The Rachel Cruze Show - My Favorite Things of 2019

Episode Date: December 9, 2019

It’s that time of year when I like to look back on all the things—both big and small—that make me happy and grateful. And I’m so excited to tell you about them! In this episode of The Rachel Cruze Show, you’ll learn: 10 things that made my life so much better in 2019 How paying with cash and budgeting saved one couple hundreds of dollars a month Favorite things from my Facebook Community that will save you money Sponsors pay the producer of this show, The Lampo Group, LLC, advertising fees for mentioning their services or products during programming. Advertising fees are not based upon or otherwise tied to any product sale or business transacted between any consumer or sponsor. The following sponsors have paid for the programing you are viewing: Churchill Mortgage EveryDollar Woman’s Day Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm going to throw it all the way back to the first couple, Ryan and Annette. Really, your debt starts to add up without you really realizing how much. We never fought about money because we never talked about money. You know what? We're going to be intentional. It's going to be hard. But as you're chipping away, you're seeing the hope and the excitement of what that's going to be like. We're talking about all those things now. And that has made a huge difference in our marriage. Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of the Rachel Cruise Show podcast. I'm so glad that you're here. All right, it's December. And it's close.

And that is not one of my favorite things. But for this episode, I wanted to talk about some things that are some of my favorite things. So this is the time of year that is a great time to look back and to think about all we are grateful for from the last year. And one of those things for me is I walk on to Baby Boy. Oh, it's so fun. All right.

There are big life changes, or at least for me, that happened this year. But there's also the little things that made daily life better. So here are a couple of my friends. favorite things. Number one, podcasts. Yes, I love podcasts. There's so many great ones, but I think my all-time favorite, super interesting, gangster capitalism. It was all about the college admission scandal that happened. Oh my gosh, they have transcripts, they have like the whole thing. It is so fascinating. It's so good. So go listen to that. Number two has been organizing. Yes, I have been falling in love with like,

bins and putting things places. It's probably the nesting part of me coming out. But the home edits, if you don't follow them on Instagram, they're wonderful. And they actually came out with a book all about organizing and it's beautiful. Like the pictures in it, oh, it just makes life seem doable. Like when you see the pictures, you're like, I can do this life all because of organizing. Number three. Some of you are thinking I'm crazy, but I'm not. I swear. Dermoplany. Yes, this is is a technique you do, ladies. I guess guys could do this too if you wanted. But it's this little tool.

You can just get it on Amazon, and you go and it scrapes the top layer of your face. It sounds crazy. But y'all, number one, your skin is the smoothest it's ever been. It's clean. And when you put your makeup and all your other stuff on your face, it all, like, absorbs in so much deeper. It's so great.

So I totally have, like, fell in love with Dormant. and on top of that, pure vitamin C on your face. It is so good. It just gives you like this nice glow. Use it in your face wash. It's changed my life. Number four, the aneogram. Love, love, love.

We did an episode about this, you guys, but it is fascinating, okay? I've done every type of personality tests you can imagine, but this has like layers, beyond layers, beyond layers to it. And it is so true. Like the nine numbers, it's insane. Google it. E-N-N-E-A-G-R-A-M. A lot of people are like, what word is that?

Enneagram. Amazing. Number five, non-alcoholic beer. That's right. Bring me some odules. Yes, I was pregnant over the summer, you guys, and let's just be honest, on a nice summer night, maybe I wanted to pop a cold one. And, well, being pregnant, I couldn't.

So I discovered non-alcoholic beer, and it actually tasted fine. So that was one of my drinks of choice. this summer. Number six, this year I discovered the Chick-fil-A app. Oh, changed my life. Not only can you order from your phone, and does it remember your order from the previous orders, but you go to your table with all your screaming kids, you sit down, you punch in your table number and your order, and they bring the food right to your table, and you go ahead and put in your debit card information in the app, so it's paid for. Like, it all happens like at once,

and you can even go and load somebody on the Chick-Fleye up, so when you're driving through, You just got to scan it. You get your points. It's paid for. Everything right there. Like, it's amazing. And even has a map function. So when you're on a road trip, yep, you're driving down the road. You can pull it up and it pops up where the chick flays are on your road trip. It's so good. So great, Chick-fil-A. We love you. Except I hate you on Sundays because you're not open. Number seven have been my able sandals. Okay, I got these this summer. I don't know if it was pregnancy or what, but how cute are these? And I love Abel. They have incredible products. I have some purses. I have a jean jacket from them. But these sandals have been my favorite. Like, I can't wear them now because it's like freezing outside. But I lived in them the summer. They were wonderful. Number eight, you know I'm not going to do a favorite thing episode without talking about.

The final rose. Will you accept this rose? Yes, the Bachelor and Bachelorette. And Hannah B's season, this past season. Best season in a long time. because everything was like a hot mess. Like, it was so good. Like, when her and Luke P broke up, oh, best 10 minutes of television I've seen in a really long time. I mean, it was so good.

So yes, give me The Bachelor, give me The Bachelor in, give me Bachelor in Paradise, give me the whole thing. I love it, and so does Winston. It's like the one hobby we have together that we like to watch a TV show with friends. It's so good. Number nine, the fact that Disney is taking their cartoon movies

and making them into real-life people movies, movies, so good. So this year, a bunch of them came out, but Aladdin was great. Lion King, like, I just love seeing all the classics come to life. It's just wonderful. It loses a little bit of the magic when it's not cartoon to people, but that's another, that's another episode. Number 10, my last favorite thing for the year, which is true, is every dollar. The every dollar app, man. Winston and I had so many life transitions from moving and baby, like we had so many things going on. And every dollar was like the consistency in our life of keeping control of everything. It seriously, it saved us. I'm obsessed with every dollar. I really am. Like when we were making

this list with my team, I even texted Winston's. I was like, okay, Winston, what are some, like, give me three things that I love so that I'm not like forgetting an obvious thing. And he literally texted back. You love O'Dul's coffee and every dollar. And I was like, yeah, that sounds like a pretty good life. Yep, that is. So, oh, it's so great. A lot of favorite things. There's a lot of things out there. So I'm out of maternity leave, like as I said, but I have my favorite things email that I will send out. So if you want to keep up with all my favorite things on a monthly basis, make sure to sign up for those emails in the show notes. Okay, I wanted to go into my Facebook group, and I wanted to know your favorite things. So here's a couple of things that you guys recommended, and I loved

to these ideas because they save you some serious money. Wayne and Kelly on Facebook said cookie butter. Trader Joe's is the best, but the Walmart brand is just as good. $2. I never had cookie butter, but I hear it's wonderful. Robin said, the Instapot, yes, helping me save money by cooking at home. Mir said, impress manicure at Walmart, $5. This was fascinating to me.

I had never heard of this. I did like stick on nails like back in the day, but this is like a whole new wave, and apparently they're amazing. So I love that. I'll check it out. Allison said Walmart's equate brand. So it's basically like cheaper versions of Avino and Saravet and set of fill, like at a fraction of the price. So there's like all these amazing products, but super inexpensive, which I love.

Cindy said at dollar stores, L.A.'s totally awesome, all-purpose cleaner. So it basically is like oxyclean, I think, but it's a dollar at the dollar tree. So totally awesome. Why not? I'll try it out. And one of my other favorite things, of course, is this show, you guys. And what's so fun about the podcast is that some of you haven't heard all of the Rachel Cruz show episodes that were the video version.

So I'm going to throw it all the way back to the first episode of the Rachel Cruise show because there were so many great segments on there. One of them was a couple, Ryan and Annette, they're a family of five, and they cut back their spending to save more money. And I just love their story, so I want you to hear that. And then also some quick ways for you to save money. Because again, saving money, it's one of my favorite things. So take a listen. So your money journey, you guys, would you say, like right now in the present, you guys are in a pretty good spot?

Would you agree with that? Yes. Has it always been like this? No. No. Like, what was it that you're like, we have to stop this? Was there like this huge fight, this meltdown? Were you like going bankrupt? Well, you know, when we first got married living in L.A., and it was paycheck to paycheck. There was not much left over at the end of the month. And we didn't really have any sort of budgeting going on. We kind of just went with whatever we thought.

We weren't really talking about anything. Really, your debt starts to add up without you really realizing how much. I think it just got to a point where we're expecting a third and we're thinking about the future more and wanting to set ourselves up for success. So how long ago was all of that for you guys? That was, well, that was probably about a year and a half when we got into the house. And I think at that point, I kind of got to the place where I was just done with not knowing anything about the money. You guys weren't budgeting or anything at this point. We weren't really talking about it. I mean, And I think, and, you know, that's the thing is we never fought about money because we never talked about money. So as a woman, would you say that that made you, like, fearful or insecure that you had no idea what was going on?

Or, like, what caused you to press into that? Never fearful, but avoiding the subject a little bit. You know, I wouldn't, I would go out and just get things that I believed I needed and that I probably knew he wouldn't think I needed. Okay, did you ever hide a purchase from him? Yeah, there's, I mean, there's been things like that. knew that we needed to get somewhere where we were on the same page. At that point is when I started to try to budget for the first time. And I was on every dollar for a little bit. When I had all of the stuff in this budgeting tool, all of our, you know, separate credit cards and all the extra

stuff, I realized how big our debt really was, you know. And I think that was the point where we had been hearing about financial peace at church. And I said to Ryan, we need to do this as soon as possible. So when she brings that up, what do you think? I was on board. I mean, you know, it was the kind of thing going back that I was handling a lot of the larger bills and things. And so she wasn't really in the know of that, but I wasn't really in the know of what she was purchasing and that sort of stuff. And the everyday needs, you know, the everyday like school supplies or things like that. I mean, it just sets a time aside every week that we just go and we learn and start learning how to use the tools and how to communicate better. And I just knew if as soon as we

took that step, we were going to benefit from it. Okay, so I'm going to quiz you because I have an answer in my head. I want to see if we're on the same page. Okay. There's one category in the budget that almost everyone, including the cruises, if we bust any category, it's this category. So if you had one budget category that you were to bus, what would it be? Groceries. Yeah, groceries. Yeah, so good. I'm so glad. Okay. So do you feel like you go? like progress on that part of the budget? Yeah. We have actually started for the first time doing the envelope system for groceries. And knowing beforehand, we are able to plan a little bit better. And like Dave always says, you're feeling, you know, the purchase. Just last month,

I think we spent probably over $100 less than what we did the month before. It's all those little trips to the store that you don't think are adding up that end up just adding up. So $40 here, $60 there. And, oh, I need to go get this one thing for this one meal that we weren't planning on. Just making it so. Can you stop at the store real quick for this or this or this? But being able to plan ahead of time. So you guys now, you would say that, you know, because you are working on the same page

and you're communicating about money, do you find that your marriage is even better today? Absolutely. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, communication is key. So it's definitely helped us communicate better, not just, you know, budgeting and that sort of thing, but in other areas of our marriage as well. So we're talking about all those things now. And that has changed just the trust between us and, you know, all of that kind of thing. Absolutely. Has made a huge difference in our marriage. For sure.

So within two boys, they're younger. Have they noticed any shift or have you guys, like, worked with them and all? Like, what's their take been on all of this? Absolutely. a seven-year-old. It's been sweet. He's definitely caught on. He's got the itch now. He's definitely overheard us and asking questions and that sort of thing, which is great. We've also got the chart. Oh, from Junior, financials, junior, yes. And so I love that idea, too, where it's not really a chore. It's a commission. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Not allowance commission. Yeah, not allowance commission. So I love that. If you don't do the work, you don't get paid. I've had a lot more help in this house. He's saving up for his own little thing, whatever it is at the time that he's saving up for.

I believe at this point it's gumbulls for his gumbull machine. So, yeah, he'll be like, what's the budget? And I'm like, well, buddy, let me tell you. Here's every dollar. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Well, you guys are like absolutely killing it. I mean, you're doing it so fantastic.

Seriously, I'm like, you could have lived in that monotonous state that you guys were at a year and a half ago and done that for decades, right? And that's what a lot of people do. But, like, sitting here and saying, you know what, we're going to be intentional. It's going to be hard. It's not going to be fun. As you look at all the debt and, like, it almost feels like this mountain. But as you're chipping it away, I can see it in your faces.

I'm like, you're seeing the hope and the excitement of what that's going to be like. And for those boys, being able to have that legacy of, you know, being debt free. And not only just that, but having parents that actually talk about money and communicate and are on the same page. I mean, that's such a huge gift. So you guys are awesome. I always love hearing from couples and how they work together with their money and the fact that they are a family of five, you guys, and they are absolutely killing it. All right, up next, 15 ways for you to save money quickly.

Number one, look into an exercise pass program through your health insurance provider rather than just paying for the gym. Winston and I did this, and it saved us so much money. Number two, or forego the gym all together and go to YouTube. We love YouTube, for workout ideas. So instead of going to like a hot yoga class here or a spin class there, those $20 fees can add up. So just YouTube it. Number three, buy generic vitamins and over-the-counter medicine.

Number four, switch to CFLs or LED lights. Winston did this at our house. So like all of our light bulbs are going to last for like 5,000 years or something crazy. I'm like, Jesus is going to return, but our light bulbs will still be working. That's what's important. Number five, on weekends, host your friends over, for a game night. This is such a great way to have fun with your friends, stay in, not spend money, and even everyone can bring a dish so you can have food as well. Number six, stay out of the grocery

store. Use online ordering like Kroger's Clicklist. This will save you money because you know exactly how much money you're going to spend before you go pick it up. Number seven, buy kids' toys at Big Lots. Shout out to cheap toys. This is the best thing ever. We did this with Amelia, and it was great. It like lasted us a whole summer. We got all this stuff. It was fantastic. Number eight, download apps for savings like Cartwell for Target, Ebates, Ibata, and Coupon Sherpa. My Facebook group, you guys have given us some good info there. So thanks, you guys. Number nine, for a high-priced items that you're buying online, wait overnight. Because when you wait overnight, the impulse lowers and you figure out, okay, do I really want to buy it?

Number 10, buy discounted gift cards. Yeah, it's a real thing. Number 11, change your office hours. Traffic jams. can cost you up to $1,200 a year in fuel, and that's a lot of wasted time. Number 12, have a clean-out-the-pantry week. Use what you have in your pantry instead of going grocery shopping. Number 13, buy open-box items.

Number 14, buy workout clothes at T.J. Max or Marshalls. I did this, and it's like the best decision you'll ever make. Number 15, get reflexology instead of a spa day. Okay, spa days can cost you like $200 easily. But reflexology, you can get the most. amazing foot rub for $30. If you're thinking, what is reflexology?

Just know I changed your life. Google it. It's fantastic. I loved it this episode. It was super fun because sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in just the day to day and forget to look back

over the little things throughout the year that bring you joy. So I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and enjoyed hearing even from Ryan and Annette and their story because again, you guys, this whole money stuff, it's so important to do no matter

where you are in life. and no matter what time in here it is. Now, if you've not subscribed to this podcast, make sure you do that. And if the spirit leads, you can leave a review, as always. All right, you guys, make sure to take control of your money

and create a life you love. So if you guys enjoyed this podcast, we have more from the Ramsey Network, like Christy Wright's Business Boutique podcast. Hey, I'm Christy Wright, and I help women all over the country take their ideas and passions and hobbies and turn them into profitable businesses.

If you have an idea in your head or a dream in your heart, and you've ever wondered if you could make money doing it, I'm here to help. Join us on the Business Boutique podcast where we are equipping women to make money doing what they love. To hear full episodes, just search Business Boutique, wherever you listen to podcast, or go to businessboutique.com.