Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel - Why Nothing Is Enjoyable Today

Episode Date: August 29, 2024

💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app!   The smell of warm cookies, a hug from your bestie, American Idol b-roll—let’s face it, we all love feeling good! But in this episode, Rachel and George explore why dopamine overdosing doesn’t hit quite like it used to—plus how to regain everyday joy.   Next Steps: ·  🎥 Check out our video Should We Sell It All and Be Homesteaders? ·  📱 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. Offer From Our Sponsor: ·      🔒 This episode is sponsored by DeleteMe. Remove your personal information from the web and get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to https://joindeleteme.com/smartmoney   Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍸 Lemon Drop Mocktail Recipe: Lemon Drop Mocktail From Food Banjo   ·      Sugar (for rim) ·      4 ice cubes ·      3/4 ounces simple syrup ·      1 1/4 ounces lemon juice ·      2 1/2 ounces club soda ·      Lemon peel (for garnish) Instructions: Place a small pile of sugar on a plate. Take a martini glass and wet the rim with either a lemon half or water. Dip the rim of the glass in the sugar for a nice coating around the rim. Add the ice cubes, simple syrup and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker. Shake together for 15 seconds. Strain the mixture into the martini glass and top with the club soda. Garnish with a lemon peel and enjoy! Listen to More From Ramsey Network: 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights   🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💼 The Ken Coleman Show 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Cheers. I love this coop. And I love this drink. Mocktail of the century?

Wait and find out. Wow. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And I hope they're talking about this, Rachel, because today we're talking about why nothing is enjoyable anymore. Okay.

Can I just say I'm not looking forward to this episode? this is George's a moodyness that came out in a content meeting. And he's like, why are we all here? And everyone's like, we should do an episode. It was an existential crisis. And now we're here. That's what you need to know. It's a little emo, but as always, Rachel will make it fun and redeem it and make it great.

It's what she does. There's so much weight on that statement. Okay, well, why we're doing that and I'm having to pick us up off the ground. What do we sip it on? We are sipping on a lemon drop macktail. And let me say, for me saying nothing in like, is enjoyable anymore, I am really enjoying this. I think this is the mocktail we needed.

This is the ray of sunshine. It's what America needs right now. And I will say some of our cocktails have not been quite, you know. Up to snuff. This is delicious. I don't know if it's sweet, but... So if you want the rating and the cost per glass and the recipe, stick around until the end of the episode,

and we'll tell you what it takes to make yourself a lemon drop moktail. I love it. It's so great. Okay, Rachel, here's the thing. All right. wanting more is always the problem. I know it sounds very like minimalist and cool of me. No, we talk about that a lot though, yeah. But like our society, we spend tons of time and money indulging in stuff

that we think is going to bring us joy, but it always lets us down. And there's a $10 word for this. Can I tell you? Ephemoral. I'm sorry? Ephemeral. And it means like a temporary fleeting. Like we're looking like Netflix.

Like I'm going to just binge something. I'm going to scroll. I'm just scroll Instagram. I'm going to. Yeah. But I think there's an explanation to this. Okay. scientifically.

You ready for this? I'm not Andrew Huberman. This is not Huberman Lab. You're not? I'm not a neuroscientist as much as I look like I should have been one. George, I would have thought you were.

It comes down to one word. Dope. In this case, we're not talking about a traditional drug. We're talking about dopamine, which is the happy brain chemical that's released in our body when you experience pleasure and joy.

It's kind of this built-in reward system, which is good. This is a rush that makes us feel good and it makes us want to repeat the experience. Okay. Which is where a lot of addictions come from. You're looking for that dopamine rush.

Yep. Again again. And we talk about that with like online shopping. It's like, oh my gosh, it's so exciting. Or maybe you like smell something really good. Like food-wise. We've been on a cookie kick. And every time those cookies are in the oven, the dopamine rush.

Yeah. And you're just like, oh my gosh, this is so good. Being in the sunshine. Oh, that's good. Getting a little vitamin D. There's some dopamine there. Earning money. Can give you a dopamine hit.

It does feel good to earn money. Yeah. Dancing. I only feel shame. for my dance. But for some people, makes them feel good. I think that's wonderful.

Fresh laundry. Oh, that's good. Now the folding of laundry, sadness. Not so much, but when you like, oh, but warm laundry coming out of the dryer?

Nothing like it. So great. Hugs, you know? I mean, and then it's just like, oh, you know, this feels good. This is great.

Yeah. Have you done the whole John Deloney thing where it's like you have an extended, like you hug Winston for like, and it has to be a certain amount of time? No, haven't heard of this?

Like a minute or something. No, haven't heard of this? And it released. And it releases all kinds of... Dopamine? I guess. I don't know.

For a longer hug? I don't know. It's supposed to be really good for you. No, but... You should try it tonight. Just go to Winston and just... And embrace for 60 seconds. He's gonna be weirded out.

No, no. He'd be like, thank God. Physical touch. It's his love language. Maybe I should have Winston. I had to learn not to be a patter, y'all. I was a patter. No.

Stop patting me. I was like, I'm sorry. Not to people you love. I don't know. I was just subconscious. I don't know. I'm just a mover and a shaker, George. I don't, you know, I'm not a...

Wow. So anyways, I wonder how long our hugs are. There we go. I'm going to say 10 seconds. What are your personal... I feel like there's like a long... So clearly it's not physical touch. What are your personal dopamine triggers?

What gives you joy? I'm going to say shopping. Honestly, I guess scroll and Instagram. Like, I'm like, there's something in that that's like... Right, isn't that a dopamine hit? Is that one? Yeah, that counts. Yeah, like, I think that's there.

That's not a good. It's not good. Not a good dopamine hit, but... Good, like, restaurants, I would say, like being out to eat. Oh, that's a good one. Like, a great bite of food, like, the first bite of a really amazing meal. And the earning money one was interesting, but because I'm like, I can get... Like, when Winston I talk about, like, our goals or, like, he's, like, flipping houses now.

So he's like, yeah, the return here, or it's closing down this date. We're going to get... Like, there is something. And it's like, oh my gosh, this is so fun. There's a rush there. Yeah, it's fun. So I get that. Okay, how about you?

A working coupon code. When you type it in and it works? When you type it and it works and it's like, you just got 20% off. You think. There's a few greater things in life. The other one recently that I shouldn't be as joyful for, I think it's called Scheidenfraud and fraud, which is like getting joy from other people's pain. Oh.

But it's like secondhand regret. Like when I didn't do something that someone else did, that they regret. Oh, because you're like, I really want to buy that awesome thing and you don't, but then you see someone else buy it and they hate it. Here's a great example. Some of the people in this room, they went on a journey to North Carolina to get an $800 gift card to a used bookstore. And the deal was you have to visit all five locations of this used bookstore in the same day to get the $800 gift card. And they stamp a passport at each location.

apparently it was terrible. Like there was 10,000 people, 14,000 people. It was chaos. They waited in line for hours in the heat. Ambulances came. Heat exhaustion, heat stroke. Yes. And I had never had more joy than being like,

I'm so glad I said no to that trip. And I apologize to our audio engineer, Will Rudder, who went on the trip. Anyone else in this room go on that trip? A block on camera over here. Okay, so you're getting a gift card. to a used bookstore? Yes, $800 in credit.

Because you read a lot of books? I used bookstores? No, no, they don't buy books. They have like vinyl instruments. Trust me, these guys are not heavy readers. Oh, wow. Yeah. Okay, okay.

But just the idea of getting... Now, you would think, well, George must love that. Because it's a good deal. That's a lot of time, though. But the idea of like road tripping to North Carolina leaving my wife and baby to be like, hey, babe, I'm going to come back with a gift card. We're going to get to...

$800 for vinals. To get more books that I'm not going to read. Yeah. It would have been a nightmare. Good. I'm so glad they had a four-upil time. So I got joy from that. Cancelled plans is another one.

Like plans I already was like, I thought this was going to be fun a month ago when we booked it. And now it wasn't on my volition. It was canceled unbeknownst to me. Yes. That gives me great joy. Yeah.

Like an open night that was once closed. Yes. And is that with like good friends? Any friends? No, good friends, I would say. That would be said. Yeah. Most of these people,

I wouldn't say. Yeah, good friends. It's sort of like a thing that I was like, oh, gosh, all right, fine, we'll do that thing. I know. So those are some of mine. I know that doesn't paint me in a great light, because most of those are negative things. Dog cuddles are another one. I mean, just like when my French bulldogs are just like, let me embrace them.

Yeah. That feels good. Do you not hug your dog? You know, we've talked about this on the show. I think I'm becoming less of a dog person. My husband is, though. So, like, June is everywhere. Like if he's there, she's there.

Okay. And I think she gives... That's where he gets his physical touch, apparently. She gives him a lot of affection. No. This is a cry for help from Winston. No, I'm not a... I don't cuddle.

Because usually I'm... Usually we're on this couch, like if once I were like, we're watching a show or something, you know. And here comes June. Just... And I'm like, Dad, comment. June! This is how it goes, June.

And she plops up behind Winston's neck. And she's like, looking at me and I'm like, fine, Winston. I mean, she picked her. Well, because I don't want her sniffing on me. Right there in my neck. No. No.

So that's how it happens. It's not a snake. I know. Why am I so, why are you rubbing off on me? I was so happy at the beginning of this. I love my dog. I do. Just sometimes when they just jump up on your,

you're not supposed to and they're all over you, you're like, what are you doing? Well, the lesson learned here is we all find her joined different ways. Tyler's clapping. Thank you. One person's heaven is another person's personal help. And I think that's okay.

It's okay to admit that. I know. I do love our dog, though. She's really sweet. Dopamine is part of what motivated us. It's like she's going to listen to this. She will now. I was like,

Rachel's not a dog person. Winston's going to make, listen to this. This is how your mom feels about you. I know. All right. Well, dopamine is part of what motivates us to reach our goals and do the more difficult survivally stuff, things like eat, eat, drink, and compete to win some.

something, which you're really good at. You're very competitive. You have the dopamine levels I feel like are more rock solid than Stonehenge. You are very like, you love the rush of the win. Yes. You love to succeed anything in life. Yes. Have you ever failed? No. I'm just kidding. I arrest my case. No, no, no, no. Yeah, I think it is fun because it brings some adventure in life. You know, sometimes life we can just, it's just kind of mundane. But don't mean 2024, like everything is dopamine? Like that's the goal of any experience now. I mean, it is probably true, right? Can we have over dopamine? Like we've over

dopamine ourselves? Is that what they talk about? Like, and then you're needing more and more of it? And then it gets worse and worse? Well, I mean, think about it. We have like social media, constant dopamine rush. Not good. Two days shipping. Like all of that, just spending money and getting things quickly. The instant gratification, DoorDash, Instacart video games. And you know what? In our

New Story celebrities. In our depression, suicide. All the bad stats are up. That's right. In our face. Back in the Pilgrim times. I'm But they weren't, you know, they weren't like this. So we probably seek the dopamine to cope with the chaos and reality of what's being shoved in our faces. Yes, because there's so much. It's pretty philosophical.

I think you're on to something here. Huh. But don't you get a dopamine on payday? Be honest. Like, when that hits your bank account, isn't it like, it's a good day? Yeah, for sure. Happened today. It did happen today.

Congratulations. Congrats to you too and to everyone in this room. I got paid for working. But can I tell you the most exciting part? we instantly transferred a bunch of money to savings. That was the best part. It wasn't the payday. Oh, you like that?

It was like seeing savings grow. That gives me joy. Oh, no. See, I just see it as like... More money to spend. My precious. Yes, yes. Wow.

Yeah, I like to see the checking account number high. Big. No, it leaves the checking account. The checking account number is so low that it's like sad. Oh, my gosh, I said dress. No, that's dressed to me out. I don't mind. Let's see if we can survive on this.

What a challenge. So, yeah. So all this dopamine eventually backfires, Rachel. Our brain is constantly flooded with high levels of dopamine. It adapts and now that becomes your new normal. You've heard the word, you've built a tolerance. Okay, suppose that's about, yeah, earlier. I bet that, yeah, that has to be true.

So then you need to find a new dopamine rush that can beat that just to feel something. What a terrible cycle we're in. But doesn't that kind of explain America right now? Yes, I think so. We just keep needing more and more and more and more and more. And so we're trying with this episode to reset ourselves, especially when it comes to money, because money is directly. related to those dopamine rushes.

And that's why that little treat you get, it just doesn't hit the same anymore, doesn't get your dopamine levels higher than your new normal. Or when you're endlessly scrolling Netflix, you end up choosing nothing because no option feels more exciting than the next. The question we're trying to answer here is, are we dopamine deficient or are we overloaded?

I think we're overloaded. But we constantly need more. Yeah. So either way, it's an endless cycle. Oh, I see what you're saying. It's an endless cycle, Rachel, never ends. and that's why I'm struggling to enjoy anything in life. I know.

Why is that George? Just because of the... I don't know. Everything's just sort of lost its luster, if that makes sense. You just had a baby. That's true. The baby is the one thing that I'm like, Mia truly gives me joy.

Yeah. Aw. When she laughs and she's like, da, dat, that, da, da. And she starts talking to me, like, we have the best time. This truly, I'm like, this is the best dopamine rush.

Yes. And I cannot build a tolerance to it. That's right. It just keeps on. Give me more. Yes. Give me more. So that is true. Having a baby is a great way to break the cycle.

Yeah. And I do wonder if like simplicity in life helps with all of this, right? Like we kind of talked about like minimalism or like no spend, you know, months or whatever it is. But I do think when you start to minimize stuff and realize it's a level of contentment that stuff is not going to make you happy. And it's like buying that purse or buying that thing or whatever it is. Like it's fun. That's great. But like it does not fulfill you the way you think it does. I think that when you kind of get to that point, and not that anyone's probably perfect or arrives.

But there is a settling, and then you actually can enjoy, like, the things in life that are just simple and sweet and great, you know? That's the maturity. And as people age, you tend to see that. Like, oh, gosh, I love spending time with, you know, whatever person because they're just older and more mature. They don't need as much stuff and stimulation.

And can I give a shout out to Whitney? This weekend, she cleared out her closet, got rid of so much, like, multiple huge, like, trash bag size bags filled with clothes that she was ready to let go of. And this is the second purge she's done. A lot of the stuff still has tags on it and she's just like, I'm going to donate it, I'm going to do thread up and maybe make some money

later on down the road. Yeah. But there's a piece of it that are like, why did we buy this in the first place? I know. What did we think was going to happen? And it was the initial dopamine rush of, ooh, new clothes, I'm going to look cute.

It'll be a great outfit. And then it sits on the shelf with the tag still on. Yeah. Have you been there? Totally. George. This is my life. This is Rachel's therapy session.

Tell me more. How many articles of clothing? No, but mine is like, oh, I like that shirt. I'll get it in black and gray. Ooh, they have a tank top version. Well, I'll get that. Or wait. Yeah, or whatever.

Yeah, mine's just that. It's like, oh, if I like that product, then I'm definitely going to, and then you just end up with a ton of crap. That's fair. That's mine. That's my downfall. Well, we've talked about the comfort crisis before, which is a great book from Michael Easter.

Great book. And I think that's part of this. You know, we now have these basic expectations, air conditioning, 24-7 access to music in the car or wherever we are all the time to every song in the world. But back in the day, Rachel had to fight on Kazah and Napster to download that one song.

And then the virus would hit and you'd have to tell your parents I'm illegally downloading music again. What a roller coaster of emotion that was. That was not good. The dopamine wash into the chaos. Or dial-up for AOL to get on Instant Messenger. You'd wait.

A part of it was the struggle to get something with sort of the journey. Well, it's patience. It takes long. Everything was long. Longer, longer, longer, longer. And now that we have everything in our palm, it's not like, it's just like, eh. Yes. I listen to less music now that I have access to all of it.

Not funny. I would have, like, died as, like, a teenager to be able to pick a song. Like, if I told you, hey, Rachel, here's Spotify. You can listen to anything. I would be like, like, you didn't even think that would exist. No viruses. No viruses. No viruses.

It is kind of weird. Like waiting months for a new movie or a show to, premiere and you had to be home when TGI, you know, F was on to watch Boy Meets World. Yes. Like those just, it felt like a different time. Yeah. And again, I think because it forces you to experience things you don't want to experience commercials or, you know, buying the whole album just to get the one song.

Like, whatever it is, like you're having to experience things that are not common, like, that's not what you wanted. But that's life. And now it's kind of like you can curate your life and get what you want right when you want it. So it's kind of a squirrel brain with this instant gratification. Yeah. I mean, it has to affect us.

How does this affect our budgets? Well, I think it causes us to not budget, number one. I think it could feel like, oh, we're going to, I don't want to feel this somewhat discomfort of having to plan. Again, you're forward-thinking when you're budgeting. It takes intentionality. It takes time. Delayed gratification.

And it's not always fun. Sometimes there's months that you're like, oh, my gosh, we can't do that category. That category has to lower, like, you know, if you're on a commission system and it's like a lower month. Sometimes it's like, oh, man, it's kind of a bummer. So you're having to experience emotions that's not just like, oh, we're going to just live on a whim. Right?

It's a level of life that you have to experience a new budget. Or to put that chunk of money toward debt payoff or saving or investing versus spending, getting to enjoy it now. There's a piece of that adulting that just hurts a little bit. Yeah, yeah. And a world that feels chaotic, it's easy to justify. It was like, well, I don't know.

That's right. When my next meal will be, so let me get Chick-fil-A again. Yeah, but it burns you on the other side when you're not doing that, right? When it is this like living on a whim. So the budget does give you those guardrails. And it's kind of still an old school philosophy with money, right? I mean, like planning a budget has been around for a long time. Yes.

But it's one that still works. It's something that we need. And food is one of the biggest dopamine triggers for humans. And to not have to cook and instead just go get takeout or get a better meal than we could have cooked at home. That is one of the biggest budget busters. is directly related to that level of dopamine, delay gratification. 100%. To be able to be in control of your money, have a boundary is so key.

So you can actually create your first budget for free if you go to every dollar.com slash smart money or we'll put the link in the description, but make sure to do that and do your first budget because, again, I think it gives you this level of control, which might be a dopamine hit too. Who knows? That's true. But it also just slows you down. It lets you live with intentionality and make sure that you're spending for the right reasons

instead of just to get that rush. Like this dopamine stuff can cause us to make crazy decisions and risky decisions. When you think about, you know, people who play the lottery or gamble or do sports betting, there's this feeling of like, but what if? Oh, yeah. This is the one, Rachel.

What if this is one that hits? And then you want that high again and again, even when you lose. Right. addiction can pair with this so fast. Exactly. Yeah. So you've got to be real careful. Yeah, for sure. Okay, George.

So we've talked about we need this dopamine hit more and more today because of instant gratification, because of all the technology, the quickness of everything, like everything is just so fast and instant. It's pretty wild. And you can get whatever you want. There's not a lot of patience in our world today.

So how do we combat this? Like, what does that look like? Because to create friction in your life is not fun. Like, I think we would choose the easy way out. We would choose the convenient path. I would, right? But then after a while, you just realize, God, it's kind of like eating away at our souls.

So creating that friction and being uncomfortable is key. That's why I loves the comfort crisis. I read that book a few years ago. And it was like, oh my gosh, like we really have designed a world. Like add some struggle back in. Everything is comfortable. And we weren't designed to do that from a mental standpoint,

even to a physical standpoint, like what our bodies were created to do physically. Like, we don't do anymore. That's what got me into back to working out and cold plunging and all that stuff. Wow. The comfort crisis. I've just like adding some struggle back in because that's where some true joy and growth lies. Well, and health.

And, like, you look at it. I mean, truly, like, it is better for you to do these things physically. And then, again, from an emotional standpoint, it's good to have boundaries on things like social media, not being on it all the time, technology, like, all of that stuff. Like, it's better for you overall. I just keep thinking of Wally, the old movie. Yeah.

It was really, like, an animated documentary of what life was going to be, like, in 2024. We're just in our, like, moving recliner. and like people feed us. We don't have to go anywhere. We don't have to do anything. And I do think that part of the reason we don't have the things we really want in life is because we've just relegated it

to dopamine and comfort and whatever is in the now instead of doing the hard thing. So how do we break this? Number one, I think we need to unflut our brains from all those dopamine. So we kind of need a dopamine detox, which means taking a 30-day break

from the biggest dopamine triggers in your life. Which is hard. Mine would be Instagram. Oh, that's a good. Very honest. Yep. Just the constant scrolling. Yes, y'all.

I will get better. I used to read all the time at night. And I'll read maybe like every two nights. But sometimes, I mean, I told Winston, I'm like, yeah, we'll catch up and all of it. So it's not like we're not connected. But there's a point that I'm like, I just want to like, just I want to check out. Like, I just want, like, I don't want anyone to need me. I just want to scroll through reels, which is TikTok, but like a month later.

And. Thank you for being. honest. Yes. And like just like, just check out, right? I mean, do you feel that? 100%.

Yeah. I think phones, I mean, my smartphone in general is the one thing I would say that is my dopamine trigger. It's just like, I don't even doing anything. I just go to it,

open app, see notification, nothing? Go to other app. Notification, anything? Nothing. Maybe, something? See, I don't do that. You browse apps?

See, I don't. I like literally think I just got Instagram in the weather. In like a flurry of ADD and squirrel brain. Just hears this, yeah. until I like, I'm like, what am I do?

Why am I even on my phone? Yes, I know. So let's get practical here. If your biggest dopamine triggers include shopping or giving into the Instagram ads like Rachel or competing with others by buying nice and trendy stuff like Rachel, again, I know I deal what that's like. Maybe your detox needs to be a no spend month.

Yes. Which we've talked about on previous episodes. I know. That would be a good practice. That's a good thing. And this is not like we don't spend a dime. It's we're only going to spend money on the necessities. We're going to put food on the table, basic food.

We're not eating out. We're going to cover the utility bills. We're going to cover transportation needs like gas and fuel, whatever. And we're going to cover our housing. Other than that, what else do you really need? Yeah. And then figure it out, like, do we really need to spend money on that this month? And part of this is pre-planning a good month.

Don't do it in a month where it's like, well, Amelia has her soccer camp and Charles is going to, you know, space camp. Don't do it on a month that's going to be difficult for your family. But choose a month where traditionally there's not a ton going on. Yeah, I like it. Yeah. Yeah. So there's some tactical side of this episode, but also it's just the philosophical. We've got to think people. George, are you happier after this episode? I do feel better just venting. I think that's what therapy is like.

Maybe so. But I still have that like ecclesiastical king Solomon, everything is meaningless vibe deep within. Yeah. That kind of emo. And I think that that's probably, there's truth in that, though, right? I mean, I think about that sometimes. I'm like, what are we doing here? I think it's healthy to have a like low-key existential crisis. every once in a while.

Yeah. To go like, what really matters here? See, when I have those, though, I end up spending more money. Rachel's like, well, you only live once. I'm like, you know what? Buy the top in gray. It looked great in Navy. You know what I thought of?

Actually, someone told me this, and I took it, made it my own. So I can't remember who said this to me. But they said, put your time and your energy and things that money can't buy. Oh. And that's like, that's it. And what can't money buy? Give us some examples of what that might look like. A wonderful spouse that you truly love.

I'd say the relational side, right? Family, friends, your health. Yes. You can't buy health. Healthy body, healthy relationships. Yeah, you can't buy nature. So I think there's an element of like being out in nature. You can't buy a relationship with God.

Like, yeah, what are the things you can't buy? And put your time and your energy and your money into those things. And truthfully, just liking yourself. You can't buy that. And most people are chasing something else because they can't deal with the person in the air. Yeah, that's when therapy comes in. Learn about the inner child. It's just great work, y'all.

Everyone should do it. Good. I agree. This whole thing is one giant ad for therapy and reading your Bible. And I think that sums up what really matters in life. I think it's great. You know, work on yourself so you can be better for others, be better for your community, and realize that joy is not in a thing.

Mm-hmm. I agree. Amen. What a great episode. I really enjoyed this. Wow. Okay, what's your dopamine detox look like? What are you willing to give up for 30 days?

What are we doing? What are you giving up? This is part of the episode. Let's do a challenge. It's a challenge. And like, I didn't, I didn't, wasn't, signed up for that part of this episode. Rachel gives up nothing. Okay, will I not buy clothes?

Okay, you know, I'm going to try it. I think you should. And I'll be honest if I fail, y'all. Okay. But I don't care because I still go to heaven and I'm fine. Yes. You should challenge. Yes.

Again, very defensive for no reason whatsoever. I'm already saying myself up to fail. What are you going to do? I think I'm going to give up being so kind. I think I've been giving them. Oh my gosh. I'm kidding. Can I be real?

Yeah. Okay. I'm trying to just like just give it. Not for like I'm drinking too much at all, but because I am the worst shape I've ever been in. Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah, you got a nix alcohol. I've been eating sweets and ice cream and just like a little.

And so I'm trying to nix all of that. So for I'm going to try to commit other than this show, I will commit to not drinking. Okay. That's good. Is that fair? That's great. Okay. That's a good one.

And honestly, you're going to feel great. We do detoxes randomly like throughout the year. We won't drink for like periods of time. It's good for you. It's great. It's great to detox. Alcohol's not good for you, even though this show is called Happy Hour. We're not your role models.

Remember that. Okay. Well, wow, George. We went deep. Can I just say I'm proud of us for going. Is that deep for you? Okay. I tell you back.

We stuck very surface level. and I hope you guys enjoyed. I'm just kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I mean, no one cried. I think we can all agree on that. Yeah, no, no, no. But we got some heart of some issues. All right. Well, it's almost the end of the episode, and we close out every episode with guilty as charged. And this is where our producer, Lindsay, gives us a new guilty-as-charge question every week. And if we are guilty, we take a sip.

So, Lindsay. I've got a good one. So, what is the longest amount of screen time? your iPhone has told you about that you're embarrassed to say. So, like, you know how you can go on that feature and see, like, you were down, like, 40%. Yeah, I turn those notifications off as soon as they came in. Where do you go?

How do you find it? Do you know? Settings? Oh, yes. I'm trying to remember. Let me look at it too. Focus. Screen time.

There you go. Total screen time for the week. What does it say down at the bottom? Right there. It's okay. Mine's worse. Don't worry. Oh, it is?

Okay. No, are you sure? Holy crap, y'all. Okay. and I had Google Maps on from the lake to and from the reunion. You do not need to just say this thing. 10 hours and 21 minutes. Okay.

Nine hours and 17 minutes. I wonder what mine is. That's bad, y'all. That is bad. Well, it shows you what apps were used during the time. I'm down from L'EL. So if you click on it, it'll show you like, hey, this much was social. Mine is Instagram, y'all.

Should I give up Instagram or shopping? There's no way you could give up Instagram. Why? It's part of your genre. Yeah, that is true. I feel good about myself compared to you. Well, that's the goal. Can I tell you, though, productivity and finance?

58 minutes. Okay. My messages are at 62. So, like, I talk to my friends a lot. And you can't buy friends. You can't. Good job. Can you tell us how much was Instagram, or is that illegal?

I mean, it's pretty bad. This is for a week? Sure. Three hours. and 34 minutes. Okay. Not as bad as I thought. Okay.

It's pretty bad, though. Okay. Well, we're guilty. We're all guilty. We're all guilty. I mean, the longest amount of time. Unbelievable. It's too much.

Whatever it is, anyone watching, it's simply too much. So stupid. Unless your answer is zero. All right, George. Well, who finished her drink first? I think I did. I loved this drink.

I'm giving it a 10 out of 10. I would order it at a restaurant if I was drinking a moktail that night. I'm going to go 11 out of 10. Highly esteemed. 11 out of 10. Every sip is just like, who, dopamine.

What is in it? Whoa, dopamine. What's in it? It's got lemon juice, simple syrup, club soda, sugar, and ice.

So essentially, you made lemonade. With a little flare. No, but it's like sour. It's more sour than lemonade.

The ratio of lemon juice is spot on. It's perfectly balanced with the sour sweet, which is what makes a lemon drop, a lemon drop. And this is a mocktail, so make it for your kids because they'll just think it's lemonade. But you can put it in a fancy glass, and the key here is to rim it with sugar instead of salt, and it makes it even more delicious.

And it comes out to 59 cents per glass. Well done. Have your kids run a lemonade stand with these bad boys. Oh, that's fine. And I will pay good money. That's good. I'll pay five bucks for that. I love it.

And Rachel, since we were so brave going first, giving the audience our detox challenge, I want to know what they're signing up for. So drop a comment wherever you're watching or hop over to YouTube and drop a comment letting us know what your detox challenge is for the next 30 days and we will keep you accountable.

Absolutely. So great. Well, it's closing time. So you guys, thanks always for listening and watching. We love reading your comments and your DMs because I will be on Instagram. Not giving that up. So message us that you love the show.

We love seeing the pictures. Everything. It's so fun. So fun to interact with you guys. We really do appreciate it. Make sure to share the show, too, with your friends and your family, because you can't buy those. So spread the love.

So great. And if you want to check out an episode on kind of like that, we're minimizing things. Check out our homesteading episode. Trying to get off social media, homesteading is about as far away as you can get. It's a good one. That was a great episode.

Check it out. Well, we'll see you guys next Thursday on an all-new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.