Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - We’re Here to Judge Your Guilty Pleasures (With Love)

Episode Date: June 5, 2025

📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan.   Could your guilty pleasures—like fancy water or a fresh manicure appointment—actually be keeping you broke? Find out in this episode as Rachel and George reveal their own “guilty pleasure” purchases, plus react to some of yours.    Next Steps: 🎥 Watch our video “Harmless” Purchases That Drain Your Bank Account. 🍸 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.  💵 The simplest way to budget. Download the EveryDollar app for free!   Connect With Our Sponsors: Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. Get up to 40% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🥃 The King’s Shilling Recipe: @anatomyofadrink 1 ounce bourbon 1 ounce aged rum 1/4 ounce coffee liqueur 1/4 ounce pineapple syrup 3 dashes Angostura bitters Orange twist as a garnish Instructions: Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and stir with ice until chilled. Strain into a glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange twist.   Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights   🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's show, we're talking about guilty pleasure purchases that are keeping you broke. I think it'll eats away at my soul too much. Does it? I'd rather bring my own. I know. I did that for a long time. I think it's going to be one of these things that Rachel, like, I get the itch for, like three weeks before. And I just impulsively go.

We're going to get into it. Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. This is the show. We're two friends who happen to any money experts talk about what you're talking about. everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And before we get to the content, we got to talk about what we're sipping on, Rachel.

Today, it's the King's Shilling. Oh, a shilling. And I do love this. Is that like a type of money? I think shilling is an old, old-timey, like a medieval situation. Shilling. Two shillings, please. It's giving Ever After Fills.

A little Drew Barrymore. Yes. Yes. You know what I just watched finally? The Princess Bride. Oh, finally. I just want to throw that in there, a little tidbit for the listeners. A little medieval there.

What did you think? I thought it was better than it deserved. It held up. It was good. Held up, yeah. I enjoyed it. I haven't seen that in years. I haven't seen the Princess Bright in years, but.

That's what reminded me of. It's good. I like it. I like ever after. I'm going Drew Barrymore. If you want to know our rating. Who would love a pebble in their shoe. I've never seen this.

You haven't? My favorite quote. Is that a Drew quote? No, it's the stepmother. She says it to her. She's like, well, you ever love me? It's like, who would love a pebble in her shoe? Terrible.

That's actually... And weirdly the best accent I've heard from you. Oh, I'm getting better. Thanks. All right. Here we go. Well, hey, if you want to know our rating, we're going to reveal that and the cost per drink

at the end of the episode, so stick around for more on the King's Shilling. Yes, all right. This episode reminds me of a top favorite we've done, George. What's that? Was the Little Treats episode. Like the Little Treat vibe, you know? But this one, you know, we're

to go a little bit, a little bit more serious, if you will, because a little treats a little bit, like, eh, not a big deal. Just a small impulsive purchase, seemingly harmless. Yeah, because there's like little treats, guilty pleasures, they're kind of different. Yeah, and then you can even stair step into, like, is this a vice? A vice. Or even deeper, an addiction. What would you say?

What's the definitions? What would you? The guilty pleasure is, it's like fun, it's a little embarrassing, not really hurting anyone, not cramping your budget. The fact you love Britney Spears is a little. a little guilty pleasure. Why did that, why did that have to come up? She follows me on Twitter.

Do I need to remind you? And I did check, she still follows me. I forgot. Don't know why, but Britney if you're out there. Did you ever say free Brittany to her, ever? I DM'd her and asked her to be on the show. Ghosted. So, sad.

Hurtful. And then you've got a vice. A vice feels like it is morally unacceptable. It's sort of like a shame, more shameful thing, society. It's very darker than like a guilty pleasure. A vice. Like, eh, it's probably going to be hurt. a little bit.

Hurt someone, hurt you? We don't know. And then an addiction is more like this is, it's out of your control, seemingly. Yes, it's the yes. That feels like. It's, I need this, I can't live without this. Yes, not good.

Yes. We'll get into some of that as well. There's a few on this list. Let me go a little light, though. Let's go, like it fun. We're going to keep it lighthearted for you, Rachel. Good. That's the last thing we need.

We got a lot going on in America today. It's the last bastion of hope. There's a lot happening. So we're going to keep this fun. What a party. What are some of your guilty pleasure purchases? some stending vices, if you will. Guilty pleasures.

I'm going to go manicure. Does that work? Yeah. I like getting my nails done and pedicure. Like every three weeks. Every three weeks is your schedule. And I went to sparkle this time. I always ask my girls what to get.

And they'll be like, get blue or get, they'll always like give me a nail color. And I went spark. Do you ever like Charles pick? No, he didn't really care. All right. Yeah. He did say he liked my nails, though. That's sweet.

That's sweet. A sweet. A lot of time. So specific. With a diet cherry lime made if I'm feeling like real crazy. So someone's going to order something for Rachel at Sonic. Do you have me a diet cherry line made in Montserie sticks? You went.

Hey, Winston, are you watching, bud? Take notes. Man. Okay, I do like my water and bottles. Microplastics. I know. Recycling, I know. Environment, I know.

But I love. I love a water bottle by my bed. Have you ever drank water? And in my car. And in my purse. I have water bottles everywhere. I love them. Half drinking?

Yes. Drinking, yes Yeah, water bottles, that would be And if you go like so, like if it's a Fiji Even better Oh my God I'm so rich

I feel so rich Can I tell you This is embarrassing but fun I keep a pack of Fijis in my garage Only for when we have special guests So we're not allowed to drink Once did I ever came over for dinner

Yes I would have some Fijis in the fridge Ready to go Or if we have guests to stay over family included, Fiji's. You know, that's actually a great host. That's like a, I... Thank you. I commend that.

I like that. I don't know why. It just feels like it elevates the experience. Oh. Oh. Sometimes a Pellegrino. A Pellegrino in the fridge. Okay, see, I'll pop a Pellegrino or a topo

with no big deal. But Fiji feels like a different level. Yeah. Okay, what's yours? What's your guilty pleasures? Mine, definitely expensive coffee. Mm-hmm. Would be, you know, more like at a coffee shop

or an expensive cocktail. Like, I'm a sucker for the... Oh, I am too of that. Like, hey, this bourbon was fat washed with this other thing, and we then smoke it with the old-fashioned. I'm like, all right, I'm a sucker. Okay, the Ramsey Cruise, George.

Yes. Did you get the smoked old-fashioned on the Ramsey Cruise? There was a Wahawkin old-fashioned made with Mescal. Yes. And they would light the orange peel on fire. It would add a little bit of smoke. And so, yes. It was a whole presentation.

I love a presentation. And a sweet couple on the cruise bought Winston and I. It because it was their favorite drink of the cruise. That's what I think about is like the smoke. It's a really, cool presentation though which is fun yeah another one that i feel like is not talked about enough is a youtube premium subscription so i don't have to ever watch an ad no way you have that i would rather have that than any streaming service wait what because i watch a lot of youtube like my the shows they upload clips

this show do you watch this show a lot george i wouldn't say a lot but sometimes if there's a funny moment someone's like hey you guys did a thing i don't even remember do you know what i used to do i wouldn't even buy music subscriptions. I never, I hadn't, I didn't, I just got Spotify in the last year. Like, I didn't buy music. So I would go on YouTube and look up the song I wanted to hear and play it through my car. That's embarrassing. You are the youngest living boomer. I know, that's what I would do that. It's a very boomer thing to do. Do you also pull up your Pandora? Man, I had Pandora for a long time. What happened to Pandora? No one's like anthrax. What happened to it? No one's talking about it. Because where do you get your music? Spotify? Spotify.

Okay, I do that too. And I buy the subscription. I'm so bougie and drink my feed you water. I'm really proud of you. Mm-hmm. That's fun. We all have our vices. I think mine are more innocent, you know, nothing that would shock anybody.

Yeah, yeah, that's fair. But I like what I like. It's good. Water bottles included. Okay. All right, well, we went to the socials and polled some of you all out there on your guilty pleasures. And we got some, you know, we got some that ran the gamut, if you will. Yeah, some of you chose transparency over dignity, and I applaud that.

So we're going to read each one, and we're going to rate it as innocent or guilty, I guess, with these paddles. So this is guilty. Okay, so we're saying, like, not good, you've got to quit that, or... Green is like this one is acceptable. Okay. In Rachel and Georgia's eyes. All right, I can't wait. You're ready?

All right, here we go. What's the first one? McDonald's Diet Coke runs. So $1.89. for a large fountain drink and Mickey Dease. And if you did that, one per day, $689 per year going to the Diet Coke. All right. And can I tell you, I have a few friends.

This is theirs. And they swear by McDonald's over every other fast food. They have the best diacoke. And I actually passed one of my friends because in our area in Cool Springs, Shalotsky's McDonald's share an intersection. So I was in the Shalotsky's drive. And you could see your friend of the McDonald's right through. Well, I was leaving it, and then she's coming in.

I knew exactly what she was doing. I texted her. I was like, I see you getting your mickey's. She gets it every day. It's like, it's her thing, yes. So we actually know someone who does this. Yes. Was this her response, I wonder?

I don't think she listens to the show. So no. Well, hurtful. What kind of friend are you? I think it's real. But anyways, I'm going to give this one a shocking green. I'm going innocent, too. It's acceptable.

People love it. It's innocent. It's great. You could do worse, is all I'm saying. For sure. Now, do you like Diet Coke? Yes, I do. I'm not a big soda person, but if I were to drink a soda, it's Diet Coke.

What is the, what? Oh, my guilty pleasure one, though, you're ready for this? When I get Firehouse subs, only Firehouse. I don't know why. A Diet Dr. Pepper. I knew it. I know. Film crazy.

The old DDP. Do you like, do you do soda? I don't drink it a lot, but when I do, a Diet Dr. Pepper hits. It's really good. But what is the chokehold that Diet Coke has on women? I don't know, because regular. Now that I go back to regular Coke, it is too sweet for me. I taste it.

It's too rich. You prefer the aspartame. Yes. That's class. I like the fake sweet over the real one. But no, it is very, it's almost syrupy how sweet regular Coke is. Yes. And if you haven't had it a long time and you have it, you really do can taste a difference.

Now, Mexican Coke glass bottle, change your family tree. I would do that. The Mexican Coke from the glass bottle, it's got to be Mexican Coke. Yeah. It tastes different. I stand by that. I don't know if they leave the cocaine in there from the olden days. I don't know.

Oh, my gosh. I don't know if we can hear that, but kids, they used to do it. So look it up. Is that true, though? Or is that an urban legend? I'm choosing to believe it's true. All right. I'll go.

All right. Next, are you ready for this one? All right. Boy, oh, boy, I am a sucker for watches. So $7,000 to a large price, not this person specifically, but one of the nicer relics is $270,000. Wow.

Man. You had a watch Oh, well, hi, Mr. Rolex? Oh, my gosh. Oh my gosh. I'm not a watch guy. Oh, my gosh. I own my Apple watch and I own this watch, which was, again, inherited from a...

Which actually is cool. I applaud that. But no, would you spend that level of money on, let's say jewelry because you may not be a watch for you? See, I don't even know how much stuff costs. I mean, genuinely, I don't know. The only thing I could see being like, oh, God, that's a lot of money. Like diamond earrings or... It would be where I'm like, okay, that could be worth it.

There's like a nice pair of real diamond earrings. A tennis bracelet. I don't know why they call it tennis, but I imagine no one wears it while playing tennis. Okay, I can, but I have one from Amazon. That looks great. So I think I would have a hard time buying it. It's about looks for you over the actual quality name brand. Yes, what does that say about me?

I think it says you really don't, you want to look rich. You don't need to like make people believe it. There is something I have thought about recently, my girls passing down jewelry to them. There's something that my mom, like, she's talked about this. Sharon will talk about when she dies, what we're all getting. She, like, tells us that. Often? Often, but enough that we're like, okay, mom.

We get it. She's like, but when I die, don't sell my jewelry. She always says that. You all get, like... Keep it. Don't, like, pawn it off. Yeah, there is something about having an heirloom to pass down to your girls. Then I'm like, that would be great. So, like, I don't know.

You're changing my mind on this. I think I'm going to lean green on this one, if done responsibly, with cash. Yeah, yeah. trying to impress anyone. You do it because you love it. I agree. I agree. Okay.

All right. Specialty dog food was the next one that was submitted. Oh, wow. This person that submitted this pays $75 a month to feed their Pomeranian. Oh, my gosh. I imagine that Pomeranian is about the size of a, I don't know, like a, like a gerbil. Now, as a person who pays. I don't even know what we pay for dog food.

Let me look it up. I know exactly how much we pay. And if you don't have every dollar, you use. should get it. It's the best budgeting app out there. Yeah, I'm going to say this one's acceptable as well. How much do you pay for dog food? Mine is about $65 per bag. Good night, George. And that gets us by for maybe close to a few weeks. Okay. I get two bags delivered every month. I know that. Two bags every, well, for the dogs. So it's $130. There's two dogs. So $65 per dog. Let's call it that. This one is $83. Okay. But I think it's every other month.

So $40 for one dog. That's reasonable. Is that fine? Yeah, we have to get to like the hypo-allergenic food for the dogs because French bulldogs are born broken, as you know. So I don't know this person's life. I'm going to give this one a green light. It's time, Rachel.

You froze. Can I go here? Oh, you're in the middle on this one. I'm in the middle. You're judging the dog owners. A little bit. There's a part of me that I'm like, all right, just get on like a... Go to pet smart.

Get a bag of dog food, you know. But don't you think that... The quality of the food affects the health of the dog? I mean, are we splitting hairs here? Literally, I don't think so. Dog hairs? No, I think it's fine, fine, whatever. All right, I convinced her.

All right, next, ready? Zen. This person spends $250 to $300 a month. Wow, okay, so these, for those that don't know, because I had to learn, these are the little nicotine pouches. Yes. And they... Zin is one brand.

Pure nicotine. Yeah, there's like a brand called On, Alp, I don't know the other brands. That's a couple of them. Like little pouches. Little pouches that give you a little buzz. And I think they're like five bucks a ten. Yeah, so we've talked to people that use these on a regular basis. I know you're shocked.

It's not George and myself. We do not use Zin on a regular basis. Above the influence, baby. Your boy went to Dare. We definitely. Pass the flying colors. We went through Dare. But they're,

they're cheap. So I'm like, yeah, they're like five bucks. So most people spend like 20 bucks. So the fact this person. $250 a month. To $300. That means they are going through a day? A 10 a day?

A 10 a day? A 10 a day, five times 30. It's 150 bucks. Oh my gosh. They're going through two a day. That can't make sense. I don't believe this numbers. That's hard.

This feels crazy. It feels crazy. I know. Now maybe if they're getting the higher milligrams, but I think at that point you would have a heart attack. I'm going to do this. for $250 for Zen. Okay?

I'm not mad at Zen users, but do like try $50 a month, right? Yeah, I think you can scale down. That means you have a lot of nicotine, and I don't know if that's good for you. Yeah, I'm not a scientist. I don't know the research on this, like pure nicotine versus other things.

They say it's much better. They say it's a lot better. Yes, the health people say. Is it better to avoid it altogether? Probably. Probably like this for our livers. Yeah. Much better.

to avoid it. Sometimes you just got to live, though. You know, you got to enjoy life. Sure. You know why? It's like that's the tagline for Zinn. I know. Sometimes just got to let whatever gets you through the day.

I know, yeah. So did you put your, what'd you say? I said no. I don't get it. I know. I don't get this one. I agree. You know what I do get, though?

What? Removing your information online. Now that is a vice I can get behind. I will get behind that vice. Because, man, when you get that email from delete me, George, are you just, like a little bit, like, oh, man, it's kind of your guilty pleasure. It gives me a buzz.

I know. Zinner delete me reports. Which one gives, George? No one thought we could make the connection, but Rachel Cruz did it. Always will. She's a savant. So here's what Delete Me does. They go in, they find and remove your info from all these data broker sites across the

internet, thousands of them, and they send you a report showing you exactly where they removed your info, how much time they saved you, and I sleep better for it. I'm at 66 hours. Wow. 86.5. Good for you. Not to brag, but I'm just further ahead. I've had it a little longer.

You started earlier than me. Yes. But it really is an incredible service to take control of your online privacy, to avoid all these phishing scams and spam emails you're getting out there. They'll help prevent all of that. Yeah, and they do what they say. They're going to delete you from the internet. Delete me.

Please delete me. Yeah. And they go in and they do it. And we got a discount for our Smart Money Happy Hour fans out there. We do? Yeah. Go to Join DeleteMe.com slash Smart Money. And you'll get 20% off their annual plans or click the link in the description. Amazing.

Absolutely amazing. Easy. All right, eating out during my lunch break at work, $15 for work lunch, $300 per month. This is a tough one for me. I know, can I say this? I'm going to go red. Even though I'm an eating out person, I love eating out. But I think lunch, maybe this is a personal preference.

Lunch is one that you can swing. I mean, maybe like once a week or something. But you know, some salt and vinegar. This is what I had tonight, salt and vinegar chips. Your S&Vs? Carrots and ranch and a pommino cheese sandwich. A little pometo cheese sandwich. I love a pinmino cheese sandwich.

Some salt and vennies, that's a good day. Yeah, and it's, you know, when you break it down, it is so much cheaper to eat at home or bring your lunch. It really is. Now, every now and then, I'm all about, like, going out for sure. Like, you don't want that every day. I get that. But every day, George, to go out to eat, it's a lot.

That's expensive. That's very expensive. Figure it out, brown bag it. Especially if you are... $300 a month's a lot. That is a lot. And here's the thing. If you are debt-free with an emergency fund, you're investing,

you're in what you would call Baby Steps 4 plus. If you want to eat out once in a while and it's in the budget, that's fine. But I still think it's a bad habit to do every single day. I'm with you. I'm with you. To go eat out somewhere. Now we have a... Which this says a lot about me because, again, I'm the eating out friends.

I know. And I want to go halfway because... I'm the eating out friends. But I do think, like, it's excessive. We have a cafeteria at Ramsey that is subsidized. So our meals costs like five bucks. Yeah. So generally, I will eat at the...

office in the cafeteria. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's not $15. That's the thing. A day. And it's in the budget. So I generally spend $100. I mean, in that food.

Go to Panera. You're paying an arm and a leg. It's insane. I mean, seriously, I'm like, how much things are costing these days? Even fast food. It's wild. I know. Not fun.

Not fun. You guys have really done. Rachel Cruz's Derrick. Cigarettes. $11 a pack. I can't. I don't understand. I mean, I get that it's addictive.

And so people have a hard time. getting off of this one, but you're not getting a pass from old Georgie boy. He went through Dair. I went through, now as I drink this, I don't think this is Dare approved. Yeah. Cigarettes is a tough one because I imagine people have been addicted to cigarettes for a long time. This one falls under the addiction category. Okay, that's fair.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So if you're going to get off of it... I mean, if you're like randomly, you know, once a year. Have a sick. I don't know or something, right? Sure, that's different. It's not a vice. That's not an addiction.

That's right. But I still think as a habit, not great. I agree. Switch to Zin. I can't believe I'm saying that, but at least it's better than whatever toxins are putting in that. That's fair. All right. Next is thrifting.

You tell yourself, hey, I'm going to just kind of scratch that creative itch in a sustainable, budget-friendly way. But then you go and you run out of room for all those 1970s best. skits and ceramic faces. Drifting is tough. Well, thrifting, because it makes you feel like you're doing the right thing by not buying brand new. You're reducing, reusing, recycling. And so this one, I'm going to give it a pass if done as a hobby.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You're not hurting anyone. They want to decorate their home. Or yourself. Wear thrifted clothing, you know? Yeah, because some people, it's a fun thing. We went to the fairgrounds for diners. dinosaur world, which ended up being a disaster last year.

And you went again? Oh, God, coming up on a year. I think it was last summer. We went. Oof. What's going on at the fairgrounds for dinosaur world? That was one of the biggest scams I've ever been a part of, and it was not good. What did you think was going to happen at dinosaur world at the fairgrounds?

It was so bad, George. At one point, there was a grown man, a grown man dressed up as a dinosaur. Like a human-sized costume? Yes, but you can see his legs. And then he had a trainer next to him, dressed up in like a safari outfit, giving the dinosaur commands. And he...

Like sit? Yes! And the dinosaur's name was Diego. He's like, who's ready for Diego? And everyone was like, we are. And he comes out. And he's like, Diego sits. And then he said, Diego, turn around.

And he's just following orders from his trainer. For about three minutes. And they're like, say, bye to Diego. And the dinosaur leaves. And that was the show. Did you get your money back? No. This is like Fire Fest for children.

I'm not kidding. And I felt like I needed to give a community service to tell people, don't do this. at the door and say, I wouldn't do it, guys. Okay, the reason I'm telling you all of it, so I don't know how I got off on Diego, the dinosaur. But at the fairgrounds, there was a split. Are you going to Dinosaur World? Or are you going to the antique show?

The thrifting. Should have gone to the antique show. I think I should have. Much better use of time. Yeah. And money. Dinosaur World. No.

Big thumbs down. Thrifting, sure. Yeah. Now, I think there are people who are obsessed, who spend too much money, and they can justify it by saying, well, it's thrifting. It's not retail price. I'm doing a good thing. So those people, if it is an addiction, stop. That easy, guys. I solved it.

All right. Next up, this one hits home for me. This one was submitted. Pints of Jenny's ice cream. Is that a guilty pleasure? Is it a vice? Guilty pleasure. I'm okay with it, but that's not mine at all. I am not a... You're not an ice cream person? Mm-mm. Yeah. Actually, I think ice cream... I got hated on for this because I said things I was dropping in like 2022 or something.

I gave a list a few years ago of like things not to buy in 2020. And I said like expensive ice cream. Because I think it's kind of stupid. Wow. So maybe I should go, Rachel, maybe my heart's going to turn to my thing. L take from Rachel.

Finally, I'm the good guy for once. I'm the hero telling you buy good ice cream. Life is too short to eat whatever. It's so, I mean, you go out. Tasteless ice cream is out there. It's not tasteless. Go get purity.

Rachel. Have some class. Borrow some if you need. Listen, give me a curig cup of coffee and purity ice cream If curing made ice cream, you would be the target demo. 100%. So it tastes like ice cream, it's cold and it has milk. It's fine, it's disgusting.

Okay. And I know this for a fact, your parents, Dave and Sharon Ramsey, love Jenny's ice cream. They do. And that's why I know they're good quality people. Okay. And if I bring home a pint of Jenny's ice cream, I'm a hero in my house. Okay, yeah, I know.

A little gooey butter cake. I don't know what you're talking about. Just one of the all-time best flavors All right, we'll get there But this one... All right, concerts. You're ready, concerts. Once in a lifetime experience,

who cares if it's $600 for the nosebleeds? I gotta go on the road. I'm going to green. This one's not that innocent. Really? Yeah. And I'm not even a music person. Well, think about it.

You go to one concert a month and they're nice, decent tickets. 100 bucks, let's say, for the whole experience. Yeah. Maybe 150, because you got to go get dinner and you got to get an outfit. and you know, I know the girls do it.

I'm no dummy. Do you know what brings you joy as experiences, George? I know, and I love a good concert. Go live and enjoy. But I'm saying spending $150 a month, once a month, twice a month for these experiences, I just feel like is not helping anyone's budget. Okay, so I don't have enough music people in life

that I love to do something twice a month in the music arena. Mine's like once every two years. Yeah, you went to Taylor Swift twice. Yeah. That's the last concert I've been doing a long time. But you made up for it because it costs a pretty penny. It did cost a pretty penny. But we did it.

And it was so fun. It was so great. And can I tell you most of the shows I go to are free or very cheap? Really? I'll leave you the hack. This is too local. But there's a site called Do More Stuff. And they work with local cities.

And so Nashville has one. It's seven bucks a month. And they send you tickets to things happening. You get a pair of tickets. Hey, but are people good if it's free like that? I mean, probably in Nashville, yeah. Some of them. Yeah. I will admit, a lot of them are like, I don't know who these people are playing in a hotel on a Tuesday.

Oh, hey, do you want to know a concert I really want to go to? Yes. And it's going to cost more than $600. Are you going? No, but I think it's going to be one of these things that Rachel, like, I get the itch for like three weeks before and I just... Impulsively go. We're going. All right, where?

Who? The Backstreet Boys at the Spear in Vegas. Worth it. Is it a thousand bucks? My heart says the thousand bucks. I don't even know. But do you know, I was invited to an in-sync concert by Kelly Jones in the fourth grade, and I couldn't go. And then I...

What were you so busy doing as a fourth grader? To a family reunion. But I love my family. The Sweet Ready's, we're on the cruise ship. You know, we're still close to this day. I do love my family. I do love my family. But y'all...

So now you have this shift on your shoulder. I never went to a boy band concert. And that was like in the prime of... Like, I was in the perfect age group to do it as a kid. Never did. And they are coming back, George. Wow. Well, I think this is your new vice. Impulsively spending $1,000 on sphere tickets. I might.

I hope it's good. And you know what? I'm not mad about it. You heard it here first. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience I push. That's what I push back against. Well, this is true, because the Backstreet Boys are, like, in their 40. Like, they're going to be done. Was it once-on-a-lifetime?

And are they in their prime, or is this going to be, like, karaoke? Jury's out. I know. I thought about that. I did see them dance the other day. How was that? I've seen some clips. You know?

I was like, good for them. You know what? You know when your first thought is good for them, it's not a good sign. It did make me feel old because producer Kelly over here is going to probably get mad. Then I'm going to use this example. So Kelly's at an age group where new kids on the block was the thing.

It was. New Kids on the Block was the thing. I was too young for New Kids on Block. I was right on the edge, like a little bit, but not really. And they all would talk about, like, Newkins on the block. And I remember thinking, like, 10 years ago, you know, a few people at the office, they were all talking about them. And I would look and be like, man, they just look old, like, I don't know. And now, Kelly, we've switched.

And now I'm your age when I was, like, questioning you. And now the Backstreet Boys are that to me. And I'm like, oh, shoot, you know. Man. Wow. Deep thoughts. with Rachel Cruz. It's a new segment

on Smart Money Happy Hour that nobody asks for it. Okay, so I'll spend $1,000 for the Backstreet Boys and I'll also spend $1,000 on CozyEarth.com. There we go. Now, that's a quality purchase. That's the gift that keeps on giving. Can I tell you I've got some new stuff from them?

Obsessed. You enjoying it? Are you ready? What are the items? This is an old person purchase, but it was worth every penny because it's my jam. Do they sell adult diapers?

A nightgown. Oh, there we go. Y'all? a short sleeve night gown all day night gown it's a one piece situation yes is it like silky fantastic yes long oh it's so comfortable do you need a little hat to go with i should i should a little cap i should but it is like candle you hold throughout the house as you walk through it never entering the summer months it's perfect like honestly so that and then i got a pair of like capri um like not joggers because they are uh they are uh they're

They're not fitted at the bottom. I don't know, whatever they are. Fantastic. A ribbed short-sleeve shirt. Loved it. I mean, seriously, all my new stuff I've gotten from them for summer. That's incredible. I love it.

And a lot of people ask, Rachel, where did you get that? Well, this stuff you're wearing at home, so they don't see it here. But if you want to know where she got it, it's cozy earth. So great. I just got my mom a pair of a short-sleeve PJ set. Got Whitney a pair of the long-sleeve-j-stleaf set. They're in heaven. Silky heaven.

So go check it out. They're giving our listeners up to 40% off when you use the promo code Smart Money. or go to cozy earth.com slash smart money. You can also click the link in the description below, and you can be boozy on a budget. Yeah, because their bed sheets are like one of our favorites, right? Your two. And we had sick kids last week,

and they're all of them. They come in the bed a lot, and they're just like all in there. And I had to wash those cozy earth sheets like two or three times. Oh, boy. And you know what? And they came out so, so perfect. Like they were great, but I was like, I do not want,

I like wanted to protect cozy earth. Get off my bed. I did. I was like, I want to protect cozy earth from germs. I feel like protective. Put like a cheap sheet down over it so the kids don't get the nice one dirty? Yeah, it's kind of how you feel. That's how you know.

It's so nice. So great. So great. All right. Next up, we've got sports betting slash gambling. Yeah. So this one was submitted. The quote is,

I have a friend whose husband wasted his entire trust fund on sports betting and a Vegas trip with the boys without telling her. That's like three strikes. That's terrible. I'm going to go completely right on this because this is like the number one growing addiction right now. Especially among men. In America, yes.

is sports betting, so not worth of y'all. I see zero upside. I'm just like, if you want to enjoy a game, enjoy the game, that's fine with your friends, but don't put money on it and add stress to it. Yes. Well, I've always said this too. I'm like, if I'm going to gamble, I'm like, I want to be part of the experience,

like craps, right? Like, if I go to Vegas and see the backstreet boys, I probably will play a game of craps. But if I'm going to lose money, which is just discretionary, right? Like, it's fine. But if I'm going to do it, I'm like, I want to be part of it. I want to be part of doing it.

But watching men on the TV playing sports that you can't control it all. Or women. Fair. You can bet on the WNBA. You can. And people do it. People are watching games that are happening at 3 a.m. Yes.

Across the world just because they put money on it. So it's only helping the people broadcasting these events and the sports teams, but it's not helping your personal finances. Not at all. Red flag from me. Mm-hmm. Next up, this is you, Rachel. Oh, I know.

This is all you. This is the ladies. Are you ready? Hair and nail appointments. Yeah. I feel like you should cover this one because I'm scared to get roasted by the ladies. I know. Well, highlights and a haircut in Nashville can cost anywhere from $200 to $500.

A gel manicure and pedicure are $100 to $200. Wow. So. That adds up, especially if you're doing this. Now, haircuts highlights are not monthly. No, I do mine every eight weeks Okay But as the gray's come in, George

I may have to start up it I don't know, I don't know As I get older You fooled me Oh, thanks Just it's recent Recent little chop, if you will And then how often do you get a manny petty?

Every three weeks Three weeks, okay I'm gonna call that about 15 to 20 a year I know and it's $72 for my nails That sounds about right Okay, yeah.

Ladies, can you vouch for this? And that's with tip. That's with tip and everything. I know. But hey, I mean... I think it's 60 bucks and then I tip. In your field of work, it makes sense. You're on camera a lot.

You're doing media. You're traveling. You're doing events. For the average lady, is it still three weeks? That's so funny. I don't even think about that at all. I think it's just... Still three weeks.

It's more of me as a woman. Not a camera woman. Just a woman. Well, I just thought I get my haircut every two weeks. If I wasn't on camera all the time, I'd probably go a little shagier. See, that's so funny. I don't think about that at all.

You don't think about others at all? No, I don't think about my, yeah, I don't think about my upkeep because of my job. It's more for Rachel. It's more for me. Self-care. Yeah. It's in the self-care category.

100%. Not the business expense category. I'm gonna go here. Yeah, this one I'm halfway on. I think there's a limit to me. And I think some ladies, it's like they're time to get away, but I do think it is busting the budget for some of y'all. Yeah, you can be smart about it.

Sure. Things you can do at home. I know it's not the same to get the Amazon kit. I know. And don't give yourself a haircut. Yes. We can tell. We can tell.

Get the floby out. Okay, next. I can't believe this one came up. I have not heard of someone doing this since college. A hookah. So this person spends $465 a month at hookah bars. That's not okay. Y'all, I mean, genuinely, I didn't know if that's a thing.

Is it a thing still? Huka? People are doing hookah still? Okay, we don't know. Oh, okay. Everyone's like, oh, we don't know, no, no. Well, I used to work at a, a hookah bar slash restaurant in Mobile, Alabama.

No, you didn't. And guess the only people I got to work with was the hookah people. Not see people eating, sitting down. Oh, you did the hookah. And I remember I got tipped. Can I even ask? What is it a hookah? It's just a way to smoke.

Is it tobacco? It's tobacco. It is. And so the tobacco gets lit with the coals. Yeah, I've seen it. And it uses water to produce a vapor. Okay. And then it's got a little long stem pipe that comes out of it.

And so it's a very social thing. You pass it around and you have a nice time. It's very light. It's not like, don't think like cigarettes or pipe tobacco even. It's much lighter than that. And they have like fruit flavors and it's an experience. Do you think it's gone down since COVID? Because you got to share.

I would imagine. Yeah. And here's the other thing, like the hookah bars that I've seen are not always in like the best parts of town. So it's not helping the hookah industry. Okay. If you will. But, you know, it's still of my people, being a Middle East. Eastern guy. A lot of people growing up would do hookah. But I have not seen it done in recent history.

Maybe it's because I'm a Southern guy now. But, you know, I still think $500 a month on any bar experience. That feels like a lot. And you know what? I'm getting red flag because I got tipped in pennies once after I served these guys with their hookah for a few hours. Did you just like refill the hookah? You have to bring like new coals and things like that and make sure they have their drinks and whatever else they want. But it was very upsetting I'll never forget it And then pennies

Like in a little plastic bag? Nope Just pennies on the table outside And I was like This was my tip And I just scraped the pennies off And I went I don't think I'm cut out to be a server

And I think I did a decent job I don't think I upset them Sure sure It was just very upsetting That is very sad That is very sad Last one Movie theater popcorn

And airport snacks Oh Now as a I've gotten guilty Or as I've gotten older on this one You'll do the movie theater popcorn. Yeah. And the snacks.

I think it'll eats away at my soul too much on airport snacks. I'd rather bring my own. I know. I did that for a long time. And then you grew up. I grew up. Then you went, just put it in the budget. I did.

It's the principle for me. It's like I know how much this exact thing costs somewhere else. But because I'm in this environment, they're charging me four times more. Yeah, but for a Coke slushy and a bag of popcorn while you're watching a movie. It's different. It's just good. I don't know. It's good.

I'm going green. Going green. Good for you. Okay. So, out of this episode, George, you know, I think most importantly, check your heart. Make sure all of this is not coming from like a bad place, right? That it's like every now and then it's harmless and it's fine. If it's in the budget and you have the money and it's like you're choosing to spend it,

that's your advice. That's your thing. I like that. And I think a lot of this comes down to accountability. having good people in your life who will speak truth and say, hey, listen, I've been noticing, Rachel, you've been spending a lot of time. If I had a friend that was like, listen, Rachel, that, in this case would be your husband. That popcorn at the movies really, I'm really worried about you. But if it was a daily habit.

Yeah, I'm going to go to the $500 Zen guy. I hope you have people in your life. We'll start there. Let's start there. Are you okay? Start with the hookah guy and we'll work our way down to Rachel's nail care. It's fair. But I do think having a spouse helps.

Sometimes it's frustrating because you go, and if you have a friend, yes. You spend this much on nails and you spend this much on power tools or whatever the thing is. We all have our things. Right, right. And that's okay. Yes.

But there's a season for it. And it's when you actually have the money and it's not hurting your ability to get out of debt or build that emergency fund or build wealth. Yeah, that's right. And so right now it might be a no. Eventually, it might be a yes if it's not going to harm your life.

Yeah, for sure. And budgeting for it. That's why we love every dollar. I mentioned it earlier. but honestly, it really is. It is, it's a great thing to go back to to know, okay, am I in line with the plan that I had set up before the month begins? And so it is great.

So we'll put a link down below so you guys can check it out. Yeah, every dollar has freed me as the frugal guy who doesn't want to spend. If I have the line item there, I feel so much better about spending because I planned for it. It's there. It wasn't impulsive. It's great. All right, before we spilled the tea in our guilty is charged segments, let's talk about the drink, George. Wow, you nailed that one.

I liked it. That was a good one. Surprisingly, it's called the King's Shilling. Here's the cost breakdown. $3.54. Per drink. And here's what's in it. It's got bourbon, aged rum, coffee liqueur, pineapple syrup, angostura bitters,

and an orange twist, which you can see is carefully adorned on this. So beautiful. A little stainless steel pick here. I'm going nine out of ten. Yeah, this is a nine out of ten for me. I would order this at a restaurant. I think I would too. That's what I was thinking.

Knowing now what it tastes like. Uh-huh. It's fun. It is complex, George, and you appreciate a complex cocktail. There's a lot going on. It's not too sweet. It's not too boozy. It's just got a nice balance to it.

So I highly recommend making it if you're of age. The recipe is in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend. All right, George. Now it's time for Guilty as charged. And this is where we ask each other a new guiltiest charge question every week. And for guilty, we take a sip. All right, here it is, Rachel.

have you ever cut back on a guilty pleasure spending tendency and then circled back later? I feel like I went through a season of trying not to buy things on Amazon because I was so quick to buy stuff. And I'm back. You're back. Full throttle. Did you come back even stronger?

About the same. I know. Wow. I'd say that's mine. How about you? You know, I think for me it's probably the coffee drinks. I had a season where I was like making coffee at home, drinking the free coffee at work. And lately it's been like, they have a new drink at Starbucks

that I'm really enjoying. Oh, what is it? Can I share with the group? I would love it. We all are dying to know. They have a cinnamon oatmeal quartado. It sounds like a instrument. And it's a small.

So it's a very small beverage. Cortado sounds like an instrument. Yeah, like a flute. It's a very small item. But that's kind of my new little vice. It gets a weekend treat. How much is it? it's $4.95.

Okay, five bucks. Brown sugar, oat milk, cortado. Okay, why is it new? Is the cortado new? They just invent it? They didn't invent the cortato, but I don't know if it was on the menu. No, I'm mad at that, George.

Good for you. If I go to Backstreet Boys in Vegas, I'll get one. Wow, you'll spring the extra five bucks to make me happy. I'll go with you. I think we should make it a girls trip. Me, Winston, your girls. How funny. No, my girls don't know backstreet.

boys. They will now. They will now. They'll go, Mommy, those guys can't dance very good. And I'll stop. No. You'll say focus on the environment.

What if one of them listens to Smart Money Happy Hour? You think? Who knows? I love you. Joey, reach out. No, that's in sync. Oh, my bad.

They all blend together. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. All right. Well, if you guys have a guiltiest charge question, make sure to DMS on Instagram because that's where we are

probably the most. would say. Yeah. Yeah. In that world. Or TikTok. You like TikTok. I don't go to messages there.

It's too scary. A lot of spam over there. So scary. Stay in Instagram world. Good to know. And make sure to subscribe to this channel. Like it. You know, let us know in the comments what you think.

Yeah. And check out that little treats episode. That's right. We'll link that one too. And it's coming up next. Click it there. Little treats. And we'll see you guys next Thursday on an all new episode of.

Smart Money Happy Hour.