16 Minutes of Hilarious Money TikToks

Summary

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Podcast Summary: "16 Minutes of Hilarious Money TikToks"

Host: George Kamel (Ramsey Network)
Date: March 4, 2026
Episode Theme:
George Kamel reacts to a series of viral and sometimes absurd money-related TikToks, providing lighthearted yet insightful commentary on spending habits, financial myths, and social media money "wisdom." True to his Ramsey roots, he educates, debunks, and offers a hefty dose of comedic pop culture snark.

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Episode Overview

George Kamel, personal finance expert and co-host of The Ramsey Show, brings his signature humor and practicality to a reaction roundup of TikToks centered on personal finance and money hacks. While most of the content is lighthearted or satirical, George finds teachable moments that reinforce the importance of intentional spending, common sense saving, and skepticism toward viral financial “advice.”

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Key Discussion Points & Highlights

1. Putting a Meal on the Table for $1.30 (00:05–02:38)

• TikTok React: Sam demonstrates an affordable meal made for $1.30: chicken thigh (85¢), jasmine rice (12¢), and canned beets (33¢).
• George’s Take: Praises creative budgeting and points out the power of meal planning and buying in bulk, but pokes fun at the unorthodox choice of canned beets.
• Notable Quote:
  • “Now would I pair it with beets that you’re just raw dogging out of the can? That was a choice, my man.” – George (01:19)
• Lesson: Budget meals are doable; meal planning and bulk buying work—just pick veggies you actually like.

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2. The Absurdity of Tax Evasion "Logic" (02:51–05:46)

• TikTok React: A comedic skit features a man who rationalizes tax evasion, “enjoying” the supposed perks of prison such as free rent and stripped debts, escalating to a surrealist courtroom meltdown.
• George’s Reaction: Highlights the absurdity and clarifies it's comedy—not financial advice. Jokes about the notion of “prison as a refund.”
  • “Is it a refund? I guess you’re just getting some extra benefit out of the taxes you have paid or haven’t paid. This hurts my brain already.” – George (03:58)
• Insight: Financial consequences are real, and the “upside” of tax evasion is a myth.
• Memorable Moment: George riffs on the lack of memory foam mattresses in prison and muses on the difference between white collar and blue collar crimes (05:35–06:11).

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3. Compound Interest Explained by Cats (06:11–07:11)

• TikTok React: Whimsical animation shows a cat investing “fish” and watching them multiply, teaching compound interest simply and visually.
• George’s Take: Admires the effectiveness and humor of the explainer, despite its “Blippi for adults” vibes.
  • "Gosh, I hate how well this video is edited and how well compound interest is explained. Because this is—if you showed this to our founding fathers, they would immediately decease." – George (07:11)
• Tangible Lesson: Small, patient investments grow exponentially over decades—let “fish make baby fish.”

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4. The Credit Card Lounge & The Airport Flex (10:23–12:30)

• TikTok React: Over-the-top parody of credit card users flexing their airport lounge perks, airline points, and “exclusive” access.
• George’s Take: Debunks the “lounge flex” as a justification for overspending or accruing debt. Highlights that most lounges aren't special or worth chasing.
  • “If you’ve built a life where you’re trying to get to the airport early to have access to one of these lounges, you’ve missed the point of life.” – George (11:00)
• Audience Relatability: Calls out the performative aspect of rewards culture and the reality of mediocre airport food.

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5. Gambling to Pay Off Credit Card Debt (12:30–14:16)

• TikTok React: User claims he'll gamble his $5,871 credit card bill in blackjack for a “free” payoff; scenes of further casino play follow.
• George’s Response: Dissects the dangerous myth of “doubling down” on risk to solve problems created by risk. Glad the TikToker loses—reinforces the lesson.
  • “Debt equals risk, so you don’t get out of risk by adding more risk. Double risk is not how it works.” – George (13:34)
• Takeaway: Gambling is not a solution for debt; it’s a warning sign.

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6. The “Grindset” Parody—Waking Up Earlier Than Everyone (14:16–15:05)

• TikTok React: Satirical escalation of waking up earlier and earlier until the punchline: “I wake up at noon—I’m waking up for tomorrow early.”
• George’s Take: Mocks toxic productivity culture and the pointlessness of one-upmanship.
  • “If you’re not waking up yesterday, are you even grinding, bro?” – George, quoting a favorite comment (15:05)
• Lesson: Ignore performative “grind” culture—habits should be personal, not spectacle.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• On frugal eating:
  “He meal planned with intentionality, and I think that’s something we can all learn from.” – George (01:45)
• On prison as a tax loophole:
  "This hurts my brain already...But for me, in my house, I prefer to sleep in my own bed." – George (03:58)
• On compound interest:
  “Let your fish do the work. Lesson: Start early. Be patient. Let fish grow fish, then eat like royalty.” – Narrator Cat (06:27) “I gotta be honest, I never thought I’d see compound growth explained by a pixelated fish and a cat. But here we are.” – George (07:11)
• On credit card lounge culture:
  “The lounge is such a scam. Omg. Packs stank attitudes and not even good food.” – George quoting YouTube comment “Legs Benedict” (12:22)
• On gambling with debt:
  “Debt equals risk, so you don’t get out of risk by adding more risk. Double risk is not how it works.” – George (13:34)
• On grindset culture:
  “If you’re not waking up yesterday, are you even grinding, bro?” – George reading a comment (15:05) “You don’t need to let us know about it. It can be your little secret, pal.” – George (15:05)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• $1.30 Dinner Breakdown (00:05–02:38)
• Tax Evasion Skit/Commentary (02:51–06:11)
• Compound Interest Cats (06:11–09:41)
• Credit Card Lounge Flex (10:23–12:30)
• Gambling to Pay Off Debt (12:30–14:16)
• Grindset Parody (14:16–15:05)

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

• George’s playful, irreverent tone keeps the show light, but every joke lands on a message: be smart about money, don’t be seduced by social media myths, and you don’t need to perform your “financial cleverness” for the world.
• Learn the fundamentals: budgeting, investing for the long-term, not chasing points or quick fixes, and keeping an eye out for laughably bad advice online.

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Who Should Listen?

Anyone overwhelmed by viral money advice, poke-fun fans of pop culture, or those wanting to laugh while learning practical, grounded money truths.

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Missed the episode? You’ll walk away better equipped to spot financial nonsense, with a few laughs along the way and maybe, just maybe, a curiosity about beet juice.

Transcript

[George]

Can you put a quality meal on the table for around a $1? TikToker seems to think so. And in today's video I'll be reacting to said Tiktoker along with other money related videos that you guys sent me on social. Some helpful, some not, some hilarious, one sad. Also shout out to delete me for being a sponsor of this channel. Let's hop in.

[Sam]

This is how I make a very affordable dinner for A dollar and 30 cents. And that contains a protein, a carb and a vegetable. I bought a four pack of chicken thighs for 354 at Trader Joe's. We're just using one here so that's going to cost us 85 cents for our protein. Next is jasmine rice which I bought the Three Elephants brand a year and a half ago. 25 for 25 pounds and that comes out to about 12 cents per bowl. For a vegetable I'm going with beets and it's from Amazon Fresh. Got it on sale for 99 cents. I'm going to use a third of the container which is going to be 33 cents. High blood pressure runs my family and beets contain something called nitrates that can lower your blood pressure over time. I even drink the beet juice that's out of the can so nothing goes to waste. So if you add everything up, the cost of this dinner is going to be a dollar and thirty cents. And the thing is it's not a small portion. It's a pretty filling meal and it's a nutritious one at that. At a price point that's unbeatable.

[George]

All right, thank you Sam for this great content. That chicken looked amazing. Now would I pair it with beets that you're just raw dogging out of the can? That was a choice, my man. Like you, you chose, you had your choice of veggies. That's all I'm saying. Like you could have chosen literally any vegetable and you were like, give me some canned beets, baby, with as much juice as possible. Will I waste the juice? No, I will drink the juice. But for $1.30. The man is right. I mean he got the rice in bulk. And jasmine rice, which, that's s tier rice in my book. I don't care who you are now, Basmati. It's a close second. It's a close second but you can't beat the fragrance of that jasmine rice. And he has a rice cooker which is very affordable and he's got the from Trader Joe's. You can get it from Aldi if you want to go even cheaper and get some quality meat. But he's right. People think, well, you can't affordably buy groceries, so I might as well door dash a $28 burrito. That is insanity. And he actually did the math. He brought the receipts. Now, all those groceries didn't cost him a $30 total, but the actual meal, the actual serving did. He meal planned with intentionality, and I think that's something we can all learn from. And am I tempted to try beet juice A little bit? I have a dark curiosity now as to what it tastes like, because I know what beets taste like. So just the straight up juice.

[Jim]

Oh.

[George]

I mean, you might as well just stir up some grass with water and just chug that instead. That's all I'm saying. White Schrute would be proud, though. You're feeding his family. Next up.

[Jim]

All right, for failing to pay your taxes for seven years straight, you're sentenced to seven years in federal prison. If you have anything to say for yourself, please speak now. Thank you. All right, great. Wait, what the. Did you say thank you for sending me to a place where I don't have to pay taxes or rent? Honestly. What? Sir, this isn't a consolation prize for committing tax fraud. This is a punishment. Well, taxes are actually used to fund prisons, so in a way, I'm actually getting a tax refund, if you really think about it. What? Look, on top of your sentence, we're stripping away all of your assets, and you'll be left with literally nothing. How are you okay with that? Well, all I have is a mountain of credit card debt, so as long as you're stripping that away, then. Okay. I'm so sorry, you, Honor. My client's not really thinking straight. Tell me you're not thinking straight. I've never been more lucid, Jim, so sit down. Okay. You do know that you'll have to work a job in prison, right? And you'll actually get paid a wage for working that job. So you know what that means you'll have to pay taxes in prison, too. Okay, so I just won't pay those taxes either, then? What's the problem? You plan on committing tax fraud in the place you're being sent to for committing tax fraud? Yeah. Can't go to prison twice, am I right? He's actually at a point there, sir. Okay, then we'll place you in solitary confinement, then. Will I have to work a job in solitary confinement? No. Then send me the away. Sir, I don't know what to tell you. You know what? Just give him the death penalty already. I'm not doing this anymore.

[George]

Wow. Okay. Not safe for homeschoolers in any way, shape, or form. My second favorite thing was that his judge's robe is not even a full length. It's like he's got it cut at the midriff there for some reason. Couldn't afford the full robe for this skit. But he's. He's. He's not wrong. I will say that. I mean, taxes do fund prisons. So if you avoid taxes and go to prison, is it a refund? I guess you're just getting some extra benefit out of the taxes you have paid or haven't paid. This hurts my brain already. I want to see just what the comments are saying here. My lawyer watching be turn a speeding ticket into a death sentence. What? What? Wait until he hears about the free health care in prison? Yeah, this one has a bit of truth. I wouldn't encourage you to follow this advice. This is clearly comedy and not financial advice. But if you want to go to prison, you can go at any time. They'll just let you in if you commit a crime. But for me, in my house, I prefer to sleep in my own bed. Cause that's the. They don't do, you know, memory foam in prison. They simply don't care about sleep quality, which I think is a huge miss. If you're gonna rehabilitate someone back into society, give them apostropedic. Okay, let the man sleep. Or woman. I don't wanna be sexist towards sleep. I think women should get great sleep too. Would I enjoy prison? I think day one would be a little exciting. I think we can all admit that you're like, ooh, let's see. What kind of. What books do they have in the library? You know what I mean? I'm talking like, I didn't commit, like, murder. I'm just talking like, you know, blue collar crime. That kind of stuff. Embezzlement, the fun stuff.

[Credit Card User]

White collar.

[George]

White collar, even. I don't know what blue. What's blue collar crime? Clog someone's toilet intentionally. I don't know. What is blue collar crime?

[Jim]

Ah.

[George]

Committed by an individual from a lower social class, as opposed to white collar crime associated with crime committed by someone of a higher. I didn't know there was class like that. Feels weird. So it's really about who you are, not about the crime committed. All right, I guess that would make me. I don't really. I don't really do a lot of callers. But call me middle class fancy because I'm doing the embezzlement over the murder. If I had to choose. All right, this one feels a little bit lighter.

[Narrator Cat]

Compound interest explained by cats. Kitty has one fish. Kitty puts fish in trusted fish bank. They promise 10% more fish each year. Kitty wait one year. Now Kitty has 1.1 fish.

[Motivational Sleeper]

Kitty leave it 12 seconds later.

[Narrator Cat]

Next year, 10% of 1.1 fish. Now Kitty has 1.21 fish. Fish grow faster every year. Kitty do nothing. Just now. Fish keep working. Fish make baby fish, then baby fish make more fish. Other kitty laugh. You only got one Fish spends his on laser pointer. Kitty waits. Years pass. One fish becomes two, then five, then ten. Other kitty broke. No fish. Laser pointer batteries died. He asks how you have feast. This kitty say, I let my fish do the work. Lesson start early. Be patient. Let fish grow fish, then eat like royalty.

[George]

Gosh, I hate how well this video is edited and how well compound interest is explained. Because this is. If you showed this to our founding fathers, they would immediately decease. But if I was like, this is what they teach in high school now. This is how the kids learn. They would just die again. I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence. But the editing was on point. I mean, it was like Blippi for adults. Just bright garbage, quick edits the music. It wasn't there long enough for you to even realize it happened, but it kept your interest. Pun intended. And why is this a good explanation? Well, because compound growth can be a hard thing to explain when your money makes money and that new pile of money makes more money. And so it's a great example. And I'll pull up my handy dandy investment calculator to prove it to you. The kitty is one year old. Let's say the kitty is gonna live. How long do I feel like they can live? A long time. 15 years multiplied by seven. Is that. How are there dog years for cats? But they have nine lives. Do you multiply by nine? 14 times 7. 98. 98 years old. That cat's gonna live, too. It has, let's say, $100 in investments. And it leaves it alone. Like the video said, it just leaves it in the kitty bank to make the fishies. And 10% rate of return, which is what we've seen in the stock market, a hundred dollars turns into 1.5 million fishies. That's pretty impressive. Now, that's if you live to 98. So let's make it more realistic and say, 65. That they wanted that cat wants to retire and enjoy the last years of its life. Still 60 grand. But this is pretty wild. You can see the scale at which this money's growing for years. It's not really doing much. It's a thousand bucks. It's 2,000 bucks. It's 3,000 bucks. But then you get a few decades in and we're cooking with gasoline. Now. This is making a few thousand a year into 5,000 a year pretty impressive. That's compound growth, baby. I gotta be honest, I never thought I'd see compound growth explained by a pixelated fish and a cat. But here we are. And honestly, the point still stands. Small smart decisions over time make a big difference, including what you spend your money on. And that's why I love Cozy Earth, a sponsor of today's episode. Their activewear is ridiculously soft and it's super durable and made with responsibly sourced materials. And I can attest that their men's everywhere pant won't self destruct after three trips through the spin cycle.

[Motivational Sleeper]

Or.

[George]

Or one aggressive lunge to tie your shoe. We've all been there. And good news. You can save [e-mail] George with promo code George at checkout. And another smart decision, not overpaying for your phone plan. As you may know, cell phone plans have gotten outrageous. What if I told you there is a way to save up to 600 bucks a year? Well, it's possible. You just need to switch to Boost Mobile, another sponsor of today's video. Boost's unlimited forever plan is just 25 bucks a month per line forever. And switching only takes a few minutes. And you can do it by going to boostmobile.com Ramsey based on average annual single line payment of AT&T Verizon T Mobile customers compared to 12 months in the Boost Mobile Unlimited plan as of January 2026. Website for full offer details. All right, next up, we should get some food.

[Credit Card User]

Oh, yeah, we'll go to the lounge. I got lounge access with my card. Yeah, they know me there. I fly frequent. Yeah, it's all free, right?

[Jim]

It's not really free.

[Credit Card User]

You upgrade to premium economy because I did. Using my points, you're gonna miss out

[George]

on an extra white towel.

[Credit Card User]

The wet towel they bring four hours into the flight.

[Motivational Sleeper]

You can't miss that.

[Credit Card User]

Full privacy. You can literally scream and shout and just let it all out. I'm getting a call from work. Hey, Jim. I'm actually on vacation right now. I'm in the lounge. Well, yeah, the points you can't complain, right?

[George]

Oh, gosh, why is that so accurate? Listen, if you use your credit card, you have the points, you get into the lounge. I'm happy for you. But don't think that you're in some exclusive club because of how much they love you. This is really what you're doing. You're trying to make yourself feel better about all the spending you're doing, and you use it as a flex on your friends, use it as a flex on us peasants who are out there at the Sparrow, just trying to, you know, make it to our connection. So the idea that, like, if you've built a life where you're trying to get to the airport early to have access to one of these lounges, you've missed the point of life. That's all I'm saying. I like to be in airports as little as possible. I don't fly to Dubai, so I don't have nine hour layovers like some of you. I try to go nonstop, which means no time for the lounge, even if they'd let me in. And you better believe I've been blacklisted from every. If I even darken the door of the AMEX lounge, they'll know. They smell my debit card a mile away and say, no, no, no, no, no. The poor people go to the food court. But listen, from what I've heard about the lounges, it's real hit or miss, and it's mostly miss. It can be long lines, sa mediocre food, and at that point, I'd rather just have my options and just pay for it instead of going deeply into credit card debt to impress them with my fancy points and rewards. The lounge is such a scam. Omg. Packs stank attitudes and not even good food. Thank you, Legs Benedict. Finally, someone with some common sense. Legs, Ben. That's such a strong. Why didn't I get to that handle first? Moving on.

[Gambler]

My credit card payment is due in three days and it is $5,871. So I'm going to do $5,871 on a hand of blackjack so I can pay it off for free.

[Motivational Sleeper]

Come on.

[George]

He's lying.

[Gambler]

All right, everyone, I am back. 5871.67.

[George]

This is a website.

[Gambler]

Pay off my credit card, bro. Easy money.

[Motivational Sleeper]

Come on.

[George]

That can't be real. Also, this man needs anger management as much as he needs debt free. Does he actually talk like that normally? Is this our. Is this the generation? They just yell oh, for entertainment purposes only. Is his bio what's going on with this profile pic? This man is not. Is not doing well. Oh, he's actually in a casino.

[Gambler]

Hundred bucks. Huff and Puff, let's make some money.

[George]

Huff and puff. Is that AAA? They do it.

[Gambler]

Jet. $2 spins.

[George]

No, no, no, no.

[Gambler]

Slow and steady. We got it. Chainsaw time.

[George]

Who's watching this content? I really. I worry for the future of America. This guy's got 32,000 followers. I don't know what they're following, but they got what they paid for. Golly. Okay, a great lesson, though. I'm glad he didn't win. Cause then everyone's going, I guess I'll just go play blackjack to pay off my debt. No, do not do that. All right? Gambling is probably how you got into this debt in the first place. And debt equals risk, so you don't get out of risk by adding more risk. Double risk is not how it works. Thank you, Will. All right, as is tradition, my producer Alex has given me a bonus video that I have no context for and probably has nothing to do with personal finances. But, hey, you're already here. Captive audience.

[Motivational Sleeper]

Wake up at 7:30. I used to wake up at 7:30. Then I met a lot of people who wake up at 7:30. So I said, no, I'm waking up at 5:30. Then I met a few people who wake up at 5:30. I said, got to be earlier. Started waking up at 3:30. Then I found out the rock wakes up at 3:30. So I said, nope, I got to be better than the rock. So I started waking up at 1am Then I met some people who had some. Some sort of weird overnight job type of thing. And they're waking up at 1:00am So I said, nope, I'm waking up at 11:00pm oh my gosh. Then I met some more people who had some like, insomnia or something. And I said, no. And I. And I just. I just kept going. You wanna know when I wake up? I wake up at noon. Okay? I'm waking up earlier than anybody. People think I'm lazy. No, I'm just waking up for tomorrow early.

[George]

That's such a great quote. I'm just waking up for tomorrow early. This is a great comment. That sums it up. If you're not waking up yesterday, are you even grinding, bro? This is so toxic. What is up with this now? I'm not an early riser. Good for you if that's you. If you can do that, more power to you. But if you're posting about it, we don't like it. Nobody's ever watched a guy go 6:30. Rise and grind. Gotta get in my cold plunge. Nobody wants to follow you. They've probably unfollowed you at this point. Your own family is sleeping because they don't want to deal with you that early in the morning. You're insufferable. Just wake up at a normal time. Sure, get your quiet time in, get your workout in. You don't need to let us know about it. It can be your little secret, pal. How about that? Alright, that's enough for me for today. Now you however, can keep the fun going. That's your American right and your prerogative. And I would start, if I were you, with watching me react to people on the streets of Nashville telling me how much debt they have. It was a juicy one, so click here to watch it up next or use the link in the description. That's it for today. Be sure to hit like on this video. Subscribe to the channel if you haven't already and share it with someone who could use a laugh or two. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.