The Rachel Cruze Show - Best Ways to Save Money Eating Out and at Home

Episode Date: March 21, 2022

We all love food, but it’s no secret that food costs have been up lately, which can make that budget category pretty tight. That’s why I’ve got your back with some practical ways to save on eating out AND eating at home. We’ll compare Trader Joe’s to Whole Foods, go over some of the best bougie fast-food hacks, and show you how to save a ton on Easter baskets! In this episode: Trader Joe’s vs. Whole Foods: Which Is Actually Cheaper? Top 4 Bougie Fast-Food Hacks (with George Kamel) How I Save $136 on My Kids’ Easter Baskets Helpful Resources: EveryDollar Meal Planner & Grocery Savings Guide Christian Healthcare Ministries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

fill out receipt surveys. The survey at the bottom of the receipt, take two minutes to fill this out and you get a free sandwich, just for doing that. Really? Yes, and about one out of five people get this. So you can time it and go,

all right, that person got a receipt. And if you're the fifth person, boom, you get the survey. There you go. Yeah. Hey, guys, welcome to this episode of the Rachel Cruise Show podcast. I'm so glad that you're here. In this episode, I'm going to go over ways

for you to save money eating out and at home. I'll go over how you can save over a hundred dollars making an Easter basket and a great one that your kids are going to actually love. Then, Ramsey personality, George Camel and I are going to share some of our favorite fast food hacks. You do not want to miss it. But first, let's talk about which is cheaper, Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. Take a listen. So I know you guys loved the Aldi versus Walmart comparison. I did a few months ago. So we're back. with another price comparison.

But this time, we're kicking things up a notch, and we're gonna do Trader Joe's versus Whole Foods. I can't wait. Now listen, let's just be real, okay? So you're not always going to save money at these places. There are always gonna be cheaper grocery stores than this, but a lot of you love organic, a lot of you love these stores, so we're gonna actually see which one is more affordable.

So Whole Foods and Trader Joe's both carry different brands, but we're only going to be comparing items that are just the Trader Joe's store brand and the Whole Foods store brand, which is called 365. And since both of these stores are known for having healthier options, we're going to talk about some healthy stuff coming up first. But FYI, too, we picked random stuff, okay? So there's some things that I'm going to have and you're like, ooh, I would never buy nuts ever. And it's like, hey, that's fine. You don't have to. but we just grab some random items to do the price comparison. So let's do some produce, and we're going to start with salad mixes.

I love salad kits. They're like my jam these days. So easy. It's all right there in a bag, you know? All right, so we got Trader Joe's Caesar Style. Got croutons, shredded parmesan cheese, the dressing all of it. And the same with the Whole Foods, the 365, classic Caesar salad kits. Trader Joe's is $3.99.

Whole Foods is $5.49. Trader Joe's wins. All right, let's compare carrots. So you got Trader Joe's. You got Whole Foods. And FYI, for all of these, we did and made sure that it's all the exact same weight in ounces all of it. So, all right, Trader Joe's, baby carrots, $1.69. Whole Foods, $1.99.

Old Joe wins again. Okay, next up, blueberries. Trader Joe's, Whole Foods. Trader Joe's is $3.99. Whole Foods, $4.99. Trader Joe's wins again. All right, love it or hate it. Next up, have a price comparison of kale.

Trader Joe's kale, Whole Foods kale. The only way I like kale is if it's chopped up, like really, really, really, really, really, really, really finally. I don't like kale. But anyways, Trader Joe's $2.49. Whole Foods, $4.49. $2 cheaper at Trader Joe's. So Trader Joe's wins again. All right.

Next up, tomatoes. Trader Joe's, $1.29. Whole Foods. I can't even say it without laughing. I'm sorry, it's so ridiculous. One tomato at Whole Foods is $3.89. Enjoy your tomato, people. Oh, Whole Foods, man, they better have some, like, magic in that thing.

Okay, Trader Joe's wins again. All right, next we're going to compare meat. So first up is chicken. Just some raw chicken. Don't you just love raw chicken? Okay. Trader Joe's, raw chicken versus Whole Foods. Trader Joe's is $9.

58 cents versus Whole Foods, which is $12.30. Trader Joe's wins again. All right. Next, salmon. You got Trader Joe's versus Whole Foods. I'll give it to Whole Foods. Their packaging looks fresher. I mean, I'll just give them that.

All right. The price is, though, Trader Joe's $9.79. Whole Foods, $10.88. Trader Joe wins again. Next up is ground beef. We got an 80% lean, 20% fat. Yeah, again, Whole Foods packaging. I'm going to give it to them.

But the pricing, Trader Joe's versus Whole Foods. Trader Joe's, $4.97. Whole Foods, $6.35. Mm-hmm. All right. Eggs. So we got a dozen eggs from Trader Joe's, a dozen eggs from Whole Foods, the price is.

Trader Joe's, $1.49, Whole Foods, $3.39. Trader Joe's, far in the lead. Far in the lead. They're winning, winning, winning for sure. All right, next, we're going to talk about dairy. So first up in this category, coffee creamer. Trader Joe's coffee creamer, 32 ounces, okay? Very significantly bigger than the Whole Foods.

So this was the only creamer they had a Whole Foods. and it was 16 ounces. So it's half the size. So for this, 32 ounces of Trader Joe's, it's $3.49. And this Whole Foods, which again is 16 ounces, is $3.19. So you technically get double more with Trader Joe's.

So I'm going to still say Trader Joe's wins. All right, next, the liquid that makes us all function in life, coffee. We have organic Joe, medium roast, 14-ounce bag versus a 12-ounce bag from Whole Foods, vanilla, medium-roast, organic coffee. Trader Joe's, $6.49. Whole Foods, $7.99. Again, for a little bit less even.

It's crazy, crazy. All right, Trader Joe's, the winner. Okay, next we're going to talk about some soup. We have a container, 32 ounces of creamy tomato soup organic from Trader Joe's. We got Whole Foods. We couldn't find a 365 version, so this is the Pacific Foods. 32 ounces of tomato soup. Trader Joe's is $2.99 versus Whole Foods, which is $4.49.

So Trader Joe's wins our last price comparison for this episode. All right, so based on this fun, quick price comparison, it looks like Trader Joe's store was more affordable versus Whole Foods. Now, even though Trader Joe's and Whole Foods might not be the most affordable grocery stores compared to, like, Aldi and Walmart, they do have a lot of organic items that are known for being cheaper than other grocery stores. So here's what I found to be the most affordable, if you will, at Trader Joe's. So they're cheeses. They have so many cheeses and, like, exotic cheeses for pretzures. cheap. Their eggs, sometimes their eggs are even cheaper than Walmart at times. They have great flowers and even some of the Trader Joe's wine. It's not that bad, you guys. It's really not.

So here's what I found that was affordable at Whole Foods. So they're organic milk, organic frozen veggies, some of their fruits, and roasted whole nuts. But remember, no matter where you're shopping, always look for the sales and other ways that you can stay within your grocery budget. And for help when it comes to your budget, check out Ramsey Plus, because it includes my favorite budgeting app every dollar. It makes this whole process so much easier, and it really does. It helps you stay within your budget when you know how much you have for grocery shopping. Okay, I'm excited about today because we're talking food and not just food, fast food. Boogie fast food. So you throw the word boogey in, and George Campbell appears.

Here I am. Here I am. Ramsey personality. George Campbell. We're not going to Wendy's, Rachel. We're stepping it up just a notch. This isn't the Taco Bell $1 menu. I'm not mad at that. No one's mad at that. I know. Fast food. Okay. There are some great hacks to be had at fast food restaurants. Again, George is going to give us all of his wisdom. People today are like, you shouldn't order fast food like it's so bad for you. We're not judging, okay? Because it happens. Okay, if you had to go right now and get fast food, what would you get? You know, I'm going Chick-fil-A. It's just easy.

I know. I know. It's where Shire. shopping is a pleasure but with food. You know, it's like public. I feel like Jesus is always in Chick-fil-A. So remove Chick-fil-A. It's pre-bless. It's pretty blessed. Okay, if I had to get something other than Chick-C-C-Ly.

Like, I'm talking like fast food, fast food. I'm probably going to Chipotle. No, George, no. I'm saying like, like you have to be in your car and after you eat it, you're like, I shouldn't have eaten that. Like that fast food. Probably Taco Bell. Yes, that's what I'm talking about.

Where you going, like the fire sauce? Fire sauce, 100%. They're breakfast, like, crunch rice. wrap sandwich. I used to get it too much. Like every day on the way to work. It was a bad season. It was a dark season.

I never knew Taco Bell on breakfast. Yes. Oh, they do. The real Taco Bell fans, they know. You're Sonic. Sonic number four, bacon cheeseburger, mayonnaise and mustard. I used to not be a mayonnaise fan, but I've added it back in. And you get an onion ring if you're feeling crazy and a dietary line made.

Onion ring on the burger. No, side. Oh, okay. You go fry if it's like super safe. Yeah. You're feeling like, yeah, I just need some grease. I did. Burger King had a rodeo burger that had an onion ring and barbecue sauce.

That was my go-toe back in the day. I appreciate it. I do. I know. Okay. I want to live to see my grandkids. I know. We actually don't want all of our arteries clogged up.

They might be. So that's why it's important to talk about some of the hacks, because life, sometimes you go to a quick service, you go to a fast food restaurant, and it's just what it is. But listen, if you're on baby steps one through two, one or two, remember, this is like game time. Like, we're not going on to eat. we're cooking at home. So remember that.

But all of you, baby steps, three through seven, these tips will be for you. Okay, let's get started. Let's go, like, super boogey. All right. And I have opinions about this place, but I want to hear all your hacks about it. Panera.

Ooh, okay. So I used to go to Panera a whole lot. I go a lot less these days. And one of the reasons is they feel like it got really expensive to go eat at Panera. So here are some of my best hacks after doing all the research. Number one, ask about free toppings.

You can add tons of toppings for free to your stuff. sandwich, which could double it in size. So things like apple chips, wantons, olives, cucumbers, kale, all of those things can really inflate your sandwich for zero dollars. So you can add all that in the app or you can ask for it. Yeah. Who knew? Add a little crunch there. So ask which toppings are free and do it that way. Love it. You'll get more bang for your buck. Number two, you can buy Panera brand items at your grocery store. And it is way cheaper. So if you love, their mac and cheese, their pasta, even their coffee, their dressings, the bread, the soup, So you can get that at some of your favorite grocery stores like Target, Kroger, Myers, Alberts, and even Amazon.

Yes. It's amazing. I've seen their dressing more and more, I feel like. Always cheaper than getting anything at the store. At the store. So I do it that way. Now, next up, this is one of my favorites I've actually done. It's called the SIP Club.

And so for $8.99 a month, you can get unlimited ice coffee, hot coffee, and hot tea. Any size and any flavor. Yes, and this is the craziest part. You can go every two hours and do this. So for $9 a month, you can go every two hours and stock up. Yeah. Now your body, your heart might stop. So go easy on the coffee.

Go easy. Get your breakfast at Taco Bell, get your coffee at Panera. Okay, but you really do that. Do you like their coffee? Yeah, I just don't go enough to make it worth it. I know. That's it. I had like a free trial for a month or two, and I was like,

hey, I'll try this out. Yeah, why not? But hey, stock up. So there you go. Another one is their new value duet. So they used to have the U.PIC, too, which they still have, but that got really expensive. And so this is like the new version of the you pick, too, is the value duet.

So for $6.99, you can get certain soup and salad or soup and sandwich combinations, which $6.99 is a reasonable amount to pay these days for a meal somewhere. So kids' meals, always an affordable option. I'm a big fan. If you have no shame, order a kid's meal. Even if you're not with a child. You get a amount of food. So the last one is order a small drink.

Don't go medium, don't go large, because you get free refills on sodas and coffee. So you can take your small cup back at any time and get your drink. So there you go. Panera, that's good. You know, Panera, it's like my, like it was big in our college town in Knoxville. Yeah, like two, like right there on campus. You get your broccoli and cheddar soup. Yeah, and you went for like a big, and a jeans skirt and a shorty t-shirt tucked in.

It was. It was like, take me back, 2006 days. It was like a time capsule, the whole era. I know, not how it feels. But my mind is still Panera pricing. And we went, I don't know when months ago, for lunch and got like normal food and it was so expensive.

We could have gone to a restaurant. Yeah, genuinely. I'm like, and no one served me. Like you got to go up and do it yourself. That's how you know you're getting old, Rachel, when you're like, back in my day, it was a quarter for a bagel on a smear. But it's fine.

We're getting older. We have to admit that. Okay. Speaking of coffee. Yes. Starbucks. Okay. Give me all your hacks.

Near and dear to my heart. I'm a big Starbucks fan. I know a lot of people may have thoughts about that. But hey, I like convenience. I like consistency. I like quality. So here we go. Number one hack, this is simple.

Become a rewards member. This is completely free, but you'll get free fills on brewed coffee. You'll get exclusive offers. You get birthday freebies. And you can earn stars. That's their program. So if you buy enough stuff, you get a free coffee. Don't do it for that reason.

Please, don't spend money to make, you know, don't spend a dollar to make a nickel here. That's right. But it helps. It helps. Number two, get caffeine for cheap. And here's what I mean for that. A lot of people go get a frappuccino, which, fun fact, most of them don't even have coffee in it.

It's just sugar and ice. Oh, man. I'm not a frat fan. So if you're going for caffeine, get the brewed coffee. It's one of the cheapest things on the menu and it has the most caffeine. I'll give you some math here. A tall coffee has more caffeine than a venty latte. Really?

A tall coffee has 235 milligrams of caffeine, which is a lot. Latte with two shots, 150 milligrams. There you go. It's like hook me up to an IV. Just give me the caffeine. And the brood coffee's half the price at least. That's usually what I get. I either get a, what's your Starbucks order?

If I'm going for brewed coffee, I'd do the blonde roast. Okay. Sometimes I like an iced americano. Oh. Or the nitro cold brew. I told you. Bougy. There you go.

Bougy. Number three, did you know this, Rachel? Starbucks, they have tall, they have grande, they have venty. Did you know they have a short? Okay, I've seen it. You've seen it. It's so cute. It's like this little.

It's a baby. So you can order a short size in a tall cup or just order a short. And it's cheaper, but it has the same amount of espresso in it. Okay, but you're going to just get that amount of little. liquid, though, right? Yes. Why would you get it in a big cup? Well, think about this.

If you're getting an Americano, you're getting two shots of espresso just with more water. But if you get a short. You're getting a lot of coffee vocabulary. It's cheaper. It's cheaper. Americano is just espresso with hot water. I kind of just like went in one year off the other church. I don't really know what that don't mean.

No, it's just a lot. These nice people know what an Americano is. Maybe they do. Just order a short if you don't need all the liquid. Just get a black coffee or a chite latte. That's the fancy way I go. Oh, wow. I'm real.

To be like boozy in life, I feel like I kind of am sometimes. My cough, I'm below the bar. The words chai and latte together is like a next level bougie. Okay. So I've upped it. Have you tried the dirty chai? That means they put espresso in it. Fun fact.

And espresso is vinty and water and smoke. She said espresso. Rachel, you're better than this. Okay, keep going. We've got this, George. Number four, you can split the venty size. Or a Trenta. Those are the biggest sizes and then get an extra cup

and then pour half of it into the other cup. because that is going to bring the cost down versus getting two things separately. I got that. I got that. Okay. Last one. That's easy, man.

Last one, ask for light ice or no water added. Because a lot of times, you ever have this at a restaurant, you order a cocktail maybe, you take three sips, and then it's just ice, and you're like,

why did I spend $15 on that? Yes. It works the same way with your ice drinks. That ice takes up a lot of space. It's a less coffee. That's good. To get more bang for your buck. Now that's a tip I can take.

Thank you. Thank you, George. We got some work. We got there. Okay, we got a little... No more espresso. We're moving on. Yeah, we're moving on.

We're going to move on to some Mexican. Chipotle. I feel like... If you're actually Mexican, Chipotle is offensive, to call it Mexican. Okay, but it's technically... Sure. Mexican. You're right.

You're right. I understand. It's not Garcia. It's not like... Authentic. I don't know what else to call us either, Rachel. All right. Number one, George.

Give us your hack on sort of Mexican. Okay, now you're being condescending, Rachel. Okay. Top five Chipole hacks for you. Number one, always get the bowl. Do not get the burrito, people. Don't do this. You can get tortillas or shells on the side,

and you can make your own. Stop it for free. Yes. They may charge now for a side, but it's still cheap to get the tortillas in the side. But you can make two giant burritos for the one that you would have gotten. So this usually ends up being two meals for me

to get the bowl, and I load it up, which we'll talk about in the next hack. It's my favorite hack. And it's hard to beat at home. If you can split your Chipotle bowl into two meals, it's like $3 or $4 a meal. I'm done. It's hard to cook.

that cheaply. All right. Number two, customize your order. A lot of people don't do this. They just ask and they move on with their lives, and they're missing out. Here's what you do. You can ask for half and half, so you can ask for half brown rice, half white rice, and you get way more.

Or you can ask for extra rice. So you can say, I want extra brown rice, extra white rice, and it costs you nothing. Interesting, but more food for nothing. Yes, I do the same with beans. You can do the same with the fajita veggies. Pretty much everything but the meat, you can ask for extra of. Oh, interesting. And that loads up your bowl to be a massive.

meal. Got it? Brilliant. Love it. Good. Okay. Number three, get double meat. So that's going to cost you a little more, but here's what you want to do. Don't ask for double until the first scoop is there. Because you know what happens? You ask for double and they give you two little scoops. Oh, go scoop one and then you stop. Wait for the big, yep, because they've already established the scoop ratio. And then you slide in there. Yes. And you can also get half and half meat and you're going to be charged at whatever the most expensive meat was. So if you want to switch it up, get chicken and steak. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Fair. I love it. Okay. Number four, order one taco. I know that's hard. No one's going to a place going. I just want a single

taco. But listen, if you're on a budget, you can get a single taco and load it up with all the things I mentioned. Like a burrito. Yes. And it's $3, under $3 for a single taco. So if you're looking for a cheap meal, especially if you're younger, you're on a budget, this is the way to go. No taco. Yep. And load it up. You're really good as Spanish. Didn't you take Spanish in college? They have. And high school. Number five, be a kid again. Get a kid's meal. You can get two tacos. a cassidia, and it comes with chips and a drink for under five bucks. Which is super impressive. Usually if you don't want, like, a big lunch or something, it's plenty.

And you can still load up that taco with all the things I mentioned. Okay, is the kid taco size the same as a... Well, you can load up all the toppings you want. It'll be a massive little kid's taco. Yeah, but it works. It's what you need. For safety money here. All right.

Moving on to your original favorite. Probably my original favorite. O-D. Yeah. Hard to beat. Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A. Can't beat it, man.

It's so good. And a lot of people know some of the... these hacks. Some of them aren't hacks, but download the Chick-fil-A-1 app and make sure you get your account there because you're going to get earned rewards, random rewards, free birthday treats, all kinds of good stuff. And with this app, you can order in the restaurants, give them your table number. Yes. And then they bring you the food. It's amazing. It really, like, when I go to Chick-Fle-I, I'm like, am I at the ritz? Like, where am I right now? Because they take care of you. It's amazing. So the app helps you do that too. And if you don't want to wait in that line, it makes a way

you're to order ahead in the app, and you can walk in and grab it. What little medal are you, do you know? Oh, I think I'm red? Am I red? I'm like the next tier. You're probably like way up here. You're like silver, you're gold. No, I'm past silver. I think I got the final.

You are like royalty. I am, and then your points add up a lot, and then you get so many free cookies. Do you know other cookies at Chick-fil-A? Oh, yeah. Chocolate chip? Delicious. They keep them warm.

Oh. I might just use your app because you've got next-tier level stats. I do. It's impressive. Okay. Okay. Okay, number two, kid yourself. That's right.

You know I love a good kid's meal. Kids meal again, George. It's my go-to-order-it-chip-Lay. Here's why. It's calorically very satisfying. A lot of calories in this meal. I get a grilled nugget kid's meal. You get the fries.

You get a drink, whatever you want, and you can swap the toy for an ice dream. So I get an ice dream in a cup. It's an ice cream. It's their ice cream. Oh, I didn't even know that. Trade more. No, it's ice cream.

Don't. Wow. Come on, Rachel. I'm so sorry. I thought you were better than this. I thought I was way. First espresso and now it's ice cream. Okay.

Anyways, it's under six bucks and it's plenty of food for most adults, especially considering one of those chick-fil-a sauce packets is like hundreds of calories. So you're going to be okay. It's so good. Number three, fill out receipt survey. So sometimes you'll find a receipt. The survey at the bottom of the receipt, take two minutes to fill this out and you get a free sandwich.

Just for doing that. Really? Yes. And about one out of five people get this. So you can time it and go, all right, that person got a receipt. I'm going to get in line right here. And if you're the fifth person, boom. You get the survey.

There you go. It's amazing. And they actually read this stuff, which is cool. They read the service. Yeah, they want to make it a better experience. I believe it, wholeheartedly. They're good people. They really do.

They are. They're great people. Okay, here's where the real money hat comes into play. Number four, order a BLT for just about $1.60. That's an amazing deal. This is like 1950s pricing. Now you're like, BLT, Chick-fil-A, what? Here's what it is.

It's a toasted bun with bacon, lettuce, and tomato. It is chicken-free. Do you add the chicken in later? I don't. I mean, you could, but then it's going to be the price of a normal sandwich. I'm trying to help you get some bang for your buck here. If you've got some spare change in your car and you want a meal, ask for a BLT.

Remember thing, Chick-fil-A is a little bit expensive? They might look at you, funny. But if so, just say, I just want a bun with bacon, lettuce and tomato. Can you do that? Is that really a thing, no chick-flake? That's really a thing. No chicken. Try it next time you're there.

Go to Chick-fil-A-no-chicken. It's good. Okay, number five. Get two sandwiches for the price of one. Here it is. It's a little bit gangster. Here's how it works. You order chicken strips, and then you order two buttered buns.

and then you put the strips onto the buns yourself. Now, you've got to get a side of pickles if you've got to have your pickles. For sure, yes. But that should save you about two bucks if you do that. And the strips, they're not the filet, I understand. Don't come at me in the comments. It's fine. You got a little separation there in the meat, but it's fine. It's the meat.

I'm just trying to help the people, okay? Don't get mad of me. You're doing a great job. Do you have any hacks I didn't mention? What's your go-to hack? No, you're way more creative than I am. I think my men, obviously, my brain can only hold so much Well, your hack is spend a lot of money at Chick-fil-A

and then you become a silver-tier member. Like a gold, whatever. I need to find out what it is because it's impressive. They make it easy. They make it easy. When you've got three kids and you're like, we just got to get in and out. And the kids love it. They will eat Chick-fil-A all day.

That's right. Can't go wrong. They have my heart. I have no hacks. Except for just the app. The app is it. What is your order at Chick-fil-A? If you want to order like Rachel Cruz,

like the Queen, what do you order? I love the spicy chicken sandwich and I add a pepper jack cheese on top. That's brilliant. It's an extra, like, what, quarter of 50 cents? I know, it's like 20, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's pretty cheap. So I'll add that large fry and nice tea, but you go, yours is.

I go hard on the paint. What can I say? You do, your fries game is. Have you tried? You got to ask for well-done fries, and here's why. And no salt, so they make it fresh. I order that from George. When you get the fries in the bag, they get soggy because it's all the condensation.

That is true. So open the bag immediately, let the fries air out, so they stay. a little crispy, but I get them well done so by the time I'm home, they're not soggy and cold. Well done means they fry it longer. They're crispier, they're higher. And you tell them no salt. You can do that.

Because that means they have to make it fresh. That's true. That is George. And any fast food joint, if you ask for no salt, they have to go make a fresh batch because they're already pre-salted. Yeah, I mean. I got hacks for days.

You got it. Okay, what's your order? I got a son joy. So this is their like lemonade, iced tea, Arnold Palmer. That was pregnant. Rachel's drink. Really? When I was pregnant.

Wait, does this mean I'm pregnant? I don't know. Is it a thing for pregnant women? Okay. No comment. This is delicious. Well, I want to know, do they have any hacks? Because these people are practitioners of the hacks.

Y'all are really great at hacks. So if you do have them, tell us, give us a comments, give us a share, anything we want to know. We want to know. And again, your budget is there to determine what you can eat, you know, when you go out, you know. And what's great is, again, these hacks are going to save them money, George. That's right. George, that's why we have you on. You know what?

If you've got nothing nice to say, don't leave it in the YouTube comments. That's what my mom always told me. Man, were you burned in comments recently? I feel like you're... Yeah, a lot. A lot. I'm sorry, George.

It's okay. What's the number one hateful comment you've gotten? Okay, when I was younger, I had a YouTube channel. Here's the thing. Here's what they said. I did a cover of a song and they said, you killed it dot, dot, dot, dot, and not in a good way. And I'll never forget how hilarious of a burn that was.

It still sticks with me. It's stuck with you. I'm sorry, George. 17 years later, here we are. Go get a spicy latte. I'm okay. I'm on the Rachel Cruceau. In a small cup.

Where are they? And it'll be fine. That's right, George. You've made it. I'm going to get me an espresso and I'll forget about it. That's it. In a small cup. I don't know if you feel like this, but I'm like every single month, every other week,

it feels like there's a holiday. And it's like, you got to do this and buy this and this and this and this. And holidays, they just get expensive. And it kind of gets to the point that it's just out of control. I did. I bought my kids some things for Valentine's Day. And I kid you not, my four-year-old said, is this it?

Is this it? This is Valentine's Day. You're like just like getting anything. Do you know how nice I am it's your mom to buy you bubbles and chocolate? Mm-hmm. Yeah, this is it, little one, this is it. So I don't know if you feel like that, but it's like, man.

Oh, but Easter baskets, it's like, it's the thing, you know? Even more than Valentine's Day for your kids, people make Easter baskets. And some people love it, right? I'm obviously a little better about it, but it's fine. But for some people, it's like, no, they love it. They want a DIY. all of this. Some people, they're like, I just want to get some pre-made baskets and call it a day. But listen, both those options. You can overspend, okay? In fact, my team and I were doing some research

on some pre-made Easter baskets to kind of be like, oh, here's an option for you. We found one from William Sonoma. God bless you, Williams Sonoma. Because this Easter basket costs, are you ready? $160.60. $160. for guess what? A fabric-lined basket, a stuffed bunny, and candy. Mm-hmm. That's it.

That was all? Diamond ring in there? Nope. iPhone? Nope. Mm-mm. Nope. Just that for $160. Oh, God bless.

Now listen, it's cute. I get it. But you can make an Easter basket for way less And let's be honest, basically the same thing. So that's what we're going to do right now. Let's start with the basket itself. So you can get a fabric-lined Easter basket at Walmart for $7.

Mm-hmm. I found this adorable little stuffed bunny from Walmart for $3. Then there's some candy. Yes, foil-wrapped chocolate bunny for $4. It's a little pricier than I'd like to admit, but it's fine. And then you can go to the dollar tree and get a bag of jelly beans for a dollar. You can go and get a giant lollipop for a dollar.

You can get some Robbins eggs for $3. And then you can do the bunny shaped marshmallows for a dollar. Look at all that candy. Do you know how much more is in here than William Sonoma's basket? Let me just tell you, a lot more. And then you can just sprinkle some little eggs, you know, just for fun, just to make it feel a little bit.

I mean, you can't really see that. That's fine. That's fine. You get the picture of people. You get the picture. All of it for $24. Mm-hmm. Not $160.

$24. So I've just saved you $136 for your Easter basket. You are welcome. You are welcome. All right. Let's talk about how I usually go about. making Easter basket. So yes, we like all this fun stuff. But think about kind of that rule of thumb of what you want to include. So always includes something that they can wear. For my girls

specifically, gosh, it's play jewelry, it's hair accessories, scrunchies, and headbands, or a cute t-shirt, maybe, or sunglasses, and then always have something that they can snack on. So you can get this stuff from like Walmart, Aldi, five below. Those will be your best friends. You know, and think about even if you have like teenage sons, it's like beef jerky. like think outside the box, right? Just some great snacks. Also, get something to read. You can get half-priced books.

You can go to the Dollar Tree, Target, even get, you know, some little books. Thanks for them to read, which is always awesome. My kids love new books. And then something that they can play with. So a toy, a puzzle, card game, Legos, water bottle, cell phone accessories, even a gift card to a restaurant or a coffee

or a gas gift card for your teens. Anything like that. Again, the rule of thumb is this can apply to boys or girls, any age. but that format really does help whether you are a child or a teenager. And it can make an impression. I will never forget. My parents, they did some Easter baskets, like on Easter morning.

It was nothing like major. But there was one major year. I was in the eighth grade. And I had my Nokia cricket cell phone back in the day. And I got diamond, jeweled number keypad that I could put under my hot pink case that all went on. Changed my life. Never forgot it since.

It's just a great time. Do you ever in Nokia? Man, I know they're still out there, but cricket cell phones? Yes, and amen. The snake game, killed it. Killed it. So I hope this proves to you, though,

that yes, you can make lasting memories with your kids. You don't have to break the bank. You don't have to sacrifice the budget. And you can make, again, some great baskets, you guys that, let's be honest, are just reasonable, just reasonable.

no matter what step you're on. It's not a moral thing. If you got like billions of dollars and you want to buy the William Sonoma's basket, sure, I'm not mad at Williams Sonoma. But I also don't want you going above and beyond, buying things that are really not smart for you and your family at this moment for something like Easter baskets.

So as parents, you love having an Easter basket for your kids, but you guys, you do not have to break the bank to do it. So I hope that all those tips helped you out. And I want to thank George Camel for being on, such a wonderful guest that he, He is. And I'm going to thank you guys so much for listening. If you have not subscribed to this podcast, make sure to hit the follow button. And if the spirit leads, you can leave a review. As always, make sure to take control of your money and create a life you love.