Financial Experts Rank Your WEIRDEST Unexpected Expenses

💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar. This one goes out to ole Murphy and that pesky little law of his. (If you know, you know!) Today we’re rating your worst-case scenarios and proving why everyone needs an emergency fund. Next Steps: · 🎙️ Catch our episode Surprisingly Simple Things That Make You Feel Wealthy. · 🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour · 📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it. Connect With Our Sponsors: · Check out the FAIRWINDS Credit Union exclusive account bundle. · Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. · Get 20% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🥃 Salty Dog Recipe by Liquor.com · 1 1/2 ounces gin or vodka · 3 ounces grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed · Garnish: salt rim · Garnish: grapefruit slice Instructions: Wet the rim of a highball glass and dip it in coarse salt. Fill the glass with ice, then add the gin (or vodka) and grapefruit juice, and stir gently to combine. Garnish with a grapefruit slice. Serve and enjoy! Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 📈 EntreLeadership Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:05George Kamel?

  This one goes out to old Murphy and that pesky little law of his. Today, we're gonna rate your worst-case scenarios to prove that everyone needs an emergency fund.

• 0:13Rachel Cruze?

  I did the no-no in marriage. I called my dad.

• 0:17George Kamel?

  That one is, I think, an 11 out of 10.

• 0:19Rachel Cruze?

  This is why I'd go to jail. Oh, my gosh.

• 0:23George Kamel?

  It's getting juicy.

• 0:29Rachel Cruze?

  Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

• 0:31George Kamel?

  I'm George Kamel.

• 0:32Rachel Cruze?

  And this is...

• 0:33George Kamel?

  Smart Money Happy Hour.

• 0:36Rachel Cruze?

  Cheers.

• 0:41Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that was no clink because of this salt.

• 0:43George Kamel?

  Lot of, look, some crispy salt on this. Is this kosher?

• 0:46Rachel Cruze?

  It looks kosher. Salt.

• 0:50George Kamel?

  My toxic trait is I always ask, is this kosher?

• 0:52Rachel Cruze?

  You know what?

• 0:53George Kamel?

  But literally, I think it is kosher salt.

• 0:54Rachel Cruze?

  This is how every salt-rum drink should be. So, well done. I love some salt.

• 1:00George Kamel?

  Well done.

• 1:01Rachel Cruze?

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

• 1:08George Kamel?

  But first, we're sipping on a salty dog.

• 1:11Rachel Cruze?

  Mmm.

• 1:12George Kamel?

  Yeah, that's a fun name. There is salt on it, so part of the name.

• 1:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 1:17George Kamel?

  Dead giveaway.

• 1:18Rachel Cruze?

  You loved your dogs.

• 1:19George Kamel?

  I love my dogs, and I love salt. We're gonna give you the rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode. Stick around for that. All right, so for all the haters who think they're the exception to the rule, not to be alarmist, but this is the episode where you are proven wrong.

• 1:35Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. And you know, that pushback against people being like, "I don't really need an emergency fund." I feel like it either comes from high earners that are like, "Oh, it's fine. I'll just, I'll figure it out." Like, whatever. And then sometimes low earners actually have the same mindset, where they're like, "Ah, it's not that big of a deal. Don't worry about it."

• 1:50George Kamel?

  Or they're helpless, like, "I can't save that much."

• 1:52Rachel Cruze?

  "And I can't do it, right? So, it's like, oh, it's not a big deal. I'll just figure it out when it happens, right?" Because it seems like a mountain to climb to save up an emergency fund. So, either way, I get it, but also, we gotta get it.

• 2:06George Kamel?

  It's a rough place to be when you don't have liquid cash.

• 2:09Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 2:10George Kamel?

  Because I've found you stay in the cycle, where like, everything is a crisis.

• 2:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 2:13George Kamel?

  The littlest things become the biggest things, and you can never get ahead. Because here's what people say, "Well, I try, but there's always something happening." I'm like, "I know. That's why you need an emergency fund, because something's always going to happen."

• 2:25Rachel Cruze?

  That is life. And the stuff that can happen, crazy. Crazy, crazy. Life is nuts, George.

• 2:32George Kamel?

  Do you remember early on, like, you and Winston, you had, like, what was, like, one of the bigger emergencies you still remember?

• 2:38Rachel Cruze?

  And I did the no-no in marriage. I called my dad.

• 2:42George Kamel?

  Wait, like a, like a trump card, like, "I'm calling my dad."

• 2:45Rachel Cruze?

  Nope, nope, nope, because I, no, I'll tell you the story. We, this was early on. Our heat went out, and it was like winter. We didn't have kids or anything, it was just us. And Winston, remember, was in a rental house with, like, eight other guys, and they never used heat. They would sleep in camping sleeping bags to save money. I mean, like, this is like the low-maintenance man that I married. So, the heat goes out, and I'm like, "We gotta get it fixed." I mean, it's like, it's like one of those nights that it's like sleeting, and we gotta get home from work, like, you know what I mean? Like, it was a winter night, and we walk in, and our house is freezing, but it's on a Friday night, and Winston was like, "God, if we pay for service on the weekends, it's gonna be like..."

• 3:28George Kamel?

  It's like the emergency call pricing.

• 3:30Rachel Cruze?

  Double or triple. "We'll wait till Monday." And I remember thinking, "Am I high-maintenance, or do I just like normal-temperatured houses?" Because I, what are we gonna do? I mean, and I was like, "There's no way." And I did, I called my dad to see who his heating and air guy. I was doing it for a connection.

• 3:48George Kamel?

  But secretly...

• 3:49Rachel Cruze?

  And then was like, "Hey, I called my dad. Here's a guy we can call up, might give us a good rate." And Winston was probably so deflated. We weren't in therapy at that point, but I'm sure that would've been brought up if we were in a session.

• 4:00George Kamel?

  You went behind my back, called your dad to find a guy...

• 4:03Rachel Cruze?

  I know, y'all. But listen, I was cold. I was cold. I was 22 and cold. What do you do?

• 4:09George Kamel?

  Well, did you have sweaters?

• 4:11Rachel Cruze?

  Don't. That's what, yeah, see, we're not even, that is unnecessary.

• 4:14George Kamel?

  People frequently comment, and they go, "I don't understand. Rachel has no sleeves on in the studio. George is fully clothed." How cold is it in that studio?

• 4:22Rachel Cruze?

  Are you talking present day? Are you talking present day?

• 4:24George Kamel?

  Yeah, I'm talking right now.

• 4:25Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 4:26George Kamel?

  Because like, women like you will be like, "Ooh, it's so cold in here." I'm like, "You have very little clothing on compared to me. Just throw a layer on."

• 4:35Rachel Cruze?

  I said, "I'm comfortable."

• 4:35George Kamel?

  But the real reason is, I heard from Seinfeld.

• 4:38Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 4:40George Kamel?

  For men doing comedy, you cover your arms. Nobody wants to see those. Distracting. It's more professional.

• 4:45Rachel Cruze?

  Interesting.

• 4:45George Kamel?

  So Nate Bargatze said that, so, because you never see Nate? When's the last time you saw Nate's arms? Exactly.

• 4:50Rachel Cruze?

  Never thought about it.

• 4:51George Kamel?

  Not on a stage.

• 4:52Rachel Cruze?

  Never thought about it.

• 4:53George Kamel?

  Also, anytime I don't wear a layer and I have my t-shirt on, people comment and go, "Woof."

• 4:58Rachel Cruze?

  George!

• 5:00George Kamel?

  I got a comment.

• 5:00Rachel Cruze?

  So sorry.

• 5:01George Kamel?

  "We posted a picture, I was at the World Cup doing the man on the street, and you could see my pale, sad legs." And most of the comments were like, "Hey, man, you know, you don't need to be posting that." And mostly from ladies, mind you.

• 5:13Rachel Cruze?

  Y'all, don't be mean to George.

• 5:15George Kamel?

  They said, "What are you trying to light the way to, Gandor?" I was like, "I don't know what these references are, but I don't..."

• 5:21Rachel Cruze?

  Poor George.

• 5:21George Kamel?

  So, yeah, I didn't wear shorts after that.

• 5:24Rachel Cruze?

  I'm so sorry, George. That is unfair to you.

• 5:27George Kamel?

  You get a little ankle. That's all you're getting.

• 5:28Rachel Cruze?

  My gosh. But anyways, we did use our emergency funds, and we paid the double and had the service tech come out. Okay, did you and Whitney have one?

• 5:36George Kamel?

  It's why the trades are making so much money, kids.

• 5:38Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I'm not kidding.

• 5:39George Kamel?

  It's not time and a half on Sundays. It's a 100% raise every Saturday and Sunday.

• 5:45Rachel Cruze?

  Amen.

• 5:47George Kamel?

  The biggest one I remember is HVAC, because that one, for some reason, is just one of the top of the list, outside of like a roof. It's one of the most expensive things to have to replace, and so, at like 24, replacing an HVAC for like $5,000.

• 6:01Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 6:01George Kamel?

  It hurt my soul. So, it took some time to re... Luckily, I had an emergency fund, but that about decimated it at the time.

• 6:07Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, oh, that's tough.

• 6:08George Kamel?

  So, it took a while to bounce back.

• 6:09Rachel Cruze?

  High dollars, high dollars.

• 6:11George Kamel?

  Those are tough calls we get on The Ramsey Show when someone doesn't have it, and like, "What do I do?"

• 6:15Rachel Cruze?

  I know. And that's where you have to be creative, right? Figuring out either pricing stuff out, getting on a plan where you're like, "Hey..."

• 6:21George Kamel?

  Can I pay this much here, this much there?

• 6:23Rachel Cruze?

  Totally, and you gotta cash, cash flow your way through, but having the emergency fund is big, because life is gonna happen, it's just not, you know, or it is gonna happen, not an "if," it's a "when." So, and the internet's great for this stuff.

• 6:36George Kamel?

  It is so good.

• 6:36Rachel Cruze?

  Because we can, we can throw out a prompt, ask some questions.

• 6:40George Kamel?

  To you guys.

• 6:40Rachel Cruze?

  Get on some, yeah.

• 6:41George Kamel?

  We put this on social, and so, our listeners submitted their wildest, most unexpected reasons they've had to rely on an emergency fund, so why don't we, uh, take some turns?

• 6:51Rachel Cruze?

  And while we do it, we're gonna rate it, George. Okay? One being boring, like, "That's a boring emergency."

• 6:56George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 6:56Rachel Cruze?

  HVAC, ugh, that's a yawn-er.

• 6:59George Kamel?

  Yawn. Unless it's Rachel being cold, and then it's a 10.

• 7:05Rachel Cruze?

  And then 10 is peak insanity. I mean, this is the craziest thing I've ever heard, okay?

• 7:11George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 7:11Rachel Cruze?

  So, we're gonna rate them.

• 7:13George Kamel?

  This is not a judgment on you guys. If it's boring, it doesn't mean you're a boring person. It just means you submitted an emergency that is forgettable.

• 7:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it's forgettable, which I think we all want those. All right, pulled $10,000 out of my emergency fund to buy SpaceX stock.

• 7:28George Kamel?

  Oh, boy.

• 7:30Rachel Cruze?

  So, no emergency, but sorta. It was timely, right?

• 7:35George Kamel?

  Definitely not an emergency. That's a good call-out. There's three things that you need to check before using money from your emergency fund. Is it urgent? Is it necessary? Is it unexpected? And I, I'm sorry to say that SpaceX is none of those things.

• 7:49Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 7:50George Kamel?

  And here's the problem. They probably lost money on that, at least in the short term. Because by the time people like you and me can buy it, it's so overhyped and so overpriced that it's kind of like a mini-bubble, and it pops, and then it goes back down to reality, which means you just lost money. That 10 grand probably turned into 8 grand pretty quickly.

• 8:08Rachel Cruze?

  That hurts.

• 8:09George Kamel?

  I'm gonna rate that a 3.

• 8:11Rachel Cruze?

  I'm gonna go 5.

• 8:12George Kamel?

  It's enough money. It's enough money that warrants, but it's not lost. It's in a stock, they didn't just like use it. So, I feel less bad, but also, very stupid behavior. Please don't do that.

• 8:22Rachel Cruze?

  Please don't do that again.

• 8:23George Kamel?

  If you're watching at home. All right. Ran over a spike strip in my husband's truck, so had to use it on expensive new tires.

• 8:33Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, no! Isn't that your worst fear, when you go into one of those like garages and the spikes come up?

• 8:39George Kamel?

  Yeah, is that what it is? Or was it, like, where else would you find those, other than what, like a police chase, where they're trying to stop a car?

• 8:44Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, now, if she was in the police chase, 10. I rate that a 10. If it was just in the parking garage, ugh.

• 8:53George Kamel?

  Ouch. Okay, new tires, already very expensive for all four new tires.

• 8:56Rachel Cruze?

  Hey, but isn't it, she either went the wrong way, or you back up, you know, when you were, like, if you had to reverse?

• 9:03George Kamel?

  There's one rule, do not back up.

• 9:04Rachel Cruze?

  Do not back up. You keep going straight.

• 9:07George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 9:07Rachel Cruze?

  That hurts.

• 9:08George Kamel?

  Now, the fact that it was in the husband's truck, that gets it at at least three extra points.

• 9:12Rachel Cruze?

  For sure. And the feeling of regret, and the feeling of regret of like, "I could've prevented that." Like, that was so stupid. Why did I do that? All of those feelings, I'm going 6.

• 9:22George Kamel?

  Ouch. But I want to know what the husband said, because I guarantee you, he was fuming. "I knew I shouldn't let you take my truck."

• 9:28Rachel Cruze?

  No, I bet he's like, "Listen, stuff happens. Are you safe?

• 9:32George Kamel?

  Are you safe?"

• 9:33Rachel Cruze?

  Did the spike get you?

• 9:35George Kamel?

  What are you, Deloney?

• 9:37Rachel Cruze?

  I know. I mean, in a car wreck, you're usually, hopefully, the spouse says, "Are you safe?"

• 9:43George Kamel?

  It didn't seem like she was going very fast.

• 9:44Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, true.

• 9:45George Kamel?

  Unless she was going 80 and spun out.

• 9:48Rachel Cruze?

  I wish she was in the...

• 9:49George Kamel?

  That's crazy.

• 9:49Rachel Cruze?

  I wish she was in the...

• 9:50George Kamel?

  All right, I'll give it a...

• 9:50Rachel Cruze?

  Did you put it back in there?

• 9:51George Kamel?

  I'll give it a 7. No, I put it right here.

• 9:53Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, it's right there, okay, good.

• 9:53George Kamel?

  A 7 for me. What was yours?

• 9:55Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, this 6 was so good. I gave 6.

• 9:58George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 10:01Rachel Cruze?

  Speaking of crimes, bailing my husband out of jail.

• 10:09George Kamel?

  That's all it says?

• 10:10Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 10:10George Kamel?

  How are you gonna leave us with no more details, sis?

• 10:13Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 10:13George Kamel?

  It's unconscionable.

• 10:15Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, what? That would be, what crime would Whitney commit? And you get a call that you probably wouldn't be like overly surprised.

• 10:24George Kamel?

  You're saying, "What crime would she likely commit if she were to commit a crime?"

• 10:27Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, that you'd be like, "That sounds like Whitney."

• 10:29George Kamel?

  Whatever it was, would probably be accidental. Like, she accidentally, you know, put something under the stroller, forgot to pay for it, alarms go off.

• 10:39Rachel Cruze?

  You don't go to jail for that.

• 10:40George Kamel?

  Well, it could be a felony, depending on the amount.

• 10:42Rachel Cruze?

  Straight to jail.

• 10:43George Kamel?

  If it's something expensive.

• 10:45Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 10:46George Kamel?

  How about you? What's the limit to which you would bail Winston out? Is there a limit where you're like, "Hey, it's a million, like, I'm not bailing you out," even if you had the money, based on principle?

• 10:58Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 11:01George Kamel?

  No, that's really hard.

• 11:02Rachel Cruze?

  I think I would bail out.

• 11:02George Kamel?

  I'm really asking how much do you love your husband?

• 11:04Rachel Cruze?

  I think I would go high. To get him out of jail, especially if he's innocent.

• 11:08George Kamel?

  Well, it's bail. So it's temporary. You don't lose a million dollars.

• 11:14Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, you get it back? I don't know my jail world very much, George.

• 11:18George Kamel?

  Yeah, yeah, I don't think, now, correct me if I'm wrong.

• 11:21Rachel Cruze?

  Bail, bail, you get it back?

• 11:22George Kamel?

  I'm not up on like the prison.

• 11:24Rachel Cruze?

  People, we don't know.

• 11:31Rachel Cruze?

  Chat GPT in it, we got it.

• 11:32George Kamel?

  We need to, I think, people watching out there, there's gotta be someone that also doesn't know.

• 11:36Rachel Cruze?

  People know, we just don't know.

• 11:38George Kamel?

  Everybody knows exactly how it works.

• 11:41Rachel Cruze?

  If you put money up to bail someone out of jail, do you get that money back?

• 11:45George Kamel?

  You didn't do the voice?

• 11:46Rachel Cruze?

  Usually, yes, but depends on how the bail was posted and what, and what happens in the case. So, depends.

• 11:55George Kamel?

  Alright.

• 11:56Rachel Cruze?

  Depends. Oh, man, that's tough. That is, that's, that's a wild one, though. I'm gonna go 10 out of 10 for that one.

• 12:03George Kamel?

  I wonder how their marriage is doing. How is their marriage doing?

• 12:07Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know. We don't, we, I don't know much, George. All I know is she used her emergency fund to get her husband out of jail.

• 12:12George Kamel?

  Wow. That's true love. I'm gonna go 10. I mean, I don't know, you can beat jail.

• 12:16Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, definitely not.

• 12:18George Kamel?

  Feels like a pretty worst-case scenario there.

• 12:19Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. Now, if I did have to bail him out, I'd, I'd probably need some cash quick, and that probably would be sitting in our high-yield savings account. And Fairwins is where I would go.

• 12:30George Kamel?

  Perfect.

• 12:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I would tap that Fairwins app. Uh, yeah, because that's where our high-yield savings accounts are. So you have a no monthly fee checking account, you can have up to 10 high-yield savings accounts, and you get the debt as normal beware debit card from Ramsey, and now they have a new one. A love like no one else debit card.

• 12:47George Kamel?

  New design, who dis?

• 12:49Rachel Cruze?

  You get to pick it.

• 12:50George Kamel?

  Now, I'm kind, I have a little FOMO.

• 12:51Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, we gotta get it. And I love it. It is like the easiest banking experience that I, I do, I just love Fairwins.

• 12:58George Kamel?

  And I didn't realize the joy of having checking and a high-yield savings connected for easy transfers. When there is an emergency, I don't need to wait for a different bank to send that money to my checking account. So I do love that. And now I know you can earmark a savings fund for posting bail.

• 13:14Rachel Cruze?

  For posting bail.

• 13:15George Kamel?

  That's fun. That's, if you, if you have that as a savings account, your life is.

• 13:19Rachel Cruze?

  Way more interesting than ours.

• 13:21George Kamel?

  That's a regular thing you're saving for. Whatever you're saving for, go check out Fairwins at fairwins.org/ramsey.

• 13:29George Kamel?

  Alright, moving on.

• 13:32George Kamel?

  $25,000 to remove a grass awn from my pit bull's lung.

• 13:37Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, gosh.

• 13:39George Kamel?

  So that's awn.

• 13:40Rachel Cruze?

  Georgie, this is where, this is your time to shine.

• 13:44George Kamel?

  It's like a barbed seed. That dog somehow ate that thing.

• 13:47Rachel Cruze?

  That's terrible.

• 13:48George Kamel?

  It's one thing to have it in the paw, which is very painful, but in the lung.

• 13:53Rachel Cruze?

  That's horrible.

• 13:54George Kamel?

  $25,000?

• 13:58George Kamel?

  I hope the dog got some plastic surgery while you're at it, make it worth his while, while he's under. Goodness gracious. That one is, I think, an 11 out of 10.

• 14:08Rachel Cruze?

  More than a human in jail?

• 14:10George Kamel?

  Yeah. Because you're not getting the 25 grand back. And you can't be mad at the dog, it's a dog. So now you're $25,000 poorer.

• 14:20Rachel Cruze?

  $25,000 for a dog.

• 14:22George Kamel?

  That actually makes me feel so much better about doing my dog surgery.

• 14:24Rachel Cruze?

  I was gonna say, this is like your time to shine.

• 14:26George Kamel?

  Whoever submitted this.

• 14:27Rachel Cruze?

  George isn't even shocked. Like, the sticker price, not even a big deal.

• 14:31George Kamel?

  They got a good deal at 25K.

• 14:33Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 14:34George Kamel?

  I do think, and Ava said this on air, that like, being a vet is smarter than being a doctor. Because vets can charge whatever they want. There's no healthcare system they have to get paid by.

• 14:43Rachel Cruze?

  True.

• 14:43George Kamel?

  They can just be like, that'll be $30,000, and you're like, okay, I guess.

• 14:49Rachel Cruze?

  Little bubbles, just take them under and.

• 14:51George Kamel?

  Sweet bubbles. A pit bull named Bubbles.

• 14:54Rachel Cruze?

  I know, it felt right.

• 14:55George Kamel?

  Yeah, that one's an 11 out of 10 for me. I don't know if you can beat that.

• 14:57Rachel Cruze?

  $25,000 for a dog?

• 14:59George Kamel?

  That's wild. That makes me look frugal.

• 15:02Rachel Cruze?

  I'm going 10 at least. I, I can't go above jail time, but I'm gonna go.

• 15:06George Kamel?

  Thank you.

• 15:07Rachel Cruze?

  Pretty big. Um, next, oh, gross. Getting bats out of the attic. So there are protected, oh no, there are protected species, so it costs $6,000 to $10,000 for visits for specialized exterminators.

• 15:25George Kamel?

  Is everybody making money hand over fist in today's America?

• 15:28Rachel Cruze?

  Do you feel like it's like Jumanji? That's what I just pictured.

• 15:31George Kamel?

  Like, are the bats like breeding in the attic? Because that gives me the heebie-jeebies. How many bats are we talking?

• 15:36Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, it makes me shiver. Makes me shiver.

• 15:38George Kamel?

  Because I feel like where there's one bat, there's a thousand bats.

• 15:40Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that are brown recluses.

• 15:43George Kamel?

  Oof.

• 15:43Rachel Cruze?

  No, thank you. No, thank you. Actually, I'd probably rather have bats than brown recluses. I think they're basically impossible to get rid of, but.

• 15:49George Kamel?

  They didn't, you said $6,000 to $10,000?

• 15:52Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, to remove bats.

• 15:54George Kamel?

  Because you need a special exterminator?

• 15:55Rachel Cruze?

  How just mad would you be? Yeah, you bat, you, I can't even keep you as a pet. At least the dog is part of your family.

• 16:01George Kamel?

  That's true. But just remove a nuisance.

• 16:04Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, being removed.

• 16:06George Kamel?

  I would probably, let's see, what could you, now, if they're in the attic, can you just leave them there?

• 16:10Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, here's a question.

• 16:11George Kamel?

  Can you just leave them in the attic?

• 16:12Rachel Cruze?

  No, this is why I'd go to jail. Here's a question.

• 16:14George Kamel?

  You're gonna burn it down?

• 16:15Rachel Cruze?

  Would you, would you just take care of the bats and not tell anybody?

• 16:18George Kamel?

  Oh, because they're like a protected.

• 16:20Rachel Cruze?

  Do you know what I'm saying? That's country living right there.

• 16:24George Kamel?

  That's a good question.

• 16:27George Kamel?

  Because who's gonna know?

• 16:28Rachel Cruze?

  That's what I'm saying.

• 16:29George Kamel?

  But can I tell you?

• 16:30Rachel Cruze?

  Don't, don't arrest me, please.

• 16:32George Kamel?

  I recently experienced this, not with bats, but with a robin. Didn't know this, but there's a robin's nest on my front porch.

• 16:38Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, sweet.

• 16:39George Kamel?

  She's having her babies, and I went, thank you for trusting the camel household. We are a safe place, but I also was sick of seeing the droppings and the mites that are all over that follow these robin's nests.

• 16:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 16:51George Kamel?

  And then I found out, you can't touch the thing. It is super illegal to touch that nest because robins are.

• 16:56Rachel Cruze?

  Wait, it's illegal or the mom just won't come back to the nest?

• 16:57George Kamel?

  No, the robins are protected species. It is illegal, it's like federal law says you cannot mess with a robin's nest.

• 17:03Rachel Cruze?

  No way.

• 17:04George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 17:04Rachel Cruze?

  I don't think, I knew that.

• 17:05George Kamel?

  So the nest is still there. Don't even know if the babies are still there or not. It's been a month.

• 17:09Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 17:10George Kamel?

  But I'm too scared to touch it. I don't wanna go to jail over this.

• 17:12Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, we can't go, we can't have George in jail, no.

• 17:15George Kamel?

  What are you in for?

• 17:16Rachel Cruze?

  I.

• 17:16George Kamel?

  Mess with a robin's nest? See if they mess with me.

• 17:21Rachel Cruze?

  See if they mess with me.

• 17:22George Kamel?

  So, yeah, I would, uh, I don't know who to pay, because they can't remove it technically.

• 17:25Rachel Cruze?

  Where is it?

• 17:26George Kamel?

  Right on my front porch, like, right underneath.

• 17:29Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 17:29George Kamel?

  Like, by the, the column, you know?

• 17:31Rachel Cruze?

  I think at 11 o'clock one night.

• 17:34George Kamel?

  They're long gone.

• 17:35Rachel Cruze?

  Mine, I'm less about the law, it's, I just don't, I wanna make sure she goes back to her babies. Some birds are very, was it bluebirds? There's some that are very particular. Yes, and we don't want that.

• 17:44George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 17:44Rachel Cruze?

  That'd be very sad. Oh, man, that's hard.

• 17:47George Kamel?

  Protected species.

• 17:48Rachel Cruze?

  The last protected species, fun fact I have for you, turkey vultures. Those nasty, huge birds. They are protected. You, it's illegal to shoot them. And anyways, we had a dead raccoon in our back, like, way in our backyard, y'all, and we had probably six or seven of those guys hanging out yesterday. They are disgusting, disgusting. And Winston told me, he's like, yikes. He's like, they're actually, and Winston's like, they're actually pretty good because they clean up a lot of carnage and like, they're good, blah, blah, blah. But they are disgusting.

• 18:18George Kamel?

  Oh, it's actually really good for the environment?

• 18:19Rachel Cruze?

  It's actually, uh, they're one of those. It's like, what's, oh, like, like, um, uh, like, black snakes, rat snakes, you don't wanna kill because they eat.

• 18:27George Kamel?

  And like a lot of spiders.

• 18:28Rachel Cruze?

  They eat a lot of spiders, yes.

• 18:30George Kamel?

  It's my least favorite argument. No, they're actually good to have around.

• 18:32Rachel Cruze?

  And there's something else that eats ticks. What's the animal that eats ticks that's like, good to have, but it's kind of a nuisance? Anyone? Okay, anyways, not a nature gal, but.

• 18:41George Kamel?

  We gotta Google what loves to eat ticks. It's a weird diet.

• 18:45Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, yeah, what is it?

• 18:47George Kamel?

  They're so little.

• 18:48Rachel Cruze?

  There's a, there's an animal that loves to eat ticks.

• 18:50George Kamel?

  How do they have enough nutrients to sustain life?

• 18:52Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 18:53George Kamel?

  If that's your diet.

• 18:54Rachel Cruze?

  I can't remember now. Okay.

• 18:55George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 18:55Rachel Cruze?

  What would you rate that, George?

• 18:56George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 18:57Rachel Cruze?

  Bats? I'm going 9. That's disgusting.

• 19:01George Kamel?

  Yeah, bats are one of the more frightening creatures.

• 19:04Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 19:04George Kamel?

  That's a 9 for me.

• 19:05Rachel Cruze?

  It might be bats that eat ticks.

• 19:08George Kamel?

  I don't know, that feels wrong.

• 19:12Rachel Cruze?

  I'm sorry. I'm just multitasking. We're just, we're hanging, right? We're just hanging right now?

• 19:16George Kamel?

  I got nowhere to be.

• 19:17Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 19:18George Kamel?

  I'm at work, so.

• 19:20Rachel Cruze?

  Animal eats ticks?

• 19:24George Kamel?

  I'm sure multiple animals do.

• 19:25Rachel Cruze?

  I'm sure there are. Many animals. Oh, chickens, well, turkeys, I think it's turkeys.

• 19:31George Kamel?

  Turkeys, chickens? Okay, so poultry?

• 19:34Rachel Cruze?

  Poultry?

• 19:35George Kamel?

  Poultry loves ticks.

• 19:36Rachel Cruze?

  Alright, keep going.

• 19:37George Kamel?

  Alright, next on the emergency list. Paying for my parents' emergency because they don't have savings of their own.

• 19:45Rachel Cruze?

  Wah, wah.

• 19:46George Kamel?

  That's a sad one. As far as boring to exciting, this is probably a 1, but on the sadness scale, it ranks high.

• 19:53Rachel Cruze?

  It does rank high. Man, that's tough.

• 19:55George Kamel?

  Now, the question is, did the parents ask for help?

• 19:57Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 19:58George Kamel?

  Or did you just kinda step in and go, hey, I know you guys don't have savings? So that's a whole nother part of it, is, did they ask?

• 20:04Rachel Cruze?

  And you know, this is where I'm a conditional human at times, George, so I'm like, if your parents, I'm just throwing it out there, sweet people, on the mission field their whole life, they don't need much, they're just precious, right? And they just don't have a lot, and something big happens and you're able to go and help them. Like, I have more of a heart for someone, you know what I mean? Like, those types, that, that stereotype of parents versus the ones that are just irresponsible, made a lot of money, they just spend everything, like, do you know what I mean?

• 20:30George Kamel?

  There's no excuse for that behavior.

• 20:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, yes, you know?

• 20:34George Kamel?

  Yeah, and that's where I always wonder, what happened here? But I, I mean, if it was my parents, I would cover an emergency for them. Now, if it was a pattern, and it was a quote-unquote emergency, then I'd be like, hey, guys, we need to have a talk.

• 20:48Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, but if we have to step in and write a $10,000 check to help X, Y, and Z, I agree with you.

• 20:52George Kamel?

  It's one of the best parts of following the baby steps. You get to decide where the generosity goes.

• 20:57Rachel Cruze?

  That's fair. Totally fair. Alright, next. Uh, college accidentally gave me too much student aid. Oh, and I had to pay it back later before graduating.

• 21:08George Kamel?

  Ouch.

• 21:09Rachel Cruze?

  Ew, that's.

• 21:10George Kamel?

  Because you probably spent it.

• 21:11Rachel Cruze?

  That's on the college. They should not do that.

• 21:13George Kamel?

  Yeah, I think there should be a law. If you overpay.

• 21:16Rachel Cruze?

  Sorry.

• 21:16George Kamel?

  That's on you.

• 21:17Rachel Cruze?

  Because they got plenty of money.

• 21:19George Kamel?

  Yeah, they're not hurting.

• 21:21Rachel Cruze?

  They're doing fine.

• 21:21George Kamel?

  So like, hey, we overpaid my 5 grand, we need that back.

• 21:24Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, oh, that's.

• 21:25George Kamel?

  Also, can you donate to the alumni fund? While you're at it?

• 21:29Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that's hard.

• 21:30George Kamel?

  That's a new rule I think we should institute. If you took student loans to go to college, they cannot call you for alumni donations.

• 21:40George Kamel?

  That's my rule. Don't you think that's fair?

• 21:43Rachel Cruze?

  No, no.

• 21:43George Kamel?

  I went into, I'm still making payments to pay off my time there and now you want more money on top of that?

• 21:50Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, if you're still paying student loans?

• 21:52George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 21:52Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, yeah, but once they're paid off, you could have a great job and do well with your life.

• 21:57George Kamel?

  I've given zero dollars to any school that I've gone to.

• 21:59Rachel Cruze?

  I love an alum.

• 22:00George Kamel?

  Now, if I-

• 22:01Rachel Cruze?

  It brings me back.

• 22:02George Kamel?

  Would you pay to get your own like gymnasium?

• 22:04Rachel Cruze?

  No, I don't, no, no. I don't need my name anywhere.

• 22:08George Kamel?

  A classroom?

• 22:09Rachel Cruze?

  Except for Instagram.

• 22:11George Kamel?

  What about like the-

• 22:12Rachel Cruze?

  I said I don't need my name anywhere.

• 22:14George Kamel?

  University of Tennessee Knoxville calls and says, hey, Rachel, we want to do like a media broadcast center and call it the Rachel Cruz Media Center. It's gonna cost a million dollars. You don't care about that.

• 22:27Rachel Cruze?

  No, that gives me, that gives my-

• 22:29George Kamel?

  No joy.

• 22:29Rachel Cruze?

  Nothing.

• 22:30George Kamel?

  What if it also meant that your kids could get into UT? No matter what, full ride.

• 22:37Rachel Cruze?

  For my kids.

• 22:38George Kamel?

  Now it's for the children.

• 22:39Rachel Cruze?

  To go to the alma mater of alma mater.

• 22:42George Kamel?

  Alma mater?

• 22:44Rachel Cruze?

  Say it again?

• 22:45George Kamel?

  Alma mater.

• 22:46Rachel Cruze?

  Alma mater.

• 22:47George Kamel?

  It is a really annoying word, I'll give you that.

• 22:49Rachel Cruze?

  All right, I'm gonna say, I'm gonna go four. It's not like overly exciting, but it's not fun.

• 22:54George Kamel?

  Three as far as excitement goes.

• 22:56Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 22:57George Kamel?

  But it does stink, if you're that person.

• 22:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 22:59George Kamel?

  But like, that wouldn't be a long conversation at dinner, if they were telling a story.

• 23:03Rachel Cruze?

  True.

• 23:05George Kamel?

  Cool.

• 23:05Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it's not like that's and I had to get like a special person.

• 23:08George Kamel?

  I need more drama.

• 23:09Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, not very dramatic.

• 23:10George Kamel?

  Not the Bursar's office, that's, nobody likes that place.

• 23:14Rachel Cruze?

  So true.

• 23:15George Kamel?

  Bursar.

• 23:15Rachel Cruze?

  It's so true. Well, you know what I would just give a 10 to on the scale of zero is horrible, 10 is life-changing.

• 23:22George Kamel?

  What's that?

• 23:23Rachel Cruze?

  Anything from Cozy Earth.

• 23:24George Kamel?

  10 out of 10.

• 23:25Rachel Cruze?

  Unbelievable. I still can't get over it, George. We got a new, we got a new set of sheets.

• 23:29George Kamel?

  How are the new sheets doing?

• 23:31Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh, they're wonderful.

• 23:33George Kamel?

  I ask if you got a new dog.

• 23:34Rachel Cruze?

  And the color was beautiful. I mean, all of it. I just love it. I was in my robe this morning. Um, I do, I love, I love my brands, you know, I love my clothes, I love my stuff, I do. Um, and when you find something that every time it just delivers.

• 23:47George Kamel?

  That's so true.

• 23:48Rachel Cruze?

  It's what we appreciate.

• 23:48George Kamel?

  Cause some stores are like hit or miss. Like, oh, I like that one thing, but then I got this. Cozy Earth, every single thing across different categories.

• 23:56Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 23:56George Kamel?

  From bedding to the loungewear, to the footwear, everything is 10 out of 10 and actually lasts. And I'm in a stage of life where I want to invest in quality things instead of just going, well, I gotta get a new pair because they don't last.

• 24:07Rachel Cruze?

  That's right, that's right, I know. So everything from their bamboo sheets, I was just talking about their bamboo pajamas, I wore this last night, the luxe towels, the cuddle blankets, uh, the loungewear, all of it is there at Cozy Earth. So go to cozylearn.com/smartmoney and use our code SMARTMONEY for 20% off. It's amazing. And if you do the post-purchase survey, make sure you tell them that you heard about Cozy Earth here.

• 24:29George Kamel?

  Give us a shout out.

• 24:29Rachel Cruze?

  Smart Money Happy Hour.

• 24:30George Kamel?

  Some of my favorite DMs are people who are like, hey, I use Cozy Earth, use your promo code, my wife loves it, my husband loves it.

• 24:37Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, it's the best, changing lives, George, changing lives. All right, next up, um, my in-laws offered to help us remodel our house, only for them to bail and we had to hire someone.

• 24:52George Kamel?

  Woof.

• 24:53Rachel Cruze?

  Man.

• 24:55George Kamel?

  And you had to use the emergency fund for the renovation?

• 24:57Rachel Cruze?

  So I guess like, let's just make up a story, right? That the dad's like a contractor, right? And he's like, oh yes.

• 25:02George Kamel?

  Don't pay someone, I can do it.

• 25:04Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I'll do it. And he goes in there and then he decides, oh, I don't have time, sorry. And you're like, maybe partly into it and you gotta finish. Oh, that's disappointing.

• 25:14George Kamel?

  Cause now you, you kinda have a broken relationship.

• 25:17Rachel Cruze?

  Well, don't go that far, George.

• 25:19George Kamel?

  Well, I mean, I'm gonna be a little resentful at my, you know, father-in-law.

• 25:21Rachel Cruze?

  I'd be mad, I'd be frustrated, for sure.

• 25:24George Kamel?

  And now you gotta burn the emergency fund, which, please don't use your emergency fund for renovations.

• 25:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 25:28George Kamel?

  But they sound like they're midway through the project, they got half a bathroom.

• 25:31Rachel Cruze?

  Uh huh, uh huh.

• 25:32George Kamel?

  You gotta finish it, you gotta see it through.

• 25:34Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm.

• 25:35George Kamel?

  So, commitment. Make sure you got committed people.

• 25:39Rachel Cruze?

  You know, but there could be a juicier story in there, that we're not getting the deets. So, I'm gonna go seven on that one.

• 25:44George Kamel?

  You think there's more to it?

• 25:45Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know, you, you put it in a little stir in of the, of the in-laws and they bail and now you're, you know? It's drama, a little drama.

• 25:53George Kamel?

  And I guarantee you, one of the spouses was like, we shouldn't do this.

• 25:56Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that's the worst.

• 25:57George Kamel?

  And he's like, well babe, we can save money, he said he'll do it for free.

• 26:00Rachel Cruze?

  But then maybe the mom of the parents, her mom, sweet granny, had to be put in nursing home. So they're like, listen, we have to move. And maybe so the reason they bailed was something really sweet and good.

• 26:13George Kamel?

  Why do all your stories end with benefit of the doubt? The least exciting ending of anything.

• 26:18Rachel Cruze?

  It may have happened.

• 26:18George Kamel?

  I'm gonna go six out of 10.

• 26:20Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 26:20George Kamel?

  Dramatic, but not super exciting on the actual emergency side.

• 26:24Rachel Cruze?

  Fair.

• 26:24George Kamel?

  But I do love me some family drama.

• 26:26Rachel Cruze?

  We love family drama.

• 26:27George Kamel?

  All right. Couple more to go.

• 26:29Rachel Cruze?

  We should create a reality show.

• 26:32George Kamel?

  Where people film this? They film their family drama?

• 26:34Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 26:35George Kamel?

  Who's willing to put that out there?

• 26:36Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know, just, we could be the hosts.

• 26:39George Kamel?

  We could GoFundMe, that way you get paid to be on it, to expose your family drama.

• 26:43Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that's good.

• 26:44George Kamel?

  And people can pay depending on how much they want to see the story.

• 26:47Rachel Cruze?

  It's good, love it.

• 26:49George Kamel?

  Crowdsource. My roommate once used hers to retain a lawyer to fight a speeding ticket. So use an emergency fund to get a lawyer to fight a speeding ticket.

• 26:58Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm.

• 26:59George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 27:01Rachel Cruze?

  I mean.

• 27:03George Kamel?

  Is that an emergency? I would not call that an emergency. I understand the, the backend of, hey, you want that speeding ticket off your record, which is gonna lower your insurance premiums.

• 27:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, whatever, it could be on. Is it that big of a deal?

• 27:16George Kamel?

  Yeah. How much, I wonder how much this was?

• 27:19Rachel Cruze?

  I don't think I would hire a-

• 27:20George Kamel?

  A thousand dollars?

• 27:22Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know.

• 27:22George Kamel?

  I can't imagine you would pay that much to fight a speeding ticket.

• 27:26Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, and unless the speed, you know what I mean, if you're over, what is it, 25 miles an hour, you could like go to jail for-

• 27:32George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 27:32Rachel Cruze?

  So if it's like that serious, but if you got a speeding ticket for going 13 over, I'm not hiring a attorney.

• 27:39George Kamel?

  You're just gonna pay it?

• 27:40Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. I don't got time for all that.

• 27:42George Kamel?

  Well, I'll tell you what Whitney did, because she got a speeding ticket, driving my car.

• 27:45Rachel Cruze?

  Did you guys hire an attorney?

• 27:47George Kamel?

  No.

• 27:48Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 27:48George Kamel?

  But what we did was the online driving school.

• 27:51Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah.

• 27:52George Kamel?

  So you can opt, now she had to go to the court because it was, I think, 16 over. If it's 15 or less, you can just do the online driving school. But if it's over 15, you have to go to the court to request it from the judge.

• 28:04Rachel Cruze?

  Little need for speed, oh Whitney.

• 28:06George Kamel?

  So she had like a legit court date to show up.

• 28:08Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 28:09George Kamel?

  Now, it was like, it was annoying, you know, the speed limit changes drastically and randomly, where it's like-

• 28:13Rachel Cruze?

  It goes from 50 to 35 or something.

• 28:15George Kamel?

  So it's like a 51 and a 35, something like that.

• 28:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 28:18George Kamel?

  So she had to go to the court.

• 28:20Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 28:20George Kamel?

  And I told her to bring our toddler, that way they'd be a little more, you know, the judge would have pity, but you know what, don't even-

• 28:26Rachel Cruze?

  And if she was pregnant at the time, she's like, look, look at me.

• 28:29George Kamel?

  She did not bring the toddler, but she did the driving school, it took about four hours and it was like 50 bucks.

• 28:33Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, there you go.

• 28:34George Kamel?

  And no more ticket.

• 28:35Rachel Cruze?

  Not, not too terrible. Okay, that one, I'm gonna go.

• 28:38George Kamel?

  I'm a two.

• 28:39Rachel Cruze?

  Three.

• 28:39George Kamel?

  I'm a two.

• 28:39Rachel Cruze?

  I'm a three. Um, $5,600 to have a tree removed from our yard.

• 28:47George Kamel?

  5,000, for tree removal?

• 28:50Rachel Cruze?

  Feels like a lot for one tree, right?

• 28:52George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 28:53Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, not super, that, that's part of-

• 28:56George Kamel?

  How big is that tree?

• 28:56Rachel Cruze?

  Being a homeowner, you know?

• 28:58George Kamel?

  I wanna know the backstory, was there some, a dramatic storm?

• 29:01Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 29:01George Kamel?

  What happened that caused this tree didn't need to be removed? I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go a three for the amount. The amount is, that's a sizable emergency.

• 29:11Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm, okay. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go one.

• 29:16George Kamel?

  Wow, you really hate trees.

• 29:18Rachel Cruze?

  Well, no, it's just, it's just you gotta get it done. That's part of being a homeowner.

• 29:22George Kamel?

  Is this because you weren't allowed to watch Fern Gully growing up? Which is a movie about tree removal and capitalism? Wow. It's fine. I think a subconscious PTSD from that. Did you watch it later in life? Or you still have never seen it?

• 29:39Rachel Cruze?

  Um.

• 29:40George Kamel?

  I guess once you're old enough, it's kind of too late to watch it.

• 29:43Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I picture when you say it, my, what is, Rescuers, Rescuers Down Under, remember that movie?

• 29:49George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 29:50Rachel Cruze?

  That's like the visual that comes in my head, but I don't think that's Fern Gully.

• 29:55George Kamel?

  No, I think just based on the fact that they have different titles tells you it's not the same.

• 29:58Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. I don't know if I've ever seen it, I should watch it.

• 30:01George Kamel?

  Yeah, they're trying to, so they're trying to chop down the forest.

• 30:04Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, I know the premise of it.

• 30:05George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 30:06Rachel Cruze?

  But listen, a part of me, that is being a homeowner. You got stuff to do.

• 30:10George Kamel?

  Tree removal.

• 30:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 30:11George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 30:12Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know.

• 30:13George Kamel?

  It's one of the beauties of renting, but uh, yeah, I'm, I'm a two.

• 30:16Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 30:17George Kamel?

  But that is a big enough number.

• 30:18Rachel Cruze?

  It's a lot of money, for sure, for a tree removal, but, oh wait, I'm jumping ahead, I'm sorry, George. Uh, kitchen reno because our neighborhood started a grant program to reimburse 40% of the cost.

• 30:33George Kamel?

  What?

• 30:35Rachel Cruze?

  Have you heard of that?

• 30:36George Kamel?

  The neighborhood? Like the HOA?

• 30:39Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, started a grants program to reimburse 40% of the cost.

• 30:43George Kamel?

  So you spend 10 and you'll get back four?

• 30:46Rachel Cruze?

  Four. Listen, not a bad deal.

• 30:49George Kamel?

  But they took six out of the emergency fund to make this happen?

• 30:51Rachel Cruze?

  To do it. It's not necessary, like, you didn't need to do your kitchen removal, so it's technically not an emergency fund, but to cash flow that and take advantage of something like that, that really is real, no strings attached?

• 31:02George Kamel?

  How do we know the contractors didn't get wind of this and go, why don't we just charge more?

• 31:07Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 31:08George Kamel?

  Charge double.

• 31:09Rachel Cruze?

  Sneaky, sneaky.

• 31:10George Kamel?

  Cause they're already getting 40% off.

• 31:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 31:11George Kamel?

  It's like when Amazon Prime changes the price right before Prime Day, and you think, wow, it's 80% off and the next day it's the same exact price, not even on sale.

• 31:20Rachel Cruze?

  So true, so true.

• 31:21George Kamel?

  But that one, definitely not an emergency, and so for that, it's gonna go in the boring category.

• 31:26Rachel Cruze?

  But the idea of it, that, that they're gonna reimburse, that's exciting.

• 31:30George Kamel?

  You're like, free money, woo.

• 31:31Rachel Cruze?

  I'm gonna say four, four out of 10.

• 31:33George Kamel?

  So you're basically paying for 60% of that bathroom reno.

• 31:35Rachel Cruze?

  It's pretty cool, if you're gonna do it anyways, pretty nice.

• 31:38George Kamel?

  Wow, I can't believe you just greenlit them to go and use the emergency fund.

• 31:42Rachel Cruze?

  No, no, I didn't say to use it, I said cash flow it.

• 31:44George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 31:44Rachel Cruze?

  Elsewhere.

• 31:45George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 31:45Rachel Cruze?

  But if you like, wanna take advantage of the program.

• 31:48George Kamel?

  That's one of the beauties of having margin, is when an opportunity like that comes up and you go, yeah, we could cash flow this. But please don't drain your emergency fund, because then you're gonna have a real emergency and have nothing to show for it.

• 31:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. Uh, you know, one of the worst emergencies?

• 32:02George Kamel?

  What's that?

• 32:03Rachel Cruze?

  Is when people take all your information from the internet. Terrible.

• 32:07George Kamel?

  That's a big one. And these data broker sites are getting sneakier and sneakier.

• 32:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, they are.

• 32:12George Kamel?

  And they'll package it, sell the data to spammers and scammers, and then you're wondering why you're getting all these spam texts and emails and putting you at risk for phishing and fraud.

• 32:20Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, not good. So Delete Me actually goes in and removes all your information from those data broker sites and helps you, again, man, protects you from that. And we need protection in 2026, George.

• 32:33George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 32:33Rachel Cruze?

  Especially on the internet. How much you spend on the internet, how much time you spend, uh, how much information you're putting out there constantly about yourself that you don't even realize? So you just wanna be safe and protect yourself, and that is why we love Delete Me.

• 32:45George Kamel?

  Yep, I got my latest report, they removed me from 15 more data broker sites that, where my information popped up. So, very thankful for them. Go check it out and get 20% off their annual plans at joindelete.me.com/smartmoney.

• 32:59Rachel Cruze?

  We'll put a link down below too, so you guys can click that.

• 33:01George Kamel?

  Some people prefer to click, I found out.

• 33:03Rachel Cruze?

  I love a clicking.

• 33:04George Kamel?

  They don't wanna have to type it in.

• 33:05Rachel Cruze?

  Clicking, clacking, we like it.

• 33:08George Kamel?

  Struggling here. I don't have nails.

• 33:10Rachel Cruze?

  So dramatic, so dramatic.

• 33:13George Kamel?

  Valentino purse. It went from $1,800 to 750, so I had to. I saved money if you think about it.

• 33:23George Kamel?

  I'm still thinking.

• 33:26George Kamel?

  Everything's 100% off if you don't buy it, so.

• 33:29Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, man. Yeah.

• 33:31George Kamel?

  If you hadn't bought it, you would have made that money.

• 33:34Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 33:35George Kamel?

  Is, I don't know Valentino purses, so I don't know what's a good deal.

• 33:40Rachel Cruze?

  I'm not sure either. I don't own anything Valentino, but.

• 33:43George Kamel?

  But that's a steep discount.

• 33:44Rachel Cruze?

  I can't, I can't see dipping into the emergency fund for it.

• 33:48George Kamel?

  Especially for a purse. Out of all the things, that feels like a vanity purchase.

• 33:52Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 33:53George Kamel?

  Nobody needs that purse to survive.

• 33:54Rachel Cruze?

  I would rather them go on like a trip with all their friends.

• 33:57George Kamel?

  An experience.

• 33:58Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 33:59George Kamel?

  The memories will pay dividends. That purse will do nothing.

• 34:02Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 34:03George Kamel?

  It'll sit in the closet and one day you're gonna feel bad.

• 34:05Rachel Cruze?

  Because it's big designer, I'm gonna go three and a half out of 10.

• 34:08George Kamel?

  You like that it's big designer. That helps the points.

• 34:10Rachel Cruze?

  Well, it helps the drama. Yeah. It's not like she was like, I went to Home Goods and saw a pillow I like.

• 34:17George Kamel?

  If you drain the emergency fund on Home Goods purses.

• 34:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I know.

• 34:20George Kamel?

  You got some purses.

• 34:21Rachel Cruze?

  A little TJ Maxx action.

• 34:23George Kamel?

  Wow, I'm gonna give it a, I'm gonna give it a two.

• 34:26Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 34:26George Kamel?

  Maybe a 1.8, just because I don't, I don't like it.

• 34:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 34:29George Kamel?

  I don't condone this behavior.

• 34:30Rachel Cruze?

  We don't like it. All right, two more, George.

• 34:34Rachel Cruze?

  What do we got? What do we got?

• 34:37Rachel Cruze?

  Ooh, oh my gosh.

• 34:40George Kamel?

  It's getting juicy. We got a 10 out of 10?

• 34:43Rachel Cruze?

  I think we got an above five for sure. Dentist left a tool in my jaw.

• 34:47George Kamel?

  Uh-uh.

• 34:48Rachel Cruze?

  Had to pay for two tooth implants after the removal.

• 34:52George Kamel?

  What? I'm sorry.

• 34:54Rachel Cruze?

  Now, that's a story to tell at dinner.

• 34:56George Kamel?

  How is there not a lawsuit? Why did she pay?

• 34:58Rachel Cruze?

  Insane.

• 35:00George Kamel?

  So the dentist leaves the tool in the jaw.

• 35:02Rachel Cruze?

  Can I say like how? I know, everything get queasy. We don't want to get queasy.

• 35:07George Kamel?

  How bad is your dentist?

• 35:08Rachel Cruze?

  How bad is your dentist?

• 35:09George Kamel?

  And how big is this tool?

• 35:10Rachel Cruze?

  And what is the tool? That's what I was gonna say.

• 35:11George Kamel?

  I imagine it's little.

• 35:12Rachel Cruze?

  It's not like a thing that sticks out and you're like, walk out and everyone's like, oh, he left that thing.

• 35:16George Kamel?

  I imagine they're like, you know, going into the gum and like a piece fell out. And they don't know.

• 35:22Rachel Cruze?

  That's exactly what happened. I'm not a dentist, but that's exactly what happened. Oh my gosh.

• 35:27George Kamel?

  I've missed a couple of cleanings after I heard from you.

• 35:30Rachel Cruze?

  That's a 10 out of 10 for me.

• 35:30George Kamel?

  I have not been in a while.

• 35:31Rachel Cruze?

  That's horrible.

• 35:32George Kamel?

  And now this makes me not want to go.

• 35:33Rachel Cruze?

  No, George, I'm telling you, it's why.

• 35:35George Kamel?

  Because I know what they're gonna say. Hey, it looks like the start of some cavities here. You might want to get those filled in before they get any worse.

• 35:43Rachel Cruze?

  Money.

• 35:44George Kamel?

  Not falling for it. That one's a, that one's bad.

• 35:46Rachel Cruze?

  That's bad.

• 35:47George Kamel?

  And the fact that she had to pay for the implants?

• 35:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, not good.

• 35:50George Kamel?

  I'm gonna go nine out of 10 on that one.

• 35:52Rachel Cruze?

  I'm going 10 out of 10 on that one.

• 35:53George Kamel?

  I don't know how you didn't sue, though.

• 35:55Rachel Cruze?

  No fun. All right, George, finish us out.

• 35:57George Kamel?

  Last one?

• 35:58Rachel Cruze?

  Last one.

• 35:59George Kamel?

  Last but not least, make it a good one.

• 36:03George Kamel?

  Wow, okay. Paid off our 15-year mortgage, then built it back up aggressively.

• 36:10Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, okay.

• 36:11George Kamel?

  All right.

• 36:13Rachel Cruze?

  We ain't too mad about that. Not technically an emergency. I don't know if I would like drain it to do that.

• 36:18George Kamel?

  Definitely not an emergency.

• 36:19Rachel Cruze?

  But.

• 36:19George Kamel?

  What we sometimes tell people is if you want to go from like six months to three months.

• 36:23Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 36:24George Kamel?

  And take that money and throw it at the mortgage to finish it off and then replenish, be my guest. And you don't need as much emergency fund when you don't have a mortgage payment anymore.

• 36:31Rachel Cruze?

  That's right, that's right.

• 36:32George Kamel?

  So it actually reduces the amount you need in the emergency fund. So for that, on the, on the boring side, I'm gonna give it a, a three. But on the like way to go for paying off your mortgage, it's an 11.

• 36:43Rachel Cruze?

  Way to, way to end on a high.

• 36:45George Kamel?

  We needed a win.

• 36:47Rachel Cruze?

  I'm going, I'm going five. I'm going half and half.

• 36:49George Kamel?

  This was not a crisis. Nobody was hurt in the making of this one.

• 36:52Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 36:53George Kamel?

  And they restocked it.

• 36:54Rachel Cruze?

  Well done, you guys.

• 36:56George Kamel?

  They're made whole.

• 36:56Rachel Cruze?

  Well done.

• 36:57George Kamel?

  That was fun. Thank you for sharing, everyone. Appreciate that.

• 37:00Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, and just remember, your emergency fund is built after you pay off all your consumer debt, everything but your house. Build it up to three to six months of expenses, put it in a high-yield savings account, and it's just there. It's not supposed to be invested or anything. It's just liquid cash that is there for a rainy day. And it just feels good to have. So there's that. And then also creating sinking funds. You love a sinking fund.

• 37:21George Kamel?

  Oh, I love it. Because then you barely ever have to touch the emergency fund.

• 37:23Rachel Cruze?

  To know what's coming up, yeah. So car repairs, bat removals, you know, things that just happen in life.

• 37:28George Kamel?

  Car replacement.

• 37:29Rachel Cruze?

  Um, yep. You just save up a little bit each month.

• 37:32George Kamel?

  Vacations.

• 37:33Rachel Cruze?

  And all of these. And it, yeah, and when you need to actually pay for the thing, all the money's sitting there in the account. It's great.

• 37:38George Kamel?

  And that's the goal. The goal in life is let's, let's have less stress. And part of that is making all these emergencies an inconvenience instead of a crisis. So if you want a great way to set up the sinking funds, to set up your savings goals, check out EveryDollar. It's the app that Rachel and I use for all of our goals, and it makes it super easy to set up all of these funds.

• 37:56Rachel Cruze?

  Yep, absolutely. Make sure, check it out. All right, before we spill the tea on our Guilty as Charged segment, uh, let's share the, the details, George, and the rating.

• 38:04George Kamel?

  This is the Salty Dog, and it's a pretty simple drink, probably one of the most simple. It's literally two ingredients.

• 38:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 38:12George Kamel?

  It's vodka and grapefruit juice.

• 38:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 38:14George Kamel?

  Now, it does have a salted rim, hence the Salty Dog. If it doesn't have a salted rim, it's called a Greyhound.

• 38:19Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, I didn't know that. Okay.

• 38:21George Kamel?

  And traditionally, it's actually made with gin. We've used vodka. You can do vodka or gin.

• 38:26Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 38:26George Kamel?

  With the Salty Dog.

• 38:27Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 38:27George Kamel?

  So depending on what you're into. But for such a simple drink, it shines.

• 38:31Rachel Cruze?

  George, I was gonna say the same thing. Are you, I may do it. I may give it a 10 out of 10.

• 38:36George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 38:37Rachel Cruze?

  I would drink this out. Like, if all the girls are like, ooh, let's get Salty Dogs, I'd be like, yes. Because it's sweet with the grapefruit.

• 38:47George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 38:47Rachel Cruze?

  I prefer a vodka-based cocktail, so I do, that's good for me. And I love a salt rim. I mean, it's part of why I love a margarita.

• 38:55George Kamel?

  Especially this kind of salt rim.

• 38:56Rachel Cruze?

  And I lo, yeah.

• 38:58George Kamel?

  It does make me feel like a kid again.

• 38:59Rachel Cruze?

  I'm going 10 out of 10, y'all. Easy to make.

• 39:01George Kamel?

  Great combo flavors.

• 39:02Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 39:03George Kamel?

  Yeah, I'm gonna go nine out of 10.

• 39:04Rachel Cruze?

  Wish I had that earlier this summer.

• 39:05George Kamel?

  I usually prefer complexity, but this one hits, and it reminds me of our honeymoon in Cancun.

• 39:11Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 39:12George Kamel?

  In the pool with like the pool bar, you know, when you're in the pool and you can get a drink. And I got the Greyhounds, which was just the non-salted version of this. I didn't know the Salty Dog existed back then.

• 39:21Rachel Cruze?

  Me neither. The Salty Dog. We love it.

• 39:23George Kamel?

  So check it out. It's a dollar and 30 cents to make it at home. I think you can even make it cheaper, depending on the vodka and grapefruit juice you use. Get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend if you're of age.

• 39:34Rachel Cruze?

  All right, now it's time for.

• 39:35George Kamel?

  Guilty as charged.

• 39:37Rachel Cruze?

  And this is where we ask each other a Guilty as Charged question every week, and if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, have you ever had sticker shock over an emergency fund purchase?

• 39:48George Kamel?

  Ooh, I'll tell you the most recent one.

• 39:51Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 39:51George Kamel?

  Is I, I got a nail on the old tire.

• 39:55George Kamel?

  And they couldn't plug it.

• 39:57Rachel Cruze?

  Tesla tires are tough.

• 39:58George Kamel?

  And they are, they think they're special.

• 40:00Rachel Cruze?

  They are, yes. That is like one of my biggest, now, I love that we don't have to take it to maintenance. We don't have to take the Teslas to maintenance. But the, the tires are not great.

• 40:09George Kamel?

  And they, well, and they wear down faster because of the weight of the car due to the battery.

• 40:13Rachel Cruze?

  So heavy, yeah.

• 40:14George Kamel?

  So that's the one thing that you have to replace more often than a regular car is the tires. But they couldn't plug it up.

• 40:18Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, no.

• 40:19George Kamel?

  And so they said, hey, you're gonna have to get. Well, they said you have to get this exact same tire due to the, the style of tire.

• 40:27Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 40:28George Kamel?

  So I had to get the exact same one, and it was $503 for one tire.

• 40:34Rachel Cruze?

  Good night.

• 40:34George Kamel?

  The single tire.

• 40:36Rachel Cruze?

  Good night.

• 40:36George Kamel?

  Because they said, hey, you want to just go ahead and replace all four? And I said, how much is it? They said it'll be $503 per tire. I went, I'm gonna go ahead and just get the one today.

• 40:44Rachel Cruze?

  Just do one, thanks.

• 40:45George Kamel?

  But I walked out of there.

• 40:46Rachel Cruze?

  All I can stomach.

• 40:47George Kamel?

  And that was like the going price, because you know your boy researched and went like, okay, what is, can I find a cheaper price? Nope. $500 for a single tire, so tread with caution if you're gonna drive a Tesla.

• 40:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 40:59George Kamel?

  How about you?

• 41:00Rachel Cruze?

  Um.

• 41:01George Kamel?

  Have you been shooketh?

• 41:03Rachel Cruze?

  I'm trying to think. I may have told this story already on here, but I was, I really was trying to think like, when was the last time you just have to pay for something, you're like, this makes me sick. We were on a trip and our airline canceled our flight home. Canceled. So we had to spend the night again, which they actually refunded our hotel night, so I appreciated that. But, um, the next day, we woke up and the next flight that we were supposed to take with that airline kept being delayed. And I just told him, I was like, we gotta get home. And so we, we, we bought a whole other set of five airline tickets on another airline. Because we knew we'd get credit for the other ones, so we could use it again.

• 41:40George Kamel?

  That helps soften the blow.

• 41:41Rachel Cruze?

  I want to say, yes, I mean.

• 41:44George Kamel?

  Last-minute tickets, five people.

• 41:46Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, 2,500. I mean, like, it was a lot.

• 41:48George Kamel?

  Ouch.

• 41:49Rachel Cruze?

  It was a lot. And we did it, just to like, be like, we just, we gotta get home.

• 41:53George Kamel?

  We gotta get home.

• 41:53Rachel Cruze?

  I don't want a chance like staying here another night, right?

• 41:55George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 41:56Rachel Cruze?

  Um, that one hurt.

• 41:58George Kamel?

  As someone who just had an eight-hour delay.

• 42:00Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 42:01George Kamel?

  From BNA to New York, I, uh, I would have paid to be, to get on another flight.

• 42:05Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I know.

• 42:06George Kamel?

  That left on time. I would have paid extra for that.

• 42:08Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 42:09George Kamel?

  That's the sad state of air travel.

• 42:11Rachel Cruze?

  Where it's at, yep. But that's probably what I'd say, so.

• 42:13George Kamel?

  It hurts.

• 42:14Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know how much of an emergency that was, but getting home.

• 42:17George Kamel?

  Worth it.

• 42:17Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm.

• 42:18George Kamel?

  Priceless.

• 42:19Rachel Cruze?

  Priceless.

• 42:20George Kamel?

  That's great.

• 42:20Rachel Cruze?

  Priceless. Oh, well, if you have a guilty as charged question for us, make sure to DM us at RachelCruisin, at GeorgeCamel. We see them, we love them, we screenshot them.

• 42:30George Kamel?

  And we love you.

• 42:30Rachel Cruze?

  Producer, producer Jenna.

• 42:32George Kamel?

  We got a few great ones this week.

• 42:33Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, y'all keep sending them. We appreciate it. And they pair up with some of our episodes, which we love even more. So thank you so much. And if you enjoyed this episode, you're gonna love our episode, Surprisingly Simple Things That Make You Feel Wealthy. So we'll put a link for you. And make sure to subscribe, so you don't miss an all-new episode of.

• 42:51George Kamel?

  Smart Money Happy Hour.