Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - The ’90s Are Back! (And Coming for Our Cash)

Episode Date: May 4, 2023

Is Blockbuster about to pull an Abercrombie? Rachel and George discuss the rise and fall of iconic ’90s businesses. Which ones are headed for a comeback, which ones are gone but not forgotten, and how does nostalgic marketing affect your spending today?   In This Episode:   ·      Are Beanie Babies and other throwback keepsakes a smart investment? ·      Has technology ruined our generation and our favorite brands? ·      Rachel performing a memorable answering machine rap from her childhood   Helpful Resources:   ·      Get your finances organized, make a plan, build up your confidence, and kick money stress out of your life for good with the EveryDollar budgeting app. Go to www.everydollar.com/smart to get started today! ·      Enter the Ramsey Cash Giveaway for a chance at $3,000! https://bit.ly/SMHHgvwy ·      Do you have a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George? Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it.      ·     Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy     This Week’s Happy Hour Special: Bottoms Up Ingredients: ·      1 1/3 ounces cognac ·      2/3 ounce Cointreau ·      1/6 ounce grenadine ·      1/6 ounce heavy cream ·      1 egg yolk   Instructions: Pour all ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker. Give it a good shake, then strain the liquid into a cold glass and enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Cheers. Delicious. So this is the podcast where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. Everything from pop culture, current events, and money.

And today, these millennials are living the dream. Literally, 90s nostalgia, our childhood, Rachel, and how it affects. our money. We're coming at you with Beanie Baby prices, Vylor Tracks suits, and the potential return of Blockbuster. I can't, I kid you not. It's all happening. So good. Okay, before we get into the episode, we are sipping

on a great cocktail today. You know what they say, Rachel, hydrate or hydrate? That's what the kids are saying. That's what the kids are saying. I think they mean with water, not with cocktails. But this, we are hydrating to. This is called a bottoms up, and it's very milky and delicious, and we'll tell you what's in it. We're going to give you the

recipe and rate it at the very end of the episode, so stick around for that. It's very different, but it's really good. Okay, so, George, the 90s. How did you feel about the 90s? We were both 90s, officially. I was born in 89, so that was my time. I was 88, so I was 2 in the 80s. I can't really claim the 80s.

Can't claim the 80s. Is it weird that your kids were born in like 2019? Oh, yeah. Isn't that crazy? I know, I know. And when I say, like, I'm born in 1988, it starts to feel old. Like, I feel like when people look at my ID somewhere, they just, like, see the 19, and they just think you're old.

Wow. That is weird. Because now, like, when they go to card people, they don't, they just see, like, oh, is it 2001? Great. That's right. That's right. So the 19 is key. Well, you're a great brand ambassador, I feel like, from the 90s because you keep up with the trends,

and the 90s trends are back in. They are. Like the mom jeans are in, high-waisted. the hair parts, like everything, and you keep up. I don't. It's kind of crazy, though. It's funny to see it cycle because I feel like the 80s kind of had their comeback for a little bit years ago. And now we're seeing the 90s.

I'm like, no, I remember that stuff. I saw this girl on TikTok. What's so special about it? I don't know, but I saw this girl on TikTok and she had one of those hair. I don't know if you'll remember this. It's like a hair claw looking bands, like it has all these spikes, and you put it up and it would have beads and stuff, but it would like part your hair all these ways.

And you leave it in like while you sleep? What's the, what do you do? No, no, it was like a headband. Oh, okay. But I saw this, like, 18-year-old girl try to, like, figure it out, and she did it. And she was like, oh, my gosh, this is so cute. And she was like, if y'all know what era they wore these in, leave a comment because, like, this is adorable. I was like, what era?

Well, I saw there was, like, a vintage doll ad and it had, like, a little flip phone. Oh, no. We're now vintage. It's all happening. We have made it. Okay. So what about the 90s? Do you remember?

Like, like, list me off some stuff, George, just to take us back for the podcast. I'm going to go, I was more into, like, the games, TV, internet, toys versus fashion. Because I had no fashion sense. I barely do today. If it wasn't for Whitney, we wouldn't be here. But games, I love pogs.

Did you ever play pogs? Like I had a little flat. Yes. With a slamer. The flat little milk caps. I love Pokemon. I loved Game Boy, Sega, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, the OG.

I was obsessed. Yes. And then TV, like, remember when TV was special? Oh. And, like, TGIF was on on a Friday night. Big deal. Step by step by step? Yes.

I found out all the shows that are on here. There were so many gems. Boy Meets World, Full House, step by step. Sister, sister, family matters, dinosaurs, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and hanged with Mr. Cooper. All on Tjif. Y'all. They had it. ABC had the market share for great TV.

They did. So I was more Nickelodeon kid. So, like, Legends of the Hidden Temple. Yep. Are you Afraid of the Dark? All of that. So good. And then I was the shopper, supermarket sweep.

That's come back. The game shows. Okay. And then here's the really vintage one. Not many people watch this one. Shop till you drop. Yes. With the two-story mall?

Do you remember that one? I remember the two-story mall? And they're running from store to store. We need to bring that back. Shop till you drop. Was that the beginning of like consumer culture of craziness? I feel like they started it. They probably did.

To where people just started doing that in real life. But then music. Oh my gosh. I mean, N-Sink, Backstreet, Brittany. It was all like that late 90s into the early 2000s. Now that's what I call music. Oh, so good. Who needs Spotify playlist when you have Now That's What I Call Music.

I know. Just get that CD and let it go. And then all the foods, Rachel, and I thought it would be fun for this episode to bring you a vintage Dunkeroo's. Yeah. Get out of that. And I got you the best flavor, vanilla cookies and rainbow chip frosting. George, what a gem you are.

You are a giver. Well, I can't eat them because gluten, so. I thought someone should enjoy this. They're not actually from the 90s, so you can eat them. They brought it out. Yeah, it expires in September, so I think we're good. Of 1997. Of 23.

Are you going to try one live? Should I? I think I will. Okay, so my fashion ones were, though, the butterfly hair clips. Yep. Anyone? And then the zigzag part, and you'd sit there with a comb and try to get the zigzag. The Olson twins really rocks those.

They were like in their prime. Were they the influencers of the day? I kind of think they were. They had some 1,000 percent. They had some gems, the old Olsen twins. You ever watch How the West was fun? Yes. That was one of my favorites.

You love that one at the Olson twins? I was obsessed with the Mary Kay Nationally books and then the movies. With Bar Gafouli, go back and watch that. Okay, did you in your room, did you have the glow in the dark stars on your ceiling? Oh, 100%. Yes. I can still, like, see them. And then you know what I got that I felt very like, oh my gosh.

At one point, I had a blow-up chair. It was like a... The inflatable furniture era? Yes, the inflatable. And then I had beads that would come down from my doorway. Oh, yeah, lava lamps. And that you would walk in in lava lamps, all of it. Yeah, y'all, that was my jam.

I feel like all that stuff is now hippie. You know, like lava lamps and beads and stone. Is it hitting? It's so good. She was just transported. That is unbelievable. It's 1998. You're on the house phone.

I'm on the house phone with my own line. Did you ever have your own line? No, we weren't that level of wealth, Rachel. We had the party line. Oh, okay. You picked up, you know. Like, you remember those days when you wanted to call? I mean, I had to do that.

The AOL free trial discs. I remember me and Denise, we had a landline. We got our own line when we were like in probably middle school. Wow. And I remember the message on our answering machine. Please. Can you? Are you ready for this?

Say it out loud? My dunkeroo needs stuff. Okay, let her chew. I don't want to choke. Does it still hit the same, though? There's Dunker Rouge? We wrapped. You and Denise, your sister, wrapped into the voicemail on the phone.

You had the answering machine. Okay, was there like a beat to it? Did someone do it? Like, did she do the beat and you did the rap? Or did you both rap? I think we both did it. I think we saw this somewhere. I'm so nervous right now.

Let's give her the, let's give her a minute. This show was great while it lasted. Oh, no. Okay. I'm not going to be able to get there. Yulger made me laugh. Hey, quiet on set? No, I don't.

You're making me nervous. How did we? We didn't even get far. Are you beatboxing while you were rapping? One of them was, probably. This is Rachel Denise's line. You know what to do. Leave a message and we'll get back to you.

At any point, did you think this should rhyme or, like, be a actual rap? It does rhyme. At what point did that what you just said rhyme? This is Rachel and Denise's line. You know what to do? Leave a message and we'll get back to you. Okay, one more time. I'm trying to get the cadence of it.

Like, okay, I'll do the beatboxing. I can't. It's bleeding into me singing right now and I'm very nervous about it. I just got a wrap. So I'm done, George. It happens. And that's it. This is Rachel and Denise's line?

You know, yep. You already had a rough start Just all those syllables packed in there Like a Bob Dylan song I know you think we're rappers But we are This is Rachel and Denise's line Yeah, you know what to do

Why that's such few syllables To put after such a long line George We've heard in like the fifth grade I don't know I don't know This is Rachel and Denise's line You know what to do

Leave a message And we'll get back to you Okay it was more of that cadence Oh no my version was better. Oh, I barged it. Oh, I'm sorry. Somehow, that was the worst take we've heard of that today. That wasn't it at all, actually. Oh, my gosh. Okay. Well, let's, for anyone who's still listening out there, we're going to talk about how this relates to money, I promise you. And let's talk about why we're bringing this up. This all was sparked because we were in a meeting and we found out that Blockbuster is coming back potentially. I can't believe this and I'm so happy about it. So the Guardian, did a potential comeback in a recent article saying that Blockbuster's website recently put up a brand new landing page and said, we are working on rewinding your movie. What is happening?

The instant serotonin rush of having to rewind. Like, you're like, oh gosh, we got to rewind. Oh, man, Blockbuster. Those were the days, though. There's something to be said. There's character to be built when you grew up with a Blockbuster that you didn't get everything on demand. And you would go, and then your movie wouldn't be behind the case.

and you dealt with disappointment as a child. Pivot. Pivot. You had to pivot. And go for your second choice. Yes. Like there is limits in life and you learned that in Blockbuster. And kids don't learn that these days.

And we paid attention. When that movie was on, you were glued. Oh, my gosh. Now we put on a movie for background while we go on our phones. So true. Yes. After spending 45 minutes trying to choose something on Netflix. I know.

And you go to the case and it's just, it felt like an endless amount. But there was an endless. I thought. I feel like I can remember the smell. I know. It was so good. And when you had like a sleepover, did your parents like bring all your friends and y'all got to pick out? I mean, it's the whole thing.

It's a whole experience. They opened up a blockbuster. I think I would do it. Like, well, would it be VHS? DVDs? I guess Blu-ray would have to be the thing. Yeah, it would be Blu-ray. Yeah.

I don't even know if I have a Blu-ray player. I kind of would go back. I would go back in time. I would invest. I would. You say that. That's the question. Would people actually show up if they reopen the blockbuster?

Or is it more like a nice to have? You think they would? I would. Well, I know you would. and I would because we're good people. But do you think that like... Thank you, me. The world would.

I think that, yeah, a lot of millennials would. We love Nassau. You were a Blockbuster family, though. There was like movie gallery and some other ones. We had like a little local one of my town. Oh, yeah. There was a Hollywood... Video.

Hollywood video. That was a big one. But Blockbuster was it, yeah, that was our... That was ours, our go-to. But Dave and Sharon were cool with you guys running movies on the weekend. Like, how did that go down? Yeah.

They just would take you there and go, right, pick a movie. So what's crazy is, like you had Blockbuster and then you had was it Red Box that kind of came out in between

and that's when Netflix started coming on the scene but they would be DVDs and they would ship it to your house I was a part of that did you were you a part of the early days of Netflix?

We did and come in that red envelope yes and it was magical I mean that was still like a really cool something showed up in the mail you were waiting to see this movie but then Netflix

started to take over and Red Box I don't know that they I mean they're still around Yeah, I don't think I ever did Redbox. Did you? Oh, I love them. They're only a dollar.

But like no one's doing it today. They're still around. They're around, but who's doing it? Obviously someone, because they're still there. Because they're still there. Okay, I believe it. So, but Blockbuster, yeah, it almost just like tanked overnight when Netflix went from the DVDs to streaming in 2010. And so this map of the U.S. is actually pretty fascinating.

It shows the rise and the decline of... Blockbuster franchise throughout the mid-1980s through the early 2000s. And you just like literally watch it. The time lapse of it growing to over 5,000 and then just shrinking back down to one tiny store. That's right. But there's actually one store. Yeah. Still in Oregon.

Bend, Oregon. If you want to go, it's a tourist attraction. They have merch that says Blockbuster and Chill apparently. I don't know that I'd like take a trip out there just for that. Feels like a lot of effort. I know. It sounds fun though. Why not?

Oh, boy. Well, we can't predict the future. Like, I would have never guessed that it was like, oh, one day these will all go away. We'll never pop in a DVD ever again. But here we are. And so it makes you think, like, what else is going to go away that we know and love today? Oh, that's a great question. I don't know.

What else could become irrelevant? I mean, the obvious stuff is like... Stanley Cups. I mean, obviously fashion trends. They come and go. Yeah, but technology is what's interesting. Because once you live with technology, though, you always think, oh, it's going to be around forever. A Game Boy, you'll always have it.

A Walkman, you'll always have. Like, and we're iPods. I remember having an iPod and then thinking your iPods turning into a phone. Oh, yeah. Like with the iPhone. You know what I mean? Like, you just can't, I just can never imagine beyond what we have. So I'm like, yeah, would the iPhone become irrelevant one day?

The iPhone? Yeah, because people talk about, like, the glasses. Have you seen this, like, what is wrong? Are you okay? So I'm wearing my glasses and I can see my entire iPhone in my eyeball? And there's like a whole thing. And like, it's like the eye movement. Have y'all not see this?

The rapid eye, all this. Yeah, like it's just, it's like a new thing. Like, Google Glass just died. Like, they shut that thing down because nobody wanted it. Is that what I'm talking about? Maybe. I think so. I just don't know, like, something sound cool and futuristic, but they don't, we all thought we'd have flying cars by now, if we're going to be honest.

We barely have self-driving cars. I mean, Tesla's, you know, they're trying. Yeah. I think that will be the future, though. I think when I get in my Tesla, I think this is the future of cars. Like, I really do. They're on to something. Yes.

I just don't see it ever going back. and they're so advanced, it feels like, that I just feel like every car eventually will get to that point. Well, technology flips so fast now. I mean, you buy something, and then two years later, it's like, you still have the iPhone 12? Oh, my gosh. I've lost count of, like, the iPhone numbers now.

We're at 14. 14. Thank you, George. And you have a watch, Apple watch. And that's been around for a good bit. Yeah. I don't think it's going to go away. I think we'll always have, like, wearable tech.

I think that's going to be. Now they have, like, rings that, like, check your heartbeat. Oh, yeah. They have babies. stuff where the baby puts a sock on and it's always like capturing their heartbeat. I know. Are you going to get one for baby camel? Well, the 90s saw a lot of tech advances, of course, and iconic trends.

I mean, I remember when you logged on to the internet, it was special. There was only four websites you could go to. You'd load up AIM. Yep. And you'd go, who's logged on to chat? You watch that little yellow guy with the blue backgrounds. And now I can text my friends at any time. And I don't.

And people say like the good old days and were they, George? Like, if we could. I think it was simpler times. I think it was simpler times, too. We look back with like nostalgia and now we're like we would never want to go back. But there's a level of I think we all feel of anxiety that we did not have back then largely due to technology. So much. I mean, I think every study that's out around technology and social media is negative. I mean, like it's not good for us.

And I feel like that's being proven over and over and over. You know, when you have teenagers, I mean, all the above. So, yeah, I feel like it was a simpler time. You didn't know if you weren't invited to a birthday party because it wasn't posted everywhere, you know? Well, the 90s were historically, Wikipedia says, remembered as a time of strong economic growth, steady job creation, low inflation, rising productivity, economic boom, and a surging stock market. Yep. And research from Brookings Institution also says that personal bankruptcies climbed and personal savings rates plummeted. So isn't that interesting that even though the world, even though they say, and it was a great economic time in the 90s, personally a lot of people did struggle, which probably has a lot of theories, a lot of reasons why. But I think that's one reason, too, even in our world today, regardless of what the news is saying, positive or negative about the economy, like, what is going on in your home? And I think that's what's important is focusing, again, because in the 90s, yeah, it was strong economic growth, all this stuff.

But bankruptcies were climbing. I mean, like people weren't doing well to a degree. So, again, focusing on what's going on in your home versus what the headlines are saying is always a good role of thumb in life, George. That's good. I like that. And, you know, all the technology back then, cell phones, laptops, e-mails. that you've got male vibes, which I finally just watched. I know you're proud of me.

I'd never seen it. What did you think about it? It held up really nicely. It does. It made me think simpler times. Simpler times. You know? There's no texting.

They had to show up. I know. It was a great, great movie. And all the portables, too. That was a big time for portables, the Walkman, the Motorola. The built in CD-ROM drives and laptops. That was a big deal when they got CD-ROM. I remember that.

CD-ROM drives. CD-ROM drives. But there's a lot of other things. that disappeared outside of Blockbuster. Do you remember some of the ones? Here's a list, and this is going to make me very sad. But we're going to go down memory lane here. The 90s graveyard.

Borders, bookstores. Borders. RIP. Toys R Us. That one is still a shock to me that they went out of business. I can't believe that. They just didn't innovate. They just said, no, we won't sell anything online.

Believe that. Circuit City. Love Circuit City. I know. Tower Records. Deelias? I would get that catalog in the mail. Was that like a Clare's type place? No, it was closed, but it was all catalog,

wasn't it? Or did they have stores? Okay, I don't think we had a store in Nashville. But I would get the catalog. Delias, oh my gosh, it's so weird. This one's more in my lane. Comp USA. Was that the computer? I loved going to, yeah.

No, was that? You get computers there. Yeah. I don't know if I remember. I just remember going and getting like a thumb drive with like 500 megabytes on it, which I know means nothing to you. That feels like a lot of space.

you, but that's half a gigabyte. So think about your phone has 128 gigabytes. You're still saying words that I don't care about. Anyways, for the nerds out there, you'll remember Comp USA. My Comp USA homies out there. They're out there. Zaney-brainy. Why do I know that name? I didn't, I wasn't a Zany-brainy guy. I can't grasp it, but I remember that. Zany-Brainy. I do remember KB Toys. I don't remember that one. We had that one in the mall and I'd go there and get my tech decks. Remember the tech decks? No, I don't. Tell me more. They're tiny skateboards. And so I was a big skater boy. And so we would have like entire skate

parks that were like handheld and we'd go to our friends' houses and we'd film with a camera like to see if we could land tricks on our fingerboards. And you thought my wrapping was uncool. I'll be honest. Tech Decks were the coolest thing back in the day.

We were actually punk rock. You video. Oh boy. In the suburbs. Oh my gosh. Okay. Sharper image Sports Authority. Sports Authority. he's gone? Are you thinking Academy Sports or what are you thinking? I remember Sports Authority.

And it is gone. I guess it is. I mean, I haven't seen it. You didn't support them. You should have done more sports. Man, Suncoast, motion picture company and Sam Goody. There's my Sam Goody. I thought it was always Sam and Goody's.

Do you call it Kroger's too and Walmart? No, but Castorna Nauts, I did. Castler Not. Wow. That's an old Southern department store. They're all a relic of the past now. I know. It's so sad.

So there was a lot of suburban growth going on. shopping malls and so all these stores popped up and then because of tech they disappeared man everyone just went we can do that online now we can just do that you know we don't need to go buy the CD when we get on

iTunes or Napster so what's crazy Lime wire Rachel Lime wire totally did did you did you download illegal music I mean I did all the time and then viruses would always hit and I was like I can't tell everyone that I downloaded and then I had to like go to my dad back something happened to the computer it's going to

I'm slow. I know. Gosh. So embarrassing. Golly. Those were the good old days. Okay, but what's funny is now all the teens on TikTok are bringing the 90s back. Bless them.

I know. So now it's all new to them. They're very excited. They're very excited about it. Juicy Couture is having to come back? Yes. Birkenstock is huge. Champion?

The big sweatshirts and stuff. I'm like, oh my gosh. God bless. But Jinko jeans is coming back. You remember those? The super wide leg all the way down. Are you sure they really are? Those are back?

Doc Martins. Huge comeback for Doc Martins. Yes. Oh, Abercrombie, they're back and I am all for it. Have you been there? On my jean. Have you shop there online or what? Online. Oh, yeah, online. Oh, wow. All my jeans now, my pants, my shorts for the summer, my tops.

My sweaters were all Abercrombie this winter. They're fantastic. But you remember walking into an Abercrombie back in the day? Yeah, and you had to like scoot past the dude who was like shirtless. And you were just hit with a wall of cologne. It was so bad. It was super dark and like loud. and they're like blasting club music.

I know and Hollister, like always tried to be up there, Paxson. Like there was always the stores that tried to be Abercrombie, but Abercrombie still made the... Still the go. Yeah. And Tommy Hilfiger and Guess making a comeback. Really? Some classic, iconic brands.

Those are classic. So... How do they pull it off, Rachel? Man, well, many of them now partner with influencers. Back to our influencers episode, we did. Yep. So they... So instead of probably these massive marketing campaigns on commercials and TV, all that,

they don't do that anymore. Or magazines, there's no magazines or newspapers. So, yeah, they go straight. straight to the influencer on social media, and it works. It works because they're back. So our middle school wardrobe, George, that was so retro. I don't think my wardrobe from middle school is coming back. Oh, really?

Not a great era for a lot of the guys out there. Okay, you know, one thing, since we're speaking of clothes, the ladies will appreciate this. And I saw it literally this weekend on Instagram. The popcorn shirts, do you remember these shirts that were tiny? Yes. And you put on, they would expand. They're back.

No. They are back. Yep, they're back. That hurts my brain. So just take that in for a second, too. Okay. No, no. Well, this is wild.

Abercrombie and Fitch brought in more revenue in 2021 than they did in 2004. No. Is that inflation? I don't know how they're doing it. No, you know what? I will say the stores are so much better now with women and how they look. Because before, it was like you had to be the certain body type to fit into these certain clothes, all this. And now it's like, oh, yeah, everything is celebrated.

like body types. So the range of everything. Sizes for everyone, which expands their market. It used to be like, well, if you don't look like this, then you're not for us. Yep.

And I think they've nixed that. So I think that was their 2004 slogan. And now it's like, oh, yeah. We're going to make clothes for everybody. And of course the revenue goes out. That's amazing. Smart. Well, in 2017, Juicy Couture

collaborated with Urban Outfitters to produce a 2000s nostalgia collection. I used to work at Urban Outfitters. No, you didn't. Yeah. And for a short season in 2009. and I still'm like, who's, I've been back there.

I'm like, who's wearing these clothes, Rachel? But it's all the 90s stuff coming back. And I can't wear baggy clothes. No, you can't. Look, I'm wearing my dad's. Like, it just, it's not a good fit. Yeah, I think you're smart, George. They told me skinny jeans were out.

Yeah, no, you stay on your track, George. Thank you. You said that with just beautiful condescension. Thank you. Okay, so what's crazy, though, is nostalgia actually releases the same chemicals in the mind as joy. So it's dopamine and serotonin. So it honestly does make you feel good. So when you see these new items coming back as new that remind you of your childhood,

you are going to be more apt to buy because it like chemically literally hits your brain. Yes. Isn't that interesting? It makes sense. I'm like, yeah, I get that. So when you do feel this like nostalgia and you're like, oh my gosh, I do kind of want to go back and try this stuff, you know, you can easily overspend. And it's not just fashion, George, because other brands are coming back.

Like record players are coming back. Game boys coming back. all this stuff. So it can be easy to overspend if you get very excited to go back to your childhood. So again, making sure like, hey, do I have the money? Is it in the budget? And then I would say, too, add to cart and don't buy. Wait two days and then see, you know, did all the serotonin and everything tie down? And then you're like, do I really need that? You know, you really can go through that process. Well, a lot of these companies use urgency and scarcity to market to you to go like, this is a limited release. Yes. You will never get this again.

And so everyone jumps on it at top dollar price. Yep. Making them record profits. That's right. And then we go, oh gosh, there's just another thing that's going to sit in my closet. Like, I just wanted it because everyone else wanted it. And I thought I never did it. And it was fun and all this stuff.

Yeah. So if you are susceptible to that kind of fomo, you need some extra pause that need to be extra tight on that budget to go like, if you want it, it's great, budget for it. Yep. And do it for the right reasons. But don't just do it because of like, phomo. That's right. Okay.

I'm going to give you a list of items, George. I want to know if you would buy this stuff at this price. Are you ready? Ooh. So a Sony Walkman portable cassette player is $199. $200. Would you buy it? No.

Yeah, I wouldn't either. I'm going to go like $20 bucks. Tomagachi, $17.99? That's a good price. I can spring for that. Okay. Would you buy it? Would you buy it?

I might as well just buy a house plant if I'm going to try to keep something alive. I wouldn't buy it. The Prada nylon purse is $1,400. It's $1,400. Are you ready for this? 815% in the last three years. Who's buying this? I don't know, but not me.

Yikes. Oh, God, rare edition. Beanie babies for up to $41,000. No, people. Who are these? I want to meet these people. That's stupid. I don't, I'm not mean on this podcast a lot.

But if you spend $41,000 on a beanie baby, I just don't think that's wise. You can't be friends. Even Rachel won't be nice to you. And she was voted friendliest in high school. And even she's like, no. I think that's really stupid. So, no. I like either you have an addiction of some sort or you are so wealthy that you're bored.

I guess. Okay. 90s Nike tennis shoes, $119. That could be fun. That feels fair. Yeah, that feels fair. I can go there. All right.

Throwback claw clips on Amazon. I've done it. Yes, $9.99. 100%. That's a good price point. Yeah, for sure. Precious moments. God love with a cheerful giver figurine for $25.

A vintage Nintendo Game Boy for 130. That's pretty fun. I just found an old one at the house, and it still worked. I cleaned up. There was all the weird, like, gross battery. Tetris, like, and all the lookings. It had Pokemon loaded up in there. Yeah, it did.

That's awesome. I would do that, but the Nintendo Switch is actually, like, I don't, I haven't played video games in so long, but the switch is actually really cool. Oh my gosh. The original Molly American Girl Dolls up to $3,000. We have that. My girls play with my original. Sell it and pay for their college with it. You put it in a good growth stock.

Mutual Fund, Rachel. You know. That's unbelievable. That's big money. A Michael Jordan jersey is only $150. I'm shocked. I'm shocked. I'm shocked. I thought it was like an original.

I was like, there's no way. Okay. Ameri Kate and Ashley, so little time. Full series DVD set. Are you ready for this? $109. I'll go in on that way. George, should we do it? Should we do it?

As long as we can also watch how the West was fun after. And have a pizza party. And go to Blockbuster. Would your girls, watch like a Mary Kate and Ashley movie today? Oh yeah, they would love it. And they would still, it would hit still. I kind of think it would. I really do. Okay. I'll try it. We'll see. So there's a lot of nostalgia here, George. So what can we learn from blockbuster all the way to these trends? Well, number one, a lot of people buying this stuff, they're justifying the

purchase by saying, well, it's an investment. Like, it's going to hold its value. I can resell it later for more, and therefore I'm going to buy it. We don't believe in buying collectible. as an investment. If you want to buy collectibles and do it with a budget with cash because you're passionate, that's fine. But when you're investing, stick to the stock market in mutual funds and real estate. And, you know, there may be a lucky person out there who can sell that Beanie Baby for $40,000 because apparently someone's buying it. But don't bank on that being you. Yeah, that's good. And so do your research when you buy the stuff. I would also say don't be emotional with the purchase. Because even as we listed this is like, oh my gosh, my gosh,

my memory, I can tell you this and that and that. And so you can let that go on overdrive, you end up spending way more than you should based on emotion. So don't let that dopamine rush take over your purchasing decisions. Let that die down on anything, nostalgia or not. Let that die down and figure out, do I really need the item? That's good advice. And then we have our Ramsey Baby Steps, which is get out of debt, build wealth, and it's all in a certain order. So if you're on Baby Step 7, meaning you have no debt, a paid-for house, and you've got an interest in some of this crazy stuff, like, you know, the vintage stuff, the specialty stuff that's only once in a lifetime. It's super expensive. Go for it. But make sure that you have a good balance of saving,

giving, and spending. If you're too out of control in one area, you got a flat tire. Yep, for sure. And then last, I would say, make sure that you don't feel like you are diving into every trend all the time. Because there's always going to be something, right? Like, whether it's technology or clothes, like there's always going to be the new trend. And then you end up spending a lot of money. And then what does America do? They switch trends. And so, companies and all that, they switch their, you know, they switch what they're doing with stuff. And then you're like, oh gosh, everything I just bought now is irrelevant. So now I've got to go buy what's relevant. So it feels exhausting. That's the biggest thing with trends for me is I just,

I don't have the mental or emotional bandwidth to keep up. So what I do is, I'm like, if I really like something that's very trendy, I'm like, I'll buy a couple of things, but just not, not high quality. So I'm like, it's probably not going to be out soon, right? A knockoff cheap version. No, I do that, but just like. Fine. Get the Prada nylon purse. No, I don't want. I'm not doing that. But yeah, so just kind of balance out, hey, what is, you know, where can I kind of skimp on the quality just to be with the trend?

And then once it's done, it's done. That's legit. All right. So, Lindsay is going to give us a few 90s rapid fire questions, and we just have to respond with the first thing that comes to mind. Okay. Are you ready? Yep. All right.

Favorite 90s TV show. Go. Step by step. Friends. Favorite 90s snack? Dunkeros. Gushers. Love it.

90s Celebrity crush. Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Brittany Spears. Okay. Best 90s pop band. In sync. Backstreet boys. Whoa.

Dual. More soul, more talent. What can I say? Favorite 90s fashion trend. Oh, man. I'm going to go Butterfly Clips. I had so many of those that I would go. I'm going to go windbreakers.

Nice. One's got to do it. Thank you. Let the jacket breakers. the wind. Oh my. Last one. The best Christmas or birthday gift you ever received as a 90s kid.

My gosh. George, if you have yours, go first. Offender, Squire, kids, electric guitar. That's good. That's good. I got the pink version of the Home Alone talkback. I don't know what that is. You know, in Home Alone where he had the thing that liquid.

Oh, yes. I got that, but in pink. Love it. Wow. It was great. learned how to talk back. It was great. It all started back then.

All started there in that little recorder. Wow. That's fun. So good. I'm sure everyone listening and watching is reminiscing now if they're anywhere new. I hope they are because it's so fun. All right. We're almost to the end of the episode.

And this is when we do the segment, guilty as charged. And this is where our producer, Lindsay, gives us a new guilty-as-charged question every week. And if we are guilty, we have to take a sip of the drink. Lindsay, what is it this week? Yep. All right. Have you ever bought something that your parents didn't approve up? Oh, man.

Yes. You go. Do you have it? Yeah. There's so many. Rachel's like, oh, my gosh. Well, like a Hollister skirt. A jean skirt.

Like one of the jeans skirts? No. It was like the cloth, like the cotton ones. Like a tennis skirt? No. Like a pencil skirt? I'm running out. I don't know any more skirt.

I can't visualize it. Like a cotton one. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Was it not modest enough?

Yeah. I wore it. And he was like, you got to take that back. That looks like a washcloth. So what did I do? Put it in my purse and changed at the movie theater. You know, you know Papa Dave is listening to this right now. What's he going to do to me?

Does he know? But does he find this out for the first time that you did that? Probably. Well, no. We had confession night at the, like, house a few years ago. So we told mom and dad like, and that was, that's a spin-off podcast right there. That was the nice one. Just record that. And we told them everything of like when we, if we like snuck out, like, like, you know, stuff we did. So I, I bought some punk rock CDs. I grew up in a very like

it was Arabic, evangelical Christian, you know, veggie tales all day long, not watching MTV. And so I bought, you know, like Blinkwan 82 CD and it says parental advisory. And, you know, my parents were less than enthused. Oh, yes. Then I bought that without their knowledge at Strawberries was the name of our record store. Strawberries. This is where I'd go. There was a clothing store called Strawberry. Wow. Back in the day too. Maybe in the south. In Boston, it was all rock and roll to us. Buying my Britney Spear CDs and Blink 192 CDs. Oh my gosh. That's so funny. That's so funny. But music was the one for me where I was like, I feel bad. Like you had headphones at the time. Yep. On my Walkman or whatever. And so

they didn't know what I was listening to. And they didn't know. What a rebel. I turned out okay. What a rebel, George, unbelievable. Okay, so I think we're both guilty. I'm like sweating, confessing all of this. Well, me too. I, geez, golly.

You're going to be getting a. Okay. Let's talk about this drink, though, because I think I finish and I just see. Yeah. It's kind of wiggum. It's kind of wiggin me out. I'm wigged out now. It's a bottoms up.

I think Rachel was much closer to finishing, almost to the end. Now I'm regretting. What's your rating? You seem to enjoy it. Well, before I saw the end of the glass, it was going to be like a eight. Like I thought it was really good. I don't think I would like order it at a restaurant though.

It lost the point for you visually. Yeah, because there's an ingredient in here that's really sketch. I'll tell you what it is, Rachel. This includes cognac, quontro, which is a triple sec, grenadine, heavy cream, and egg yolk. Not egg white, which is in a lot of cocktails, egg yolk, which didn't wig me out until the end of this class. If you like kind of like a boozy,

creamy drink. I thought it was good. Yeah. I'd probably give it a seven out of ten. I'm not big on like dairy drinks that are like thicker. Yeah. That's kind of not felt. But it's really good. And it only costs $2.86 a glass, which was surprising. So great. Okay. So I'm going to say this, George, since we like just mesh both of those. If you have a guiltiest charged question or an idea, DM us on social at George Cam With the K, at Rachel Cruz. And if you liked the drink or you want to try it, make sure to check out the recipe in the show notes.

because it is there. And of course, we always would love for you to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode and share it with the friends, rate it, just kind of engage with it because it helps us get the word out because we have fun doing it. Yes. And if you love a good nostalgia moment, you love this episode, leave us a review, comment on YouTube. We've got a lot of people now watching us over there. So appreciate you guys tuning in, seeing all Rachel's hilarious reactions. It's a good time. And join us next Thursday for an all-new episode of Smart Money.

Happy Hour.