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If you love 90s nostalgia or you just hate change, you are in luck, because the old school way of life is trending. And when it comes to your money, we 100% agree. 80s 90s, which feels like 20 years
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ago, but it ain't. We over parent in the physical world and under parent in the digital world.
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Throw them under the bus.
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I want to like it, though. That's what's happening. Hey, guys, I'm rachel cruze.
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I'm george camel, and this is smart money happy hour.
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George Camel. Don't you not cheers me.
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I just wanted to see what it was like. I didn't have the arm strength. I got excited.
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I went an extra 60. I told myself, I said, rachel, make sure to reach.
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And then you go. Go as far as you can go. Can you guys tell on camera?
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Is that even 50% do what? No, no, no, no. Go back. I was gonna go, whoa. Keep going.
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Whoa. I've never seen you this far in the shot. It's like a 3D movie. I'm like, it's too close.
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Very much intentional. I don't always think during that time. And then friendship rejected.
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Cheers.
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This is great, though. Okay.
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Honestly, I was just so excited about the drink.
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I know. Well, this is the show where two friends who have to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. Everything from pop culture, current events and money.
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But first and foremost, the drink.
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Very important. Apparently more important than our friendship, but it's fine.
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Well, it's such a fascinating drink. We're sipping on a Dr. Pepper margarita and it's exactly what you think it would be. And yet so much more. And yet not enough. It's a very confusing drink. We're gonna give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode. You don't wanna miss that.
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Oh, I like it. Okay. George, I don't know if you know this, but society, everyone's kind of going back to the basics in life. It's kind of a trend happening right now.
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Like Little House on the Prairie. How far back are we going?
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That's pretty far. Okay, let's go back just like 80s 90s.
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Okay. Which feels like 20 years ago.
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I know, but it ain't.
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It's not.
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Is that not weird? Do you do that math, too? In my head, if someone's like, 1980s, I'm like, oh, 20 years ago. 40 years ago.
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86 to 26 is 40 years.
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Is that not wild? That's crazy.
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Which makes sense because we were both born in the 80s and yet we know our ages, and it still feels like it was more recent than that.
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Oh, very much so. So bizarre. So bizarre. Too much. But anyways. But yeah, everyone's kind of going back a little bit. I mean, everything from housing styles, right? Your interior design to clothing, to even money habits, like, people are kind of trending back. And I like it.
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I like it, too. This. It's called out with the New, in with the Old. I like the name.
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Switch it up.
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I saw a video that I think kind of helps sum it up. Would you watch it with me?
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I would love to.
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And the people at home will make sure to put this clip up there. Here we go. I love when I get to pull my phone out during an episode.
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Oh, it's the best.
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It feels like I'm in class and my teacher's like, you can pull out the phone. It's fine.
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You can pull out the phone.
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Okay, here we go.
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Let me see.
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Starting out strong with open concept homes. Those are new. We're kicking them out. The outside world already feels like a stale old asylum. We don't need our homes feeling that way. We want character. We want charm. We want cottage, we want vintage. We want colonial. We're bringing back old school health benefits. We're not buying the new gadgets that are coming out. We're not buying the vibration plates. We're not buying all these things. Go outside. You have arms and legs at work. Go do some jump. Go do some cartwheels. Whatever you got to do. Get the sun in your face. Maybe take some protein, some fiber. We are not doing what all the new influencers are saying because our bank accounts say no. We're laughing now.
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We love.
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We're not doing this new sensitivity training. This new My feelings matter more than reality. It doesn't. The new saying is, suck it up, Buttercut. We're going back to the old way now.
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That's the 80s draining us.
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Speaking of that, we're out with modern therapy.
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What?
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We're done with the word therapy. We don't need it. We're going back to the old way. We're getting in smaller villages. We're getting in stronger, solid, biblical churches. That's what we're doing. Out with the new, in with the old. We're done with AI.
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Oh, don't. We're done with it.
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It's new. Maybe it can advance things.
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Done, though, girl, I hate to say it to you.
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Something that doesn't have a soul should not be feeding our souls. All the breaking news.
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Okay, we're done.
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With it, we're out with it. We're gonna get back in our small villages. We're gonna know what's actually going on with our neighbors, with our small town.
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I like this.
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With our community. We're gonna invest there, and we're gonna shut off the outside world. We weren't made to know everything. So say it with me. In with the old, out with the new.
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Wow. It was a lot there.
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Well, we went from.
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It's almost like she might need to
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go to therapy to. To AI taking our souls. Even though I don't like AI, I don't like the. I don't like the girl you talk to on your phone.
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Feeding my soul is not what I'm looking for from AI.
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I agree. I agree. I'm not. But some people might be. Have you seen the robots that are being built that look like humans? Have you seen this?
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Are they accurate? Like, they look like a human being?
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It's.
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I'm just telling you, not like Elon's robots.
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I don't know whose they are. It came up on my feed. I don't know, but she had, like, a face like, a real crazy. So I'm with parts of this 100%. Yep. I do think, yes, we miss the neighbors, you know, And I've heard people talk about this, like, you don't ask for rides anymore to the airport. You call an Uber. You don't like. Right. There's a level of, like, our souls, I think, do die when you're like, okay, I just want to.
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Like, we've isolated ourselves. We don't want to be a burden. We don't want to annoy people.
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That's right. Yes.
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We want convenience over everything.
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Yes. So I think a lot of that is true. I do think we can't hold everything. We're not supposed to know what's happening all over the globe at any moment. Like, we can't.
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It's simply true.
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I don't think our. We. Yeah. Our anatomy can't hold that.
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Well, now you're hated. If you don't care as much about. I do. About the thing that I'm angry about
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that I think about. Yes, I know. Everyone. I agree with that. I know. I know. But back to the housing thing. George. Yeah, man, I've been seeing some fire that are beautiful. And it does. It looks like 90s homes again. Like, you have your smaller rooms, cozy, darker colors. It's warm. I could do it. I could do it.
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You could.
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Yeah.
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All right. You heard it here first, folks. She's Selling the house and moving to a. A little cottage.
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A little Renault.
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We went last weekend. And my wife loves, like, the vintage antique stuff.
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Yes.
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And we bought some pieces.
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Oh, good.
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That are, like, from, I don't know, a different time.
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Time.
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A different time.
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It's beautiful.
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You know, you smell it and you go. Yeah, that's a different time.
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So like a true antique. It does. Like, it's not new, but looks antique.
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No, they. They felt like it was. It was worth the money.
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This is not like a antique.
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This is not like your Goodwill antiques.
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This is like scouring the globe.
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Yes.
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Antique Roadshow. Great show.
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Must have. I'm like, I think royalty must have owned this at one point. You're gonna be charging these prices.
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Okay. Can I ask?
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Yeah.
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Upwards of like, more than 500.
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Yeah.
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Up over a thousand.
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Yeah.
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Oh, my. Jeez.
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Could not go high up.
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Whitney, his wife has such good style,
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but it is very tasteful. I bet she deserves it. So now we have this beautiful. Two antique lamps on this beautiful sort of bureau.
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Yes.
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I'll show you a picture. You're gonna love it. You're gonna love it. But yeah, that's to say my wife is very much in with the old.
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With the old. Yes. What do you think about, like, parenting styles? Like, where you would just go roam the neighborhood and you wouldn't know where to start?
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I do miss that.
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Yeah.
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And there was no phones. Like, I'm almost shocked that my parents just let me. Like, I would take a train into downtown Boston, skate all day, and then I would just be back and just trust.
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How old?
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How old? Fourteen.
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Really?
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Yeah.
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Yeah. That's intense. Public transportation.
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That's a wild one for a 14
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year old just to jump and, I
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mean, I probably maybe had my first little tiny flip phone.
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Yeah.
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Where they could call eventually. Or like you borrowed someone's. I mean, I remember going to payphones and calling my family.
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For sure. Absolutely.
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Simpler times.
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Simpler times. I know.
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And now we need to track our kids at all times. And they better be in before the sun sets. I will be that, dad.
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Why? I know. Why are we like that?
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Do I think we know too much?
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I think that's it too. It's back to the knowing too much information. We know too much. You know?
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And your algorithm will scare you into being like, you shouldn't let your. You're a terrible parent if you let your kids stay up.
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I did. I let my kids walk to school one day and. Cause we're pretty close to our school. And I had posted it. Did I tell you the story. No, just on a story, I think. And I was driving to work, I was driving by them and there are the three of them down and it's a full sidewalk. Like kids bike and scoot. I mean, it's a very like walkable area where we live, especially for elementary school.
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In a remote forest.
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No, no. But in the shot there was nobody. Which I remember thinking, oh, ok, hey, I'm gonna take a quick video of them. And that's so cute. It's just them. Anyways, I put it on my stories and I just said like, oh my God, you know, them walking to school. I don't even know what I said. I got more roasted. Yes. How I'm negligent. How could you put your kids faces on social medias and let them be by themselves like all this stuff? And I was like, okay, well, number one, if I had just panned the camera this way, you would have seen 20 other people around walking to school and kids biking on their own, you know.
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But yeah, they thought this was gonna be an episode of 60 Minutes.
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I don't know. But I thought, oh my gosh, we literally. That's it. We over parent in the physical world and under parent in the digital world. That is not my quote. That was from the inspiration book. I will not take that quote.
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That's a great quote.
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But yeah, people just throw their kids an iPad or an iPhone and they're like, here, good luck. But God forbid you walk down to the neighbor's house and you know what I mean? Like, no, no, it should be flipped,
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well, this perfectly into the next one. Treating processed foods like the sixth love language and forcing kids to finish every of it at dinner.
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Yes. The Clean Plate awards.
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I don't remember looking at ingredients when we were young or our parents looking at ingredients.
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No, no.
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And some boxes, you can see the cereal boxes. And it's like, well, it was simpler ingredients.
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I do wonder, is that true?
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But also we ate like lard and Kool Aid and that was our meal. So I'm like my mom, extra strudels all.
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She would make sweet tea, y', all, every night for dinner in this like yellow pitcher. Old school sweet tea. I mean, sugar. I mean, and we would.
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That's a good woman right there.
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Sweet tea almost every night at dinner. But then you had to clean your plate. And I remember sitting there eating the eating. Oh, and I wouldn't. And I'd sit there till like 8:30 because I was so stubborn. They're like, you're not getting up until. Yes. You had to finish.
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I love that attitude.
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Do you? That's exhausting.
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I'm a clean plate club kind of guy. I don't put on more than on my plate than I know I can finish.
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Oh, gosh, you would hate. This is why we can't double date, George.
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Cause Rachel's like, I take all the appetizers.
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I did. I ordered five appetizers when we went out. We went out with Winston's brother and his wife last weekend to a great Italian spot in Nashville. I mean, it was Articini's. I was like, I love that. Calmer. I love that. And they had a. They had a pizza in. They had a pizza in the apps, which is like a. Well, duh.
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That's a meal.
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You can't put that on meal.
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I know.
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Well, I don't care. I ordered five appetizers and Winston was like. But I was like, it's okay. We'll have leftovers, you know? And we did. Cause everything came out a lot. And I was like, maybe we shouldn't order.
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Did you eat all the leftovers?
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Uh, no, George. No, I did not.
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You weren't excited about it the next day, Were you?
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At calamari the next day?
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That is a bold move.
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Sketchy.
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Sketchy, I'll give you that.
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So anyways, I'll say I am a classic. Eyes bigger than the stomach. But it's so fun.
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I just got roasted on Instagram. Cause I posted gluten free cheez its. I was very excited. They were hard to find.
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Oh, I'm very happy for you.
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I finally got my hands on a box.
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Why'd they get mad?
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This lady replied and said, wow, way to poison your body. Maybe check the ingredients before you. And I was like, lady, listen. My gosh, nobody's policing my snack choices except for me and maybe my wife.
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And you guys are healthy in your. And Whitney.
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I'm doing great. I just got my physical. All right, you worry about your own self, lady. Anyway, she apologized after I called her out.
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No, she didn't. Yeah, stop it.
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She's like, oh, I didn't.
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Wait, wait. Wouldn't you call her out? Did you DM her back?
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I prompted her in the dm.
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No, you didn't. Yeah, give me the details.
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If you DM me trying to spew that hatred, I will not stand for it.
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I got hate. Should I DM someone back?
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Well, you know what? You know, here's the hack. And I think, was it Annie F. Downs or Carlos Whitaker?
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Yes.
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John Deloney. They all agreed to this? Yes. You respond with a voice memo.
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Okay, I'm about to do it.
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Responding to them.
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Should I do it?
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And it disarms the situation every time. All right, read the.
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Mine was. We had a warm weekend this past weekend in Nashville.
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Okay.
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So my kids swam in a pool, and I just thought, this is really sweet and pretty. And our Tennessee flag was flying in a great angle. Yeah, I saw the photo, the great angle, and I thought, oh, that Tennessee flag looks good in there too. Not gonna lie.
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Yeah.
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And I was like, oh, that's sweet. So I just did.
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I was like, I, you know, capture the moment.
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Yeah. And I just put up on stories. I try to be active a little bit. Just like, you know, Cool. So you're rich and have a pool. Super interesting. How tone deaf can someone be? Okay. Okay. What should I say back? What should I say back?
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I mean, there's a good response to that, but I want to see you try live.
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Mm. Mm. Hey, Jonathan. So sorry that my pool picture was so triggering to you. So I apologize if that was tone deaf. I will make sure that my backyard is concealed in upcoming photos. I just sent it. You sent it? Just sent it. Oh, maybe. Oh, I should have said, you unfollow me. Cause he follows me, the ol.
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Yeah.
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Okay. I'm do one more. Okay. Actually, I realize that the summer's coming up and I do post my life, so I probably will post some photos of it. So if that is, you can unfollow me, I totally get it. So don't worry. And, yep. Hope you're having a great day.
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Nailed it. If he responds, I found mine. Can you guess her name?
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Mine was Jessica.
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No. Oh, think older.
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Karen.
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Patty. Oh, really? You better read the ingredient label with an A instead of an E there.
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Oh, she misspelled it.
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If you're smart enough to control your money, you should be able to control what poisons you put in your body. Sorry, George. I said, appreciate the concern. I manage my finances and my health just fine. Don't have time or interest in strangers policing my snack choices. Cowboy hat emoji. My favorite. Passive aggressive emoji. She said. Oh, darn. I didn't mean to interfere that way or give you that impression. Please forgive me.
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No, she didn't. Do you think Jonathan's not gonna ask for forgiveness?
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I love Patty, I think. Patty.
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Look at you. And you just got a fan.
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I just got a fan. I don't know if she's a fan, but I hit the heart button on it. I didn't respond. But I thought, I see you not ready to apologize, to accept your apology.
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This is a fun game. Anyways, this should be a new segment of the show. George, that's great. We respond to the haters.
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I think it's great. But then they're just gonna be sending us hate, hoping we'll respond. Yeah, we're gonna encourage that behavior.
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Y' all would never. The Smart Money Happy Hour audience is nice.
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Wow. All right, so in with the old back to the basics. Let's go into thrifting.
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Well, yes, you guys. Well, vintage is what. She wasn't necessarily thrifting.
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I wish it was the opposite of
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thrifting, but all the. It was the opposite of thrifting. Yes, but estate sales, Facebook, marketplace, all of that, they are. They are bustling.
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We want the. The old school charm. We don't want the new fancy gadget that was, you know, on a. Made with shoddy quality material.
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Yes. So, yeah, there's something about. People are doing this also with their kids toys. I saw a girl that I follow, and she, like, went back to the old Fisher Price, and she found it on Facebook Marketplace. I mean, it had to been from the 90s. Like, it reminded me of, like, what I played with as a kid, and she paid, like 120 bucks for it. Like, it was a pricey, but it was, like, kind of vintage. But then it was like the old. I don't know, the nostalgia from when
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she was a kid. Yeah, that happens in kids books a lot for me. I want to read her the books that I read growing up.
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Okay, well, you still have to introduce her to Bear Hunt, if you haven't already.
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Well, someone came to Ramsey Solutions and gave me a copy of that book. A fan of Smart Money Happy Hour gave me the book and said, hey, I know you haven't read this yet.
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Y' all remember this. We talked about this in another episode. The bear and I read her the
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book, and it's frightening.
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It's not too scary.
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The bear shows up at their door as they all frantically try to escape. What kind of Gatlinburg Gone up the
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stairs and the covers. We're never going on a bear hunt again. Oh, it's so cute. I like it. Okay, debit over credit. So this less is more is coming back. Get this ready. Gen Z. 56% of them say the spending method that they use most frequently are debit cards. Oh, my gosh.
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Way to go.
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I've never felt so connected.
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I love this to Gen Z. Here's what I get A lot. Debit cards are so dangerous. You should never use your debit card. Oh, my goodness, the fraud. And then I see the headline today, credit card debt at an all time high 1.28 trillion. I say, oh, but my dangerous debit card, God forbid.
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God forbid.
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Goodness gracious.
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I know. And it is hard because I will say it can be inconvenient for a moment in time if your identity is stolen or, you know, your card number is stolen. Whatever it is, money's taken out of the account. It takes a hot minute for the bank to put it back in. Right. All that. So I get that. But again, that rarely happens. The fraud protection, at least on mine, like, I will be somewhere and swipe it and it is like your, you need to call your bank.
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Or if it's a transaction amount that's over a certain amount, they won't even let it go through.
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I mean, so much so. Yeah. So like, I feel like the protection is so high right now. Yeah, that's how I feel on my.
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I mean, there's a lot of protections. I'm not going to go into the nerdiness of it, but there's Electronic Funds Transfer act, which protects debit cards. And so you're only liable for like 50 bucks if you report it. And so there's all kinds of things that you can do. I write about it in my book. Neither here nor there, but I do love that Gen Z is really going, hey, I don't want to even have the chance to go into debt. I want to be more aware of my spending.
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Yes. And just spend what I have. Because that is a psychology that's so real. When you swipe money and knowing it's coming, it's gone. Like it's out of your account. There's something about that, that, number one, gives me peace just because I'm like, okay, I have no bill at the end of the month. I'm done. I'm done. Spent. The transaction's over. There's no, there's no baggage at the end of the month. Right. You're done. And then also it does subconsciously make you think twice of like, okay, this is actual cash leaving. That's a different psychology than like, I'll worry about it at the end of the month.
A
Yep. A great analogy. You're a kid at Chuck E. Cheese. You have $10 of your own money versus mom and dad's line of credit. And they go, hey, just have fun in there. Try not to spend too much. You're gonna spend 30, 40, 50 bucks. If it's mom and Dad's money that you have to pay back later versus your precious $10 now you're like, should I play skeeball? Is this worth it?
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I don't know, dad analogy.
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Bring some friction back in.
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Go Chuck E. Cheese. Huh?
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I have not taken my daughter yet. I'm still scared.
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Yeah, the kids are obsessed. I mean, my kids are out of that now. They're done with it.
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They're done with checking.
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There was a three, four, five, year old time span, and it is like,
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I'm always shocked it's still open.
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I know the franchise has stayed strong.
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Way to go.
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You know what else is back in is trade schools. So how much? All the college stuff is crazy. The tuition, the student loan, debt. So a lot of people are just like.
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Like, I can avoid debt and go make upwards of six figures.
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Putting brakes on it. Yeah. So welders, cosmetologists, woodworkers, medical techs, car mechanics, linemen. I mean, so much. And a lot of them can make so much money. Like, you could have a great living by doing the trades.
A
I just hired an electrician. He came by. Very nice guy. It was kind of an emergency situation. The fridge was out and the food was about to go bad.
B
Oh, no. George.
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He showed up in less than 10 minutes.
B
No way.
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Swapped the. Swapped the breaker and charged me his. He was like, hey, I'm not even gonna charge you for the breaker. It'll just be the, you know, fee to visit. 125 bucks he made in 10 minutes, plus his drive time.
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How'd you find him? Like, how?
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It was through a Facebook group recommendation.
B
Okay, good.
A
So shout out to Facebook groups. Yeah, you know, I just search electrician in the Facebook group.
B
Oh, yeah?
A
Yeah. Reach out to this guy.
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Love it.
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So all that to say the trades are where it's at. You know, I'm not calling Junior with his philosophy degree to help me change the breaker. And so there's a real need for these real problems.
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Real needs. That's right. Real solutions. Trade school.
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You just are happy to be.
B
That should be that tagline.
A
What was that tagline?
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I don't know. It just came out.
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Mike Rowe, if you're listening, that one's free.
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Real problems, Real solutions.
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Trade school.
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Trade school. Trade school. Oh, my gosh. Well, I know one solution that has helped me in life a lot to.
A
What problem?
B
To not being cozy enough.
A
Is that a real problem for you?
B
It could be, yeah. Cozy Earth products. The quality and everything that it provides me is just solution after solution. I feel like. In fact, I don't even know I had a problem until I was introduced to Cozy Earth. And after you put it on, you're like, how was I living? How was I living?
A
New tagline for Cozy Earth. They can have this one. First class solutions to first world problems.
B
Yes.
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Not being cozy enough.
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Not being cozy enough.
A
Cause put me on the marketing team already. This is great. But it's so true. This morning, threw on the joggers to take the dog out.
B
Yes.
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It made it a pleasure. It was a big pleasure to hang out back there with them.
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I know. It is. Their stuff is so. It's so, so nice. The sheets are still my favorite. My kids now want them. I probably need to get some sets. Speaking of sheets, already bougie.
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These kids.
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I know, they always like, does Mia get in Yalls bed? Does she, like, jump?
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She loves it.
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So, yeah. But they're always like, mom, your sheets. And I'm like, I know.
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Say one day, if you work hard enough, you too can own Cozy Earth.
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You too can own. Yes. Cozy Earth.
A
But the good news is for everyone out there, these grown adults, you can just go buy this stuff and you can even get a discount by going to cozyearth.com smartmoney. Use promo code smart money at checkout and you'll get 20% off. We'll also drop a link in the description.
B
All right. Up next is side hustles.
A
This is in with the old.
B
Yeah, well, all the trades, they can definitely translate to side hustle money too. Right. So usually, like, what your guy did, if you can go direct to the person, you usually can make more money. So whether you're like, teaching piano, helping, you know, someone fix, if you're an
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electrician, if you're handy.
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Yes.
A
Just hired a handyman. He's my go to guy.
B
Oh, yeah.
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125 bucks. He charged me for like an hour and a half.
B
Like, I feel like your rates are very consistent for all the people helping you.
A
Listen, I try to keep it right there in that window, but he hung up like a 70 pound mirror. Again, vintage.
B
Okay.
A
I was like, I'm not gonna attempt to hang this thing.
B
Yeah. No.
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Try to find the stud. No, thank you.
B
No. And he did.
A
He crushed it.
B
Look at you, George. You're such an outsourcer.
A
Thank you.
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You're a delegator.
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I am a delegator. I know my strengths and being a handyman isn't one of them. And I don't care how uncool that is.
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I love it.
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I'M gonna support local people to do it for me.
B
Okay. Something else of the old coming back in. And it's been around for probably a year or two, but I love it. It was the cash stuffing. So the envelope system. Yeah. I think that this still makes me laugh because I get it. It's been going on for probably two years or so, this trend, cash stuffing. But people like, they're on TikTok and they were like, this is what you do. You cash out your paycheck and you have envelopes for all the areas you
A
spend on mind blown.
B
And you put the amount of money you plan to spend in each envelope. And that's all you spend in that category is what's in that envelope, you know? Yeah. And they're all like, oh, my gosh.
A
And like, hey, Dave Ramsey from 1993 called.
B
He wants his method back. He wants his method back. But old school, which I appreciate. Tyler, who we work with, he was just saying that there was a meme that was like, I'm so frustrated with today's world because to find $7 for my daughter's field trip, the amount of work it takes to find a five dollar bill in two months, like, it's just. It is. But hey, it's coming back around the old cash system.
A
It is, and I'm happy for it. And those videos are very relaxing. There's something calming about someone just calmly putting the money into each envelope. Very tidy. For those of you who are like, hey, I'm not gonna go get cash and stuff envelopes, we have a great digital app for budgeting called EveryDollar. You can check that out in the app store. And that's for people like me who feel like money's dirty. But I handle it. I handle it frequently. Every week. Well, every two weeks of my haircut. So I have. I go to the bank and I get envelopes with the exact amount I need for that haircut. Plus tip.
B
Yes.
A
And I have it ready.
B
Oh, my gosh. You know what I did the envelopes for? I did a girls trip to Vegas. Did I tell you the story already?
A
Yes.
B
And I.
A
And then put the gambling money in the envelope.
B
I did. Okay. And then this sounds super bougie, but it just is the truth. But it was a bunch of 40th birthdays, so we went to Vegas and then we ended up going to Cabo.
A
Oh, my.
B
For just three nights, we did a two hop, which never done that before. That's some living. Ultimate trip. That's so fun. But in Cabo, you Spend cash, like, a lot for, like, we had a driver take us from the airport to the house, you know, that kind of thing. But I did. I got envelopes for everything.
A
Genius.
B
Yes. And I felt, like, so good, and I texted all my friends, and I was like, if anyone asks if I practice what I preach, you can say our girls trip is all in envelopes, including an envelope called Vegas.
A
All right. Cash envelopes. Into. In with the old. Openly talking about budgeting.
B
Oh, yeah, we mentioned every dollar.
A
They're calling it loud budgeting now. I don't know what makes it loud, because we're doing it out in the
B
open, I think just saying, like, oh, it's not in my budget, or I budget. And so I can only have this much to spend.
A
Like, just having boundaries, just talking about it.
B
It's so good.
A
So helpful being honest and having boundaries. Now that I can get down with. That's a great old school.
B
That's a good old school. We're gonna put back in. Put back in. Yeah, but the. Yeah, the normalizing. Normalizing budgeting, that you live on a budget, that you're aware of where your money's going, that all of that is
A
just admitting I can't afford this right now. And not being ashamed by it and just putting the boundary up.
B
That's right.
A
And you know what else is out in the open, Rachel, if you're not careful? Your personal info. Oh, that's not a good one. Yeah, that's something you don't want out in the open.
B
Yes.
A
Keep it to yourself.
B
Keep it to yourself. So Delete Me actually will go in and remove that info. Yeah, we're not talking about budgeting here. No, no. We're talking about your home address, your cell phone, your kids names. Like, stuff that is out there. And it's on sketchy websites too. These websites are bizarre. Like when Delete Me sends you the report and like, oh, yeah, just got
A
a fresh one the other day.
B
You did?
A
It's so exciting. I nerd out.
B
But I'm like, yes. That you're like, what kind of website is this?
A
Well, new ones pop up every day. And so it's like, whack a mole. And so instead of you having to keep tabs on that, search it, try to remove it, fill out the right form, wait for them to remove it. Delete Me handles all. And so if budgeting helps you take control of your money. DeleteMe helps you take control of your digital privacy.
B
Yes.
A
How's that for an analogy?
B
Well done. That's the tagline I love it.
A
I'm coming up with a lot of taglines for everyone today.
B
Yes, you are. Yep. So make sure to go to joindeleteme.com. smart money. And you can get 20% off an annual plan which comes out to be around $9 a month. So make sure to check it out.
A
That's a deal. We'll drop a link in the description as well. All right, next up on in with the old, out with the new. No spend challenges. Like a dry January for your money, which you tried that.
B
I did do that.
A
I say try with a heavy emphasis on that.
B
No, I did. I did pretty good, actually. Yes. It's easier to do it for my kids and tell them they can.
A
It's easier for kids not to drink.
B
Drink, spend.
A
Oh.
B
Oh, you're saying I tried dry January. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you meant it was like,
A
Rachel, I don't think this is an activity for the kids.
B
They. Oh, dry January.
A
There's a problem.
B
You know, I think that it's good at the beginning, and then. But then I'm like you. I'm like, okay, I don't know. And I know, like, not good. Like, I. We know the health.
A
Literal poison to the body.
B
Right. But then a part of me, I'm like, I'm a grown woman. I work out. I eat semi healthy. Like, I can have a glass of wine.
A
Yeah, you have the bone density to support a glass of wine.
B
I don't know. So that's. That's where my attitude's at. I know.
A
Wow.
B
And even the. Yeah, we all get into it.
A
But anyways, I didn't know it was very upsetting to you. But you publicly talked about it on Smart Money Happening.
B
Oh, my gosh. Yes. No, no, I'm.
A
Because you chose to do it.
B
I did.
A
And I heard you make your mocktail or not sip the cocktail.
B
I know. And I did that for a few shoots. It was great. Yes.
A
And I'm a method actor. I have a job to do, and I'm gonna do it.
B
Method actor, but no spend challenges.
A
I think it'd be easier for you to do no spend challenge. What do you think?
B
I think I did it. That's what I was saying. I did a no spend challenge.
A
How did it go for you for a month?
B
That's what I'm saying. I did okay. I did okay. And it is very revealing. It's very revealing.
A
That's true. It's less about how much money you'll save. It's more about what it reveals about Your heart.
B
That's how it is for me. Because I'm such a.
A
Spent your vices, like, well, I need this thing.
B
Yes. And when I would go and I'm like, not gonna do it, not going to do it.
A
What's the last useless expense you noticed in your every dollar budget that you're like, I need to cancel this or I did cancel this.
B
Okay. It happened yesterday when I was tracking my every dollar expense, my transactions. I had an Uber one is what it said. 9.99. What? I didn't. Where did that come from?
A
Yep.
B
Why? What is it?
A
Nobody knows.
B
Nobody knows.
A
You signed up at some point when you were. You clicked it in the Uber app, probably in Vegas.
B
I was like, hey, you can save
A
$2 if you do a trial.
B
I don't think I even remember doing that. And then I went to my profile on the Uber app and I can't find it anywhere.
A
That's how they like it.
B
So is it gonna charge me every
A
month if you didn't cancel it?
B
I can't find it. George.
A
New segment called Tech Support with George where I help Rachel cancel a subscription.
B
You really are though. That came through. And I have a stupid line item in our every dollar budget. Cause stupid stuff comes up, like the kids go to the doctor and they're not sick. And you're like, well, that's so stupid not to pay for that. Like, you know, that's one win in the stupid category. Cause I said I didn't sign up for you and now you're charging me 10 bucks.
A
It's brutal.
B
Yes.
A
And they never tell you beforehand. They're never like, hey, it's about to come up. You want to cash?
B
I didn't know I signed up for like, genuinely. I don't even remember hitting a. I mean, I must have. Legally.
A
If I search your email, I guarantee it'd say like, uber one, membership initiated.
B
All right, one more, George. And this is one of my favorites. Being debt free is a flex. Love this, that you're like, oh, I'm debt free.
A
Which means you're sort of flexing on your, you know, used 10 year old car that impresses nobody.
B
That's right. Yes.
A
That's sort of the new flex that
B
you got no payments on it. It's kind of the, it's kind of the new way to live, that you
A
have a simple home that doesn't have all the bells and whistles and the modern kitchen and you go, this is what I want because it allows me to do xyz.
B
That's Right.
A
And I'm not in debt and I can actually afford this life.
B
Yes. Being in a massive amount of debt to keep up a lifestyle that you can't keep up with and cause a stress. It's out. We're not living that life anymore. Simpler things that we can afford within our means, that creates peace and margin. That's the new trend, George.
A
Well, that's a person who's just secure, you know, they don't need all the things. They're not trying to compare their lives to other people. They're happy with what they got and they have their values in the right place.
B
That's right.
A
That's it.
B
I love it. You know who else has their values in the right place?
A
Who's that?
B
Fair Ones Credit Union.
A
I thought you were going there. Nailed it.
B
Yes, they did, because they are a. They're credit union, but essentially like a bank, Right. That you have your savings account with High Yield Savings, your checking account, but they are not sitting there trying to pull you into debt like so many banks do. They're not trying to sell you all these products. They are there to actually support you in your financial goals. And doing it the Ramsey way, which we love. That's one reasons we partner with them is because who they are behind the scenes is as wonderful as the service that they provide in their credit union. So their app is amazing. Their banking system's amazing. We love them.
A
Yes. And that Smart bundle is incredible. And with their High Yield Savings account, you can actually have up to 10 accounts within there, which I like for all my sinking funds.
B
You love a sinking fund.
A
So the vacation, the car upgrade, the home renovation, you can just add all these sinking funds and keep it all organized right there within the Fairwinds app and sign up within minutes.
B
Yep. So Fairwinds Credit Union is where it's at. Make sure to check it out. And George and I both use them. Love them. They're great.
A
Go to Fairwinds.org Ramsey to get that Smart Bundle. We'll drop a link in the description as well.
B
Okay. So I would say, yeah, going back to simpler times I think is great. But I do think there's new things that can help us advance in the world. Right. Obviously, like that lady was kind of dogging on AI feeding your soul. But we actually created a Ramsey tool called Ask Ramsey that's AI generated with all of our shows and content on the Ramsey show and articles. So if you do have a Monday question, you can actually go to Ask Ramsey. It is AI, but everything that's Feeding that engine within that specific, you know, search engine is all Ramsey stuff.
A
So you're stuff that we've said on the show, all Ramsey Answers articles on our website. And so you don't have to wonder, is this accurate information? Is this on brand with the Ramsey plan? And it does have a soul because all the information came from something we've said at one point.
B
That's right.
A
So there you go. Check it out, ramseysolutions.com, you'll see the big search bar there says ask Ramsey. Use it. Try it.
B
Well, I love the trend that we're kind of going back old school because that is the principles we talk about every day with money. Like, it is kind of common sense, old school way of living with money. It's not flashy, it's not new or trendy or exciting. It is kind of just like, hey, it just works. And so the fact we're going back there from going back to more walls in our homes, more walls too, to talking about budgeting, I love it.
A
Well, and there's a level of, you know, the world feels chaotic, everyone's super anxious. And I think simplicity just sort of helps you stay centered and grounded in a sense too.
B
Yes.
A
So I love all of these trends and appreciate Gen Z really leading the charge.
B
I mean, they've done great.
A
Without them and their content, how would we know that these even exist?
B
We do appreciate that about you guys. All right, well, before we spill the tea on our guilty as charged segments, what do we rate the drink? George? I like it. I'm going 8.5.
A
I'll go six and a half. I think it's fun, but it keeps drawing me back in.
B
I know. Why does it keep like.
A
It's such an interesting combination. So here's what's in it. If you're curious. If you're not curious, scroll on by. The Dr. Pepper Margarita has tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, cinnamon syrup and Dr. Pepper. And the cinnamon syrup and Dr. Pepper combo is beautiful. The rest of the ingredients are a traditional margarita.
B
Yes.
A
So but you don't really get the hit of lime and orange liqueur. I'm not sure.
B
And the aftertaste is great. You know, I mean, some of these drinks that are kind of bizarre, they have like a weird aftertaste.
A
Yeah. It's not medicinal at all. It almost is like a, like a nice tea, if you will.
B
What a word.
A
Like, think about like a, like a fruit tea. Is that a good description?
B
Yes. Yeah, but it's got all the chemicals of a Dr. Pepper in there?
A
Yep.
B
That's what. That's what your friend would say.
A
The chemicals.
B
What's her name?
A
Putting more poison our body. Patty.
B
Patty. Sorry, we're drinking a doctor.
A
She would hate that. I enjoy a diet Dr. Pepper.
B
Oh, she would not be okay with that.
A
But once I migrated to the south, we don't have diet Dr. Pepper in the North. I don't even know if they sell it in Massachusetts.
B
Oh, really? Yeah.
A
I just don't remember anyone drinking that growing up.
B
Man, Dr. Pepper's great.
A
Diet Dr. Pepper really hits it. Comes out to $2.84 per drink. So if you want to make it for yourself, get the recipe in the show notes. I think you'll enjoy it.
B
All right, now it's time for Guilty As Charged. And this is where we ask each other a new Guilty as charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, is there a pricey trend that you jumped onto that did or didn't live up to the hype?
A
Ooh, that's a fun one.
B
Yep.
A
This one's pretty easy for me. It's the Tesla full self driving.
B
Okay. Didn't live up to the hype.
A
No, it did for me. It said did or didn't.
B
Oh, that. I'm sorry. Gotcha. Gotcha.
A
No, this one changed my life.
B
It is amazing.
A
I can't. If I'm going down the street to pick up the mail, I'm hitting the button for it to drive me there. I feel like a little prince. It's so great. It really is. Like, at first, you're like, this is how I die. This is my final destination.
B
Because you watch that wheel start to move, and you're like.
A
But then it saved my life the other day, and I went, now I need it.
B
Wait, it what?
A
A car pulled out.
B
Shut up.
A
And I couldn't see it. And I was, like, barreling down a hill toward a stop sign. Car pulls out, and the car just jerked to a stop. And I was like, whoa, why'd it do that? And then I see the car.
B
Do you think you would have seen the car if you were actually having to drive?
A
I wouldn't have seen it.
B
Genuinely.
A
I would have had a much later reaction. I'll say that I would have seen it later than the car did because of all the cameras, and it's constantly watching. I think it's actually 99 of the time safer than a human driving who's distracted.
B
Yes.
A
Okay, how about you? Is there a pricey trend you Jumped on that. Did or didn't live up to the hype.
B
Yeah, man.
A
Throw them under the bus.
B
I want to like it, though. That's what's happening inside. My heart is. I'm like, no, it's so great. But then I'm like, the reality is like, it's fine. The Dyson blow dryer.
A
The airwrap or whatever it's called.
B
No, it's not the airwrap.
A
What is it?
B
It's just like the. I don't even know. It's. It was actually very confusing because I bought it on Black Friday back in November.
A
Okay.
B
And there's many different model. I chatgpt. I aied.
A
What's the model?
B
You should get to compare all the different versions because there were so many. I was so confused because they're kind of expensive.
A
Hundreds of dollars for these dices.
B
I know. So, you know, I'm like, it is fine. My. The hairdryer I had before, I think was as good. Now there's like the really cheap ones. You can get 20 bucks at a drugstore and it's loud and it's not very efficient. So there's definitely like that range of blow dryer. But then you can get a nicer one that's like not a Dyson, but like, I think has the same, like, it's quiet but it's like powerful, which is great. And the Dyson's like another level. And I just don't know if the levels.
A
If it was worth the jump in price for what you're getting out of it.
B
I know. So that would be mine.
A
Wow.
B
But I want to like it. But maybe I do. I don't know.
A
Well, Dyson's not sending you anything in the mail.
B
I'm torn.
A
Thanks for the mention, Rachel.
B
Oh, man. Well, if you have a guilty as charged question for us, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel. We use them. We appreciate it so much. And if you loved this episode, then you're going to love our episode. Weird money habits that will make you rich. We will link it for you and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.
Episode: Out With the New, In With the Old: Money and Lifestyle Trends
Date: April 16, 2026
Network: Ramsey Network
In this lively and nostalgia-drenched episode, Rachel Cruze and George Kamel explore the growing trend of reverting to “the old ways” in money, home life, and lifestyle choices. Channeling 80s and 90s vibes, they dissect why younger generations—and many others—are embracing thriftier, simpler, and more intentional living, especially regarding their finances. The hosts mix genuine financial advice, playful banter, and hot takes on everything from parenting and AI to cash envelopes and thrift shopping, all while rating a bizarre but intriguing Dr. Pepper margarita.
Prompt: What pricey trend did you buy into and did it live up to the hype?
For further listening:
If you loved this episode, check out “Weird Money Habits That Will Make You Rich” and subscribe so you never miss Smart Money Happy Hour.