Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - VIRAL Trends Taking Over Your Algorithm in 2026

Episode Date: October 1, 2026

💻  Take the Side Hustle Quiz here!   If you can’t beat ’em, follow them? Today we’re reacting to the biggest social and spending trends of 2026—let us know in the comments if the algorithm “got ya” with these, because this list definitely has range! Next Steps: ·   🎙️ Catch our episode Waste or Worth It: Rating “Life-Changing” Products. ·   💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar. ·   🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour ·   📱 Submit 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.    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: 🍹 Peach Basil Tingle Mocktail Recipe By: @themindfulmocktail ·   2 ounces peach purée ·   1 ounce lemon juice ·   6–8 basil leaves ·   1/2 teaspoon honey ·   Kombucha or soda to top   Instructions: In a small dish, combine the honey with 1/2 teaspoon water and microwave for 5–10 seconds to create a quick honey syrup. Add peach purée and lemon juice to a shaker. Toss in the basil leaves and gently muddle. Add the honey syrup to the shaker with ice, then shake well. Strain over fresh ice and top with kombucha or soda. Garnish with basil if desired and serve cold.   *To make the peach purée: Blend 3 tinned peach slices with 1–2 tablespoons of the liquid from the tin. Fresh, ripe peach works too—just blend with a splash of water until smooth.     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

If you can't beat them, follow them. Today we're calling out the biggest social media and spending trends of 2026. Let us know in the comments which of these trends you have succumbed to with regret or delight. Hey, George, don't be all boo-boo. I think the good people at Sam's Club were like, hey, man, that's between you and the Lord. Oh, boy. My gosh, have we? It's more like what's the latest regret.

I know. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Oh. Oh, so that's delightful. It's wonderful, actually. And I usually don't like ginger. Ginger, right?

I'll never tell. 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. That's right. And today we're sipping on a peach basil tingle mottail. What ingredient involves a tingle? You'll find out. Wait till the end. We're going to reveal the rating and the cost per glass. Stick around for that. So good. It looks like a go big orange, you know? It is giving Tennessee balls. I know, I know.

And what's funny is this summer, so go back in your mind a little bit, okay? Think World Cup in social media. Like in the SEC, we were loving having all people all over the globe to America, but especially to the South because they're like trying new things. All the Europeans exploring Tennessee. Mom, pop restaurants. It was my favorite content on social media. They love rent dressing.

We know that. Yes, they love friends. Apparently, they don't know how to make ranch in Europe, which I think is sad. I know. Oh, my gosh. But that was a great trend. They have amazing architecture. And ranch are like, I don't know.

We don't have the ingredients. We got to learn. We got to learn. Well, for better or worse, no matter how you feel about social media, nothing bonds us as a society more than trending social media content. And it won't find you. Even for like, well, I'm not on Facebook. You'll find out about it.

It just might be three months late. Okay, so there's a new trend, a new game going on, a little friendly competition. Since it's smart money happy hour, we thought it'd be fun. So we have these little cups, little sips, about two sips. One is water, one is tequila, and the game is we'll each take a sip of

each of these and we have to judge each other which one you're drinking. You kind of have to need, you need a bluff. If it's tequila or if it's water. So if you do your job right, I don't know which one was the tequila, which one was the water because you didn't make a face at all. I saw this and it was a son and a dad

and he had this like an older man. and all three kept being tequila. Oh no, for the dad? So the dad did three full shots in a row. That's tough. And I felt so bad for him. That's tough. The poor guy.

That's called trolling. That's called trolling. So if you guys did this to me, I'm going to be so mad. So mad. You old man. Okay, do you want to go first? You want me to go first? I feel like it's a lady's first situation.

Okay. Which one shall I take first? Go for the one closest to you. Yeah, right there. I don't know why I'm going to start. laughing. Okay. Okay. Saw that? Okay. Hmm. Now I'm wondering if you did a face for the water on purpose to throw me off. But how would I know, oh, like, instantly? Well, if it was water and you went, I thought, I probably

looked very, I tried to look very the same. Okay. Is the goal to be stoic? Because I feel like you could cheat and go. Oh my gosh. Just guess, George. All right. Uh, the second one was tequila. Yes. That was pretty good. Can I tell you how I knew? Well, no, don't give me your secrets because I want you to go next. Well, I'm not going to do the same thing as you. I'm not that. Oh, okay, what are? So it's an individual. All right. I'll do mine.

What is it? How could you tell? No, no, no. Well, wait. We'll see if you're right. Okay. I'm going to laugh. I know that's why I was laughing too.

Which one do you want me to do first? Do the closest one. Okay. Okay. Next. What do you think? He just laughed. What do you think?

Everyone over there is laughing so hard. They're both tequila. They're both tequila. They trolled you. I should have known. They trolled you. They saw the same video I did. Oh, man.

Well, at least I'll be a little good afternoon for you. You know what? I would have been more upset if both were water, to be honest. So thank you. That's funny, George. Wow. How did you know for me? You had like an involuntary twitch in your mouth.

Like a... Oh, yeah. It was like... Just a little tequila. Oh my gosh. The second one was shocking to me. So that makes sense why you did that. You're expecting water.

Because you're waiting for the water. You're like, all right. Oh my gosh. That is so funny. Well, it's pretty good, though. Pretty good. Now, they were the same. Yeah, not bad.

I do prefer, if you're going to do it, you do it officially. You do the lime on the, the salt on the hand. Oh. Cauture salt. It's got to be kosher. Some lime. Some lime. And then you do the tequila shot.

Then you do the bite of lime. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lime wedge. There's like an art to it. Yeah, it's fair. So good. Well, great trend. Well, you know something else trending right now?

What's that? High yield savings accounts. A big trend among the youth. They are loving it. And actually the ones with Fairwinds, I love the most. But with high yield savings accounts, they're great because you're going to make up to three percent or even a little more. And you're going to be able to get to your money quickly if you need it.

And then with Fair Winds, you can transfer money between your high-old savings accounts and your checking account with the Smart Bundle. So all of it together is why I love Fair Ones. they make managing your money easy. Yes, and you can have up the 10 high-yield savings accounts. Because I'm a nerd. I like to have different things for different goals. So I want the car upgrade fund, the emergency fund, the vacation fund, all of it in different

places earmarked. And Fairwinds lets you do that. And you get a cool Ramsey-themed debit card of your choice. We now have two options. Two options. That's right. The debt as normal be weird or the new Live Like No One Else themed, which I opted for. Yes.

That's the one on my Apple pay right now. I like both. I mean, I really do. Yeah. But it's great. But I love the app is easy to use. Amazing customer service. So make sure to check it out.

Go to fairwins.org slash Ramsey and sign up for the smart bundle today. Love it. We'll drop a link in the description as well. Okay, so we're talking about social spending trends. And there's one I keep seeing that requires a good chunk of cash to buy all the gear. I don't understand it. And I need you to explain it or one of your daughters, because they're into it too.

Explain like I'm five, what the heck is Mahjong? And why is it taken over women's minds? I know. It's all they think about. It's weirdly addicting. But it's silent. It's all I know about it. I know.

Because you really can't. I've gotten to a point I can talk some. Like I'll get my line and I'm good. But at the beginning, when you start out, yeah, you're probably, you're really concentrating. Is it stressful? It can be. It's just like sort of a quiet strategy game. Yep.

Yep. So it's. Can you explain it in 30 seconds? If I had a timer on the clock or is it too complicated. Give me a minute. I'll give you a minute. I think you deserve that. Give me a timer so that it dings at the end.

see if I can do it. Okay. Here we go. Ready, set, go. Okay, so you know how a deck of cards has like diamonds, hearts, you know. Mahjong has really three main sets. Bams, cracks, and dots. One through ten.

Each of those, each has a dragon. You can kind of think of it like an ace. So they're dragon. So you got the cracked dragon, red dragon, you got the green dragon that goes with the bams. And then you got the soap, which goes with the dots. So you lay them all out. Then you also have the winds.

So you have north, south, east, and west. And then you have jokers. I play with blanks. people get mad about that, but I love a blank, so we have about four, six blanks in the set. You turn them all over, you make walls. They'll be 19, or if you're playing with blanks, 20 across, then on top, all four. You roll to see who is the dealer, then you deal. I call it breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

So if you're the dealer, you take four, four tiles. The next one gets four, four, four, you deal to the right. You do it again three times. And then lastly, you take the first and the third for you, and then you go. So you end up basically with 13 tiles, the dealer has 14. You have a card and there's like... I'm so sorry that's all the time we have.

Thanks for playing. You're a great contestant. You don't go home with anything. I was getting you the names of the tiles and I was doing the walls and then we'll stop there. But anyways, it's great. It's so fun and it's so pretty, George. The tiles are so pretty.

It's artwork. My gosh, I love so much. You know what I bought? I bought a flip. loading majean table for my pool. How big is it? I played from one to five on Sunday with friends. Oh my gosh.

Yep, you're in the pool, so you're all cool. Is there like cup holders for this? Yes, because you got to do it. If you have the one band bird, you cheers. So you got to be cheers in. Yeah, it's so, it is so fun. It's like a big puzzle. It's a big puzzle game.

Okay. You're figuring it out, but you're trading, you're dealing, discarding. I get why only women play this, because men are not intelligent enough to understand what the heck you just said. It's probably true. And it sounds crazy.

And honestly, when I first started learning I was like, this is the stupidest game ever. Like, this is so dumb. All the weird rules that you can't use a Joker with Pair. I mean, like, there's so many rules. Who made this up? They must be billionaire, by the while.

Yeah, it's like, I think it's the Chinese. It's like an ancient, is it like an ancient game? Yes. Oh, hundreds of years. Okay. Yep. Wow. Or even longer, thousands.

I like that guys are just like, wonder if I can get that ball into that hole over there. You want to throw it or hit it. You're like, all right, either way. It's so true. Oh, man. But yeah, that's a fun one. But it is expensive. Because some of these sets, I mean, they can run upwards of over, over $500.

Wow. I know. They're bedazzled, but you can get cheap ones. You can get cheap ones on Amazon. I saw it at like Costco or Sam's Club, and I was like, wow, they have really made it mainstream. Yeah, it's crazy. I know. It weirdly is addicting.

Wow. You know what else is on trend now? What's that? Is movies. Now you're talking my language. The Odyssey, Devil Wars Prada 2. You got Spider-Man. Toy Story 5.

Yes, I mean there's so many good movies out. A great year for movies. I feel like people are really coming back. Or they're giving us good movies for a while. Desert. And even like some indie movies, like obsession. Yes. I've heard big things about this one.

I haven't watched it, but it has become like a massive thing. Like the Blair Witch Project, you know how they like only spent like $20,000? $20,000. Shot in 20 days by a YouTube comedian. My gosh. For under a million and sold it to Focus Features for over $15 million. That is some R-1. OI. That's great. And you know they made money off it. So this is crazy. I did see the Odyssey twice

already. Okay. Was it good? I haven't seen it. Well, obviously you went twice. Can I be honest though? I should not have taken my wife. Why? I took her to Opry Mills. It's one of the only 70 millimeter theaters in the country for IMAX, which is the biggest screen, biggest format. Got you. As Christopher Nolan, the director intended it. It's like the closest you can get to being inside of that camera. Okay. Okay. Got you. She left 45 minutes into this three-hour movie. Why? It was too dark and disturbing for her. She was like shaking.

So she had to go, she went to Old Navy, spent a bunch of money. She had some retail therapy. Whitney. And all I was thinking was, I paid $36 for that stupid IMAX ticket. So she hated it. She didn't hate it. It was just like, she didn't know it. Everyone told her, oh, it's fine.

It's not dark. Like it's not. But there's some like horror disturbing type elements in it. Okay. Because of Greek mythology, so some crazy things happen. Sure, sure. Whereas I'm like, wow, this was shot with practical effects. How do they do that?

How did that guy get eaten by the cyclops? Totally. That's what I'm thinking the whole time. For sure, for sure. But it was incredible. I had to see it again solo so I could really take it in. Plus, I went to the bathroom like five times. It's just so long.

It's such a long movie. So if you get to bring a drink, I try to dehydrate myself the second time just so I can make it through. Just to do it. It's so good. A lot of fun things coming back. Something else, small business hacks, if you will, these have gone viral. Everything from like buying a laundromat, vending machines. Why is that the new thing?

All this stuff of like, hey, let's get a small business going. And yeah, people are, they're jumping on the trends. Because it feels a little get rich quick, like it feels easy. But it feels more like sophisticated than a get rich quick scheme. Like, well, it's I own a business. Yeah, right, right. That's smart. But you get into it.

It's a lot of work. I had a friend do this. They actually bought a laundromat. Okay. And they gave it up. They had a partner. It went south. It was a whole lot of work.

They were spending so much time on this on top of their full-time jobs. And so they were like, we're done. We're out of this. That's a thing. Now, I will say if you're looking for a side hustle, if you do need extra money, there's a great side hustle quiz. We have. We'll link it down below.

Because the earn extra money is great, right? And we're not mad at small businesses in general, obviously. But it's kind of this viral, like, hacky feel. Yeah. And sometimes there's just not a hack. Sometimes it's just work. Most side hustles are the harder to work, the more you'll make. I know.

So choose the right one, never go into debt for these. And the side hustle quiz will help you figure out which one is right for you. So go check it out. Link in the description. Yep, that's right. Well, one thing that is not a hack, it is pure gold. Timeless. Cozy Earth.

So Cozy Earth products, you guys, the quality is outstanding. So this is anything from the blankets, the sheets, embedding, the towels, the athleisure, the pajamas. Can I tell you, in the corner of my eye, I see some of our team using the cuddle blanket right now to stay warm in this very cold studio? As we speak. And I'm a little jealous. They love it. We should have had it, George. They look very cozy.

Yes. Oh, my gosh. You just cuddle up with that. Oh, it's wonderful. So, yeah, the quality products is what I love the most because you can buy some, like, cheap, kind of like dupes. But when you wash stuff and over and over again, the things that hold the shape, yes, it is real.

So to have some good investment pieces with Cozy Earth, it's the way to go. They really are my favorite products in my house now. And you guys can get a great discount, 20% off when you go to cozyEarth.com slash smart money, or you can use the link in the description. And this is great, not just for you, but for gifts as well. Yes. People you love. Oh, a gift set for sure.

Finds them you love, give it to a friend, family member. It's the way to go. Love it. All right. Next up. Nostologic concerts. With fun dress codes, apparently. Oh, my gosh.

We love it as millennials. We're back. Like, you've been to Backstreet Boys, I don't know, seven times. Twice out. Oh, guess who is going tomorrow night? To Backstreet Boys in Vegas? My sister. And like five friends.

They flew out today. Denise. Let's go. I told her. Your life will be changed. Get ready to come back a different person. Oh, it's so good. So dress code is all white for that tree boys.

With like touches of baby blue. It's like off their millennial album. But yeah, so silver, baby blue, but lots of white. As the main color. My gosh. I love it. And they are still so good. I know we keep talking about them.

I know. But they also seem like good guys. Such good guys. And they're still dancing great, singing great. All of it. We are for them. Keep the spearful. I hope to have that kind of glow up in my 40s.

Okay, so Hillary Duff came to town. Yes. I missed it. Your wife went though? Whitney wins? I sent my wife. I found someone was listed tickets here and I was like, I'm scooping them up. She went with our previous producer, Lindsay.

That's right. Lindsay. And she had the best time. Did she say it was so good. So I feel like I'm winning on the husband award side. I sent her to Backstreet the sphere, center to Hillary Duff. Yeah, you're doing great. Her inner child is healed.

Yes. Everything is all we need. I know. Yellow card was in town. Winston went to that. Oh, nice. That was like a throwback, yes. I feel like all the old bands are like, guys, we could make money again.

Who should we go out on the road? And nobody's mad about it. We're like, great. We're tired of all the new music. You know who I would go see Matchbox 20. Oh, they were great. Wouldn't that be great? I miss Matchbox.

Nobody's talking about Matchbox 20. Where's Rob? Rob Thomas. Hope he's okay. Rob, get back on the, get back out there. Where's Carlos Santana? Oh, my gosh. Carlos Santana.

He was in everything. He was forced upon us. Like, you want a Carlos Santana solo? I don't think I have a choice in this song. I forgot about that. God bless it. Yeah, and you know who probably will not be coming back? I don't think is in sync.

No. I think J.T. is like, you know, I'm cashed in my, counting my money. I don't need to go on the road. Don't you wonder what those guys are doing? Lance Bass and Joey, I think are all like, let's go. I think J.T. is like, I'm sure they have enough money. But like, they've got to be.

Do they the old Pearl? That loop, Perlman guy that like was, their manager. Oh, he took it off of them. I think he took a lot. I mean, I think they're fine. Maybe they're crushing it on cameo or something, like making videos. Maybe so.

Maybe so. But yeah, nostalgia concerts. I think people want to do things in person. They want to relive the glory days. Yes. Okay, get this, though. Backstreet Boys are grossing $4 million a night at their residency at the sphere. A night.

That is insane. It's pretty great. Now I get why they do it night after night no matter what. I love it. They're like, do you want to make another $4 million or not? They're like, all right, sure. I guess we'll do it. Whatever.

One more night. I wonder how much they net, though, after all the, yeah. They've got to be paying a thousand people. Yeah, it's probably a lot. Yeah, sure. Hey, George, don't be all boo-boo. Let's just talk about four million dollars. But even if it's like, yeah, we each get a half million.

I'm like, okay. Yeah, we ain't mad at that. Don't complain. Don't complain about that. Dance your heart out, boys. Oh, the next one is fun. It's the trendy to be thrifty. So it's kind of the 90s butter mom aesthetic.

So Levi jeans, 100%. cotton, you got the warm tones back, the old books. It's kind of this like Nancy Myers feel, you know? It's a little bit like, it doesn't have to all look put together. Lived in, high quality. Very lived in. Yes. But it's a little bit of that. It's kind of that thrifty feel. Learning to knit and crochet. Yes. Is cross stitching back? I feel like yes. Mahjong and cross stitching, you know. I think we all want something like tangible physical analog. Yeah. We're tired of like digital and AI. We want something to do with our hands, something to go-to, something to see visually.

I like that. Get off the screens. I love it. All right. Next up, you'll love this one. Trending Celebrity Gossip. Oh, is it back? You tell me.

You keep up with this. No, it's great. Yeah, there's been a lot of headlines. Did it ever leave? I don't know. It's been a lot of headlines. You got Taylor and Travis's wedding. You got a thousand guests.

Still shocked you weren't invited. Madison Square. I know. So, fine. But they had to cap it at some point. You were probably on the next list. It's just like one tier down, probably. Bradley Cooper.

and Gigi, you know? They're spotted wearing matching wedding bands. Oh my gosh. Anne Hathaway pregnant in her early 40s. That's crazy. And she's had quite the year. I feel like she's been in every movie ever. Every movie.

Every movie. Every movie. What is she? Every hit movie of the summer, she's in it. You know what? She may just be like, let's just go. The quantity. This is it.

Come back to us, though. Anne Hathway, come back to us. That's pretty incredible. But we love some celebrity gossip. But one thing about the internet that's tough, though, is that your information is out there. and that's why delete me is so crucial to have so that when you are filling out all these applications online,

whether you're buying stuff from stores or companies, sometimes they will collect that data and then they will sell your data to other companies. And so you want to be careful because data brokers too will pick up your data. And they're the ones, man, that's like mass produced out. And I like to test this. I've done this on our own team members.

I'm like, hey, bet I can find out where you live in about three seconds. So I bet. And then I do it. I'm like, see, you need delete me. Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, they have a fabulous service too because they will send you an email or report on all the hours that their manpower has spent of what you would have spent doing it. All the removal requests. Yes, and where they have removed your information. So it is so great to have.

You'll be shocked at how many places had your info that you did not give consent to. They don't care. So go get Delete Me and reclaim your data privacy. Go to join DeleteMe.com slash SmartMoney. and you'll get 20% off their annual plans. We'll also drop a link in the description. All right, the last trend that I'm loving, George, it's the oversharing about money on the internet. Gen Z is not scared to talk about money. They are not.

They're very vulnerable, transparent. I don't know what the word is. They just sort of like don't care. They're like over everything. They're like, you know what? We're just going to say it. We're saying how much we make. They're tired of everyone gatekeeping.

Yes, yes. And I kind of like it. I'm like, good for you all. And I love them too because they will take old concepts. We talked about this on the show and make it fresh and new. So it's like cash stuffing, right?

That used to be the envelope system. Money maxing is like a new trend where they're basically like... Being intentional. You, you know, max out every single dollar you have. So pay off debt, be intentional with a budget, save. And we're like, go ginsie.

We love it. Yes. And you know what it's like, you know, when restaurants decide we're going to do deconstructed. Yes. Which is just like, instead of putting it all together, we're just going to not do that and call it a meal and make it more expensive.

Yes. I feel like Gen Z is really good at that. Very good. Like we're not going to do budgeting, but we're going to deconstruct it and call it like cash stuffing and money maxing. Like, great. Whatever you call it, I just love that we're paying attention to our money again, being transparent, sharing our debt-free journeys. I've never seen so many Instagram accounts of people sharing their debt-free stories. And people are encouraging them.

They're even helping them pay off debt. These accounts are getting like sponsors. Yep. They're making money from something. social media to help pay it off. Like, that's a pretty cool side hustle. It's so great. And I think it's encouraging because I think real people want to hear about real things going on, right?

For so long, it's gotten a little bit better, but it's just that like best foot forward feel. The facade. Yeah. And now people are like putting out their real stories and what's going on in their life. They're sharing the struggles instead of the wins. Yeah. And you know what? I think it's great, especially when it comes to money, share it.

It'll inspire people. It really will. So I love it. That's fantastic. Too good, too good. Okay. Well, well, there are. There's a lot.

But here's the thing, too, is you don't have to spend your money on all the trends. That's what I love about. The idea that money is just, it's a tool to create a life that you love. So what are the things that you enjoy? I love Mahjong and Backstreet Boys. So that's where my mind is going. And there's no ulterior motive. You're not trying to impress anyone.

No. You're doing it because you truly love it. So what trend are you spending money on these days? Oh, gosh. Probably, for me, it's coffee and movies are my two right now. Yeah. And going to shows, go to concerts, my kind of concerts. Which is what?

More like bands you've never heard of than make me sound pretentious if I said it. I know, very just like, oh my gosh. I actually had tickets to go see American football with soccer mommy opening. Exactly. I rest my case. But I had a speaking engagement

and so I couldn't make it and I had to sell my ticket. Oh, so sad. How did she sell it for, 12 bucks? It was like 30 bucks. See, my show is what I love about the music I love is that less people care about it. They do, they don't care.

And therefore the tickets aren't going to be. Did you say soccer mommy? That's a band, yes. It's really unfortunate. Why? You know, producer of the Ramsey show James Childs? Yes. They're kind of, it's his kind of music.

Okay, I got to him. It's a Midwest emo. It's American football. Weird. Have you heard of the Knox? No. Not the 1975. Have you heard this?

The 1975? I know that. No, not. It's the song called Not the 1975. Okay, it's a weird title. By the Knox. Anyways, it says something about Caroline in it, and Winston, like, loves that song.

So Caroline now has become obsessed with it. So that's the only, emo song that I listen to. Wow. I'll send it to you, George. I feel very hip when I listen to it. You know what? I saw a block party. Have you heard of block party? No.

Saw them at the Riemann here in Nashville. Never heard. I do like a good Rhyman show. I think the venue matters more. You know who I saw at the Riemann? Ashley Simpson. Back in the day. What? When I was in high school. That is wild. She's so good. I love her. Really? She should come back. Name three songs.

Yeah. I don't know if I could right now. That's tough. That's always my true test. Are they so good if you can't name three? Oh my gosh. Ashley. I love it. I love the nostalgia trends coming back.

I like the transparency we're seeing. I like the return to analog, tangible, tactical things that actually like fuel our spirit instead of drain us. And y'all get in a great position with your monies that you can spend it on things that you want. Right. If you have a ton of debt, your paycheck to paycheck, you don't have an emergency fund. Buckle down. Get a good financial foundation under you. We talk about the baby steps, the Ramsey Baby Steps, that's the first three steps.

So get a $1,000 emergency fund, get out of debt and have a fully funded emergency fund. And then beyond that is where you can kind of, like, loosen the purse strings a little bit. And we had a line item in our budget and the camel family of just fund money, low money. And so you can budget for the new mahjong table and not have it be a huge fight in the house. Yeah, just, you know which on what? Right. So it's talked about before. Yeah, it's great.

Fantastic. So being smart with your money, then I feel like the trends you can like really. you know, indulge if you want. Yeah. Yeah, but get yourself in a good financial place. And, yeah, it's so fun. And don't feel like you have to do it just because it's a trend. There's a lot of times you feel FOMO.

Yeah, it's true. Yeah, really wasn't that special. True. Well, George, before we spill the tea on our guiltiest charge segment, let's share the drink details and reveal our rating. Let's do it. This is the peach basil tingle mottail. Still confused about the tingle part.

There's no information. But it's got peaches, lemon, basil, honey, and kombucha. Oh. Lemon ginger kombucha. There we go. You were correct. We got it.

It does have some ginger in there via the kombucha. I'm guessing the kombucha is the tingle portion. Am I right? Is it a little. Am I right? Such a bad. The apple cider vinegar of, you know, that taste. That's what it is.

Yeah, yeah. It does give you. I forgot to really enjoy this. Yeah, I know. It's a pretty great mock tail. Got some good stuff. This could be really nice with some tequila in it, but we already had that. So I've dumped it in there.

You should have. Had a little extra. I'm going to have. rate this, I'm going to go nine out of ten in the mocktail world. Wow. This is up, this is my speed. I'm going to go seven out of ten. It was a little too gingery for me, but it was good. I liked it, but a little too gingery. So if you have taste, culture, class, you're going to love this drink. Comes out to a dollar 84 cents, which I think is well worth it for a drink of this caliber. Get the recipe and the show notes. Give it a try this weekend, and this is one the kids can enjoy too.

All right. Now it's time for guilty as charged. And this is where we have to be. ask each other a new guiltiest church question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, question. Have you ever bought something for your kids and you regretted it? Oh, boy. My gosh, have we? It's more like what's the latest regret.

I know. My gosh. I think something I've personally purchased, okay, we did this one for my daughter to try to get her off the passies. Okay. Because their teeth are, you know, it was jacked up. She's about to turn three and we're like, we've got to do something. This is getting drastic. So we said the passy fairy is going to get you a blue bounce house.

Tell me this. So we got a blueie bounce house from Sam's Club. Oh, my gosh. And it was on sale from like 300 to 250. I was like, you know what? If this saves me a lifetime of dental visits to fix the problem, 250 is well worth it. Good night. So we get this bounce house.

It is an absolute nightmare. It is 100 pounds. Whitney cannot carry it. Had to get it delivered instead. Oh, no. Because we couldn't even move it. She couldn't move it to the cart. Oh, my gosh.

So we get it. It's a nightmare to blow up, to deflate. We're both laying on it trying to deflate. It's related back to not a 10 by 10, you know, thing taking up the lawn. We've nowhere to store it because we can't get it compact again. So bad. Then it rains for like two weeks. It's just covered in dirt and spiders.

And I'm just like. And finally I hosed it down and went, I'm taking this back to Sam's Club. And you took it back? And I took it. I don't even think they looked at it. I think the good people at Sam's Club were like, hey man, that's between you and the Lord. We get it. We wouldn't want it either.

Oh my gosh. down. So I kept it. I was like, can I get a refund for the difference? Yeah. And so that was a whole, now it's super cheap. Because I think everyone had the same experience I did, which is super fun for two times. So then we had to explain to our sweet daughter where the blueie bounce house with. Did the tooth fairy take the, or did the passy fairy take that too? Yeah, we said it was going to be replaced with something even better. What is it? I don't know. We'll come up with it. Good. TBD. I'm open she just forget. She will. She hasn't mentioned it yet. Yeah, she's three. She'll forget. She'll be fun. That's so funny.

About you, any regrets for kids' purchases? It's the thing that annoys me the most right now. A recorder? No. Oh, good. Squishies. Oh, are they on the squishy tree? Neidos and dumplings and like all of these.

They're all different types. And I finally put a hard stop. I was like, no more, y'all. No more. No more. But they get them for birthdays and they'd save up their money and want to go to the toy store and buy it and five below. Nothing. They just sit there.

They sit in a corner? And I squish them sometimes, but like Caroline has a big bag of them. And I'm like, this is, and they want more. There's not like food-looking ones, like a banana or like a waffle. Avocado. Yes. And I'm like, y'all, so we're done. I don't know why it annoys me so much.

Because they're pretty, like they're older. Like older kids are loving squishes. Oh, yeah. Because it's not like a kid's stuffed animal. Yeah, Amelia's probably a little out of it now. But Caroline, oh. She loves a squishy. And when a friend comes over, she's like, can you tell her,

mom to bring all of the squishies. It's a thing. I'm telling you. And it's, I hate it. But they don't play with them. And then Caroline, no, no, they just squish them. It's so. Is it like an anxiety reducing thing for children now? Is that what we're doing? I don't know. Stress reliever. But people like line up outside the stores to get like, like dumplings. Like there's like rear dumpling of it. It's, I don't get it. So it's the lobooboos for kids. It has no real purpose. That's right. It's kind of just like a flex to do I have 20 squishies. That's it. I got the latest avocado squish.

Seriously, yes. It's so bizarre. But Caroline, sorry Caroline. Sometimes I don't like to name my kids names if it's in a negative connotation, but it's fine because she... She would actually love the shoutout. She got one. Does he what's in it?

Yes! Yes! And I was like, oh, my stuff everywhere. And I was like, if that gets... I was like, clean it up. What does it look like? It's like worse than slime. Because it's all supposed to be contained.

When it's not contained, Oh, y'all, I can't. I can't. I can't. It's just, it's like a nuclear reactor. It's the most annoying thing right now with kids, squishies. So just. Prepare my heart.

No, it'll be over. It's a trend. It's a trend. It'll be over. And some of them are gross. Like, because they'll fall on the floor. And depending on the material of it, it can like collect everything.

Yeah, like lint and stuff. Well, I have dogs that will also just like attack it, eat it, and then it becomes even gross. That would be bad. Yeah. Let's don't do it. There's my grief and sister I know about children. Well, on this paper, there was a reference that you might mention a pogo stick story.

I was excited about that. Oh, oh. The pogo stick. This was like two years ago. This was so stupid, too. We bought a mogo stick. I think it was Caroline again. Sorry, Caroline.

So she wanted it. When you say we bought a pogo stick. I think she saved it for money. She was begging for a pogo stick. And I think I even told her, you're not going to probably be able to do it. You're too little. Like a real pogo stick to get on. It's effort.

It's effort. It takes balance. Like it looks stupid, but it's actually hard to do. Yes, exactly. And she wanted it so bad. So we buy it. And of course, she can't do it. So she gets frustrated.

It's so mad. So then I feel bad. And I go on Amazon and order like a, another photo stick. It was like a, it's like a, it's like a training wheel version. It's like a rectangle blow up foamy thing with a cord that's like stretchy with a handle.

So you can kind of like. Get the most. Get the motion and you can bounce on it. Well, when you bounce on it, it squeaks. It's like, scree, shoo-scroo-scroo-scurt, so now she's all around. And then everyone thought over it. And then she hid it so that no one else could touch it. And then about a week later, I was like, where is that a Pogo steak?

And she was like, I can't remember where I put it. We lost the Pogo steak, the second one. Can't find it. And then about a year, I think last year it showed back up. Anyways, so that was up, that pissed me off. You know, that Pogo stick. So mad. I didn't know those were bad.

I didn't know they still made them. You know what? I don't even know. She decided to get one. She was like seven at the time. I mean... Who's buying these? I don't know. I feel like hula hoops and pogo sticks go together.

I know. I don't know, y'all. But that one made me mad. I'll never forget that one. RIP pogo stick wherever you are. I know. Rest in Pogo. That was it.

That was it. Oh, well, listen, if you have a fun, guilty-est-charge question for us, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel. We'll screenshot it and send it to our producer, Jenna, and use it. So thanks so much. Love it.

And if you enjoyed this episode, you're going to love the next episode, Waste or Worth It, Rating Life-changing Products. We will link it for you and make sure to subscribe. So you don't miss an all-new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers. Cheers.