Umbrella Insurance, Coverage Gaps, and What a $483 Bar Tab Taught Us About Money

Summary

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Podcast Summary: NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

Episode: Umbrella Insurance, Coverage Gaps, and What a $483 Bar Tab Taught Us About Money
Hosts: Sean Pyles, CFP® & Elizabeth Ayoola
Expert Guest: Kaitlyn Constantine (Insurance Nerd)
Date: June 15, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola, joined by insurance expert Kaitlyn Constantine, tackle two illuminating money stories: the ins and outs of umbrella insurance, and a cautionary tale about an unexpectedly massive bar bill. The episode demystifies umbrella insurance—when it makes sense, how it interacts with existing coverage, and why it’s not just for wealthy people. In the second half, Elizabeth shares what a $483 bar tab taught her about money mistakes, resilience, and spending mindfully.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What Is Umbrella Insurance?

• Definition:

  • Provides extra liability coverage above your home, auto, or renters insurance limits.
  • Liability coverage pays for damages and injuries you cause to others—not damages or injuries to yourself ([04:41]).
  • Also covers legal fees, judgments, or settlements in excess of your standard policy limits.

• Why "Umbrella"?

  • Sits "over" your existing coverage, sometimes broadening your protection beyond just increasing the dollar limits ([05:21]).

• Excess Liability vs. Umbrella:

  • Excess liability simply raises existing limits; umbrella is a separate policy with broader protections—like coverage for defamation ([05:54]).

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2. Coverage Gaps and Underlying Minimums

• Underlying Minimums Requirement:

  • You must carry certain minimum liability limits on your primary policies to qualify for umbrella coverage ([06:50]).

  • Example:

    “If you have $300,000 in auto liability and a $1 million umbrella policy, and you’re sued for $800,000, your auto covers the first $300k, umbrella the next $500k.” – Kaitlyn ([07:20])

  • If you lower your auto policy's liability coverage below the required minimum, the umbrella won't fill that gap—you pay out-of-pocket for the shortfall ([07:51]).

    “If you lower those to $200k and cause an $800k accident... umbrella pays the last $500k, but you’re still on the hook for $100k.” – Kaitlyn ([07:55])

• Takeaway:

  • Always meet those minimums—no cutting corners!

    “The minimums are what’s keeping your umbrella propped up. Otherwise, it’ll fall over and won’t cover you.” – Sean ([08:14])

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3. What’s NOT Covered by Umbrella Insurance

• Exclusions: ([09:31])
  • Your own injuries or property damage (that’s for health/home/auto insurance).
  • Liabilities arising from your business (needs dedicated business liability insurance).
  • Contractual breaches.
  • Purposely caused harm or criminal acts (“That’s called insurance fraud!” – Kaitlyn, [10:15])
  • It’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card!

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4. Eligibility and Special Cases

• Eligibility Requirements: ([10:26])

  • Need to own auto/home/renters insurance with sufficient limits.
  • Boats, RVs, motorcycles can be included—but check with your insurer.

• Key Distinction: ([10:47])

  • Not available for landlord policies—only for standard homeownership or renters insurance. Some insurers may offer options for landlords, but most do not.

  “When I became a landlord and started renting out my house, I had to drop my umbrella policy…” – Sean ([10:47])

• Alternatives for Ineligible Situations:

  • Simply increase your liability limits on the appropriate policy ([12:23]).

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5. Is Umbrella Insurance for Rich People Only?

• Common Myth:

  • Many believe umbrella insurance is for the wealthy, but it can benefit most people ([12:31]).

• Who Should Consider It?

  • Not just people with high net worth—anyone with assets that could be targeted in a lawsuit.
  • Risk factors that increase your exposure:
    • Serving on a board or as a public figure
    • Owning a trampoline, swimming pool, or having a teen driver
    • Posting online reviews (defamation risk)

    “You don’t have to be a millionaire to be sued like a millionaire.” – Sean ([06:26]) “If you have more assets than liability coverage, you should probably get yourself an umbrella insurance policy.” – Kaitlyn ([13:29])

• Affordability:

  • Coverage is typically quite cheap: $200–$300/year for $1 million ([14:07]).

    “You could spend maybe $20-something a month and be covered up to a million dollars for a year.” – Sean ([14:07]) “Don’t assume that it’s out of your price range...you might be surprised to find how affordable it is.” – Kaitlyn ([15:02])

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6. How to Shop for Umbrella Insurance

• Checklist for Shoppers: ([16:13])
  • Find out exactly what’s covered and look for exclusions (watercraft, international situations, etc.).
  • Make sure you meet the minimums required for your underlying policies.
  • Decide on an appropriate coverage amount—most people do well with $1M–$2M.
  • Always get quotes from at least two different insurers.
  • Bundling can save money; some insurers require you to hold all policies with them.

    “This is an opportunity to ask about potential bundling discounts. Could save you a good bit on your premium.” – Kaitlyn ([17:38])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Umbrella Insurance Defined

• Kaitlyn:

  “Umbrella insurance...provides extra liability coverage above what you already have for your home and/or auto and renters insurance policies. It doesn’t pay for anything that happens to you.” – [04:41]

On Coverage Gaps

• Sean:

  “The minimums are what’s keeping your umbrella propped up. Otherwise it’s going to fall over and won’t cover you at all.” – [08:14]

Who Needs It?

• Kaitlyn:

  “Do you post reviews of products and businesses on the Internet? People have been sued for this before... These are all things that can lead to lawsuits.” – [13:01]

Affordability

• Sean:

  “You could spend maybe $20-something a month and be covered up to a million dollars for a year.” – [14:07]

• Kaitlyn:

  “Don’t assume that it’s out of your price range if you think you could benefit from it. Look into it—you might be surprised how affordable it is.” – [15:02]

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7. Real-World Lesson: The $483 Bar Tab

Segment Start: [21:14]

Elizabeth’s Story

• After a casual Friday at a local Mexican restaurant with a friend, Elizabeth is shocked to receive a bill for $483—mainly for four premium tequila shots at $45 each (they didn’t know the price beforehand)!
• Felt unexpectedly sober after all those shots—raising suspicions of being “hustled” or short-poured.
• The incident leads to a candid discussion of money mistakes, embarrassment, and forgiveness.

Lessons Learned ([28:01], [28:53])

1. Always Ask for Prices

   “If something you’re ordering doesn’t have a price next to it, ask before you order. Even if it looks familiar.” – Elizabeth ([28:01])

2. Forgive Yourself for Money Mistakes

   “Sometimes you make a financial mistake. It may or may not be your fault. But...don’t beat yourself up about it...money is a tool.” – Elizabeth ([28:30])

3. Be an Informed Consumer

   “Be an informed consumer.” – Sean ([28:17])

4. Resilience Counts

   • Elizabeth chose to pay out of her “fun money” fund, not her emergency savings—accepting the consequences as a “dues paid–lesson learned” ([29:20]).

Takeaway:

• Money mistakes happen—even to personal finance pros. The key is to reflect, forgive yourself, and set smart boundaries going forward.

Memorable Exchange

• Elizabeth (reacting to the bill):

  “That’s $483, Sean.” – [25:26]

• Sean:

  “No...That can’t be right.” – [25:30]

• Elizabeth:

  “Can we have a moment of silence for my budget?” – [25:54]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:45] – Real-world scenario: large liability after a car accident
• [04:02] – Kaitlyn Constantine joins to explain umbrella insurance
• [05:21] – How umbrella insurance “sits” above other coverage
• [06:50] – Understanding underlying minimums and coverage gaps
• [09:31] – What umbrella policies DON’T cover
• [10:26] – Who is eligible (and not eligible) for umbrella insurance
• [12:31] – Is umbrella insurance only for the rich?
• [14:07] – True cost and affordability of umbrella policies
• [16:13] – Shopping for umbrella insurance: what to ask, how to bundle
• [21:14] – Elizabeth’s $483 bar tab story begins
• [28:01] – Elizabeth’s three big lessons after an expensive night out

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Conclusion

This episode offers an accessible, humor-laced deep dive into umbrella insurance—making a technical topic relatable and actionable, even for those not steeped in insurance lingo. The second half showcases that personal finance is a journey full of unexpected twists, and that mistakes are simply opportunities to learn and grow.

For Next Time:
The hosts tease their next episode: diving into the juiciest personal finance posts from Reddit.

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To submit your money question:
Text or leave a voicemail at 901-730-6373, email [e-mail], or comment on Spotify/YouTube.

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Quick Takeaways

• Umbrella insurance provides broad, supplemental liability protection—and isn’t just for the wealthy.
• Keep your underlying policy limits at or above insurers’ required minimums to avoid gaps.
• Evaluate your risk profile (assets, activities, exposure) to determine your need for umbrella coverage.
• Read the fine print—both for insurance policies and bar menus!
• Money blunders happen; what matters most is how you move forward.

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“You don’t have to be a millionaire to be sued like a millionaire.”
– Sean Pyles ([06:26])

“Forgive yourself. When you make a financial mistake, don’t beat yourself up about it. Remember it happens to the best of us.”
– Elizabeth Ayoola ([28:30])

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Transcript

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[A]

Imagine you're at fault in a serious car accident. The other driver's medical bills hit $800,000, but. But your auto insurance only covers $300,000. Who pays the rest? Potentially, you. Today, we'll talk about a type of insurance that can help you in just this situation. Welcome to NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds. I'm Sean Pyles.

[B]

And I'm Elizabeth Ayola. I know we're talking about insurance here, but I just feel like I want to go on a quick rant and say that I feel like umbrellas should have insurance, too, because I lost my umbrella last September, refused to buy another one, and it's raining right now, by the way, where I am so just saying.

[A]

Well, today, you know, we're talking about umbrella insurance specifically, so we might be able to protect that umbrella of yours, Elizabeth.

[B]

Thank you. Because I don't want to buy another one. Our question today comes from a voicemail. Here it is.

[A]

Hi, Elizabeth.

[C]

My name is Anjuli, and I was

[B]

calling because I had a question about umbrella insurance. Wouldn't it make sense to have it when it doesn't? And I wanted to see if you

[C]

all had any advice on considering it. Okay, thanks so much.

[B]

Bye.

[C]

Bye.

[B]

To help us answer Anjuli's question, we're joined by insurance nerd and a friend of the pod, Kaitlyn Constantine. Hey, Caitlin.

[C]

Hey, guys. How's it going? Thanks for having me back on the pod.

[A]

Good to have you back. And for once, we're not talking about a super grim topic, which is great. It's not climate change this time.

[B]

Yay.

[A]

Well, let's start by laying out some definitions, because a lot of folks might not know what umbrella insurance is. And, Elizabeth, I'm sorry to tell you, it might not cover your umbrellas. It's not umbrella specific insurance.

[B]

Well, then I got to start a GoFundMe to get me a new umbrella then. I don't know.

[C]

Y' all are cracking me up with these umbrella jokes, but I have to tell you that the entire time I was preparing for this segment, I kept having Rihanna's umbrella in my head.

[A]

Oh, yes.

[C]

Good song, good song, good song. Right? So definitely more positive than talking about climate change. So. But to talk about what umbrella insurance actually is. So basically, it just provides extra liability coverage above what you already have for your home and or auto and renters insurance policies. Just so you understand, liability coverage is the part of your insurance policy that pays for the damage and the injuries that you cause to other people. It doesn't pay for anything that happens to you. It also pays for your legal fees, any sort of judgments or settlements that might be held against you. So if you find yourself in a situation where you're found liable for more money than what your insurance liability limits can cover, umbrella insurance can step in and cover the excess.

[A]

Okay. And the key here is that it's an umbrella basically over your home and your auto policies. It just sits right on top there.

[C]

Yes, they call it an umbrella because it goes over the top of your policies. In addition to that, it can often broaden your coverage as well. So it doesn't just give you higher liability limits, it gives you broader coverage.

[A]

And sometimes people confuse umbrella coverage with excess liability coverage, which. Which are two different things, because basically with excess liability, you can just increase the liability coverage on a standard plan. Umbrella coverage is a separate thing, correct?

[C]

Yes, that's exactly it. Umbrella coverage will give you higher liability limits. But a thing that's really notable about it is that it's going to give you broader coverage. And a good example of this is if you are sued for, like, liability or defamation of some sort, your home insurance policy is probably not going to cover your legal fees, likely won't, but an umbrella insurance policy will cover those fees.

[A]

Yeah, I think that's a key point about umbrella insurance, that it can protect you from litigation, which a lot of people might not be aware of. And it's pretty cool.

[B]

And maybe some people don't think that they're ever going to be in a situation where there's litigation. But we're in a life where anything can happen, right?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, we are in an extremely litigious country. And I talked with my insurance broker about this, and he said that you don't have to be a millionaire to be sued like a millionaire. So umbrella insurance can help you.

[B]

In that case, People who have umbrella liability coverage, they need to be mindful of coverage minimums on their other policies. Right. So, Caitlin, this can get a little technical. Can you explain how this works?

[C]

So umbrella insurance policies have what are called underlying minimums, and that basically means that you're expected to carry a certain amount of liability insurance with your home, your auto, or your renter's policies before you can even buy the policy to begin with. And then you have to exhaust those coverage limits. Before your umbrella insurance will kick in. So to use that opening example in if you have $300,000 in auto liability coverage and then you have a million dollar umbrella policy and you're sued for $800,000 after causing a car crash, your auto insurance is going to cover that first 300,000 of your liability limit and then the umbrella insurance policy will kick in to cover the remaining half a million dollars of this judgment against you. But it's really, really important to be aware that if you lower your underlying limits below those minimums, it could result in a coverage gap. And let me explain how that works. So say you've got your auto liability policy that has the 300 minimums, but you're thinking you need to save some money, so you lower those to 200,000 and then you cause your $800,000 accident. Your auto policy is going to cover the first 200,000 and then the umbrella insurance will kick in for the last half a million, but you're still going to be on the hook for that 100,000 that you did not cover because you were trying to save money on your premium. However, if you had maintained that minimum amount, the whole amount would be covered. Does that make sense?

[B]

Yeah. So there's no cutting corners is what you're saying, Caitlin?

[C]

Nope.

[A]

No. If you think about that umbrella going over your home and your car, the minimums are what's keeping it propped up properly. Otherwise it's going to fall over and won't cover you at all. Or it'll partially cover you. And I'll also add, a good insurance broker won't let you not hit your underlying minimums because it's in their best interest to have you covered properly.

[C]

Absolutely. I think that if you are going to start engaging, if you're going to start working with like an umbrella policy, talk to your insurer, talk to your agents. They're going to be able to help you figure out the best way to piece things together. We do this frequently with our insurer and they help us figure out the best way to cover for our needs. So a good broker, a good agent should be able to help you and should be able to prevent you from doing this. But there are some times where people make their own choices for themselves and they manage things and sometimes these are things that they're just not aware of as a potential risk.

[A]

And it kind of defeats the whole point if you don't have the underlying minim.

[B]

Right.

[C]

Yeah. The idea is that the insurer wants you to have some like degree of responsibility, like that you are doing your part to make sure that you are being a responsible person, financially responsible. They don't want to have you kind of coming in and relying on them to do things that you should have been doing for yourself. Basically. Yeah.

[B]

Part of being responsible, part of doing your due diligence is also knowing what's not covered with umbrella insurance. So, Caitlin, tell us what it doesn't cover.

[C]

First of all, just have to remember that this is about liability insurance. That is about injuries and damage that you cause to other people, not stuff that happens to you. So if you're injured, it's not going to cover your injuries. That's what your health insurance is for. If your car or your home is damaged, that's not going to get covered either, because that's what your home or your auto insurance is for. And it's also not going to cover any liability associated with your business. If you have a business, you have to get separate liability insurance for that. And if you breach a contract, it's not going to apply. And then finally, you always have to say this because it's amazing how many people don't seem to think this is real. It doesn't apply if you commit a crime or if you purposefully harm somebody. These are big no nos in the world of insurance.

[A]

Yeah. This is not a get out of jail free card.

[B]

I don't want to believe that people think umbrella insurance is going to cover that.

[C]

Insurance fraud happens.

[A]

Yes, that's it. That's called insurance fraud. Okay, well, let's talk about who can actually get umbrella insurance and who maybe isn't eligible.

[C]

Yeah, so you can get umbrella insurance if you have auto, home or renters insurance that meets those underlying minimums that we talked about earlier. Those underlying minimums are going to vary from insurer to insurer. So I can't come and say like you have to have this certain amount. You will want to check with the insurer. And also I want to make a note that if you have a boat or RV or motorcycle policy, the umbrella policy can be written to cover those as well.

[A]

And an important distinction here that I learned recently is that umbrella insurance is for homeowners policies for homes, not for landlord policies. Because when I became a landlord and started renting out my house, I had to drop my umbrella policy, at least through my insurer. Now I talked with my broker and he said that some insurance companies might offer this for landlord policies, but you have to shop around and make sure that's actually the case for me at this point, I don't have my coverage, and it makes me a little mad.

[C]

I'll say, you gotta know your needs. I have been studying for my licensing exam for insurance, and it can get very specific.

[B]

They.

[C]

These are legal contracts. They're written to be very clear and very specific so that if you have to go to court, they can point to things. And so that means that people who are in situations like you, where you're a landlord, you're going to have very specific policies that are not necessarily going to be applicable to those of us who are just homeowners or renters or, you know, private citizens.

[A]

What I did because I couldn't get an umbrella policy for my landlord policy for my house is I just increased my liability coverage on that policy as much as I could, because that's the whole point.

[C]

Good for you for being a responsible landlord and insurance.

[A]

Thank you. I try. I really. I'm knocking on wood here. I would love to not be sued. That's my bottom line.

[C]

Well, that's the whole point of this, is to not get sued, so.

[A]

Right, right. Or if you do get sued. Yeah. Toss it over to your insurance company.

[B]

Oh, and let's not talk about the hoops that you have to jump through to even get the coverage. But anyways, Caitlin, to be clear, for people like Sean and Sean's situation who aren't eligible for umbrella insurance, what other options do they have? Like, can I just say, hey, I'm just going to increase my liability coverage, maybe meet the gap?

[C]

Yeah, you can do exactly what Sean did. Talk to your broker, talk to your insurance agent and say, I want to get more liability coverage and they'll work with you to find the right amount.

[A]

I was pouring through some Reddit threads about umbrella insurance, and there were a lot of folks out there who seem to think that umbrella insurance is just for rich people and that regular people may not need it. But I kind of disagree with that because again, like we've said, anyone can be sued. So what are your thoughts on this, Caitlin? Is it just for rich people? And also, when might it make sense to not have umbrella insurance?

[C]

Well, so first of all, I don't think everyone has to have it, but I agree with you that, like regular non rich people, plenty of us could benefit from it. So if you have, like, a lot of assets and you're in a position to be sued, you should really consider umbrella insurance. And when I say in a position to be sued, I want you to think broadly about it. Right. Like, are you on the board of a nonprofit? Do you Own a trampoline? Do you own a swimming pool? Do you post reviews of products and businesses on the Internet? People have been sued for this before. Are you a public figure? Is there a teenage driver in your house? Like, these are all things that can lead to lawsuits that people may not necessarily think about. And these lawsuits can have very high judgments. And so if you have a risk factor that you think opens you up to potentially having a lawsuit filed against you, give a serious consideration to buying an umbrella insurance policy. So here's an easy way to decide if you need one. First, add up the value of your property, your savings and your investment accounts. And then look at how much liability insurance you have on your existing policies. If you have more assets than liability coverage, you should probably get yourself an umbrella insurance policy. Now here's the good news. You can usually get a million dollars worth of coverage for between $200 and $300 a year. There tends to be a misconception that umbrella insurance is more expensive than it is. And it's actually, I would say, relatively affordable for what you're getting out of it.

[A]

You could spend maybe 20 something dollars a month and be covered up to a million dollars for a year.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

And when it comes to insurance, generally, the less likely the bad thing is to happen. Like it's actually not super likely that you'll be sued for a million dollars insurance is going to be on the whole. So that's part of why umbrella insurance tends to be pretty affordable. Because it's not every day that you're sued for a million bucks, but if it happens, you'll really want to have that coverage.

[C]

That's a really great point, that the less common something a risk is, the less it's going to actually cost. And another thing about why umbrella insurance is relatively affordable for an insurance policy is that you should have other insurance covering it. And so they're counting on that insurance being able to cover the majority of what you need. This is something that will show up if you end up with like a lawsuit, with like a hefty verdict or something. So yes to exactly. It's, it's not something that happens every day. And so they price the risk a little bit lower just because of the way that it's structured. Don't assume that it's out of your price range. If you think that this is something that you could benefit from, look, look into it. You might be surprised to find how affordable it is.

[B]

As much as insurance is not the most exciting topic to talk about. I always love the conversations around the risk assessment, what is the likelihood XYZ is going to happen and is it worth me paying $20, $40 a month? But Caitlin, when you really put it like, do you have the amount to cover the gap between what your insurance covers and what the umbrella or lawsuit could potentially cover? I think that is such a strong case for potentially just getting the insurance because how many people have, I don't know, 500k in investments or 800k in investments or a million dollars? Not many.

[C]

When you kind of do the, the cost benefit analysis, when you look at what you're spending in a premium versus what you could potentially get and what you stand to lose should the worst happen. To me, I think that insurance properly can be is a very key and important part of any financial setup. You need to protect your assets from bad things happening. And this is one way to do that.

[B]

Thank you for saying when it works properly. Now let's talk about, let's talk about shopping around for umbrella insurance for the new disciples that we have converted. What are the best practices here? Caitlin?

[C]

So for those of you who are new to the church of umbrella insurance, keep these questions in mind when you are shopping around. So first you want to find out exactly what is covered in that umbrella insurance policy. So for instance, like say you and your family really like boating, right? You might not want an umbrella insurance policy that has exclusions around watercraft, say you travel a lot. You're probably not going to want an umbrella policy that has exclusions around when you're abroad, which some do. So you got to make sure that the policy actually works for your lifestyle, your needs. Makes sense for you. You would hate to find yourself in a situation where, you know you could have avoided this a little bit earlier just by doing your due diligence. Also find out the underlying minimums for the umbrella insurance policy so that you can make sure that you do have enough. And then you'll need to consider how much coverage you'll need to buy. So most of us would probably be fine with 1 to 2 million dollars in umbrella coverage, but many insurers will offer up to 5 or 10 million dollars. And then once you have a sense of what you need, start collecting quotes. Start with the people who are providing the insurer that provides your home, your renters, or your auto policy. But make a point to get quotes from at least two other insurers. This is especially important if you have to raise your liability, your minimum liability limits because you might end up finding cheaper rates elsewhere. And then be aware that when you're shopping, a lot of insurers are going to require you to have all of your policies with them if they're going to sell an umbrella policy to you. This is an opportunity to ask about potential bundling discounts. If you have policies with multiple insurers and you're looking at moving them all to a single insurer, you may be able to get a decent discount. That could save you quite a bit of money on your premium.

[A]

Okay, well Caitlin, thank you so much for giving us the run through about this and thank you, Elizabeth. It seems like this may not cover your umbrella unless it goes haywire and attacks someone. Keep that in mind as you're considering umbrella.

[B]

Good twist. 0.0 point nil chance of happening, eh? But hey, might still be a very

[A]

affordable policy for you.

[C]

Yeah, yeah yeah. Well thanks so much for having me on. I love talking about insurance. I genuinely love talking about it. So I really appreciate y' all having me on.

[A]

And that's what makes you a nerd proud of it. We'll be back in a moment with more smart money. Stay with us. The following is a paid sponsorship, not an endorsement by NerdWallet's editorial team. Today's episode is sponsored by Bilt.

[B]

You've heard me talk about BILT as the loyalty program that lets you earn points on rent wherever you live, and they just leveled up even more. As of 2026, renters and homeowners can also earn up to 1.25x points on their housing payments.

[A]

This is thanks to Bilt's three new credit cards, the Palladium Card, Obsidian Card and Blue Card. All three can turn your housing payments, rent or mortgage into flexible rewards, so you can choose the card that fits your lifestyle without missing out on points and exclusive benefits.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

Hey Argus.

[A]

Elizabeth, before we started recording today, you told me that you have a story for me. Something juicy, something that you're maybe not so proud of. I want to hear.

[B]

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I'm just gonna get off my chest and hopefully I can find some solidarity. If not from you, Sean, this is

[A]

a judgment free zone.

[B]

If not from you, from the listeners and the viewers. Okay, so on Friday, my friend messaged me and she's like, you want to hang out? And I was like, you know what, haven't seen her in a while. She's actually my neighbor, lives two streets down and she has a son. Our kids go to the same school, play together. So I was like, sure. I was feeling a little funky too. And I don't know about you, but sometimes when I'm feeling funky, my MO is to retreat and isolate myself. But I know that it can be better to spend a bit of time with friends and people who love you. You know, it's a pick me upper. So anyway, she's like, let's go to this Mexican restaurant that's down the street from us. It's about literally three minutes away. Terrible food, terrible drinks. I've been there once and never again. But they have a play area for the kids. So I was like, it's okay, you know, I'll just order water or something light, get on with it. But hey, it was Friday. So anyway, we are catching up. I'm already feeling better. Girl time is amazing. And then the bartender comes along. And I am not enthused about the bartender because I already know the drinks are going to be bad. And I'm like, I don't want to waste my money on bad drinks. She orders a drink. Matter of fact, he had already bought her two drinks, trying to fix the original drink because both of the two were bad.

[A]

Oh, no. I mean, what were you getting? Margaritas.

[B]

Well, she was asking for a margarita and he wasn't. Oh, my God. This story gets juicier. Keep me on track because my ADHD is going to have me going all over the place. Okay. So anyway, she's not really satisfied the drink, but she's tired of saying it back, so she's like, it's okay. And then, you know, she drinks the drink and I'm like, well, what should I get here? I was gonna get like a water, but then I was like, well, can you really mess up a Bloody Mary that bad? So I was like, okay, you know what? I'll have a Bloody Mary. It was mid as I expected. It was just average, but that was okay. So sipped my Bloody Mary. So my friend was like, you know, I'm not gonna bother ordering another drink because it's a waste of money. Let's just get a couple shots. I'm like, sounds good to me. Less calories, less calories. Let's just get some shots. So brings over the menu. What kind of tequila would you guys like if you didn't know I'm a tequila girly? So I was like, well, looking at the menu, and I'm like, huh? There's this tequila called Azul and it looks familiar. It looks like, or rather the name looks like a tequila I've bought in the past. So I was like, okay, this is decent. Not too expensive. We can do this. The bartender is now suddenly befriending us and hovering over us, talking to us for five minutes. We find out that he's been a felon twice and this is his first week on the job. Yes. And he's like, I'm keeping this job to keep myself out of trouble. And we're thinking he's a little unprofessional with how much he's staying with us and talking to us. We would like some breathing space. But we're like, you know, cheering him on. Cause he's on a better path. He's got a job, whatever. So now we finish our shots, and he's like, should I bring another round? And we're like, eh, okay. It's Friday.

[C]

Sure.

[B]

Fast forward. We had four shots, and he keeps coming back and asks if we want more shots. And at the fourth one, we're like, okay, no, thank you. And these were some smooth shots, actually. Best tequila I ever had. I was like, wow, this is, you know. So then another bartender comes up to us and he's like, you ladies have great taste. This is great. So we're like, well. I'm like, well, thanks.

[A]

You know, I'm trying to get all of your money from you. They're like, okay, these ladies just got paid and they're gonna spend a bunch of money at our bar because our food's not great. But hey, you can't mess up a bottled thing of alcohol, right?

[B]

Listen, Sean, listen.

[A]

Okay, okay, lay it on me.

[B]

Four shots later, very much, not even tipsy, nothing. Very sober. The bill.

[A]

Four shots in. You're sober? Yeah.

[B]

What? The bill comes and we're like, okay. I'm like, definitely not spending more than maybe 30 bucks because this is like, not, you know, I didn't order any food. This is not a high budget place or expensive place. I want you to guess, Sean, how much that bill was.

[A]

So you each got four shots and drinks before. So that's. I'm going to say right there, that's $100.

[B]

That's $483, Sean.

[A]

No.

[B]

$483. I could have cried.

[A]

That can't be right.

[B]

I was in disbelief. I looked at that receipt. Do you want to know how much each shot was?

[A]

$25.

[B]

$45 a shot.

[A]

$45.

[B]

4. 5.

[A]

No wonder they loved you so much.

[B]

They were getting paid so her.

[A]

Wait, so that's not even before the tip. That's just the straight check.

[B]

Can we have a moment of silence for my budget?

[A]

Oh, yes.

[B]

Yelling.

[A]

Our producer hollering in the background here, because this is outrageous. Wow. Elizabeth, I am so sorry. Also, sometimes we just have expensive lessons learned in life that we. We don't really expect to happen.

[C]

We.

[A]

Oh, my God. Wait, so you didn't even see the Price of. Of the shots, it wasn't next to.

[B]

Listen, you know, I can be. I won't even buy myself an umbrella, so, you know, I'm not buying a $45 shot. Okay? If I knew it was, I would have never. So now it made sense because now let me give you a bit of backstory about this Azul Tequila for anybody who's listening and watching wants to go Google. By the way, a whole bottle of that is like $100 in the liquor store at the club. For people who like to go to the club, I call it the club. It can be a lot. A lot more expensive. So it's a popular drink for lifestyle people. So that's where my recollection was going to. I've never tried this tequila before. I've heard about it so much though, because it's always all over social media and I never wanted to try it because it was so dang on expensive. And now I tried it on accident.

[A]

What I'm not over is that you were at this. This kind of not great Mexican spot that wasn't even serving as a day.

[B]

Why do they even sell that?

[A]

It was basically serving as a daycare for you and they're serving this crazy expensive alcohol just to get a bunch of money from you.

[B]

Let me tell you my friend's theory. She thinks we got scammed because we left there sober. By the way, four shots and one Bloody Mary and we were.

[A]

You should have been on the floor. At least for me. If I have four shots, I'm either going real hard that night or I'm going straight to bed.

[B]

Same. So we wrote. She. She figures that they put a fake tequila or mix tequila or shorted us the tequila because it was smooth, but

[A]

nothing was happening and just ripped you off. Wow. Well, I guess you're never going back to that place, right?

[B]

Never. And then the bartender's like, see you next time. See you next time. No, you're not. No, you're not going to see me next time. I was hurt.

[A]

Ooh. So, Elizabeth, what lesson are you taking from this very expensive, very sobering evening of drinking?

[B]

Multi layered. Many lessons here, but I'll just leave with three. Three. The first one is if. If a something you're ordering doesn't have a price next to it, ask before you order. Even if it looks familiar, even if you think it's something you've ordered before, ask before you order.

[A]

Be an informed consumer.

[B]

That's right. Lesson number two. I felt terrible. To be honest. I felt like the time I got Scammed. I felt scammed. Even though it was all my fault. I felt terrible.

[A]

And I feel like the fool. Right?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I felt. I felt really silly, but I had to again, remember, like you said, we want to be perfect with our money. We want to budget. We want to check the prices of everything. But sometimes you make a financial mistake, Right? And it may or may not be your fault. But thankfully, at least I could pay the bill, and at least I've learned from that. And at least I'm not going to be homeless after paying $483 on shots.

[A]

Oh, my goodness. I. I would be wrecked. That would be the rest of my weekend. I'd just be sitting in my house trying to.

[B]

Do you think I bought anything this past? I bought nothing this past weekend. Nothing that I didn't have to buy. And the third thing is, just forgive yourself. When you make a financial mistake. Don't beat yourself up about it. Remember, it happens to the best of us. And money is a tool. It's there to be spent. It may not have been spent on something I wanted to spend it on, but, hey, money is a tool.

[A]

So would this qualify as an emergency to dip into your emergency fund, or is this coming out of your fun money fund? Where are you paying for this from?

[B]

I thought about it, and since we are honest, open, and transparent on this podcast, my fun money fund is done. And that's why I was so pissed off.

[A]

So, you know, proud of you for that. Yeah, because that's. That's you paying your dues for the lesson learned. Like, it sucks that you maybe got scammed because you feel like you're the fool here. But, in fact, if they took advantage of you, that's on them not being good people. This guy literally said he was, you know, just out of jail. Like, we're all about people making amends and correcting their mistakes and living their best life. But also, give the girl her shots.

[B]

I felt like I got hustled, to be honest with you. But, hey, I feel like. I don't know. If I was a bartender. No. Would I do that? Would I be like, oh, this is $45 a shot? I don't know. You know, if that's a norm. Would you. If you were a bartender, or would you just assume the person knew? I don't know.

[A]

It depends on the context. I would probably assume that people know what they're wearing.

[B]

Exactly. So it's on me. It's on me. It's on me.

[A]

Or you could. Yeah, next time just ask, like, hey, how much is the shot? Because I assume $10 a shot. Maybe honestly more with inflation, but I'm not ordering shots a lot.

[B]

Never in my life have I even seen a $45 shot. But lesson learned until now.

[A]

The more, you know, next time you have a $45 shot, I better be

[B]

somewhere nice and I better go home. You know, really, really happy. So, yeah.

[A]

Well, thank you for being so honest, open, and vulnerable on this podcast. We're all about learning from our mistakes. And, hey, at least you had some fun in the meantime, right?

[B]

That was the beautiful thing about it. I actually did have a wonderful time with my friend. We had some sister time. We bonded. So, in all honesty, as much as I would have loved to not pay that much, the time I spent with my friend really was invaluable. And I left feeling better and full.

[A]

And there's something to be said about trauma bonding, too, because you guys both went through a harrowing experience and now you're closer together for it.

[B]

Exactly. And we left going, we're not gonna laugh today, but we're gonna laugh about this sometime in the future.

[A]

And look, now we're laughing about it.

[B]

We're laughing about it. Life has gone on.

[A]

I love that. I mean, I don't love it for you. I love that you learned this lesson and had a good time with your friend. I do wish you had that $400 back.

[B]

I really do. I really do.

[A]

All right, folks, well, we're going to close out the tab on this episode. Remember the deal. We're here to answer your money questions, so send them to us on the Nerd Hotline. You can text us or leave a voicemail at 901-730-637-3901-7730. Nerd. You can also email us at podcastnerdwallet.com or drop a comment on Spotify or YouTube.

[B]

Join us next time where we'll explore some of the juiciest personal finance posts on Reddit. Follow Smart Money on your favorite podcast app in the meantime. That could include Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio to automatically download new episodes.

[A]

And here's our brief disclaimer. We are not your financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.

[B]

This episode was produced by Tess Vigland. Hilary Georgie help with editing. Eve Krogman edits our audio and our video. And a big thank you you to NerdWallet's editors for their help.

[A]

And with that said, until next time Turn to the Nerds. Hey smart money listeners. We have a brand new email newsletter and it's completely worth signing up for, especially since it's free.

[B]

Every issue has clips from recent episodes, links to stories you might have missed, and also behind the scenes commentary from me, Sean and our producer.

[A]

Some of it is stuff that doesn't make it into the episodes, the context, the moments, the takes we didn't plan on sharing.

[B]

You can think of it as the group chat for smart money fans. I'm gonna be sharing inside details about parenting and money. Yes, I'll be sharing all the juicy

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[B]

That's NerdWallet.com podcast. We'll see you in your inbox.

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