The Rachel Cruze Show - Quarantine Life: What to Do About Kids, Celebrations and “Free” Money

Episode Date: May 4, 2020

Coronavirus has us all doing things a little differently. For me, one of those things has been podcasting from my house! So, here’s a BONUS episode of The Rachel Cruze Show—quarantine edition.   In this episode, you’ll learn:   How to still have fun celebrating big events during a quarantine Six free ways to entertain your kids at home right now The smartest thing to do with your stimulus check   Join my Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rachelcruze/ Get more free activities for kids: https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/things-to-do-with-kids Get the Financial Peace University Free Trial: https://www.financialpeace.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the Rachel Cruise Show podcast. So I've been doing something a little different. I've been actually doing the Rachel Cruise show at home. But I didn't want my podcast listeners to miss out on any of this timely content. So I'm going to give you all a bonus episode of this podcast. So the Rachel Cruz show, I had three different segments I did. And so I'm going to put those together for you in this podcast. And the first segment is all about how to celebrate big life events while in quarantine.

Hope you enjoy. Welcome to the home edition of Rachel Cruz Show. Yes, here we are in quarantine, talking about your money. Okay, here's the thing that's really hard about right now, besides the financial panic and the health panic and everything going on in those two sectors. So those are big deals for sure. But so many important things are happening right now in our personal lives that we're not able to do. We're not able to celebrate. So there's some big stuff going on in your life that you're like, oh, wow, we're not going to be able to do that. One of those is birthdays. This is hitting very close to home because our sweet Emily and Jane turns five and we're here in the quarantine during it.

So I was like, okay, what do you do for a birthday? And a lot of people, you know, so many creative things that they can do. But honestly, for her, because she's five, I was like, man, this kind of is great because it does just take you back to like the simplicity of life. And I'm like, we're not going to be able to throw this massive birthday party with all these cute decorations, even though I'm not great at that stuff anyways. But if I really wanted to, I still can't. I mean, even our favorite bakery, it's closed. Like, they closed down for the safety of their employees. So what did I do?

I went to Publix and bought a box cake that we're just going to whip up at home. We can get some presents, wrap those. I went to go do Amazon. And our Amazon Prime was like nowhere near. crime days. And so I was like, oh, wow, I bought all Christmas presents and birthday presents the last few years on Amazon, but it's a little backed up right now. But things just are changing. Like, it's just weird. It's just weird. But part of me, it's kind of refreshing. I'm like, you know what? Again, I'm kind of glad that I don't have to stress out or feel like I have to

like do all this stuff for this birthday party because it's just going to be us. And I'm really excited about it, actually. I think it's going to be a really great time. So when you have teenagers and graduation is not going to happen, which is so sad. I have. I have. I'm I mean, like, you work so hard for 12 years of your life and dang school. You can't even celebrate. Oh. So I thought, I mean, I would have them put on the cap and gown. If they're able to order it or if you have yours or you can order one online and like have

them come down the stairs, take their picture, video, call their name out. Like, it sounds kind of cheesy. But again, this is like all about just making the memories, right? And making it somewhat as normal as possible. But let them actually get the feeling of like, okay, this is the cap and like, here I am. This is the best we can do. But just, I don't know,

kind of like doing a mock graduation. I think it would be so fun. And again, it's for the pictures and the videos and the memory of it all. Let's just be honest. And there's also showers, like wedding showers,

baby showers. So if that's you, Zoom and your friends. Yes. I know it sounds, that people do, actually, I was going to say,

it sounds kind of cheesy. It's like our way of life right now. But if you have girlfriends or couples or whatever the situation is, yeah, get a bunch of them on Zoom and just open up some presents, have them, like, ship the presents to your house, open them there in front of everyone and, you know, make a memory that way. Weddings, man, because you imagine having to get married right now.

Some of our best friends, they got married. They had their wedding in May, and they ended up canceling it. Gosh, when was that? They canceled it like a few days ago because we got an email from them, like, randomly in the day. And they're like, hey, we're getting married tonight. Come on Zoom at 6 p.m. And we did.

And it was, it was like so funny. Number one, we could see all of our other friends on Zoom 2 watching, like with their families and stuff. It was so fun. And then her dress is her grandmother's because her dress was stuck at the bridal shop, at the bridal store, and she couldn't get in it because it's clothes. So she wore her grandmother's dress. It was like them too and a pastor.

And it was crazy. I mean, like, absolutely crazy. But they did it. And I thought, man, 10 years after we were being married, the wedding's fun, it's enjoyable. I'm sure they're going to do like a big party once this is all over. But not to have to go through the stress of a wedding. Part of me was like, I kind of love it.

Some of my friends were like, that's so sad. I was like, really? I kind of think it's kind of fun. So just getting creative with it. And then people are doing parades too in their cars, which I love. So for weddings, for birthdays, our neighborhood's doing one tonight, actually, for a little boy who turns, or actually it's two twins.

And we're all going to like line up at 5 o'clock in our cars and wave and honk the horn and the signs, the whole thing. So I just love that the bright side of the quarantine during some big celebration times and like milestones in our lives is it just takes you back to like what's important. But it's not all the stuff. But it's the people. It is the people around you that you get to enjoy these moments with.

Again, without any distractions of any expectations or stereotypes that you're trying to fit into or any of that. No, no, no, no. It is like so bare bones with just the people you love. And I secretly love that so, so much. So if you want some more ideas on ways to celebrate these occasions, make sure to join my Facebook group because, man, there is a lot of ideas flown in there. Really great ones. So make sure to check that out. All right. I hope you guys enjoyed that. And hopefully I gave you some good ideas of what to do for those big life events. All right, coming up next are a couple of examples and some free things that you can do with your kids.

For all the teachers out there, yep, because you are all teachers. If you have kids at home, we've all turned into homeschool teachers. I don't know how this all happens, but it happens. And so there are some long days with your kids. There's some good days. We're actually, this week, the cruises are kind of thriving right now. Our girls are, like, doing great. Charles, it's just sweet baby Charles hanging out.

And I feel like we've, like, owned this week. It's been good. It's been good. But there are some times that you're like, what are we going to do with the kids? So this video, we're going to talk all about the free things you can do with your kids during the coronavirus shutdown, quarantined at home. So one thing you can do is go to PBSKids.com

and you can actually watch Elmo and Daniel Tiger for free. I love Daniel Tiger. He gives us so many life lessons, doesn't he? I mean, all those little jingles, I'm like, Daniel Tiger, I feel like I need some of this sometimes. So, love it. Love it, love it.

So I'm sure to check that out. There's story time from space, and there's astronauts reading your kids' books. I mean, what world are we living in? The San Diego Zoo, it livestreams a lot of their animals, so you can, like, turn that on and, like, watch them. But they're animals in San Diego. We don't live near San Diego.

I think that's pretty awesome. Disney Plus. Disney, man, aren't you just like thankful for Disney stuff right now? Because I am. But Disney Plus, if you've not gotten it yet, you can do a seven-day free trial. And if it's not in the budget,

just go seven days and get yourself out of there. But lots of good stuff on there. We've watched Milan and Frozen 2. Enough. It's unbelievable. There's also the Smart Kids Launchpad, which has free games to help teach your kids about money. Yes, you go to Dave Brames.com, check that out.

So those are just a couple of examples. I made a list down here because there's a lot of great things. And in the show notes, I'm going to put my article to make sure you can check out 25 free things to do with your kids during the coronavirus quarantine. So some of it has to do with screens, some of it you can just print out activities and let them color. Should I give y'all the Rachel Cruz show logo? Your kids can color that, right? Oh, desperate times call for desperate measures, people.

It is true. It is true. But you guys are doing great. You're doing great. We're sticking in this quarantine together. And I think we're going to learn a lot coming out of this. I really do. I think as a country, I think individually, as families, I mean, there's just, there's a lot.

And I kind of love the idea that families are just together all the time right now. When I know a percentage of the time, it can be very difficult and, hard and like, oh my gosh, whose kids are these? Whose kids are these? They're not ours because we're good people and these little, they're not good. We have those moments and then we have the moments. We're like, this is so fun. They're playing outside. We're hanging out with them. I mean, they're just like, Charles loves the stroller. Thank God. Thank you, Jesus. And he just hangs on that in the driveway a lot. They're scooter. We do races, hopscotch. I've like taught him how to trace your body with chalk. So they're like obsessed with that. So it looks like,

a bunch of like crime scene bodies around our drive. It's all like these outlines of these bodies. Because we keep tracing each other. So again, sometimes everything's going great. Other times it's a little difficult. But we're all in this boat together. And you've got this, parents. You've got this.

So make sure to click the article in the show notes to check out those 25 free activities that you can do with your kids. All right. Hopefully some of those ideas help keep you parents sane during this crazy time. And one of the questions I've been getting a ton. is around the stimulus checks. So I'm going to answer hopefully some of the questions that you may have of what to do with that money. All right, guys, some of you are going to be getting some checks, stimulus checks. That's right. So if that's you, people are asking, what do I do with this

check? I've heard a lot of people ask, should I just spend the money and help stimulate the economy? No, no, no, no. It is not your job at this point to help stimulate the economy. Buying a shirt from Jay Crew is not going to do it. Sorry, love Jay Crew. but listen, it's not going to do that. It's not going to change everything, and we're all going to get back to normal because you bought that one's shirt. No, here's the deal.

The more stable you are with your own personal finances and your home, the better off you're going to be that after all this is over, you're going to go back to spending some money on things that are just some wants, and that's what's going to help simulate it. But if you are not stable at home, you do not need to be spending this money.

So here's a deal. If you're getting a check-in, if you've lost your job, and you have debts, and you don't have an emergency, emergency fund, like you are just kind of in like, oh, not a good spot. Use that check to pay bills. Make sure that your house is covered. So either mortgage or rent, food, utility, transportation. Use it for your needs. Now, those of you that are still having an income, you've not lost your

job. You don't think you will. And you have some debt, then go ahead and apply that to the debt. Go ahead and stick with the debt snowball. Keep working your way out of debt. Now, those of you that maybe have no debts, but you don't really have a big emergency fund in place and you're still making an income, use the stimulus check to boost that three to six months of expenses, savings. That's your emergency fund. So put it towards that. Now, if you have no debt and an emergency fund and an income coming in, then again, just apply it to the baby steps. You could use it to, you know, fund your kids college. Maybe you can throw some extra money on the mortgage, you know, the 15% income that you're going to be doing for retirement, keep that going. So really using this check,

just wherever you are on the baby steps, it's going to be really, really important. But if you have lost a job and you have debt, then take that money. You can either save it, help pay bills, do what you need to do, and actually use it. So it's a crazy time right now, you guys. But listen, if you have that money coming in,

make sure that you are being wise with it. You can go to Dave Ramsey.com slash hope, and we have a free trial of Financial Peace University. So sign up for that, binge that instead of Netflix, learn how to handle your money. Learn to control your money versus your money controlling you. So make sure to go and check that out.

All right, hopefully you all enjoyed that episode of the Rachel Crease Show podcast and make sure to subscribe to this podcast and if the spirit leads, leave a review. And you can also check out my YouTube channel or Facebook community because I want to hear from you all what you want to hear on this show.

So leave a comment there. And man, we talked about so much in this show. So I'm going to leave all the links in the show notes. And as always, remember to take control of your money and create a life you love and hope you're staying healthy. So if you guys enjoyed this podcast, we have more from the Ramsey Network, like the Entree Leadership Podcast. This is Alex Judd, host of the Entree Leadership podcast. We're a community of leaders by leaders for leaders committed to bringing you practical ways to grow yourself, your team, and your profits. Join us every week as we talk to entrepreneurs, CEOs, thought leaders, bestselling authors, and more to help you with your life and your business.

To hear full episodes, just search Entree Leadership wherever you listen to podcasts or go to Entreeleadership.com slash podcast.