Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - There’s a Fee for That and We’re OVER It—What Now?

Episode Date: March 2, 2023

Biden’s not feeling the junk fees and neither are we! Turns out Americans are being nickeled and dimed to the tune of $24 billion a year, which begs the question­­––what are we going to do about all the junk fees?   In This Episode:   ·     Why companies have you paying junk fees instead of raising their prices ·     The quaint way Rachel used to pay for her fav fashions at Hollister ·     A creepy $5 Airbnb fee you should look for before you book your next getaway 👻 Helpful Resources:   ·     Be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card when you take our listener survey! Click here to let us know what you think.    ·     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.   ·      Get your finances organized, make a plan, build up your confidence, and kick money stress out of your life for good with the EveryDollar budgeting app. Click here to get started today! ·     Learn more about your ad choices. https://www.megaphone.fm/adchoices ·     Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy   This Week’s Happy Hour Special:    Painkiller 🏝🍹 2 ounces rum 1 ounce cream of coconut 1 ounce orange juice 4 ounces pineapple juice   You know the drill, people! Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all the ingredients. Wave the shaker in the air like you just don’t care and strain into a highball glass. Sip out of a bendy straw. 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. This is going to be fun. I have a good feeling about this show. Well, this is a show. We're two friends who happen to be money experts.

Talk about what you're talking about. Pop culture, things going on in the world. And most importantly, money. That's right, how it all affects you. And today we are talking about fees, Rachel, junk fees, convenience fees, service fees, baggage fees, administrative fees, fee, five, faux-fum fee. I mean fees everywhere. Nothing grinds my gears like a fee.

Oh, and they are constant. You look at the bottom of her seat and it's fee, fee, fee, fee, fee, fee. But today, we are sipping on as well a painkiller. Classic beachy drink. Which is great because we need to kill the pain of the fees. And for a small fee, which is zero dollars today, we're going to give you our rating and the recipe and reveal the cost at the end of the episode. So stick around.

That's right. All right. Let's dive into it because fees today, they just feel out of control. whether it's DoorDash, it's Uber, ticketmaster. Can we all agree that no one likes these? We could all unite. This is it. This is what the country's missing, George. In a time of division, we need unity. Come together to take down fees. Should wave our fists at fees.

So here's some examples that you know about. DoorDash, Postmates, Ticketmaster, Airbnb, your internet and phone bill. We're going to dive deep into these fees, explain what's going on here and how you can rise above them and stick it to the man. Okay, so when we say fee, we mean additional charges that are not included in the initial advertised price because that's what happens. It's like, hey, it's 20 bucks. For your stay, it's, you know, $200 a night or, yeah, it's, you're going to take a ride and it's only going to be $18. So you just see what you're going to pay initially and then what we're going to talk about are the fees that are added on to that. Insult to injury. Okay. So this is the sneak attack at checkout. And the reason companies do this is truthfully, you know, they want to cover their butts and also increase their

profits, right? So instead of raising the price of your hotel to 300, they'll keep it at 200 and just charge you 100 bucks and fees. Yeah. And what's hard for them, I would think, is because companies, competitors, right? Like, they're not raising their prices to integrate all these fees. They keep it low and then add on the fees. So I'm like, okay, yeah, if you're selling something, and mine is $40, yours is... 60. Yes, but mine has a bunch of fees. and I don't tell you about it. That is sneaky. Then people are going to come still buy my thing for 30

because they don't know about the fees. You should come to me. They don't know about the fees. No, it's true. And there's a psychological mind game happening there. Yeah, so it's the competitors, you know, is a problem, right? They want to keep up with the competitors. And to your point, yes, it's a psychological game.

This happens with free shipping. Like, I would rather pay $60 with free shipping than pay $50, and you charge me an extra $5 to $7 and shipping costs. I've got so spoiled with that. I agree. I'm just like, you're my charge. me for shipping in 2023? Yeah, no, can't do it. Mm-mm.

Can't do it. So these fees, though, are not the same as guilt tipping. We talked about guilt tipping and tipping on another episode, yes. Very popular hot button episode. Very much so. But this is different. That's a optional, pressured, but optional tip. This is big dim to the price.

This is giving similar energy, as the youth say. Yeah, you're feeling it. Same angry energy. And even Joseph Robinette Biden is upset about it. Do you know his full name? Oh, yeah, I know every president's full name. You don't know every president's full name. Yeah.

Barack Hussein Obama. That's one other one. That's one. Keep going. How about Roosevelt? George W. Bush, Walker. How about Roosevelt? Which one?

Eleanor. Teddy. Let's go Teddy. Theodore. Theodore. Eleanor Roosevelt. No one knows his middle. name? You just said I know every president's name. They didn't have middle names back then,

Rachel. You just said I knew every president's middle name. Well, back to our friend, Joseph Robinette Biden. He is actually stepping into this mess. He's introduced the Junk Fee Prevention Act, an initiative that we can get behind. He wants to crack down on these junk fees from banks, cable and internet providers, hotels, airlines. Here's a direct quote. He said, these unnecessary hidden fees are weighing down families' budgets and causing financial harm. You know what? Biden's on every dollar budget. I'm not. No, he definitely not.

He's watching that. I'm not mad at it. Yeah, I'm a fan of this. I do think that a lot of these fees are for luxuries, majority of the time. So it's, yeah, food delivery service, it's hotels, it's taking an Uber. Service-related industries.

Yes. So also, I would say that more is weighing down the average American family than junk fees. Yes. But I really appreciate the work. coming out of Washington in that. I'll take that. It's, well, it's not the root problem, but it does add that insult to injury. When it's like, listen, man, we're already all going through it.

And these companies are out here with record profits adding random fees to keep us broke. Not cool. That's right. So Biden is arguing that it's good for business. Junk fees can stifle competition by encouraging companies to use increasingly sophisticated tools to disguise the true price consumers face. See, I like this because I'm a big fan of, you know, the free market, capitalism. He's not saying you can't do this as a company. He's just saying you have to disclose this up front very clearly if there is a fee. So what's crazy is, so I'm a fan of that.

Yeah, consumers are spending an estimated $29 billion a year in excessive fees. And just a little side note, nine billion of those are credit card payment late fees. So let's just talk about that for a hot second. So the people that advocate, hey, everyone should have a credit card. It's great. It's going to build your score. Just pay it on time. Well, that doesn't always happen. And you start to incur these late fees to the tune of $9 billion. I mean, even dividing that out across, you know, 330 million people in the U.S., that's just a lot of fees we're paying. Under the guise of, well, I'm getting my rewards in airline miles, Rachel.

Yeah, I know. Well, and that's what's hard is I'm like people convince other people. Yeah, get the credit card because you get all of the bonuses and all that, right? And then what ends up happening is you have it. You keep using it, using it. Inflation hits. Someone loses a job. Yeah.

stuck in all those credit card debt and paying all these fees. So. Ditch it. Go debit card all day long. Play with snakes. You get bit. That's right, George. That's right, Peter. That's right. I don't play with any wild animals, in fact. It's dangerous. No, you don't. Okay. So beyond the Biden thing, there are some other types of things we have to talk about here. Banking interest groups are saying that overdraft protection provides necessary safety net for them.

So the bank is saying, we have to protect ourselves, Rachel. We need these fees. That's insane. Yeah, no, I don't think so. I think they're making enough off. Just interest alone. Just interest alone. Rachel doesn't have the money in her bank account. She goes and spends $500.

That puts us in a big lurch because now we've got to cover that if she doesn't pay. That's their thing. No, I know. And a part of me, I'm like, okay, I get it. And there is a part of me that I'm like, I don't want people overdrafting their account, spending money on their debit card that is not in their bank. Like, I want people on a bug. Like, I would rather better money habit.

So if a late fee is charged, it hurts. Yeah. Right? And so there's a little bit of that pain that you don't get away with. But I think there should be like three strikes you're out or something. That's the Rachel Cruz rule. Joseph Robinette, if you're listening, add that in the three strikes or you're out rule from Rachel. You get three overdrafts on accident. That one does make me angry overdraft fees.

Because you've had these happen, right? You know what? I'm going to be honest. Just once. But they waived it for me because I was a kid. I was a teenager. Oh, I've done it closer in my adult life, like a few years ago. Really?

Yeah. Okay, see, that makes me, I think I have like scars from when I was a teenager and it happened because I had to go down to the bank and apologize. Is this your bounce check story? Yeah, and apologize to the branch manager for lying to him. And Dave made you do that. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I lied, apparently. Apparently, I said I had money in his bank to spend and I didn't. So Hollister and all the things got money that I didn't. It was Hollister. I wrote checks to Hollister. That was the life I was living, George. I'm just picturing you going into Hollister and writing a paper check to get wherever the latest fashions were. And you, like, got a debit card and a checkbook. Do you not remember those days?

Did you not have that? I never had a... No. You never had a checkbook? I'm not that much older than you. Probably, but not like going to the Hollister of my checkbook. That just feels like a weird scenario. I know it sounds funny in 2023, but that's what we did.

That's what you did. I think I just had a debit card. Yeah. Can you not get a debit card at that means? I had a debit card too. I said I wrote checks. I am like an 80-year-old woman. In my entire life.

I'm going with Hollis. I just feel like all the stories coming out on this podcast is... Growing up Ramsey. So the overdraft fee is like the OG bank fee, and I definitely got dinged with this a few years ago, and I went to the bank, and I was like, I'd like to speak to the manager. And while it was my fault,

I still was like, listen, I've been with this bank for over a decade. You're really going to ding me here? How much was it? The money was pending to get into the account, and so it was just a timing issue. That's annoying. That's annoying.

It was just a timing issue. And so he worked it out as like a one-time. We'll give you the, we'll give you the money. We'll give you the money. money back, but hey, don't let it happen again, Bucco. It makes me nervous. Okay, it just makes me nervous. That's why I always like to have a buffer in our checking account, though. Yes. Because that, it's that stuff that I'm like, I look and I'm like, oh, man, like, I don't know, I don't like it getting too low. Because of that. And so we always say

when we talk about having a zero-based budget, and we love the every dollar app, it doesn't mean you have zero dollars in your bank account. It just means every dollar has an assignment. And with your bank account, you should have a buffer of a few hundred bucks, maybe. Yes, for sure, for sure. Yep. So historically, Overdraft fees have been really frustrating and expensive for people. So charges up to $36 per overdraft and fraction are common. According to a recent study, 27% of checking account holders are regularly hit with fees, which add up to $24 a month, $288 a year.

And I noticed the online banks have very little fees versus your brick and mortar banks. Generally will have more. Oh, interesting. Probably because they need more to stay open, right? They have rent to pay. They have, yeah, for sure. Yeah, there's stuff going on. So look into the fine print when it comes to your bank and figure out what are you going to get dinged for.

Some accounts have fees, just if you have an account. Just open it up. And minimum balances and all kinds of minimum deposits. So make sure you look into that. The fine prints. Absolutely. So junk fees have always been a thing. So why do we just suddenly care?

Because they're getting worse, George. I've always cared. Now we just have social media to complain about it and commiserate. And with all these new digital kind of companies, like every app, Now they all have built-in fees. And so I don't think we used to experience this many fees. No, yeah, no, no, no. Because you think they can get away with it or are they really needing it to run their business?

No, they can get away with it. And yeah, some of these companies, like, they're in the red a lot of times. These startup in Silicon Valley, like Uber and Lyft, like they were not profitable for a long time. So Postmates is one. Yeah. That's a food delivery service. They add a delivery fee. And they charge you more if you want your food delivered without making additional stops.

Okay, so Lyft and Uber. are now charging weight fees. So if you do not meet your driver within like two minutes, they'll start charging you. I actually like this fee. I'm a fan of this one. Wow. Because they got it. I'm not bad at it either.

I'm on the clock, and I can't charge you until you get in my car. Yeah, for sure. And you're out here doing who knows what. Trying to find it. Yeah. Respect my time. Yes. That's how I feel if I'm the driver.

So I pulled up the screenshot because I used Uber. Oh, I have an Uber screenshot too. Let's share. The other weekends. Okay, so I didn't know about this. Let me find it. Took a couple of screenshots. Okay.

A booking fee. It was $6. That was insane. And then I tipped on top of that, but my trip was $21 just as is. Okay. Then I had an expressway, expressway, booking fee, and then the tip. So it ended up being $33.58. But it was a $6.

It was basically a $6 booking fee. I didn't even know what that is. And honestly, George, here's how terrible I am. Not terrible, but here's how not. Amazing. You are. Incredible. am. I didn't even really look at their seat because it's Uber. I'm like, I'm in the car and I need

to get to the airport, so I'm not even really thinking about it. So until this episode, when I went back and was like, I wonder, what was that I saw the booking fee? I didn't even know it was a thing. Yeah, I got a booking fee. So my trip fare was $11. The booking fee was over $2. There was a temporary fuel surcharge of $55. Then there was a Mall of America surcharge because it was in Minneapolis of $1.25. Just to go to Mall of America. Just to go to Mall of America. Oh, yours is worse than mine. And then in Texas, there was a mall of America. And then in Texas, was a Texas regulatory recovery fee of $0.8.6. And then I got an airport and city surcharge of $5 on a different Uber ride. So, I mean, they add up quick. So airport surcharges are real.

Because why? Because you're going to the airport and they can because you, because that's where I'm sure you make a ton of the money. I mean, like if you're a Uber driver. I guess the airports want in on the passenger services. Because I wonder if they get a cut of the taxi service because back in the day before Uber and Lyft, you'd go stand in the taxi line. Now, this is conspiracy level like taxi lobbying things happen. Yeah, and I bet the taxi companies... They're angry. ...gave a level, yeah, a percentage of, I'm assuming.

That makes sense. Their profit to the airport. And now the airport's getting screwed because no one's taking taxis. They're taking Uber and Lyft. But they got to get in on it. Everyone's just grabbing money, George. It's all a money grab. All a money grab.

Speaking of money grabs, Airbnb. This one I have big issues with. Oh, I can't. Wait, I'm going to take a sip while you just go, George. They will add on everything from cleaning fees to cancellation fees to service fees to insurance packages. to where I don't stay in Airbnb's anymore, unless we have like a giant group

and it just makes more sense for all of us to be in the same house. Okay, but I'm not mad at all those fees, though, a cleaning fee. Yes. That's very standard. It is until you go, oh, wait, I also have to start laundry,

start the dishwasher, take out the trash, run an errand for them, pick up your kids from daycare. It's out of control. And some of these cleaning fees are like $200, and then I found out

there are people that are looking to profit off of the cleaning fee. They'll charge you $200, and they'll pocket 100. Things like that. So dishonest. Tell me about it. Because think about it.

Why do people get into Airbnb? It's a business to them. They're looking to make as much profit as possible. For sure. Well, that feels like lying to me. You're called out Airbnb owners. Don't be slimy. But it's insane.

There's funny Airbnb stories from BuzzFeed, and here's real fees that were tacked on. $5 per person to use the hot tub and they had cameras, which is super creepy. I'm not getting in that hot tub. Did they know there was a camera that hidden and they like charged them after

and was like that's a 20 bucks. If there's a hidden camera, that's even creepier. Yeah, I know, but I'm sure. You'll love this one. Someone was charged $25 for wearing one of the provided ropes. It was a $25 charge. Rachel, they ding you with the baggage fees, don't they?

When you fly. You've been there. This one... I fly Southwest. Two bags fly free. Well, Southwest. And that's why I'm a big fan of Southwest. That's why I like it.

And their flights might be more expensive than, you know, Spirit or Frontier or one of these. No, or Allegiant. Allegiant. Mm-hmm. And but they nickel and dime you with these fees. Allegiant and I think Spirit, they charge you for carry-on. Yeah. They charge you for everything.

And then you add it all up. I'm like, you could probably go Southwest. But the flights on Allegiant, it's like a $29 flight. And you're like, okay. Well, it's you to pick your seat, too. So they charge you for your seat. Yep. All of it.

All of it. But add it up, you're saying, though, it's still cheaper than like Southwest. I'm going south. I think it's more expensive when you add everything. Yeah, I would think so. And they try to throw in these packages. Everything.

Of like, well, we'll throw in the carry-on bag and you get to pick your seat and and and and we'll give you a, you know, no fee to change your flight. I don't buy it. I will say I've gotten spoiled with Southwest because I'm just so used to it and I flew American or Delta, one of them.

Yeah, and it was a charge for the bag. And I was like, and it was kind of expensive. I think it was like 50 bucks or something. Yeah. I was like, oh, crap. I wasn't, I wasn't expecting that. It's not over, Rachel. The fees keep on coming.

The hits keep on coming. The latest one, I don't know if you saw this, AMC movie theaters have a new... This is cruel. Seeding upgrade policy called Sight Line with a variable pricing depending on where you want to sit. I don't like this. But then I mirror it to like a sporting event. Which is not. Or a concert.

Which it's not. It's an experience, though. I'm not for it. I want to be front row to Taylor Swift versus front row at a movie theater is the worst seat in a house. It's not equivalent. No, surely the front row is cheaper than the middle section of the movie theater. Now the front row is like their normal price. And if you want anything that's reasonable, you have to pay an extra dollars, an extra $2.

And I feel like movie theaters are already struggling. Like I'm surprised that they're doing all this. That's why they're doing it. They're trying to increase profits by making all of us angry and not want to go to the movies. That's what I'm saying. They're going to piss a bunch of people off. And then it's like, I don't want to go to the movies anymore. Do you want me to show up to the movies?

Make the popcorn cheaper. That's right, George. I would go. Hey, we went with our kids. And this was probably last month. We'd never take them to the movies. But we were like, you know what? This would be a fun Friday night.

We'll surprise them. For the cruises. So, and I will say, we kind of went big. So, like, let me just clarify. What is going big mean for the cruises? They got icies. Dang, that is big. Coke Iceys.

That's legit. Popcorn. And then we, like, did, like, two kids chicken fingers because our movie theater in Franklin, you could do food. And I got a pizza. You know, so we did dinner. George, between the movie tickets and what we spent at dinner. I mean, literally it added up

and we came into every dollar into the transactions and I charged the kids on their line item for it because I was like, I'm not putting this and out to eat. I'm not like, yeah, it was so, it was so expensive. I mean, it was terrible.

I was like, this is not. So how many people total? Five. We're talking five people. Three kids, though. The kids' tickets were cheaper. Okay. And then two adult.

But everyone got like. We got a big popcorn, Coke, Ices. And then two kids chicken fingers and I got a pizza. Winston, I can't remember if he got food or not. Can I guess the total? Do you remember? I should go,

I, you know what? My guess is, okay, I'm going to go, I'm going to go, this could easily be $25 a person. I'm going to go $130. Total with the entire thing together. Everything all in, tickets, plus all the food, $130. Everyone in the room is saying it's way higher. Okay, quick math. Y'all ready?

$130 is what he said. I said $130. Okay. Oh, my gosh, y'all, I'm embarrassed to say this. Here we go. It was $87. $87. $87.

$0.80. for when I bought the tickets on January 6th. January 9th, there's a $40.30 and $33 charge, and then a $67 charge. So it's $107 plus $88. Oh. Over $200. No, no, no, no, no.

Wait, almost $200. Y'all. So close. Who guessed it? Someone guessed that? Someone guessed $200? We've got a lot of people. Okay.

What movie was it? Was it worth it? Puss and boots. No. No. What's the rotten tomatoes on that? I didn't look. It was the only kid movie, and I was like, this will be fun for the kids.

We never do movies, and now I know why. You could have the chick for a week for that. We could have the windies for a month. You guys have a big screen TV. Yo, I'm telling you, it was stupid. So I'm saying I'm mad at the movie theaters. I'm mad that they're costing extra for seats. I don't like it.

Agreed. Even though I love the movies. Well, and we did a whole episode on Ticketmaster and our hatred of their fees. but this happens with all kinds of events, sporting events, concerts. Stubhub is one of them. They had 15 to 20% in service fees to its ticket costs. It's insane. And if you look at the ticket master fees,

they acknowledge they have service fees, delivery fees, taxes, a venue fee, which they blame on the artists. Not cool. Don't blame Taylor. Rude. Don't blame her, no. And now museums and other popular tourist attractions, they will charge a non-refundable $2 to $5 for every ticket.

ticket that is sold and they call it a service or processing fee. Sure. They're everywhere. Whatever you want to call it. I ain't paying it. I'm just not going to leave the house anymore, is what it's going to come down to. It's just a lot of fees. That's what's happening.

Okay. Then we haven't even touched memberships and subscriptions. Yeah, so now there's cancellation fees. And we tell people to do this to cancel subscriptions, cancel memberships to save money, especially if you're getting out of debt. This is a great place that your money ends up leaving that you don't realize it. So to be able to cut those. So a coworker here at Ramsey said the other day that they were charged almost $250 to cancel her gym membership.

There's an app called Class Pass that does that. That was me. That was me. Oh, man. That's real. But you know what? It dinged me a lot. I know, y'all.

But traffic? Ding. Oh. What do you do about that? Rachel gets it down. She's like, hey, if you said you were going to show up for the class that took up a spot that someone else would have taken. Okay. We're not even done yet.

There's alternative payment methods like PayPal. and there can be unexpected subscriptions that you didn't realize you fell for, and vendors can try to pull one over on you using these alternate payment methods that aren't directly your bank account. Yeah, and paying utilities online is another place that there are unnecessary fees. So gas and electric providers charge $2 to $4 every time that you don't enroll in automatic payments. So your cell phone, too, internet, cable, that can have weird FCC fees or government and local taxes.

I had to fight AT&T on this once. They had like a modem fee, like if you used their stuff. And I was like, I'm not using their modem. I provided my own modem. You ain't charging me for this. Oh, but they still charge you. They still try it. Oof, they take it off.

They nicks it. Oh, yeah. They learn their lesson the hard way. And Rachel, this applies to us as electric car owners. I went to get my tags renewed here in our county, and they have a $100 fee, extra for electric car owners. you know why? No, because I feel like we're not.

Because when you buy gas at a gas station, there is a built-in tax. Yes, there is. It's all freaking like... Goes to the county. So because you're not paying that county tax every time you're at the pump, they're like, we're going to make our money on that somehow. And so they just ding you buy $100, which like the entire process to get tax... Are we anybody in George?

You just feel this small in life. There are just layers and layers and layers above us that have... We don't have... I just feel like, who are we? Are we just the little people? We can't just live our lives. Rachel's having an existential crisis on the podcast. Taking money from us.

Can we just live our lives? No. That's not okay. I mean, I think the budget solves it all, George. That's right. That'll get rid of all this annoyance. No, we can't do anything about it, right? I mean, I guess you can choose not to participate in a service or a business, right?

You can say no. But people still want to live their life. Yeah. I will say this. I was at a restaurant the other day. and I got an extra charge and it said like healthy employee. No. Yeah.

What? And I googled it because I was too embarrassed to ask the waiter. I was already gone at that point. I was just angry. And it turns out we are subsidizing their health care now. Because the business owners don't want to pay it. And so they go, well, just charge the customers a fee and they can deal with it. So let's talk about what we can control with all of these fees.

And yes, part of it is getting on a monthly budget. Yes. So part of winning with money, though, in the budget is tracking your transaction. So you do have to know how much is in every category. And this is just your warning that things are going to be more expensive because of all these fees. So when you track your transaction, you're going to see, oh my gosh, I may have less in that category than I was expecting than I was planning for because this stuff is costing more. So it's just good to be aware of it as you're going through it. So when you track your transactions in the budget, that just tells you what the total was. Not a lot of people are actually looking at their receipts when they actually go to pay to understand what was involved. And so pay attention to that. And if you see something you're not sure about, you're confused about it. Ask why is this there? Why isn't this disclosed?

If it was an online purchase, call the vendor. Contact them with the customer chat and be angry. Negotiate where it's possible. I've just told people, hey, I'm not paying that fee. and it works Rachel it works do they get mad at you this happens when I go to buy a car and they have all these random fees

when you go to buy a car and I went no I'm gonna pay what the car advertised prices and I will pay a very small doctorate for real did they say like if they want money or they go kick rock pound sand or give it to the next guy and screw him was that it or did you get your way

well the person I went through they're known for not charging fees it was like one of these wholesaler type guys and so he goes hey what the price you pay It's that price plus sales tax. I went great. I don't have to worry about getting, you know, haggled by some dealership somewhere.

But that happens at the dealership. So be very careful. Say, I'm not paying nothing but a dock fee, and then that has to be small. Can we talk about fees that we would endorse if they existed? Oh, that would be good. Yes. Throw some out, George.

I'm going to go with, let's start a fee for people who say supposedly instead of supposedly. It's a very specific fee that only applies to... Do people do that? I do. What? Sometimes I ask it.

And you know who they are, Rachel? They're the same people who say espresso instead of espresso. Or Tesla versus Tesla. Oh. Any libraries versus library? Or woof. What? Woof.

What? Woof? That's mine. A whoop. Like the word woof is mispronounced by people? Yeah, me. She's saying, people make fun of me back. You mean wolf?

With an L. Yeah. I thought you meant. meant the sound woof like that a dog would make. No, woof. You can't say the word wolf? You just say woof.

Say the word wool. Wool. Say the word wool, but then add an F. Wolf. Better, it still sounds like, that doesn't just come off very naturally. So, like, if I were like,

wolf. You are going to get charged of feet. You fall into this category. Both of them. Supposedly. Supposedly. Woof. Okay. Here's another one for you, Rachel. A fee for people who lean their seat back on airplanes.

I'd do that. And you should be charged. Why? Wait, no, no. It's rude. It's so rude. Jordan, my husband's six, six, Rachel. Stop it.

And he doesn't lean his seat back? I just watched the video. Y'all, that is not true. How many people in here do not lean your seat back? Oh, my gosh. I'm like a known thing. Is this a known thing? No, I might do it like a tad, but like the people go all the way back.

I know. You deserve a fee. Because it's like this. I'm sorry. It's that much, y'all. It depends on your mind. They're not like I'm in first class and it's a bed. And it's not a bed.

We're already struggling. No. We're all going through it, Rachel. You got any more fees? Oh, here's one. This happens in the Ramsey parking lot, so I'm calling you out if you're this person. People who back into parking spots unnecessarily when there's another car right behind you driving. Wait.

I'm pulling in the parking lot behind another car. All of a sudden, they feel the need to just hit the brakes and then they feel the need to just hit the brakes and then slowly, ever so gently, pull into that parking spot. Winston backs up in every parking spot, for the most part. Because he's a truck owner. 90%. What does that tell you about the truck people, Rachel? But then it's an easy escape out.

Who needs an easy escape? If you don't know how to back out a truck, you shouldn't be driving a truck. Are you not in condition yellow all the time in life? Are you not fully aware of your surroundings? I'm very aware. I'm the most aware. I live in yellow. Do you ever back your car in besides the charge?

I know we have to charge. We have to charge. No, not unless it's such a tight parking lot that it would be hard to pull out. It really makes you mad that people back into. It makes you mad when I'm trying to like, there's a, I'm trying to. It sounds very entitled, George. I'm sorry that you have to wait three seconds for a truck owner to pull. It's always like a seven point turn for them to pull into the spot.

They're always taking their sweet time. Oh, yeah. No, you got to go quick. If someone's behind me, I'm like, I'm making this happen real fast. Wow. Fee. Done. Oh, my goodness.

Oh, well, there's a lot of fees in life. A lot of extra money that we spend just to live life, George. And you know what? It's the price we pay for luxury. It is. I mean, most of the things we pay fees on, I would say, are luxuries. There's some things I'm like, okay, sure, we all need, you know, internet or, you know, our phones or whatever. But a lot of the things, like service type things, it's a convenience.

So you should expect to pay more for those conveniences. Yeah, but just be aware, as you're budgeting, planning out your life for the month, make sure you have the margin for it. And if you don't, cut it. It's that simple. It's that simple. And it's one reason to do an every dollar budget, to get out of debt, to have your savings so that you're not as stressed out when there's a little fee you get dinged with. You go, okay, it's an inconvenience.

It's not a big deal. Absolutely. Woof. All right, George. I think it's the end of the episode. Woof. I need a sip after that. Do that, but I went on.

That can be real riled up for no reason. Yeah, that was a lot. All right, we're going to close out like every episode with Filty 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, share the story. How about a fee for people who slurp the straw? Charged.

And in a movie theater? Ooh. There we go. There's a fee for that. She's not happy about that. Oh, talking during movies, fee, absolutely. Oh, yeah. Add that one.

But, like, also, like, what if you have questions? The person next to you hasn't seen the movie either. Why do they have the answers? I don't know, because sometimes I think. They're ahead of the curve. They just like, already know. I'm that girl where I'm like, watch it. And Jordan's like, I know just as much as you.

Thank you. That's always the answer. They're like, just keep watching. They're probably setting up. No, his like go-to line is, they don't want you to know that yet. I'm like, but I should. That's a good husband move. Yeah, sorry.

This is why I go to the movies alone. Okay. Question. Have you ever lied about how much something cost because you were embarrassed? Oh. To anyone in life? Yeah. I almost did for the movie theater here on the show.

For the theater. If I knew how much that cost, I don't know if I would have fully shared that, but I did. I may have lied about it. I may have brought it down a few. Because I was embarrassed? Yeah, like, you were, I don't know. I was like, I was only $100. I'm going to get a PTSD from the Wendy's episode.

Like, I'm about to give you an example and you guys are going to jump. You know, when you're meeting up with friends of Wendy's like, I'm so sorry. How much was that meal? and you're like, okay. It was $7. Okay, but seriously, though. Like you bought something and you're like, oh, that was too expensive.

I'm too embarrassed to share that. I spent that much money. So you lie about the number? I don't know. I've probably done that. If someone asks me, I will be honest with them. If it's someone I know. Like a stranger on the internet, none your business.

But if it's a friend. What if it's someone like here at Ramsey that you've never met before, you've never seen them? And they're walking with like, hey, George, great shoes. How much are those? I would tell them. because I'm pretty frugal, and the things that I do spend money on, I have no regrets about. I'm never, like, I'm embarrassed.

I spent $200 on this. I never feel that. Yeah, I do. I have no shame when it comes to my purchases is what it comes down to. I feel bad. I feel bad. There's shame. Counseling is needed.

I know. Maybe so. No, I think. Here's what I do, though. Because I don't want to be brats. That's my thing. I don't want to, like, feel like it's bragging. I do the opposite.

I'm happy to brag about how little something costs when I'm like, hey, that's nice. I'm like, thanks. It was $13. I'd do that. That feels good. Or someone's like, oh my gosh, I'll have your talk. I think this is Target. Like $2.

Yeah, it makes you just like feel better about life. I don't know why. No, it's true. And here's an example. People ask about my Tesla. Because they're like, wow, this guy is made of money. And I'm quick to be like, I bought it with 170,000 miles and had four accidents and had two owners.

And I mean, it's really not in great shape. And if the battery goes, I mean, who knows how much that's going to be. And so I got a really good deal on it. That's my go to. So you can justify. You don't get embarrassed. You feel like you have to. justify every purchase. Yes. That is more accurate. I will justify it and downplay it. I do all the

above. I think we all do. Man, what is that? Why can't we just be secure about it? Yeah. I don't know. No, with friends that I'm close with that I'm more comfortable with. Oh, sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's more of like the, like, one degree of separation. Yeah. Like, I don't have your cell phone number, so I'm going to like feel like I'll have yours, but I'm saying to the person. Like, if I don't have your cell phone number, it's kind of like, who I don't know like how like if I can tell you the price of my shoes or whatever it is. Well and it depends on their motive and usually I can sniff that out. Like are they looking to judge or they like generally, you know? The character of the person will depend on the answer. And generally if it's a stranger on social media, their motive ain't good.

That's fair. Okay. I guess we can all say we're guilty. We all have some kind of shame and justification when it comes to purchases. Let's work on it. No shame. Listen, if you pay cash for things and you worked hard for the money. Yeah. No shame. Well, tell yourself that, George. I do. No, you justified it. You justify it. Why don't you just? Well, because it feels it's the nicest thing I've ever bought other than my home.

You know, it's the biggest purchase. When you think about your purchases in life, it's car followed by home. Yeah. In the top tier. Maybe kids, I don't know. It's true. Or a dog in your case. This was like free counseling with drinks.

Okay, you finished. I think you finished. Yeah. You feel anything, George? Anything in the fingertips? Wow. Feel great. It's great.

All right. Well, I think you finished your drink, George. I do, too. Can we just admire Michael's dedication to mixology with these teaky style glasses? It's unbelievable. One reason to go watch on YouTube is to just check out these glasses. Get a close-up on that, John. That's just some beautiful bean footage right there.

It's not beautiful. I love it. Oh, so good. Okay. George, what was it? Is anyone still listening? Sometimes I wonder, like, has everyone just dropped off of the? this point. Like, why are they listening still? Are they just hoping this keeps going downhill?

I don't know. Like, I like to watch a train wreck every now and then. I like trains. I like trains. Too soon, Rachel. Even when's that crash. Too soon. Save that conspiracy for another episode. Okay, I finish first. I'm going to give this drink a 10 out of 10. Wow. Um, I'm going to say eight and a half out of 10. I'm sorry, Michael. It's, it's the, um, it's the, um, It was very coconut-y. Oh, you're not a coconut person. It's not that I'm not, but it's like, oh, wow, there was, like, a lot of coconut there. It was great, though.

Like, I mean, I would drink it. Now we know. She hates ginger beer and she hates coconut. I don't hate. I would give in it a five out of ten if I didn't like coconut. Okay. But it's, I don't know if it's like the forward flavor that I want in a drink. Okay.

Specifically, but I would drink another one. Well, hey, if you're not aggressively a hater of coconut, you would love this drink. So here's what's in it. It's got rum, crem to coconut, which is a coconut cream. That doesn't have alcohol. Orange juice and pineapple juice. And it comes out to under four bucks a glass if you want to make this at home. And if you want to skip the rum, it's still going to be a delicious drink if you want to make a mocktail out of it.

Okay, so it's closing time. If you guys liked this episode and you don't want to miss a future episode, make sure to subscribe. Please leave us a review. It really does help. They're so nice. We like reading them. I know. It just gives you the encouragement that we need sitting in these host chairs.

And I'm realizing like people are going through hard times, and this is just like a moment of levity in their day. So we'd love to hear your thoughts on it. And again, make sure to subscribe. Like us. Like us. Please like us. We're desperate for validation. Please like us.

I was going to say. Say what you mean and mean what you say. So make sure to subscribe and follow us on social media at Rachel Cruz at George Camel with a K. I did an interview today. And we promoted Smart Money Happy Hour. Oh, fun. And with her co-host, George Kamel, do you get that a lot? Yeah, I do.

And it's very regal, and I appreciate it. I get the thought behind it, but it's camel. I'm just kind of spout to myself. Like the animal. So that's fun. All right. Well, hey, I hope you guys have a great week ahead. You know we're going to be back here every Thursday for an all-new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.