These “Get-Rich-Quick” Schemes Will Topple Your Financial Progress

Summary

Podcast Summary: Smart Money Happy Hour

Hosts: Rachel Cruze & George Kamel
Network: Ramsey Network
Episode: These “Get-Rich-Quick” Schemes Will Topple Your Financial Progress
Date: January 15, 2026

---

Overview

In this lively episode, Rachel and George blend financial wisdom with humor and nostalgia as they dismantle popular "get-rich-quick" schemes that threaten to undermine long-term financial security. Using an oversized game of Jenga as a metaphor for financial decision-making, they expose the instability and risks behind these shortcuts to wealth, sharing both personal anecdotes and real-world examples.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Kickoff & Theme Introduction

• The hosts set the tone with playful banter about anxiety and competition, using an actual Jenga game to represent financial stability and how risky behaviors can topple your progress.
  Notable Quote
  “Jenga is how I created my anxious attachment. It's a very anxiety-inducing game.”
  — George (01:31)

The Jenga Game Metaphor

• Each Jenga block pulled represents a risky financial move; as the game gets more precarious, so does your financial house when you rely on unstable strategies.
  “This is kind of represents your... If you built your financial wealth on some unsteady habits... as we pull them out, we will show you how unstable life can be.”
  — Rachel (03:54)
• Board games and family dynamics are discussed, highlighting competitiveness and anxiety as a fun intro to the episode’s more serious financial topics.

---

Breakdown of Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

1. Aspirational/Over-leveraged Real Estate (05:16)

• Buying multiple investment properties with little money down—often touted on social media—carries high risks, especially with high interest rates or in saturated markets.
• Rachel shares a listener story about someone paying $20,000/month for a vacation property that can’t even earn enough in rent to cover the mortgage (06:15).
• Advice:
  “Move at the speed of cash if you're going to do something.” — Rachel (07:12)
  Only enter real estate with cash, pay off your own mortgage first, and don’t chase shortcuts advertised online.

2. Hoarding Collectors' Items (08:03)

• Investing in items like Beanie Babies or baseball cards is unpredictable and depends on fickle trends and individual buyers.
  “It's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it that day.” — George (08:31)
• Hobbyists shouldn't bank on hobbies for building substantial wealth.

3. Gold as a Panic Investment (10:06)

• Buying gold is often driven by fear. While its value spikes in uncertain times, it’s not productive and doesn’t outpace long-term returns from the stock market.
• In a crisis, gold is even less useful:
  “If there's an apocalyptic scenario... your gold's going to be useless. You're going to be looking for water, fuel, [and] ammo.” — Rachel and George (10:31-10:43)

4. Chasing Bank Account Sign-On Bonuses (11:36)

• Opening multiple bank accounts just for small financial perks is inefficient and often more hassle than it’s worth.
• Choose a bank based on trust and utility, like Fairwinds Credit Union, not for sign-up bonuses.
  “I would hope, hope that you choose a bank for better reasons.” — George (12:30)

5. Playing (and Hoping to Win) the Lottery (15:31)

• Buying lottery tickets is likened to gambling and appeals to desperation, not sound financial planning.
  “It's just gambling in a different font.” — George (15:58)
• The odds are vanishingly low; lotteries tend to prey disproportionately on low-income communities, funding programs that mostly benefit others (16:27).

6. Sports Betting (19:32)

• “No, stupid. Don't do that. Guys, come on. Don't waste your money.” — Rachel (19:32)
• Explicit, humorous dismissal of sports betting as a wealth-building tool.

7. Marrying Rich (19:39)

• While marrying someone wealthy can boost your finances, it’s compared to the lottery in terms of likelihood and the challenge of ensuring both wealth and happiness.

8. Fast-Track Investing Schemes/Day Trading (19:58)

• Day trading, options trading, and “get-rich-by-tomorrow” apps prey on the excitement of quick gains but almost always end in losses for ordinary investors.
• “If you have some money you really don't care about, maybe it's fun, but as a ticket to wealth? That's where the danger comes in.” — Rachel (20:14)

9. Whole Life & Indexed Universal Life Insurance (21:49)

• Permanent life insurance is criticized for being “very expensive life insurance that also tries to do investing in.”
  “Most of that payment you make goes to commissions and fees, not actually building you wealth or protecting you.” — George (22:25)
• Use term life insurance for actual coverage and invest the difference.

10. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) Schemes (23:11)

• Rachel and George break down how MLMs prioritize recruiting over product sales and why those at the top make most of the money.
• Memorable Quote:
  “Nobody thinks their MLM is an MLM. They'll go, no, it's not a pyramid scheme... but look, the person at the top has a downline and they make more money if they recruit more.” — George (23:23)
• MLM conference hype is contrasted with the high turnover and heavy buy-in costs.

---

Psychological Drivers Behind Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

• George references his book’s “three stooges of wealth building”—fear, greed, and pride—as the root of susceptibility to these schemes (26:06).
• “Fear is a terrible financial advisor. When you're desperate, when you're scared, when you're greedy, it's always gonna end up going poorly in the long run.” — George (27:21)
• Rachel points out the importance of making decisions based on facts, not emotions.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It's just gambling in a different font.” — George on lotteries (15:58)
• “If you built your financial wealth on some unsteady habits... as we pull them out, we will show you how unstable life can be.” — Rachel (03:54)
• “Fear is a terrible financial advisor.” — George (27:21)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Setting the Scene: 00:05–01:22
• Jenga as Financial Metaphor: 03:54–05:06
• Aspirational Real Estate Discussion: 05:16–07:37
• Collectors’ Items: 08:03–08:54
• Gold Investing: 10:06–10:58
• Bank Sign-On Bonuses: 11:36–12:30
• Lottery: 15:31–16:59
• Sports Betting: 19:32
• MLMs: 23:11–24:40
• The Psychology of Bad Investments: 26:06–27:21
• Making Sound Money Choices: 27:21–27:37

---

Segment Spotlights

Drink of the Episode: Lemon Ginger Mocktail Spritz

• Both hosts gave a 10/10 rating (“Fantastic job. Well done.” — Rachel, 27:55)
• Ingredients and easy recipe provided for listeners (28:12).
• Cost: $1.95 per glass (29:00)

“Guilty as Charged” Question (29:37)

• Have you ever overspent out of convenience?
  • George confesses to paying extra in car buying negotiations to avoid the hassle (30:00).
  • Rachel recalls overspending on emergency airline tickets to get her family home sooner (31:35).
  • Lesson: Reaching financial stability creates flexibility and peace when life doesn’t go as planned.

---

Practical Takeaways

• Don’t believe in wealth shortcuts—building meaningful financial security is slow, deliberate, and based on proven strategies.
• Pay off debts, use cash for investments, avoid panic-based or trend-driven assets, and remain vigilant to schemes that prey on emotion.
• Financial decisions should always be rooted in facts and sound strategy, not desperation, greed, or the illusion of quick fixes.

---

Resources & Next Steps

• Free Investing Guide and more information can be found at RamseySolutions.com/guide (27:37).
• Check the show notes for the featured mocktail recipe and linked resources.

---

Final Thought

With warmth, humor, and tangible advice, Rachel and George remind listeners:
“Fear is a terrible financial advisor... The more humility you have, the more willing you are to go slow. And the more you lean away from fear into optimism, the better your wealth building journey is gonna be every single time.” (26:57–27:21)

Subscribe for more honest, entertaining, and practical money talk on Smart Money Happy Hour.

Transcript

[A]

Today we're talking about the worst and riskiest ways to build wealth. And we're playing a game of Jenga to keep things interesting. I think Jenga is how I created my anxious attachment. It's a very anxiety inducing game.

[B]

No, stupid. Don't do that. Guys, don't waste your money.

[A]

Oh, this is not looking good for you.

[B]

Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

[A]

I'm George Camel.

[B]

Is smart money happy hour? Cheers, George.

[A]

Cheers.

[B]

This can't be our table. No, no. We got a. We got a little game here.

[A]

Occupado.

[B]

Yes. All right, well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money.

[A]

But first, let's talk about what we're sipping on. It's a lemon ginger mocktail spritz.

[B]

It's amazing. And I'm not a big ginger fan, but already, y', all, it's so good.

[A]

This is a winner, so stick around. We're give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode. And no earlier. Don't ask. So when it comes to building wealth, Rachel, there are proven methods that are guaranteed to help you reach your goals responsibly. And then there are, shall we say, get rich quick schemes that can topple your financial progress overnight.

[B]

Hint, hint. Our game of Jenga.

[A]

We love a Jenga.

[B]

Yeah. Throw back to little childhood. Are you gonna play with Mia when she gets a little bit older?

[A]

I don't know, because I think Jenga is how I created my anxious attachment. It's a very anxiety inducing game. I don't know that I need to introduce.

[B]

Are you an anxious attached?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I don't need a therapist to a chance.

[B]

You're not avoidant. I would have thought maybe avoidant.

[A]

Well, that's hurtful. Can you be both? What are you?

[B]

I'm avoidant.

[A]

Oh, I can see that.

[B]

Winston's anxious attached. I'm avoidant attached.

[A]

Anything that makes me more like Winston is fine with me.

[B]

So.

[A]

Yeah, I just feel like it's an anxiety inducing game.

[B]

Yeah, it is. It's similar to.

[A]

It can be, but there's a physical thing that happens.

[B]

It's true. Yes.

[A]

And it's your fault. You know what I mean? I don't like any of that part.

[B]

Right. The moment the tower falls, it's all on you.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's like tennis.

[A]

No one else to blame.

[B]

It's like tennis. There's no team, it's just you. If you fail you fail. Oh, man. Were y' all competitive game nights growing up?

[A]

I wouldn't say so. I don't remember playing a lot of games with, like, my whole family. Okay. Yeah. I don't know if it's. Cause we were, like, Middle Eastern, and so there was Gap. We had a lot of board games.

[B]

Do Middle Eastern people not play board games? What are you saying?

[A]

I don't know. It was probably like some. You know what? My grandpa played backgammon.

[B]

Oh, yeah, That's a fun one.

[A]

Backgammon guy.

[B]

Like. Yes, that's good.

[A]

Maybe some dominoes here and there.

[B]

For sure.

[A]

Marbles.

[B]

Hey, Mexican train dominoes. That fun game. Fun.

[A]

That's a good one. But yeah, we had Monopoly. Game of Life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Trouble. We had all the. Sorry.

[B]

Yes, yes, you got it.

[A]

All the classics. How about you guys?

[B]

I love it. Yeah. The Ramses are a family game. Family.

[A]

Family game. Family game.

[B]

Family. The Ramsey's are a family of, to this day. Games. Games.

[A]

What's the one we played with Dave?

[B]

Oh, code names.

[A]

Code names.

[B]

We get.

[A]

So if you want to get robbed.

[B]

We get so competitive. We may yell and cheat and do what you got to do to win, but you do it.

[A]

It was aggressive. And I'll never forget, I've also played a board game with your brother Daniel, probably that was also trauma inducing.

[B]

I was gonna say we are a game family. We're. Yes. Yes. Our volume goes up. It gets loud. It gets very loud.

[A]

Doesn't help with the anxiety.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, maybe. Yeah. So maybe you're doing the smart choice in life, George. Staying away from the games.

[A]

I think that's partially right.

[B]

But this episode, we're gonna induce all the anxious.

[A]

This is large and in charge. If you're not watching on YouTube or Spotify, you should watch, because these are aggressively large blocks. I'm not small. These are just very large blocks. I'll make that very clear.

[B]

Yeah. So this is kind of represents your. If you built your financial wealth on some unsteady habits, some practices that we would say not great. And as we pull them out, we will show you how unstable life can be.

[A]

The tower can cry.

[B]

Yeah. If you do not choose good habits. And some of these in here, George, are crazy.

[A]

So we're gonna pull em out. They have a label on them. If they have a label, we'll talk about it.

[B]

Does that work? And if not, we're gonna keep moving.

[A]

Respect to Jenga, though, for, like, you don't really need rules. You know what I mean? Like, you don't need to know Someone's language. There's no. It's just, you know, to get the block out, you don't want it to tumble. Settlers of Catan. So stressful. So many rules.

[B]

Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

There's people, there's bricks, there's sheep, there's roads. I don't need games like that in my life. The game that I used to play with my wife, Ticket to Ride on the iPhone.

[B]

Oh, yes.

[A]

We switched to the app because the board game was too stressful.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So many little pieces you're keeping up with. The dogs are eating them up. The app, we would just sit in bed and just play Ticket to Ride in silence. I miss those days.

[B]

Oh, my gosh. All right, should we start?

[A]

Shall we? Okay, you want to go? Ladies first.

[B]

Ladies first. All right.

[A]

I'll make sure you win since you're very competitive.

[B]

Oh, I got one. Ooh. Buying aspirational real estate.

[A]

Oh, this one. Debt leveraged real estate.

[B]

Yes. This is the whole. I see this on social media all the time. Like, hey, oh, my gosh, you can buy 14 houses, put nothing down. Put renters in there, make like a million dollars a month, and you can.

[A]

They pay the mortgage.

[B]

Rachel, turn that. And then you can buy another house and all the things. All the things. But that buying aspirational real estate, that's real.

[A]

That's a tough.

[B]

People are doing it, and it's.

[A]

It's one of the.

[B]

Oh, I got put on top. Sorry, I forgot the rules already.

[A]

So, yeah, when you're. When you take the block, I'm going.

[B]

To put it on top here so we can remember.

[A]

That's helpful.

[B]

There we go.

[A]

Yeah. Real estate is a tricky game because it seems like a reliable quote unquote investment, but it also has one of the largest hassle factors because you're dealing with real people and dirt and construction and renovations and things always cost more than you want and the tenant doesn't pay. And so no matter what hack you saw on social media, just know that it is maybe a quarter of the truth. If maybe.

[B]

You know, I talked to a lady last month, they bought a piece of property down in the famous 30A Southern, and they bought it, I think at the height. I think their interest rate was like 8% or something. I mean, and I think they pay like $20,000 a month more. I mean, like insane. And their trying to rent it out, but there's so many properties now down.

[A]

There that it's saturated.

[B]

Yeah. They don't always get a renter. And even if it is full she told me the rent rate for what you can charge for rent doesn't even now cover the mortgage because of the interest rate. Like, oh, my goodness, it's really tough. So I'll say even. And we had a caller on the Ramsey show last week, and she bought, like, a mountain property and fixed it up, but, like, it's not renting, so she's thinking about selling, but she'll lose money on it. I mean, it's just. Yeah, the aspirational real estate. You guys just be practical with it. You can build wealth other ways. I would say you can build wealth within real estate, but it takes a little bit longer because we want you to cash flow it. So move at the speed of cash if you're going to do something. But, man, people just jump into this stuff because it looks great and sounds great, and then they get in trouble.

[A]

And they don't want to wait. So we tell people, you know, pay off your primary mortgage first and then save up and pay cash for your first investment property. And that's not going to be the fanciest, most expensive property. You're going to start small and then build on that. But the good news is it cash flows beautifully when it's paid off.

[B]

That's right. Yes.

[A]

You don't have to worry about it all.

[B]

Absolutely. Absolutely.

[A]

All right, next up.

[B]

Yeah, that's you.

[A]

You just. Oh, there. There's one. Is that risky to take a.

[B]

Whatever you think, George.

[A]

I got a blank piece.

[B]

Nothing. Okay.

[A]

Thanks to.

[B]

This is. Oh, gosh. That was probably. I probably shouldn't have done that.

[A]

That was a bold move.

[B]

I got one.

[A]

The whole thing's resting on a single.

[B]

Here we go. I know. Plank now, hoarding collector items. Collector's items.

[A]

That's these, like, Precious Moments figurines. Beanie Babies.

[B]

Yeah. I think it's the stuff that you think is really gonna change the game for you. You know, you watch too much of the Antique Roadshow. You really do think this random necklace that I have is gonna be worth gazillions. But, yeah, usually the collector items, they don't always pan out, you know.

[A]

Well, it's a physical object, so it can, you know, get damaged. It can get lost in a fire, a flood.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So you got the antique baseball card collection, and it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it that day.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

And so you've really got to hope that it's still on trend, that you have that rare Charizard holographic.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Or that Ken Griffey Jr. Yeah, totally. You know.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's just a risky game. So if you enjoy something a lot and you just like a hobby, but.

[B]

Don'T bank on your wealth building being around it.

[A]

And if it's a hobby that ends up paying off, great. But I wouldn't go into it thinking I'm going to make money off of this collector's thing. All right, I'm up.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

You really left us. I don't think we're going to get through any of these now.

[B]

We will. If it falls, we'll just pick up the pieces and talk about them.

[A]

All right. I think I have one.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

What do you think?

[B]

Well, I'm not touched. I was going to help you, but I don't feel like I should because.

[A]

I want you to lose another blank for me.

[B]

Oh, man.

[A]

Good day.

[B]

I should get points for. Oh, blank. Okay, keep going.

[A]

This is going really well.

[B]

Keep going.

[A]

I think we're running out of options here. Is this risky?

[B]

I'm gonna hold it for the sake of.

[A]

Am I good?

[B]

Anything?

[A]

Another blank. How many blanks are in this? I gotta put this on top. Can you move that one? Gentle, gentle.

[B]

I'm gonna move my mic just for a second.

[A]

We gotta keep the spirit of the game alive. Cause now people are gonna say I'm bad at board games, and that's not true.

[B]

Okay. Hey, you gotta help me, all right? Cause we're playing for the content, not for the. Okay. All right. All right. Here we go. Here we go real quick. Buying gold.

[A]

Buying gold. That's a hot one right now. Cause gold has been way up, so everyone's going. See, gold is such a great investment, Rachel. Because in times of fear, in the economy, people rush to gold, especially the older generations. But the truth is, gold is just an asset. It's a store of value that you're buying. And so what are you going to do with it? You're going to hope that it goes up in value, and then you're going to sell it one day.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Because if there's an apocalyptic scenario where the stock market goes to zero, every company goes bankrupt, your gold's going to be useless.

[B]

Yeah. You're going to be looking for water.

[A]

Fuel. Ammo.

[B]

Ammo. Bullets.

[A]

Love, water. Connection.

[B]

Love connection.

[A]

Join my apocalyptic dating app, crops.

[B]

That's actually our time to shine.

[A]

Yeah. I stay. I don't have any gold. And I would rather invest in the stock market, which has a higher return over a long period of time.

[B]

All right. Oh, wait, it's your turn. I don't know why.

[A]

I was hoping you would just.

[B]

I was jumping for the team. I was.

[A]

You think this is, you think it's leaning this way on my. To my left.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I should take some weight off of this side maybe. Nope, that feels like a dumb move. I'm gonna go this Lucy guy over here.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

There we go. That'll do it. Another blank.

[B]

Another blank.

[A]

I think I'm winning as far as not having to deliver the content. Visually, this is a very enticing Jenga game.

[B]

Okay. Opening bank accounts for sign on bonuses.

[A]

Oh wow. Do a lot of people do that? Just jumping from bank to bank to.

[B]

Bank to get some bonuses, maybe just to make some extra cash. So yeah, I would say that is not going to be.

[A]

It's not a money making scheme. No.

[B]

Yeah. You won't make a ton of money doing that long term, so probably not a great. And in that same vein, people trying to like even the do the debt game kind of in that same vein, let's just like play this game to see if we can get some money back. See what we can buy and you know. Or what will we get? Well, usually what we buy.

[A]

There's a ton of, you know, tricks they use to get you to get into the bank and you have to deposit this much over this amount of time in order to get that cash bonus.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So most people probably don't even get it because they didn't do it perfectly.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So I don't join a bank because of that. Now if they offer it, it's the bank you wanted. That's fine.

[B]

It's helpful. Sure.

[A]

But I would hope, hope that you choose a bank for better reasons. For example, choose a credit union like Fairwinds Credit Union because they're owned by their members, not by their shareholders.

[B]

Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Fairwinds is amazing, you guys. And they have partnered with Ramsey so closely, which we so appreciate because we want our listeners and us even selfishly to have a bank that we trust and that we love and that we know are for us. And Fairwinds Credit Union is that so they have the Smart Bundle which is the no fees checking account, a high yield savings account and you get the Ramsey's debt as normal be weird blue debit card. And it's awesome. It's so great. I use it all the time now if I have to take my debit card out, I'm using my Fairwinds account. And so they're an incredible bank. Yes. To be with. Because their heart is for you. They want you to have peace, not payments.

[A]

I love that. So go check them out. Fairwinds.org Ramsey or use the link in the description below.

[B]

Yep. So make sure again, to be looking that this is not a way to earn money. But having a bank that you are using that is on your side will give you peace of mind and small things like they have nixed international fees. Their customer service is incredible. All the things. It is worth it.

[A]

All right, me, I think it's back to me. Oh, you've left me with very few options here. I will say that. And I can't take any from the top because we've done those.

[B]

Yeah, you got to go middle would be your strategy.

[A]

Oh, like this?

[B]

Probably not that middle. There's not a. No, here's a three. You gotta. You gotta row a three.

[A]

Oh, boy.

[B]

No, that's gonna take really.

[A]

There's a lot of ways.

[B]

Yeah, you gotta take one.

[A]

All right. If it falls, it falls.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it's nobody's fault but yours.

[B]

Whoo.

[A]

Oh, another blank. God bless.

[B]

How did this happen?

[A]

Oh, she getting dicey. I want to help you, but I also don't. You know what I mean? Oh, that's a good one.

[B]

Look at this. Blank.

[A]

Another blank. All right.

[B]

Oh, my gosh.

[A]

Another blank.

[B]

No way. Okay.

[A]

This is like Captain Crunch. Oops. All blanks over here. Can I go on the top or is that not. Do I have to fill it out? All right, it's probably gonna fall. You gonna try this? This one over here?

[B]

Yeah, I'm gonna go here.

[A]

All right, let me help you.

[B]

No, I gotta go. This one's loose. Wait, wait.

[A]

Let go, let go, let go. Oh, it's blank. We should have placed them more strategically.

[B]

Guys, it's okay. This is the fun of it. All right. Go, George.

[A]

I don't even.

[B]

Okay, I see, like, I literally see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. That we could talk about.

[A]

But are they pullable? Yeah. Believing you'll win the lottery.

[B]

Oh, yeah. The assumption that I'm going to just put some numbers out there and I'm become a billionaire.

[A]

Or is it just a really sad hope? A desperate hope?

[B]

No, I think it's desperate. It is for people that are doing it. Seriously, it's really sad that that's like.

[A]

It'S just gambling in a different font.

[B]

Yeah. And I think it's unfair to make people believe that, like, they're gonna be the winner. Cause they're wasting their money, their hard earned money that they could be putting in savings. They could be doing so much with it. And it's just going to the lottery. So, um. Yeah, that's a tough one.

[A]

Nobody like invests out of desperation. They go to things like the lottery to go, well, if I got two bucks to spare, maybe I can turn it into two million.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And the chances of that are so slim.

[B]

That's right. I know.

[A]

So I would stick to investing instead. You put that in an ira, it's eventually going to turn into something. Two bucks a day for your whole life. And they also prey on the. On the poor. So it's really just a poor tax. Which makes me extra angry. I know. And your odds of winning the Powerball jackpot? 1 in 300 million, which is almost. That's how many.

[B]

That's crazy to think about, though, is. Tennessee is one of these states. We have a scholarship for college from the lottery. And so it's kind of like when you look at the zip codes, the counties at which the lottery is played the most.

[A]

Oh, boy.

[B]

And then the counties at which the children go to college is opposite.

[A]

So like the.

[B]

These people are subsidizing funding middle class, high. Yeah. High income earner kids to go to college. Like that. Like that's kind of what it ends up being.

[A]

Shouldn't we be doing the reverse of that?

[B]

Yeah, you would think.

[A]

It's just. Okay.

[B]

I know, I know. Not good.

[A]

Not good.

[B]

I don't like it. I don't like it.

[A]

All right, I got to put this back now. That's the scary part.

[B]

Is that the scary part? Okay, so here's the deal.

[A]

Oh, this is not looking good for you. Okay.

[B]

Are you touching it?

[A]

No. No, but are you touching it? I think the Lord touched it and held it up for you. And it is that much of a miracle standing there is no way. Okay, you want me to help you? All right. Pushing that other block in would help.

[B]

Well, I know. I don't. I'm so nervous. No, I can't.

[A]

I don't. I think this is game.

[B]

I think this is it. I think you just have to go.

[A]

You want me to just pull it?

[B]

Well, this would be the only one. Or one of these.

[A]

Okay. Oh. All right. Excalibur sword over here. All right.

[B]

It's blank, too. What? All right, I helped you. I feel like Ice Kit should get that one. I feel like you should keep going.

[A]

Well, you get two in a row. Are we down to just one pullable?

[B]

Yeah, I think so. All right. Just have fun. George. Is that one blank too?

[A]

It's not over yet. Wait for it.

[B]

Okay, let go. Just Five.

[A]

Let it go. Let it go.

[B]

Go. It's done. It's done. It's too top heavy. Yes.

[A]

I mean, just physics says.

[B]

Because. Because this is where we started. So I have to pull the ones that we've not done yet.

[A]

You can pull whatever you want. At this point. I'm not gonna be angry.

[B]

Okay. Nope. I'm getting two, and we're going. It's going to you, George.

[A]

All right, Come on down.

[B]

I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

[A]

At least I can play it in slow mo to watch my heroic stoicism in that moment. All right, what do we have left?

[B]

Okay, we got sports betting. No, stupid. Don't do that. Guys, come on. Don't waste your money.

[A]

This is a good one. Marrying rich. Is that not a great. Okay, to be fair, this is a great way to build wealth. But it's similar to the lottery in that, will you marry rich and also enjoy your marriage and enjoy your life? That's the question mark.

[B]

I know fast track investing schemes.

[A]

So you try to get day trading wealthy.

[B]

Yes. By. Yep. Day trading.

[A]

Acorns, options trading margin y.

[B]

It kind of feels exciting if you had some money that you're like, oh, I don't really care. I don't really care what it does. If I got, like, 300 bucks to be like, can I. Can I cash out at the end of the day and make a little bit more? Right. I can see how that's kind of enticing and fun because it's kind of a game where you could earn money. So I can see how people think of it. It's on the big scale of really believing this is my ticket. That's where the danger comes in. Yeah. So I've never bought a single stock to do that, but I have bought a lot of cozy earth.

[A]

That's the opposite. You're investing in yourself.

[B]

I'm investing in myself.

[A]

Always our lives.

[B]

I'm investing in confidence and peace and tranquility. No stress, no anxiety. When you have cozy earth on. So whether it's their clothes, the pants, the shirts, the socks, the sheets are amazing. Any of the bamboo stuff, you guys, is a dream. It is so wonderful. And the quality just. It outlasts. I've had some of this stuff for almost two years now, and it's incredible. Like, it still holds up. That is my thing. You can buy dupes all day long. And you know me, I love a good quantity. Right. Some options. But there is something. When you get a cheap sweatshirt and then you get a cozy earth and when you wash it, you feel the difference. The fit of it is different. Even like cozy earth holds its shape. Everything. It is so great. We love it, love it, love it.

[A]

Yeah. As I get older, I want to buy things for life and not have to go buy this again two weeks from now. And so they have a 10 year warranty on their bedding. So I'm like, cool, I'm good. I'm not gonna have to go out shopping. Cause this one didn't hold up. So cozy Earth is where it's at. And they've got an awesome discount for our Smart Money happy hour listeners. 20 when you go to cozyearth.com smart money use code smart Money at checkout. We'll also drop a link in the description.

[B]

Oh man.

[A]

What do we have? I think we missed one.

[B]

There's whole life insurance down there. I see, George.

[A]

Oh boy. All right. Yeah. Let's talk about whole life insurance. This is one that recently was in the news because a NASCAR driver, Kyle Busch, him and his wife lost $8.5 million.

[B]

Stop it.

[A]

Because they fell for this index universal life scheme. They poured millions into this thing thinking that it was going to be some kind of wealth building asset.

[B]

Shoot.

[A]

And they lost a lot of money. So they came out and were very honest about it and there's a lawsuit. So it's really sad. But any kind of whole life insurance, permanent life insurance, it's got all kinds of names now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because they keep trying to rebrand but all it is is very expensive life insurance that also tries to do investing in. And most of that payment you make goes to commissions and fees.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Not to actually building you wealth or protecting you.

[B]

Yep, absolutely. So life insurance, get term Life and get 10 to 12 times your income if someone is dependent upon your income. If you're a stay at home parents, get, you know, no less than half a million dollars on you as well. So make sure you're covered. But all of that term life is so inexpensive. And then you can use what you would have bought with whole life to invest and you'll make more off of that versus whole life.

[A]

And you don't need life insurance for your baby. You don't need life insurance for these random people. You just need it for the people that actually produce the income that allows you to cover your expenses. So usually that's you or your spouse.

[B]

That's right. All right, last one. Let's do this one. MLMs.

[A]

What's it stand for?

[B]

Multi Level Marketing.

[A]

That's right. It does, man.

[B]

We're getting some hate for this one.

[A]

I know. Because here's the funny thing. Nobody thinks their MLM is an mlm. They'll go, no, it's not a pyramid scheme. I'm like, but look, the person at the top has a downline and they make more money if they recruit more. Yeah, but that's not how they make moat, it's how you make your money. That's it. Otherwise you're making pennies just trying to sell the products. Because truthfully, if the product was so good, you could just buy it in other places, everywhere, they would gatekeep it to this one. So that's the sad.

[B]

So, yeah, yeah. MLMs. Yeah, you make the most money when you have people under you. It's not really the product that's making you money, you selling the product. It is getting a network of people below you. And they're very convincing. Like if you go to one of their national conferences, they put people on stage and give their stores and you think, like, I could make millions and millions if I just.

[A]

Because they only showcase oil people that are living their best life who are the top making.

[B]

And the turnover is so much. And sometimes the investment, you have to put, I mean, some of it hundreds of dollars, thousands, like for an initial investment into some of these companies too.

[A]

So that's a huge red flag if you have to give them money to make.

[B]

Start it. Yes, that's right. That's right.

[A]

So no thank you to the MLS and sorry to anyone. You're a good person if you do these. I'm not saying you're a bad person. I just think if you're that good at sales, go get a sales job and you'll make so much more money if you're that good.

[B]

That's right. Oh, George, that was fun. I had a little anxious, you know, little anxiety.

[A]

It felt good once it was over. I'll be honest. It was the anticipation that kills you.

[B]

Yes. And you know what else scares me is my data being online.

[A]

Oh, my goodness. Speaking of anticipating.

[B]

Yeah. Cause you never know. Is a scammer or a spammer gonna have my data?

[A]

When's the next data breach gonna hit?

[B]

What's gonna happen? Cause our names, our email addresses, our kids names, our phone numbers, I mean, all of it is out there online, you guys. And it is so crazy how much these data brokers can collect your data and then they sell it to spammers and scammers and then you get robocalls, scams, all this stuff. It is so annoying. It is so so frustrating. So companies like Deleteme go in and their privacy team combs through these sites to get your name and information off.

[A]

I love it. And in a world where things feel out of your control with online and privacy, this is one way you can take back digital control. And so I love it. They send you a report that shows you exactly what they removed, when they removed it, how much time they saved you, and you get those every few months. And it's one of my favorite emails that goes, this is worth the peace of mind. So go check it out. You get a great discount, 20% off their annual plans@joindelete me.com smart money. We'll also drop a link in the description below.

[B]

Yep. And remember you guys, the year we are in, the day we are living in, your data is out there. So get it removed and delete me will help you do it. Okay. So George, you cover a lot of what we talk about of investing wisely, being smart when you're building wealth. You talk about that in your book.

[A]

Yeah, I have old chapter called Investing Traps where I really go a little more in depth on a lot of the stuff we talked about here. And at the end of that chapter, I cover the three stooges of wealth building. Because after looking into I realized there was a theme here. Every one of these stems from one of three things. Fear, greed or pride.

[B]

Oh, that's great.

[A]

So you're scared of the market, so you run to gold. You are feeling greedy. So you decide, I'm going to go all in on this Bitcoin or single stock or whatever it is, you're going to have some pride where I know better. I've got this. I'm smarter than other people who have failed doing this. I'm going to do it and win. And all of those you can land flat on your face. And so the more humility you have, the more willing you are to go slow. And the more you lean away from fear into optimism, the better your wealth building journey is gonna be every single time.

[B]

You know what? I think that's so true. Cause there's so many emotions that can motivate us on how we handle money. And sometimes they make, you know, our emotions can have us make really bad decisions. So making your money decisions on facts, not emotion. As Dr. John DeLoney always says, your emotions, they are your dashboard. They're telling you something. So be aware of them and know what's going on. But we don't wanna make decisions out of those all the time.

[A]

And we say fear is A terrible financial advisor.

[B]

Yes, absolutely.

[A]

When you're desperate, when you're scared, when you're greedy, it's always gonna end up going poorly in the long run. So if you want to know how to do this the right way, we've got a free investing guide for you. I'll drop a link in the description down there, or you can go to ramseysolutions.com guide to check it out.

[B]

All right, George, before we spill the tea on our guilty as charged question, what are we sipping on?

[A]

We are sipping on. You ready for it? Lemon ginger mocktail spritz. That's a good one.

[B]

Good.

[A]

I'm going 10 out of 10.

[B]

You know, I think I am too. Y'.

[A]

All.

[B]

Fantastic job. Well done.

[A]

Wow. And Rachel, famously, is not a huge ginger fan.

[B]

I'm not a big ginger fan, but this was really refreshing. I think the lemon with it, maybe it's like a tart with, like, that ginger taste.

[A]

It's got enough lemon juice, they really.

[B]

Think makes it a spritz. When they say spritz. Spritz. What is the spritz?

[A]

Because of the sparkling water.

[B]

Oh, gotcha.

[A]

Yeah, gotcha. I think you can add spritz legally. If it's sparkly. It's got some zest, some bubbles in there. So here's what's in the lemon ginger mocktail spritz. It's got honey syrup, which I believe is just honey and warm water combined. You can make a syrup. Is it a rich syrup? Is it more honey than water? Do we know? Nobody knows. I think they just threw some honey in there. To be honest, I'm not sure it was even a syrup. But easy to make at home. Literally. Just take some hot water, mix it in with some honey, and if you want it to be a rich syrup, which means you use less, you can do more honey than water.

[B]

There you go. Amazing.

[A]

So it's got that ginger juice again. Did you guys squeeze out a ginger?

[B]

Wow.

[A]

What kind of ginger? That's impressive. And you got fresh lemon juice and then sparkling water.

[B]

Beautiful. And some rosemary.

[A]

It takes. Yeah. And a little rosemary sprig with a lemon wheel to really send it. You can get the recipe in the show notes. It costs $1.95. What's stopping you? This would be at least $11 for a mocktail at a fancy Nashville restaurant.

[B]

It's delicious.

[A]

So give it a try this weekend. The kids can enjoy it too, and I feel like it's a really healthy drink.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Very refreshing at wintertime when you get a lot of Sickness around honey, ginger and lemon is a great combo.

[B]

There you go. Look at you being all natural, George.

[A]

I try.

[B]

All right, now it's time for guilty as charged. And this is where we ask each other a guilty as charged question every week. And if we are guilty, we take a sip.

[A]

All right, what do we got?

[B]

Have you ever overspent out of convenience to save yourself the trouble?

[A]

Oh, boy. Yeah. As I get older, more winded, more financially stable, I just feel like I'm willing to not deal with things and willing to pay a premium for that.

[B]

Yes, I agree.

[A]

My latest one was when I was buying a car.

[B]

Wow. Tell me about that.

[A]

Well, I was tired of looking. The research process. You know me, I'm meticulous. But I finally found the one.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it was across the country, so I had to get the car shipped. And then I got. I was like, hey, tell me the out the door price.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That's all I want. I'm not looking for a payment. I want the out the door price. Let's land on that. So they finally send me the, like, invoice, and it had all these random fees on there. Oh, it had a LoJack fee. You know, you told me this LoJack, which tracks your vehicle in case it gets stolen. And I was like, you know that Tesla's, like, have tracking within them. They. They know where they are.

[B]

We don't need that. Yes.

[A]

And then, well, we just do it to all the cars. And they had some stupid, you know, appearance protection package they threw on it. And another thing they threw on it, and I was so. Just exhausted. Listen, meet me in the middle. I try to get them to remove it. They said, nothing we can do. But I was like, do I want to lose the whole deal because of this? I wanted to.

[B]

How much was it? Can I ask? It was.

[A]

They wanted, like 700 for the low jack, another 800 for the appearance protection, 800 for a dealer, you know, dock fee. It was insane.

[B]

It was straight up highway robbery going.

[A]

Yeah. So I kind of did the walk away thing. They came back and they said, here's what we were willing to do. They said, hey, what's your. What is the number you're looking for? And I went, listen, I'll work with you. Here, here's my number. And they went, fine. And they just made it all work. They adjusted the fees.

[B]

Well, look at you, George.

[A]

They didn't get rid of the fees. Still baked in. But I felt a little bit better. They're willing to play ball. Good. But that was me Overspending out of convenience. Because I didn't want to restart the whole process of researching another car.

[B]

Yes, that's good.

[A]

Sleepless nights. How about you?

[B]

Yeah, we overspent. We were on a family vacation with the kids and our flight got canceled on the way home. So we were already in the airport for like five hours. You know, you get there and it's delayed and then it's delayed again and then delayed again. And I know we travel enough that I always know when that happens, they're going to end up canceling it. And I even told myself, like, they're going to cancel our flight. They canceled our flight. And by that time it was like four or five in the afternoon and flights out to get to Nashville, back to Nashville, we had to connect. There was no direct flight. And so like no other flight, no other city that we landed would get us back into Nashville that night. It was like there was nothing. So we had to go back to the hotel.

[A]

Oh gosh.

[B]

And spend the night again, which was so frustrating because number one, you gotta pay for another night. But our airline, I'll give them a shout out. American Airlines, they reimbursed our night, which sometimes they just give you a credit and then anything above you spend is yours.

[A]

They straight up paid for that.

[B]

We sent them our hotel bill and they paid for an entire night. So I was shocked. So thank you for that, American Airlines. But because of that, sorry, American Airlines, we booked a Southwest flight because I was like, I don't know if we're gonna get outta here because the American flight was gonna take us to Charlotte and then our flight to Nashville wasn't gonna be till like 10pm that night. We would have stayed all day. And I'm like, this is the stupidest thing. So. So there was a Southwest flight through Orlando and home. And we're going to do it. So we bought a whole other set of airline tickets home. But again, American Airlines, they reimbursed us, but we paid more for the Southwest.

[A]

Flights than last minute flights.

[B]

So we still were out. I mean, we still overspent on the flights.

[A]

But you made it home and said.

[B]

Just to get home. I mean, genuinely, you're just.

[A]

Especially with kids.

[B]

Oh my gosh. It was so they're troopers long and yep, just one of those travel days. But I mean, but I think about it, George, genuinely. And I told Winston, like, man, if we were on baby step two, you know, you really have to go with what is being planned. So that is the pro of working the plan, you guys. And Getting to the other side of these steps and having some margin that when life does happen, you're able to kind of, you know, pull from, whether it's a little bit of the emergency fund or you have some savings, you know, or whatever it is, you can.

[A]

Do things that aren't financially optimal to gain some peace and time back in your life. Yeah.

[B]

And it was worth it. It was worth it.

[A]

George. I just did this for Whitney, for her Backstreet Boys at the Sphere. Yeah, I had her on a connecting flight because it was cheaper.

[B]

Oh, George. There's a direct flight southwest from Nashville to Vegas.

[A]

I know, but it was like, I.

[B]

Cannot believe you're going to make her connect.

[A]

But it was more. It was.

[B]

Oh my gosh, maybe like $78 more.

[A]

No, it was like maybe 150 bucks more. And I was like, ah. It was only. She only losing like 45 minutes to an hour. So it was a real quick layover, quick connection.

[B]

Yeah. But then your time of something messing up.

[A]

I know.

[B]

To get to your destination just doubled. You just doubled. What could happen?

[A]

So I rebooked her on the non stop like a hero.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Rachel was in my head.

[B]

Should have in the first place.

[A]

She deserves it, husbands. Your wife deserves the non stop. She's worth it.

[B]

She's worth it. Oh, my gosh. So good. So good. Well, that was fun. If you guys have a guilty as charge question, make sure to DMS at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel and we are here for you. So if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave a review. We always love to hear from you guys. And if you're in the mood to be even more entertained, check out our episode. Reacting to people's money fails so you can feel better. We'll put a link for that and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.