classroom and I grabbed it and I was like I just took a wallet like what am I doing?

And so I felt so bad that I had to like sneak the wallet back to the persons it was without them knowing that I took it. So I had to be like oh man I think you dropped your wallet. How long did you have it in your possession? Like less than the day like within the school day. Okay. I had returned it by I felt so bad. I was so overcome with guilt. Yes.

Totally. Totally. that I had to give it back. And I still think about that to this day because I'm like, why did I do that? Yes, yes. What was I going to do with the $3 that were in there? You know, like we're all for like in third grade. Some middle school kid.

Yeah. Totally, totally, totally. Oh, how about you? Yes, I'm not trying to think how old I was. I was maybe like sixth grade and we were in Clairs. Oh, classic place for theft. I know. No, and there was a key chain.

And I'm genuinely, I'm, you're a laugh. I'm genuinely. trying to remember if I like intentionally took it or accident you know you're like looking at stuff I just remember walk I have the memory because I can't I don't remember my motivation I really don't and I don't steal stuff so I just remember thinking like oh crap I have this keychain from clairs and I didn't pay for it and I did I went back oh wow yes and I may have even told the manager that like I have this and I didn't pay for it kind of thing did they were they upset no they just took it because I'm were thinking I'm going to go to jail like I was so young that you

thinks like you're going to go to jail. The police are going to come and arrest you. Can you imagine what are you in for? Like, Keetjohn from Clairs. How about you? They're like robbing a bank. Grand larceny. I know, I know.

Yeah, that's the closest thing I can remember. I wasn't really much of a sealer. What were you doing? I lied. Oh, okay, manipulative, pathological liar. Exactly. More my cup of tea. But no theft.

Just a theft of trust. else I did. We had a T-9 calculator with a case, so you'd slide the case up, and I'd put math formulas in the key, so I would just raise up the case behind the calculator, like I'm, and I'd get my formula.

Terrible, George. That's a big one. No, I did never cheat in in college because at UT, they said, like, they would kick you, you would get kicked out of college. That was a big enough consequence. Yes, I didn't feel that pressure

in middle school and high school. Yeah. It's terrible. Wow. I know that, and I didn't feel bad about that one. Claire's keychain, horrible. That one would have stuck with you. Thank you for your honesty.

Yeah, you're welcome. Did you cheat in high school ever? No, but I cheated in Awana. Have you heard of Awana? It's like a little Bible school thing. But they made us memorize all the books of the Bible, and I was so stressed out. And I had this little card that had the books on it.

And so I kept it like a real. Oh, it's like my T-9 calculator thing. Yeah, so I had it on the side, and I was kind of like looked like I was thinking, and I was reading off of the card. I was so stressed out that I was going to, like, fail this test. And looking back, I'm like, why did they make us do, like, what benefit is there?

I don't know, but I am jealous of the people, the kids that went to Christian school. It's like Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Ax, Romans, 1st, Corinthians, 2nd, they can like, name off the books of the Bible. I get to Romans, Ephesian, I get to some point. It's over. I don't, I have to like think through it. Or Old Testament. Skip to Revelation. Heck no.

You know, what else I want to know is the presidents in order. Oh, yeah. Some people that can rattle off those songs? Yeah. Man. I just find that it has no utility in the real world. Unless you're the trivia night that's themed. No, I think it does because someone's like, oh my gosh, you know, Ulysses S. Grant, so-and-so.

And you could be like, yeah. The seventh president? James Polk before him. I don't know. It sounds really smart. I think Polk and they were in very different parts of the presidency. Polk and Grant. Yeah.

Did you know this is a fun. fact that we talked about in a meeting, Rosa Parks could have watched Shrek 2? Yes, Rosa Parks, y'all, Rosa Parks signed a book that my second graders teacher has. Wow. Yes, and Caroline came home and was like flipping out about it. She's like, I literally saw Rosa Parks a signature. Yes. That's amazing.

And I think Ms. Yes, her teacher got it from a front or whatever the story is. Yes. That's something worth knowing. I know. Forget the presidents. Who else weird? Leonardo da Vinci. What about him?

How close he was to it. Was that him? Picasso? No, it was Picasso. I was like Da Vinci. In an earlier episode of Smart Money Happy Hour. DeVinci was alive when the hangover movies came out. Picasso was like really not that far away from us.

Yeah. Wasn't it like the 70s or something? Oddly close. Because I always put Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci in the same art category. never be invited to a trivia night. No, we'd be the worst people. No, we'd be terrible, terrible. Be very specific knowledge, like

Real Housewives, trivia night. And my toxic trait would be like, I would be so convincing. You're so confident. That I know it. And then we lose. And then she's like, no, sorry, that was Picasso. I'm not divinchey. Sorry, guys, that's not it.

Oh, hey, well, we're both guilty, George. Man, rough childhood. We're not good people. But who among us is without sin? That's right. That's right. Well, if you have a guilty as charged question for us, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz

and at George Campbell. We get them, we screenshot them, and we send them to Jenna, our producer. They've been really good lately. Thank you. Yeah, seriously, y'all been so helpful. Be creative. If you listen to the show,

you'll know which ones we've done. So don't send us any repeats. Now, if you enjoyed this episode, you're going to love our episode on reacting to If I can't buy a home, why don't I just be gorgeous? We'll link that one for you. And make sure to subscribe

so you don't miss an all-new episode of. Smart Money Happy Hour.