Finances, Friendship and FUN with Annie F. Downs

💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar. The “F” in our guest’s name stands for “Fun”—and boy did we have all the fun talking money, relationships, hot takes and more with Annie F. Downs. This one feels like a party, so stick around! Next Steps: · 🎙️ Catch our episode How Matt and Abby Went from Broke College Kids to “Unplanned” Influencers · 📗 Check out Annie’s new book Don’t Let That Hold You Back. · 🍸 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: 🍹 Shirley Temple Recipe by: bakingbeauty · 1.5 tablespoons grenadine · 1 cup Sprite or club soda · 1 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice (optional) · Maraschino cherries for garnish Instructions: Pour grenadine into a large glass. Add a dash of cherry juice. Fill glass with ice and top with soda. Garnish with maraschino cherries if desired. 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?

  The F in our guest name stands for fun, I think. Today, we're talking money, relationships, hot takes, and more.

• 0:12Speaker 01

  George, you need to advocate for yourself more. If the food is bad, you pay and you get up and leave and you go get something else.

• 0:17George Kamel?

  Then it's like you wasted that time and money already.

• 0:19Speaker 01

  Think I'm done crying. That was surprising for all of us.

• 0:21Rachel Cruze?

  We love it. We love it.

• 0:22George Kamel?

  I'm here. I am your Dr. Phil. Whatever you need.

• 0:25Speaker 01

  A great way for married people and single people to coexist in real village life is...

• 0:35Rachel Cruze?

  Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

• 0:37George Kamel?

  I'm George Kamel.

• 0:38Rachel Cruze?

  I'm Annie F. Downs, and this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Annie, you made it.

• 0:48Rachel Cruze?

  Ah, that's a good one.

• 0:49George Kamel?

  This is the biggest straw of all time. There was so much liquid coming through that straw.

• 0:52Speaker 01

  Yeah, so large.

• 0:53Rachel Cruze?

  Refreshing, refreshing.

• 0:54Speaker 01

  I'm really into it.

• 0:55George Kamel?

  Fire hose.

• 0:57Rachel Cruze?

  You too. 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.

• 1:04George Kamel?

  Before we get to our super fun conversation with Annie F. Downs, we're sipping on a Shirley Temple mocktail, which apparently is one of Annie's favorites.

• 1:12Speaker 01

  Oh, it is my very favorite mocktail.

• 1:14Rachel Cruze?

  We did it for you, Annie.

• 1:15Speaker 01

  Anybody can get it. It's the thing.

• 1:17George Kamel?

  You're right. My toddler could drink this.

• 1:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, if you fall in love with a fancy mocktail at this restaurant, well, next time, what are you gonna do?

• 1:25Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 1:25Speaker 01

  It's the risk is too high, George.

• 1:27Rachel Cruze?

  Hey, bar, behind the bar, can you make me this?

• 1:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:30Rachel Cruze?

  We've never heard of it. We've never heard of that.

• 1:31Speaker 01

  But this.

• 1:32George Kamel?

  Not only could my toddler drink this, she could make it.

• 1:34Speaker 01

  Maybe. Let's hope so.

• 1:35George Kamel?

  Don't question my toddler.

• 1:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:37Rachel Cruze?

  Listen, let's...

• 1:38George Kamel?

  She'll probably make a mess.

• 1:39Speaker 01

  We don't even call them Shirley Temples. We say, you want to crush some Shurleys?

• 1:42George Kamel?

  Oh, I love that.

• 1:44Rachel Cruze?

  Everyone says, round it.

• 1:45George Kamel?

  This is fantastic. Well, hey, stick around till the end. We're gonna give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass.

• 1:51Rachel Cruze?

  Well, I'm personally excited about this episode because Annie and I are great friends in real life, and she's one of the best. Now, you may know her as author, speaker, host of That Sounds Fun Podcast, all the things she does, but we wanted you. We said, this show's fun. What's it missing?

• 2:06George Kamel?

  Who's the most fun person we know?

• 2:08Rachel Cruze?

  And we're like, we've got to get Annie in here. She has to be a guest.

• 2:11Speaker 01

  As a fan of Smart Money Happy Hour, I know that it is rare that a guest gets to join in your expertise and your joy.

• 2:17Rachel Cruze?

  That is true. It's not a big guest show.

• 2:18George Kamel?

  We've had many a submission, but Matt Damon, you can't be on this show. Gosh, stop emailing us. Exhausting.

• 2:25Speaker 01

  He wants you to go on Matthew. That would help.

• 2:27George Kamel?

  I would love that. First things first, we have all of our guests do a warm-up round of Confess Your Money tendencies. So it's low stakes. First thing that comes to mind, don't try to get it right.

• 2:37Speaker 01

  Okay, George.

• 2:38George Kamel?

  Try to be authentic.

• 2:38Speaker 01

  George, I can do that for you.

• 2:40George Kamel?

  Thank you.

• 2:40Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, should we like, I take one, you take one, and it's rapid fire?

• 2:44George Kamel?

  Okay, first up.

• 2:45Rachel Cruze?

  Whatever is like, whatever the gut says, you just say it. Okay.

• 2:48George Kamel?

  Spender or saver?

• 2:49Speaker 01

  Spender.

• 2:51Rachel Cruze?

  Nerd or free spirit?

• 2:53Speaker 01

  Nerd.

• 2:54George Kamel?

  Experiences or things?

• 2:56Speaker 01

  Experiences, times 100.

• 2:59Rachel Cruze?

  Okay. Quality or quantity?

• 3:03Speaker 01

  Quality.

• 3:04George Kamel?

  Safety or status?

• 3:06Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, let me explain this one.

• 3:08George Kamel?

  Not like a fame, not fame and glory.

• 3:10Rachel Cruze?

  This is from Know Yourself, Know Your Money, the book. And what I mean by when I wrote this, what it meant was like, why you would want to win with money? Is it more to feel safe, or is it more so that you can do the things you want to do? Like I say, status, status isn't a great word for it, but like, you know, why would you want to win? To go do more or to feel safe?

• 3:25Speaker 01

  Honest to heaven, both. This is too serious for this, but my greatest idol in my life is money. The thing that the Lord and I have to deal with in my heart all the time is how money makes me feel safe, and money actually isn't safe.

• 3:40Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 3:40Speaker 01

  And also, I want to do everything I want to do.

• 3:43Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, you do. And you also want to both. Yeah. Keep the lights on, too.

• 3:47Speaker 01

  Yes, yes, yes.

• 3:48Rachel Cruze?

  All the things.

• 3:48George Kamel?

  You satisfy the scarcity muscle and the abundance muscle.

• 3:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 3:52Rachel Cruze?

  All in one. We'll give it to you.

• 3:53Speaker 01

  That's proof of an idol, isn't it? That's proof of an idol.

• 3:57George Kamel?

  Speaking of, abundance or scarcity mindset?

• 4:00Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 4:01George Kamel?

  All of it.

• 4:01Speaker 01

  Yeah. I mean, I think I have an abundance mindset, and I think that on my worst days, scarcity wins.

• 4:07Rachel Cruze?

  Creeps in.

• 4:08Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 4:09Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, when it comes to your giving, are you more spontaneous or are you pretty pre-planned?

• 4:12Speaker 01

  Scheduled. Yeah.

• 4:13Rachel Cruze?

  Scheduled.

• 4:14George Kamel?

  This train runs on time.

• 4:16Rachel Cruze?

  There she is.

• 4:17George Kamel?

  Like a Swiss train.

• 4:18Speaker 01

  Well, that's the one you can't, you can't mess up. That's the one that is our invitation to letting go of the idol.

• 4:24Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 4:24Speaker 01

  Is giving.

• 4:25Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 4:25George Kamel?

  I love it.

• 4:26Rachel Cruze?

  The open-handedness.

• 4:27Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 4:27Rachel Cruze?

  Which we love.

• 4:28George Kamel?

  Already bringing a word.

• 4:29Rachel Cruze?

  We love.

• 4:30Speaker 01

  And a Shirley.

• 4:31Rachel Cruze?

  And the Shirley.

• 4:32George Kamel?

  A word and a Shirley.

• 4:32Rachel Cruze?

  I know. Well, that's what we do love about you is like the mix of the wisdom and the fun.

• 4:37Speaker 01

  Oh, thanks.

• 4:38Rachel Cruze?

  And yeah, and you always give, yeah, great life advice, Annie.

• 4:41Speaker 01

  Thanks, Rach.

• 4:41Rachel Cruze?

  We love that about you.

• 4:42Speaker 01

  Appreciate you.

• 4:43Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, George.

• 4:44George Kamel?

  Is it confession?

• 4:45Rachel Cruze?

  I, I made a purchase, and I did it a little bit spontaneous, also felt great about it, and it arrived so fast.

• 4:54George Kamel?

  No regrets?

• 4:55Rachel Cruze?

  No regrets, and it came in, and I told him, I said, it's here. And he said, what? Our new Cozy Earth sheets.

• 5:01George Kamel?

  You got another one?

• 5:02Rachel Cruze?

  I bought a second pair. I feel like an adult. Oh, my gosh. And these are, they're a little bit different. The bamboo's a little bit different. It's like a different line.

• 5:10George Kamel?

  What color?

• 5:11Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, okay, that's the other thing. I did like a, it's almost like a gray.

• 5:14George Kamel?

  Ooh.

• 5:15Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my cheese is what my kids would say, and that's how I feel about them.

• 5:19George Kamel?

  It's adorable.

• 5:19Rachel Cruze?

  I love, I love my Cozy Earth sheets.

• 5:22George Kamel?

  Well, literally yesterday, we're going on a walk, and I just threw on the Cozy Earth first layer set with the shorts and tee, monochromatic, and literally, I've never seen my wife like comment on what I'm wearing. She's like, that is a really good color on you. I love that outfit.

• 5:37Rachel Cruze?

  So good.

• 5:37George Kamel?

  And I'm like, I feel like I'm not put together because I'm in a lounge set.

• 5:41Rachel Cruze?

  I know, but you're with Cozy Earth.

• 5:42George Kamel?

  And yet, I look better than ever, thanks to Cozy Earth.

• 5:44Rachel Cruze?

  So good. So yeah, whether it's blankets, bath towels, pajamas, sheets, I mean, anything you need with high quality, make sure to check out Cozy Earth.

• 5:53George Kamel?

  And it's luxury at a great price, because when you go to cozyearth.com/smartmoney and use code SMARTMONEY at checkout, you can get up to 20% off. Go check it out. So we're gonna do a round of Ask Annie. So we pulled five common questions we get on The Ramsey Show, in the comments, et cetera. You got to weigh in with your honest thoughts.

• 6:10Speaker 01

  And is it like Annie versus Dave? Like, here's what Dave says, and here's what you're gonna say.

• 6:14George Kamel?

  We'll tell you if Dave would disagree.

• 6:16Speaker 01

  Yeah, you're gonna have to. You're gonna have to.

• 6:18George Kamel?

  We'll let you know.

• 6:19Rachel Cruze?

  Because we'll probably agree with you more. Let's be honest. We love you, Annie. Okay, um, real quick.

• 6:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:24Rachel Cruze?

  Um, how do you know when it's time to make a career pivot?

• 6:28Speaker 01

  I think you have to pay attention to opening closed doors. So if there are a bunch of closed doors where you applied for a promotion at the job and you didn't get it, or you, your finances aren't being matched by the job that you have. I sat with a financial planner 15 years ago, and I sent him over. I said, can you help me figure out? He said, yeah, you're not making enough money for your life. And I went, career pivot time.

• 6:53Rachel Cruze?

  Done. Yes.

• 6:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, I was like, oh, okay. And so I think that can be one. I think it is not a decision you make independent of community. Because a lot of times, you can have a bad day, a bad week, a bad month at your job, and you will go, I am out of here.

• 7:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 7:06Speaker 01

  And you haven't run that by your mentor, you haven't run that by your friends, you haven't run that by your boss. And there are people who can speak into, this is a season. Seth Godin has a book called The Dip, and the whole idea is, is this a cul-de-sac or is this just a bump in the road?

• 7:22Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. That's right.

• 7:22Speaker 01

  And so I think it's really important to, you know, they, I hear a lot of people say, hire, slow, fire, fast. When it is you

• 7:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 7:31Speaker 01

  firing yourself

• 7:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 7:33Speaker 01

  fire slow.

• 7:34Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 7:34Speaker 01

  And, and, and versus hire, slow, because you want to make sure you are leaving at the right time with the right heart. And how you, Jeff Henderson says, how you end one season determines how the next one starts.

• 7:47Rachel Cruze?

  It's like bitterness to bitterness.

• 7:49Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 7:49Rachel Cruze?

  Or gratitude to gratitude.

• 7:50Speaker 01

  That's right. And so you want to, before you leave, you want to make sure you are leaving in a way as best you can with what you can control.

• 7:56Rachel Cruze?

  Your dignity intact.

• 7:58Speaker 01

  Yes, yes, yes. I mean, scripture says, as best you can live at peace with everyone. As best you can leave well, and that isn't usually something that happens fast. Yep.

• 8:06George Kamel?

  Let's pivot to business.

• 8:08Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 8:08George Kamel?

  You are an entrepreneur.

• 8:10Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 8:10George Kamel?

  It's a French word. Fun fact.

• 8:13Speaker 01

  Very French.

• 8:13George Kamel?

  It's all I know about entrepreneurship. Yeah. It actually comes from the French word entreprendre.

• 8:19Rachel Cruze?

  No, stop it.

• 8:20George Kamel?

  Yeah, it really does, guys.

• 8:21Speaker 01

  What does it mean, George?

• 8:22George Kamel?

  This is why I have no friends.

• 8:24Rachel Cruze?

  Don't believe you.

• 8:25George Kamel?

  I believe it means to, like, maybe to make. Don't quote me on that.

• 8:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, because why do we use the French word instead of an English word?

• 8:34George Kamel?

  Do you really want me to Google it live?

• 8:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, if you'll ask.

• 8:37George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 8:37Rachel Cruze?

  Well, you brought it up.

• 8:38George Kamel?

  I just knew enough to be dangerous. I've never been questioned on it. Usually, people say, wow, he's so impressive, and they move on.

• 8:45Speaker 01

  Not with us, George. We've both been around too long, brother.

• 8:47Rachel Cruze?

  We double down. We question everything.

• 8:49George Kamel?

  To undertake. So not to make, but to undertake. That's what entreprendre. You want to hear it?

• 8:55Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 8:56George Kamel?

  Nope, not under.

• 8:57Speaker 01

  That's how you say to undertake.

• 8:59George Kamel?

  Entreprendre.

• 9:00Speaker 01

  Oh, you sound like her. Did you take French in school?

• 9:03George Kamel?

  No, but my grandmother and mother speak fluent French.

• 9:07Rachel Cruze?

  Your mom speaks French?

• 9:09George Kamel?

  Yeah, in Syria, they taught French in all the schools. There's a lot of French influence.

• 9:12Rachel Cruze?

  Wow.

• 9:13Speaker 01

  Stop it.

• 9:13George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 9:13Rachel Cruze?

  She knows Arabic, too.

• 9:14Speaker 01

  Yes, I do remember that because for some reason...

• 9:17George Kamel?

  Did I yell at you?

• 9:18Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 9:19George Kamel?

  Sorry.

• 9:19Rachel Cruze?

  Give a yell.

• 9:21George Kamel?

  It happens only to those that I love. Well, here's the go-to, this is probably what you heard. Inte patiach embesmera antik mitka faluwe shek.

• 9:27Speaker 01

  That was it, and that...

• 9:29George Kamel?

  Come at me, bro. That's what I use. If someone, if I'm in danger, I will yell that. Usually, the people will go, all right, he's not the guy.

• 9:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 9:37Rachel Cruze?

  Don't mess with him.

• 9:38Speaker 01

  He's not the one to mess with, right.

• 9:39Rachel Cruze?

  Don't mess with him.

• 9:40George Kamel?

  Not worth stealing his Apple Watch.

• 9:42Speaker 01

  You're, that's trilingual.

• 9:44George Kamel?

  Well, I can't speak French, let's be honest. I just know one, I know one word.

• 9:47Rachel Cruze?

  Can I say that's the best?

• 9:48George Kamel?

  I can fake an accent.

• 9:49Speaker 01

  Prove it.

• 9:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, you can.

• 9:51George Kamel?

  Like, if I'm talking to someone Italian, they tell me the word, I can repeat it in that same, because Arabic has a lot of you know? Like, my pastor was, is she's halle de rubriel? There's a lot of noises there going on, so that helps me with other languages.

• 10:05Speaker 01

  Are you teaching your daughter Arabic and French?

• 10:08George Kamel?

  Yeah, my family mostly wants her to learn, so they like bought her all the books. Like, my first Arabic book. Yeah, there's one called Inshallah, which means God willing. So the whole thing is like, the kid's like, mom, can we go here? And she's like, Inshallah.

• 10:20Rachel Cruze?

  Inshallah.

• 10:21George Kamel?

  And she's like, God willing doesn't mean no. It's just like a, it's a not now. There's a reason.

• 10:25Speaker 01

  The southern version of that is, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

• 10:27George Kamel?

  Yes, much longer, but tasteful.

• 10:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 10:31George Kamel?

  There you go, guys. You know, Smart Money Happy Hour, you think you're coming to like get financial knowledge?

• 10:35Rachel Cruze?

  No, you're coming to learn French and Arabic.

• 10:38George Kamel?

  We're educating the masses here.

• 10:39Rachel Cruze?

  And a self-defense course. That's the best self-defense. If you just start screaming in another language, I think that would...

• 10:44George Kamel?

  My physical attributes aren't enough to fend off, so I have to use my vocabulary.

• 10:49Rachel Cruze?

  That accent, George, unbelievable.

• 10:51George Kamel?

  Back to the question at hand.

• 10:52Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah, we haven't even gotten it yet.

• 10:53George Kamel?

  What is an unexpected challenge every entrepreneur faces?

• 10:58Speaker 01

  You were so sure you were supposed to start something. Can you be as sure when it's time to stop it?

• 11:05Rachel Cruze?

  Well, you gotta end it.

• 11:06George Kamel?

  That's a good one.

• 11:07Speaker 01

  And that is very hard for me as an entrepreneur. And I'm not just talking about companies, but within my two companies, brands within my two companies

• 11:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 11:16Speaker 01

  of going... With the same confidence that I went, I know God has me to do to start this. Can I let go of it without selling it? You know what I mean? Like, of course, we're all like, well, I got acquired, so I know that was the Lord. But for a lot of entrepreneurs, it's really hard to believe that something ran its course or accomplished its purpose, and you can end it before fame, money, whatever. Too serious again, but this morning I was literally reading about obedience. I had a thing happen at work yesterday that made me feel like I was failing. And I literally said to my fiancee, JW, I was like, tomorrow morning, I have to sit with the Lord.

• 11:59Speaker 01

  I have to take this to the Lord because I need to understand why I feel this so profoundly. And this morning, what I felt like the Lord kept taking me back to is like, He calls success obedience. And so, success is not selling your company as an entrepreneur. Success is obeying the Lord's direction and what happens with the company. And that's harder for me. I think success, I label success in eight other ways. And the Lord goes, did you, did you take the path I laid out for you? Great. Y'all know this as financial people, A plus B does not always equal C. And so, that doesn't mean, success with God does not always mean financial success, or relational success, or physical success, or whatever. But obedience matters.

• 12:42Speaker 01

  And so, that's, I think obedience for an entrepreneur that is trying to walk with God. Also, the other thing, I'll be very fast. The other thing about entrepreneurs that are faith people is all the entrepreneurs that I know that are faith people have big plans for the big money they want to make. Because it's about, I've always wanted to support this, or my family wants to do this. And so, or I feel like our church needs this. And so, that's a fun part of being a person of faith that's an entrepreneur. The hard part is when you don't make that money, or when that money doesn't come easy or quick. Because I think a lot of my friends who are entrepreneurs that are faith people aren't looking to buy boats necessarily. They want their church to get the new building the church needs.

• 13:26Speaker 01

  And that's frustrating when the money doesn't come in from your entrepreneurship that you thought was going to come in, because you go, but I was going to build a building for the church.

• 13:35George Kamel?

  I had a selfless goal.

• 13:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, I didn't need three houses. I wanted, yeah, the church just needs $4 million. I should be able to make that and give that. And so, I think that's, I think the obedience part for an entrepreneur is really important. And labeling success really well with the Lord will help you to not crush your own spirit.

• 13:57Rachel Cruze?

  So good.

• 13:58Speaker 01

  Am I wrong? Y'all can call me wrong on any of that.

• 13:59George Kamel?

  No, I mean, how can I disagree with Scripture?

• 14:02Speaker 01

  Well, yeah, yeah, that part you can't disagree with, but everything I said.

• 14:05George Kamel?

  That's where Annie can always win. But I didn't say it. I just read it this morning in this old book.

• 14:09Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh. I have this old text I read.

• 14:13Rachel Cruze?

  Wins every argument. Wins every argument. Yeah, and I think just when there's plans for something, and it doesn't either bring in the money and/or you have to, you have to close it. Shut that part down. That's it, yes.

• 14:25George Kamel?

  Well, and you're too close to it. We get a lot of calls on The Ramsey Show, and we see it. We're like, dude, you need to stop this business. You're bleeding five grand a month, and it's been five years. This thing is just, it's not working.

• 14:35Speaker 01

  And your cake pops are delicious, but stop.

• 14:37George Kamel?

  But they're like, but I've been doing it so long, and I feel like next year is going to be my year, and things are going to turn around, and we have to.

• 14:42Rachel Cruze?

  It's so hard.

• 14:43George Kamel?

  You need, that's where you need community and wisdom for other people to speak into it.

• 14:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's right. That's right. And just allowing yourself to dream with the money you hope to make, if you want a house and a boat, because you want to be generous with it, or if that's what you want, or if you want to build a building for your church, whatever it is, but going like, man, God, I, you know how I'm going to use the money?

• 15:01Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's right. That's right.

• 15:02Speaker 01

  What else do you need me to do? And then the Lord says, I need you to shut down that company, and it's going to cost you $110,000 to shut it down.

• 15:11George Kamel?

  Which is why we tell people, do it debt-free. Because if you end the business and you have 200 grand in debt, there's a huge problem here.

• 15:18Speaker 01

  That's exactly right.

• 15:19Rachel Cruze?

  And when the HELOC on your house is due. You know, it's just all of it.

• 15:22Speaker 01

  You're making me sweat just thinking about it. I'm out on all of that.

• 15:25Rachel Cruze?

  Those are the calls we get, though. And they're like, and I'm about to take out a $50,000 loan from the bank, small business loan. And we're like, no, no, stop, stop. Your house is already leveraged. Don't do it.

• 15:36George Kamel?

  Scary.

• 15:36Rachel Cruze?

  Slow, slow. Okay, Annie, what's one money boundary you wish you had set earlier in life?

• 15:44Speaker 01

  Oh, gosh. Well, y'all know that I am 46 and getting married for the first time later this year.

• 15:49Rachel Cruze?

  We love it. We love it all.

• 15:51Speaker 01

  So, I'm very new to the world of sharing money. And a thing I did well early in my career is I brought on a business manager and a financial planner, so that I haven't been the only one looking at my money. I think a good way for single people to, to be secretive, to be dishonest with themselves and with other people, and to not spend your money wisely, is to not let anybody see it. And so, I brought people early to do that. I would still go back and I would save more.

• 16:26Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 16:27Speaker 01

  I am a spender. I love, like, those early questions, like, experiences all day long. This is where Rach and I and Winston, we meet in this a lot.

• 16:36Rachel Cruze?

  We get in trouble.

• 16:36Speaker 01

  Yeah, because we like a nice hotel.

• 16:38George Kamel?

  Dangerous duo.

• 16:39Rachel Cruze?

  Travel, please.

• 16:41Speaker 01

  When we went to Vegas and to see Elton John.

• 16:46Rachel Cruze?

  That we did.

• 16:47Speaker 01

  I mean, we just like, I love experiences. I would not undo the experiences. I just think, at 46, getting married for the first time, I don't have any debt. I own my house, but that's, that's my only debt. The only place that I'd be like, Downs, it would have been really helpful if you had an extra gazillion dollars you had saved. And I just, I just didn't.

• 17:13George Kamel?

  Is this like retirement or like emergency fund?

• 17:15Speaker 01

  No, no, I'm good with emergency fund. It's like retirement.

• 17:18George Kamel?

  The long-term stuff.

• 17:18Speaker 01

  And it's just like, here's a bucket of money you're allowed to be dumb with.

• 17:22Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. Well, that, and it's like, okay, we may want to, like, because you're entering in this new season of life with marriage, so it's like, okay, we may want to refurnish, I don't know, whatever it is. And if you have that disposable income, if you will, that was sitting over to be able to use.

• 17:34Speaker 01

  When I meet with my financial planner, I've always said, when we, like, I'm crazy, where I'll be like, okay, so at some point, I hope we make $10 million. I would like the first nine to be used really well and invested, and blah, blah, blah. And then I'd like to blow the 10th one. I just need, I need you to tell me that if I work this hard, you're not going to watch what I do for that last one.

• 17:57George Kamel?

  Look away.

• 17:58Speaker 01

  I want to buy stupid stuff, like.

• 18:00Rachel Cruze?

  That nobody cares about, yes.

• 18:02Speaker 01

  Yes, that's what I want, is I want, I want to work hard enough that I can be stupid for a season. I think if I'd have saved more as I went along, I'd have smaller patches. I don't need a million dollars to be stupid with, but I'd have smaller of going like, hey, here's $1,000 that we can plan a trip that I don't have planned.

• 18:20Rachel Cruze?

  I can, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally.

• 18:22Speaker 01

  And I think saving, I almost would, if I could talk to 25-year-old Annie, I'd say, open a bank account, high, high interest saving.

• 18:30Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got it, you got it.

• 18:32Speaker 01

  And I would say, just call it your dumb money account.

• 18:35Rachel Cruze?

  And just put it, and save for the future, because future Annie's going to want to just be dumb.

• 18:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, sometimes I just want to be dumb with money. And I, when I do it now, I do it. And then I just go, oh.

• 18:44George Kamel?

  You want to be responsibly dumb. I think that's, that makes sense.

• 18:47Rachel Cruze?

  Well, it's the analogy we always say, people call in, they'll ask, can I afford to buy this watch, or can I afford to buy this car? You know, here's my financial situation. And one of the litmus tests is, if that money just was, if you just put, you know, set it on fire in the middle of the room and walked away, does that change your whole life? Like, if that money just disappears, is your whole life shaken, right? And if it's not, there's probably a good, yeah, there's probably a great chance you're good. But if you're like, oh, my gosh, I would miss that. I would look in my account and know that's gone. Might be too much, you know? But to that point of like, yeah, you can just like, burn it in the middle of the room, which we never do. Actually, that's Dave's analogy, and I kind of hate.

• 19:21George Kamel?

  Yeah, here's my thing. Why are we burning things inside?

• 19:23Speaker 01

  I don't even burn candles in my house, George Kamel.

• 19:26George Kamel?

  Can we not take the money outside? Don't go a bonfire situation?

• 19:29Speaker 01

  Let's do a bonfire, yeah.

• 19:29George Kamel?

  Make some smores out of your million dollars?

• 19:31Rachel Cruze?

  It's one of those Dave violent analogies.

• 19:33Speaker 01

  Yeah, Dave's like, I don't care what happens to the rug, burn the money.

• 19:35Rachel Cruze?

  Burn it all.

• 19:36Speaker 01

  And you're like, well, now I can't afford, now I lost that money and the rug.

• 19:38George Kamel?

  Dave's like, I'll just go to my house next door if the house gets burned.

• 19:42Speaker 01

  I'll go to my other house and then my other other house.

• 19:44George Kamel?

  I'm going to call this the prodigal son fund. Like, you create your own prodigal son fund. You blow it, and you don't have to live with the pigs.

• 19:50Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 19:51George Kamel?

  That's the goal.

• 19:51Speaker 01

  That's right. That's a great title.

• 19:54Rachel Cruze?

  That's good.

• 19:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, write that book and just give me a little.

• 19:57George Kamel?

  TM, registered trademark.

• 20:00Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, do prodigal son money.

• 20:02George Kamel?

  It'd be a lot of explaining to do.

• 20:04Speaker 01

  That's what books are for, buddy.

• 20:05George Kamel?

  But everyone has a fantasy. Who hasn't had the fantasy? If I gave you a million dollars today and you couldn't save it, how would, what would you do with it?

• 20:13Speaker 01

  That's prodigal son money.

• 20:14George Kamel?

  He said, hold my beer. Actually, hold all of them. I have a lot of beers right now. So much beer.

• 20:20Rachel Cruze?

  Well, speaking of high-yield savings accounts, I will tell you, Fairwinds Credit Union is the place to be if you want a great one. And not just one, but you can have up to 10, because with the Smart Bundle, you can do a no monthly fee checking account, your debt-as-normal, be-weird debit card, and up to 10 high-yield savings accounts, all with Fairwinds.

• 20:38George Kamel?

  It's incredible. It really breaks my heart when I hear someone say their savings is just sitting in a brick and mortar bank, making point something percent. With Fairwinds, you're making over 3%. So, if you have 20 grand in there, that's 600 bucks a year that you didn't have to, quote, earn. It just showed up in your bank. So, it helps grow with inflation, helps protect your money.

• 20:58Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, and honestly, the ease of everything with Fairwinds is why I love them so much. So, when you're setting up your account, you get a call the next day from a representative there that's like, hey, do you have any questions? They're so personable. The app is so easy to use, and to transfer money from checking account to high-yield savings, all of it is wonderful. So, make sure to check it out at fairwins.org/Ramsey.

• 21:22George Kamel?

  Okay, you're, you're our go-to Enneagram 7 yes girl. What's a hard no for you financially? Because you're saying yes to a lot, you want to say yes. What's the like, easy, like, absolutely not?

• 21:33Speaker 01

  I don't spend money. I don't, I don't really prefer name brand couture kind of things. I don't need fancy clothes, I don't need fancy shoes. I drive a RAV4. Like, things to me, I don't need, which is really funny, because my fiancee. Does like that stuff. And so it's been a

• 21:52Rachel Cruze?

  Opposites attract.

• 21:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's been a really interesting combination of me going, oh, I see the value in some of this. And when I never had before when it was just me. But so up until now, I have been like, give me a purse from Home Goods. Give me a dress from Target.

• 22:09Rachel Cruze?

  I'm good to go.

• 22:10Speaker 01

  But let me wear it at a very nice restaurant. Where they know my name.

• 22:14Rachel Cruze?

  Or at a nice hotel that I'm gonna spend the night in.

• 22:16Speaker 01

  So I mean, hard no, there aren't a lot of them because I am an Enneagram seven, but I

• 22:21George Kamel?

  But you're not tempted by the expensive name brands.

• 22:24Speaker 01

  Name brands, yeah.

• 22:26George Kamel?

  Love it.

• 22:27Rachel Cruze?

  All right, we talked about you are engaged.

• 22:29Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 22:30Rachel Cruze?

  But if you go back to single Annie days, okay? Uh, how can married people love their single friends well?

• 22:36Speaker 01

  Oh, well, both of y'all do it very well, but the my up close. I mean, you and I, your family and I have eaten dinner together once a month.

• 22:45Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 22:46Speaker 01

  For a decade.

• 22:48Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, because it was right.

• 22:49Speaker 01

  It was before Caroline was born.

• 22:50Rachel Cruze?

  Right after Amelia, Amelia was like one.

• 22:52Speaker 01

  Amelia was one. And we have missed maybe like five in 10 years. We have not, it has been

• 22:59George Kamel?

  But still over 100.

• 23:00Rachel Cruze?

  Very consistent.

• 23:01Speaker 01

  Yes, we're very consistent about it.

• 23:02George Kamel?

  That's impressive.

• 23:03Rachel Cruze?

  And the kids know, here comes Annie.

• 23:05Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 23:06George Kamel?

  What do they, do they call you Annie?

• 23:07Rachel Cruze?

  I want, yeah, I know, we don't have a, we had, we have a mutual friends, Annie Barnes. And she asked my Amelia, she was like, okay, what's your nickname for Annie? Because they have

• 23:16Speaker 01

  They call me Crazy Annie.

• 23:17Rachel Cruze?

  Crazy Annie.

• 23:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 23:18Rachel Cruze?

  I was like, oh, shoot, we don't, we just say, she gives lots of kisses. That's like their line after, Annie's coming, she gives lots of kisses.

• 23:24George Kamel?

  I was hoping for like, you know, like Auntie Anne, like Auntie Annie, you know?

• 23:27Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 23:28Speaker 01

  Yeah, Crazy Annie is kind of my aunt name to a lot of one group of my friends. Yeah, which is so cute.

• 23:33George Kamel?

  That's sweet.

• 23:33Speaker 01

  And that's just all they call me. It's like my first and last name.

• 23:36Rachel Cruze?

  Crazy Annie, how are you?

• 23:37George Kamel?

  Crazy Annie.

• 23:38Speaker 01

  It's so sweet because there are a couple of Annie's in our friend group.

• 23:41Rachel Cruze?

  I love it.

• 23:41Speaker 01

  Like Annie Barnes. And so I'm the crazy one.

• 23:43Rachel Cruze?

  I love it.

• 23:44Speaker 01

  Um, and so I think one of the things married people can do, and I have really tried now as a partnered person, an engaged person, to invite single friends to do things with us. Not date nights, but we went to the movies a couple of weeks ago with a family to see Toy Story 5. And we invited a single girl to go with us because it just is like, let them decide if they don't want to be the third wheel.

• 24:08George Kamel?

  Don't assume, well, they don't want to hang out with couples.

• 24:10Speaker 01

  That's right, don't say no for them. And a lot of times I think families say no for singles. For example, Rachel and Winston could have said, you don't want to come over and eat with us. The kids are crazy. There is so like, let's go out to dinner. And then we would have done it once a year. But instead Rachel Winston said, get in here, we'll let you say no. And we'll let you leave when you need to leave.

• 24:30Rachel Cruze?

  And do the dishes while we put the kids

• 24:31Speaker 01

  That's exactly right. I did the dishes while they put the kids down.

• 24:34George Kamel?

  That's the life hack.

• 24:35Rachel Cruze?

  Now we made the kids do the dishes.

• 24:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's right, now it's way easier. Now they're all big people. But it is, um, I think just don't say no for singles. Don't assume they don't want to be around your chaos because the reality is, this happened to me so much, y'all, is I would leave work at 4:30, 5:00. I would go to the Barnes house because they live very close to my office. The parents are exhausted because they've been parenting all day, working all day. And it's what's called the witching hour, right? When the kids are crazy and the kids are hungry for dinner. And I have been alone all day. So I am ready to play. They have been with their kids all day, so they're ready to cook dinner and rest. And then I go home to a quiet house again. And what filled me up was 90 minutes with crazy kids.

• 25:20George Kamel?

  With chaos.

• 25:21Speaker 01

  And whereas the parents, there are some parents who would have said, don't come over in that hour. Our house is dirty, the kids are wild, someone's gonna get punished and you're gonna see it. Something, you know? And instead, a lot of families have always kind of been like, seen the benefit to me and them.

• 25:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 25:38Speaker 01

  Of letting a single person into their family's life. And trusting me to say no when it doesn't work for me. And me trusting them to say no when it doesn't, when it really doesn't work for them, so.

• 25:48George Kamel?

  Takes healthy people all around.

• 25:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, you've got to communicate a lot when you are, particularly I'll talk to the single friends that are listening. It is yours to communicate to married people how much you want to be around their family. And it is, that is, it is theirs to invite, right? You can't always go, I'm coming tonight. And they're like, we would love a night out, you know? Like, it's not like that, but it is like, hey, I would love to be there. Our book club went to, all the girls in the book club went to dinner one night. They're all, they're all married with kids except me. And we were riding in the car together, we were going home. And they were talking about how they had just come back. All the couples had gone to Mexico for, uh, to celebrate everyone's 40th. And they didn't invite me. And in the car, I said, hey, that trip looked so fun.

• 26:35Speaker 01

  Next time, if it's okay for a single person to go, I would love to go too. Because what if I'm never married, I never have a partner, I still want to go on trips with my friends?

• 26:44Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 26:44Speaker 01

  And the girls are like, we never considered it because we thought you wouldn't want to pay for a room by yourself. And we thought you, so they all said no for me out of protection of my heart and my budget.

• 26:54Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 26:54Speaker 01

  I would have said yes, because they didn't recognize that that wouldn't be a negative for me.

• 26:59Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 26:59Speaker 01

  Like, what if you're lonely when we're all eating dinner? What if you're, let me say that.

• 27:04Rachel Cruze?

  You know, it's funny, it's like this weird, Winston, I talked about this recently. There's almost a weird reverse pride to a degree. I know it's not intentional, but the same is true with giving. So I was talking to someone and I was like, well, do you ever just pay for X, Y, and Z's food? Like, you'll go out? And they were like, no, I would never, I don't want it like, I wouldn't want them to think that, that I feel like I have to take care of them and their dignity. Like, it was this whole like, oh, I would never pay for their dinner, even though they're kind of in financial trouble. Because I don't want them to think that I feel bad for, you know, whatever, whatever, whatever. And Winston was talking about, yeah, and it like, and that idea, again, that person's intention was somewhat good. They didn't want to harm the other person. But isn't it funny that we think we have so much power?

• 27:45Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 27:45Rachel Cruze?

  That we think that we can be the ones to harm. Where the other person on the other side actually may be strong enough, either way, to accept a generous gift, get an invitation that they

• 27:54Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 27:54Rachel Cruze?

  But like that, that idea, like let that person then deal with their issues.

• 27:58Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 27:59Rachel Cruze?

  Just, oh, you know, like you open up and it's okay. And the generosity piece, inviting people over, like, there's like this weird thing that we think we have to protect or do something for other people. And it's like this weird reverse pride. Does that make sense?

• 28:11Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's really interesting.

• 28:12George Kamel?

  It all comes back to assumptions. We're just assuming.

• 28:15Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 28:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, and like, I need to take care of you.

• 28:17Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 28:18Rachel Cruze?

  To not hurt your feelings or to make you feel a certain way so that I, you know, and you're like, I don't think you have that much power. Like, just give the invite.

• 28:25Speaker 01

  The assumptions thing's great, a great way for married people and single people to coexist in real village life is to not assume.

• 28:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, yeah, and just say it.

• 28:34George Kamel?

  And I love getting invited to things, even if I don't want to go.

• 28:36Rachel Cruze?

  George, you never go to anything.

• 28:38George Kamel?

  Yeah, but I want to be, I'll be offended if you didn't invite me.

• 28:41Speaker 01

  George, you want to come to the wedding?

• 28:42George Kamel?

  A hundred percent.

• 28:43Speaker 01

  But you won't, I won't add you.

• 28:45George Kamel?

  No, that I would.

• 28:46Speaker 01

  Oh, shoot.

• 28:47George Kamel?

  That's different.

• 28:48Speaker 01

  Great.

• 28:48George Kamel?

  It's things that I don't want to do, you know what I mean? That's fun.

• 28:51Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 28:53George Kamel?

  I will be the ring bearer if you don't have one.

• 28:55Speaker 01

  We are having a parade. Are you interested?

• 28:57George Kamel?

  Can I be in the parade?

• 28:59Rachel Cruze?

  With all the children, you can.

• 29:00George Kamel?

  Oh, wait, is it only kids in the parade?

• 29:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, but you can do it.

• 29:02George Kamel?

  No, that's creepy now, it got creepy.

• 29:04Rachel Cruze?

  No, you can do it.

• 29:06Rachel Cruze?

  I saw that this like, it was on reels, but it was a grand, grandparents holding a little girl down the aisle. Obviously, she's the flower girl, but she's knocked out, y'all. Like her white just And the grandpa has the basket and is like doing the petals while the grandma carries the little girl down the aisle.

• 29:22George Kamel?

  So cute.

• 29:22Rachel Cruze?

  So you could just get Mia, give her some like

• 29:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, here's some reality, George.

• 29:26Rachel Cruze?

  Let her pass out.

• 29:27George Kamel?

  You would have drug my child?

• 29:28Rachel Cruze?

  And then you can hold Mia down.

• 29:29George Kamel?

  To fake a viral Instagram?

• 29:31Rachel Cruze?

  No, no, but you can do it to be in the parade. But you have to have a kid.

• 29:35George Kamel?

  Oh, I need to be with child.

• 29:37Rachel Cruze?

  Here's the good news, George, for it not to be weird.

• 29:40Speaker 01

  I'm realizing in real time that, that a family RSVP'd yesterday and their three kids aren't coming. So that literally opens up three chicken tenders.

• 29:46George Kamel?

  I eat as much as a child. I usually get kids meals wherever I go.

• 29:49Speaker 01

  Let me confirm with my fiance live, JW, may I invite George Kamel and his family to the wedding? George?

• 29:54Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my.

• 29:55Speaker 01

  I'll text it to you. I mean, I'm not gonna mail it, but I am gonna text you today.

• 29:57George Kamel?

  I am busy, sorry.

• 29:59Rachel Cruze?

  And your wedding planner has a stroke.

• 30:00Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's fine.

• 30:01Rachel Cruze?

  They're like, Annie, try keep inviting people.

• 30:03George Kamel?

  I'll put myself to work, I'll serve drinks, whatever you need me to do.

• 30:05Speaker 01

  I'm telling you, all I have done is I know exactly how many chairs there are. And I know how many kids are lap kids. And I am, I am doing the math.

• 30:12Rachel Cruze?

  Tell, tell George how many kids are coming to your wedding?

• 30:15Speaker 01

  We've invited 170. Currently, there's, but I'm in, I'm under budget. I'm staying under budget, but we are also eating pizza and cake from Publix.

• 30:25George Kamel?

  Amen.

• 30:26Speaker 01

  Because we said from the start, we said pizza, people over pasta. We were like, we want, we want this to be a super fun party that a lot of people are at.

• 30:34Rachel Cruze?

  And even the DJ you picked is like a great kid, like

• 30:37Speaker 01

  Yeah, he's one of the DJs at SeaWorld.

• 30:39George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 30:41Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 30:42George Kamel?

  I wanted zero kids at my wedding. And so the fact that you have 170 tells me you're a better person than me.

• 30:48Speaker 01

  No, let me tell you what it is, George, is both my fiance and I have a lot of friends who have children. And I might get teary saying this part to you. Amelia and Caroline and Charles have watched me long for this. And they have met, they have heard me talk about other men. They have met JW and they love him. And the thing I get to do with all these kids, the thing JW and I get to do is we get to make this night. I want adults there, but I really want kids there. Because I want Amelia to have burned in her heart from our wedding that God is faithful.

• 31:28Speaker 01

  And so we wanted all the kids to come because we want it to be this like Ebenezer Stone moment in our friends' kids' life that says, I have watched them both suffer. And now I'm watching them celebrate. That must be God. So we invited a lot of kids. Currently, 40 of them are lap kids, which is great. Zero to five. We've got a chart. I've got a chart. Zero to five, six to 12, 13 to 18.

• 31:54George Kamel?

  You don't get a seat. It's like a Southwest flight.

• 31:56Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You're a lap kid. You are gonna have to sit on someone else's lap.

• 32:03George Kamel?

  I have met five-year-olds that weigh more than me, so I think that's appropriate.

• 32:07Speaker 01

  Sorry, I cried. I just thought Amelia and Caroline and Charles.

• 32:10Rachel Cruze?

  It is so true, though. It is so true. And I thought they've been in every conversation, but they've known every month, right? Different months, when you walk with people closely, you get different, you get all versions of them. Because it's been so long of life with these people. And so, yeah, you do get Annie when Annie's a little bit more sad. You know, and they're like, Mom, is Annie, you know, you get Annie when she is fun and by, you know, you get, just like our kids get us. You know what I mean? Like all of it. And that is true friendship. And so.

• 32:35Speaker 01

  So George, I'm texting you soon as we're done. I'm gonna send you the website and the password.

• 32:40George Kamel?

  I get the password?

• 32:41Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 32:42George Kamel?

  I can't wait.

• 32:43Speaker 01

  It's gonna be very fun. And the parade. Can I tell y'all of my one craft we made? So wedding budgeting, I decided what I have more of in this season of my life is I have more money than time. And so we hired a planner. We decided some of the budget went toward using our time better. Those are the two banks that I think about a lot is my money and my time and how do I use them both well? But I really want it for the parade. We wanted them to all have streamers that like that the kids, so when they lead us into the reception, they are waving streamers. And so I'd seen them online with like a dowel and a couple of pieces of fabric. And then I had this idea. I promise you, maybe the Holy Spirit gave it to me.

• 33:23Speaker 01

  But my fiance is a drummer and a DJ. And so instead of dowels, every streamer's on a drumstick.

• 33:29Rachel Cruze?

  Sick. No, it's not.

• 33:30Speaker 01

  Yes. So it's a drumstick with a tiny bell on top and some streamers. It's gonna be, it's not, the bell is not the size of a bell. That's gonna be a chaotic experience for everyone.

• 33:39Rachel Cruze?

  It's just gonna be a.

• 33:41George Kamel?

  That's so cute. I can't wait for the chaos. As they learn they can hit each other with the drumstick.

• 33:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. Someone's gonna get a welt.

• 33:48George Kamel?

  It's gonna be a riot either way.

• 33:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 33:51George Kamel?

  So I just gotta go back to the fact that you said people over pasta. I think that's trademarked by Olive Garden. So just know that going in. I don't know, but it sounds like that could be slapped on the wall.

• 34:00Speaker 01

  I think they would say pasta over people.

• 34:02George Kamel?

  Maybe, but then when you're here, you're family. It's not when you're here, you're pasta.

• 34:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I should change it to people over pancetta?

• 34:11Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 34:12Speaker 01

  Cause that's a rich person meat. That is rich meat. Y'all need to do a meat show. And decide and separate rich people meat from.

• 34:20George Kamel?

  I love this.

• 34:21Rachel Cruze?

  Oscar Mayer.

• 34:22George Kamel?

  Like baloney versus martedelle.

• 34:24Speaker 01

  Yeah. Yeah. And some people may choose to have hot dogs a lot that are gazillionaires.

• 34:32George Kamel?

  I love this. All right. It's, we're moving on. This is a group round.

• 34:36Speaker 01

  I think I'm done crying. That was surprising for all of us.

• 34:38Rachel Cruze?

  We love it.

• 34:39George Kamel?

  I'm here. I am your Dr. Phil. Whatever you need. I will stay stoic and with a listening ear.

• 34:47George Kamel?

  This or that? We all have to answer these.

• 34:49Speaker 01

  Great.

• 34:49George Kamel?

  And it's pretty simple. You get two options. This or that. Instructions were clear.

• 34:55Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 34:55George Kamel?

  All right. Fancy vacation or fancy car?

• 34:59Speaker 01

  Am I answering first?

• 35:00George Kamel?

  I think you should, as I guessed.

• 35:02Speaker 01

  Fancy vacation.

• 35:03Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, vacation. I'm going vacation.

• 35:05George Kamel?

  I'm going car.

• 35:07Speaker 01

  Are you?

• 35:07George Kamel?

  I'm too mathematical. Like, okay, vacation's seven days. The car, I can drive for seven to 10 years. So like, as far as the enjoyment, the ROI.

• 35:15Rachel Cruze?

  But the memories last forever.

• 35:17Speaker 01

  But that like third day of a fancy vacation, when you still don't have anywhere to go for four more days? That's better than any car I've ridden in.

• 35:25George Kamel?

  I just, you know what? I'm too irritable on vacation, so I can't enjoy it.

• 35:29Speaker 01

  You're irritable on vacation?

• 35:31George Kamel?

  Yeah, the travel, the hotels.

• 35:33Rachel Cruze?

  George is so obnoxious.

• 35:34George Kamel?

  You know, if the food is bad, now you're having a bad night. There's a lot. If the weather, it's too hot, it's too cold.

• 35:41Speaker 01

  George, you need to advocate for yourself more. If the food is bad, you pay and you get up and leave and you go get something else.

• 35:45George Kamel?

  But then, then it's like you wasted that time and money already.

• 35:48Speaker 01

  Yeah, but.

• 35:49Rachel Cruze?

  No, there's more to be had. There's more to be had.

• 35:51George Kamel?

  Now I'll be eating dessert while commiserating over the last bad meal.

• 35:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, while you're still, but see, to me, car, I just have never been a car person. Now, if you said fancy vacation or a chauffeur for life?

• 36:00George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 36:01Speaker 01

  That.

• 36:01Rachel Cruze?

  A driver?

• 36:02Speaker 01

  A driver. I'm into, I would get so much done.

• 36:05Rachel Cruze?

  Driver or private chef?

• 36:07George Kamel?

  Uh, private chef for me, and here's why. The fancy car for me drives me. It's the Tesla, the full self-driving. So that's why I said fancy car. I would rather have that than have to white knuckle my way through traffic every day, knowing I went on vacation last week. At least that was fun.

• 36:23Rachel Cruze?

  So insufferable.

• 36:26Speaker 01

  If I could have a driver, I would pick that over vacation because I think like in New York, when you're on the subway, you get so much done.

• 36:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 36:32Speaker 01

  Cause you can finish your poster working on, or you can read a book or whatever. If I had a driver that took me everywhere, chauffeur.

• 36:38Rachel Cruze?

  All day.

• 36:39Speaker 01

  Take me to the Kroger.

• 36:40Rachel Cruze?

  Roger.

• 36:41George Kamel?

  To the Kroger.

• 36:41Speaker 01

  I still buy my own groceries, apparently, in this, in this life. I can afford a driver, but I still need to use my Kroger, Kroger Plus card.

• 36:48George Kamel?

  All right. Well, I'm, I'm on the wrong side of history as usual.

• 36:51Rachel Cruze?

  All right, here we go. Window or aisle seat?

• 36:55Speaker 01

  I'm window.

• 36:55Rachel Cruze?

  I'm aisle.

• 36:56George Kamel?

  I'm an aisle guy.

• 36:58Speaker 01

  Are you? Why? So y'all get up.

• 36:59George Kamel?

  Claustrophobic and little bladder. I don't like not knowing I couldn't jump over people. And the guy next to me is always sleeping. And I go, hey, sorry, sorry to wake you.

• 37:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 37:08George Kamel?

  I gotta get up. It's the third time in an hour.

• 37:11Speaker 01

  Wow, is that what y'all think of us window people? We all talk like that?

• 37:16Rachel Cruze?

  They at least have like the wall. They can sleep.

• 37:17Speaker 01

  There's something about the claustrophobia. I'm not a claustrophobic person in general. Like, I don't feel anything being in this room. But on a plane, if I can't see the landing or the taking off.

• 37:27Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I am sort of a little weird.

• 37:29Speaker 01

  The, I need the window up to watch it.

• 37:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 37:31Speaker 01

  I'm with you.

• 37:32George Kamel?

  Can I give you my hot take? I think all planes should be wide enough for two aisle, two aisle, two.

• 37:38Rachel Cruze?

  Say it again.

• 37:38George Kamel?

  So no, no rows of three.

• 37:40Speaker 01

  There is no middle seat.

• 37:42George Kamel?

  Not a three and a two or three and a three. Just do two aisle, two aisle, two.

• 37:47Speaker 01

  Okay, so in that, I love what you're saying. In that, are above where our luggage goes, is it still three are on this side and three are on this side? Or is it one of those, is it like those fancy planes that take you to Europe that have baggage in the middle? Cause that feels like a very big plane, but I'm trying to give you the plane size you want.

• 38:04George Kamel?

  I do like the idea of the baggage in the middle and give me more headroom. As a little guy, I like a lot of headroom.

• 38:08Speaker 01

  Surprising.

• 38:09George Kamel?

  Makes me feel alive.

• 38:10Speaker 01

  I feel like you always have a lot of headroom.

• 38:11George Kamel?

  I could always use more.

• 38:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, okay, okay, okay. Just an abundance.

• 38:15George Kamel?

  What if I wanna jump? You know, stretch my legs a little bit?

• 38:17Speaker 01

  If I saw you get up on a plane and jump, I would think I'm on one of those flights. I'm on one of those flights. It's gonna be, it's gonna be viral. Yeah. Man, don't you feel for flight attendants currently and pilots?

• 38:28George Kamel?

  Not jealous.

• 38:29Speaker 01

  The amount of viral videos of people misbehaving. I'm like, can we all just behave again?

• 38:33Rachel Cruze?

  The last flight we were on, the lady said, and please, whatever you do, don't grab us. You can just press that button above. Cause she said so many people like will grab our arms. Cause I asked her about it. I was like, I've never heard of flight attendants. She was like, oh, she's like, they're just grabbing my arm and I don't wanna. I was like, I'm starting a new MABA, Make America Behave Again.

• 38:55George Kamel?

  Oh, I love that.

• 38:56Speaker 01

  Make America behave again on a plane.

• 38:58Rachel Cruze?

  Be civil. Like just, just my God, be, just be a normal human.

• 39:01George Kamel?

  Have some class.

• 39:02Speaker 01

  Do you grab your teacher in third grade? Why are you grabbing this flight attendant?

• 39:05Rachel Cruze?

  Stop it. Don't touch her.

• 39:07George Kamel?

  I do the fake touch. Like, oh my, like, yeah, like this. It's in the air. There's never any connection. Yeah, no contact. It's just enough that they see my hand go up. Like, oh, I'm sorry, can I get another, can I get the full can? Some ice, is that okay?

• 39:22Speaker 01

  Yeah. And they're like George Kamel for sure.

• 39:25George Kamel?

  And then they know I'm a diva and ask for the full can. One sip, it's gone.

• 39:29Speaker 01

  Right.

• 39:29George Kamel?

  Pour it over ice, you get three ounces?

• 39:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, give me those eight ice cubes with that hole in the middle. Why have we decided that's the airplane ice? I hate that ice.

• 39:36George Kamel?

  It's the worst.

• 39:37Speaker 01

  What is it?

• 39:38George Kamel?

  And then I gotta, can I get a lime packet? Do you have the lime, the true lime packets? And the stirrer? Make sure you bring the stirrer.

• 39:43Rachel Cruze?

  Are you, are you doing the, you're doing the powdered lime?

• 39:46George Kamel?

  That's all they have on the flights.

• 39:47Rachel Cruze?

  I know, but I'm shocked.

• 39:48Speaker 01

  Why don't you BYO?

• 39:49George Kamel?

  I can't ask for fresh squeezed lime on a Southwest flight.

• 39:52Rachel Cruze?

  Like you would be anti-preservative. Like, that's a very.

• 39:55George Kamel?

  I'm not because it's crystallized lime. It's as, it's as clean as you can get.

• 39:58Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, really?

• 39:59George Kamel?

  As far as powdered lime goes.

• 40:02Speaker 01

  In the world of powdered limes.

• 40:05George Kamel?

  It's just crystallized lime.

• 40:06Rachel Cruze?

  It is so sour, though.

• 40:07George Kamel?

  I love it. You can't.

• 40:09Speaker 01

  Do you go straight to tongue with it?

• 40:10Rachel Cruze?

  No, but in it, no.

• 40:12George Kamel?

  You add it to your drinks.

• 40:13Rachel Cruze?

  I made the mistake once of doing the whole packet in.

• 40:16George Kamel?

  It's not that big of, I use like two or three packets.

• 40:18Rachel Cruze?

  I do. Oh, my gosh.

• 40:21Speaker 01

  And what kind of drink? In a cocktail?

• 40:22George Kamel?

  Bloody Mary, margarita, seltzer, like a club soda.

• 40:26Rachel Cruze?

  No, that's so much. That is so much.

• 40:28Speaker 01

  Can I buy it at the Kroger? Can I go get some and try it?

• 40:31George Kamel?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 40:31Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 40:31George Kamel?

  I have some in my bag. I'll give it to you.

• 40:33Speaker 01

  No, no, no, I wouldn't. You can't end up on a plane without that. Thank you.

• 40:36George Kamel?

  I carry it with me for all, all times, all flights.

• 40:39Speaker 01

  All I'd like if, when you come to the wedding is just one box. I don't need a, don't give us 10,000. We.

• 40:44George Kamel?

  Well, I was gonna say, you want the assorted flavors? I got lemon, grapefruit, lime, orange.

• 40:48Speaker 01

  One box of those. That, that is it. Don't, don't gift us anything.

• 40:52George Kamel?

  All right. That and a Rachel Cruze wallet.

• 40:54Speaker 01

  Yes, please do. Where can I buy one if I wanted to buy one?

• 40:58George Kamel?

  RachelCruze.com/store. There you go. I gotta, I gotta do all the pitching around here.

• 41:02Rachel Cruze?

  Unbelievable. Making us money, George. Making us money.

• 41:05Speaker 01

  Speaking of my new book, Don't Let That Hold You Back.

• 41:10George Kamel?

  It is a great book. Bookstore or coffee shop?

• 41:13Speaker 01

  What am I doing?

• 41:15George Kamel?

  It's none of my business.

• 41:16Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 41:17George Kamel?

  What happens when the bones and nobles between you and God?

• 41:20Speaker 01

  Bookstore or coffee shop? I'm probably gonna say coffee shop. I love a bookstore, but I'm a Kindle person. I'm an audiobook person. I believe in reading, but I also, much like y'all, travel a lot and I can't take for, like, I just finished Calamity Club, great book.

• 41:37Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh, I have it on my list.

• 41:37George Kamel?

  Oh, my wife is reading that right now.

• 41:40Speaker 01

  600 pages, that's a heavy, that's a heavy travel book.

• 41:43George Kamel?

  Literally last night, she's like, I feel like I already read a book and there's still a whole nother book in the book.

• 41:45Speaker 01

  And it's worth it.

• 41:47Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, it's so good.

• 41:47Speaker 01

  Beetreats and Bubbly, which is a, I'm not endorsing necessarily, except I follow her. She gave it five out of five, which is surprising. She does not do that. It is very good, but it's 600 pages. So I'm glad I listened to it.

• 41:57Rachel Cruze?

  I just saw on Instagram, Oprah had the correspondent author, Calamity Club and Theo of Golden, Alan Levy, all three doing like an interview, because they're like the three biggest books right now. And they're like such good, solid books, all three.

• 42:11Speaker 01

  Have y'all talked about Theo of Golden on here already?

• 42:13Rachel Cruze?

  Love it.

• 42:13George Kamel?

  We haven't. I would have known about it.

• 42:15Speaker 01

  Did you read it?

• 42:15George Kamel?

  No, Rachel doesn't, I don't read, so Rachel doesn't talk to me about books.

• 42:18Rachel Cruze?

  And we're not, yeah, we're not, our, books is not in our friendship, but.

• 42:22George Kamel?

  I wait for the movie adaptation and then I watch the reviews of everyone angry because they read the book and it's not the same as the movie. That's what I truly enjoy. Is the anger.

• 42:30Speaker 01

  The response.

• 42:31George Kamel?

  Post-adaptation.

• 42:32Speaker 01

  You don't want the content, you want the response to the content.

• 42:34Rachel Cruze?

  Are you gonna read The Odyssey before you see the movie?

• 42:36George Kamel?

  No, but I did a ChatGPT synopsis and I was like, oh, I get it.

• 42:39Rachel Cruze?

  I did too. And then I finally was like, talk to me like I'm in fifth grade. To like reorient, because it's these lands and there's a whole, that whole, it's a whole premise. And like, they use it in psychology, The Odyssey, what he goes through.

• 42:51George Kamel?

  Oh yeah, like the temptations, the sirens.

• 42:54Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, releasing your individualism, but then getting it back, identity, like, it's like, it's a full philosophical.

• 42:59Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 43:00Rachel Cruze?

  Whole thing. Anyway, you should read, you should read The Odyssey before.

• 43:04George Kamel?

  Have you read it?

• 43:05Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 43:05George Kamel?

  Oh, well, you say it like, oh, you gotta read it.

• 43:07Speaker 01

  But you have your ticket already purchased, right?

• 43:09George Kamel?

  Oh, yeah.

• 43:10Speaker 01

  Why did you pick from weeks from now?

• 43:12George Kamel?

  Um, my friends were going and I found out and I got jealous and I said, can I come? And they said, if there are seats. So I said, yes.

• 43:18Rachel Cruze?

  See?

• 43:18George Kamel?

  Then I asked my wife. Then I found out my wife wants to go. So then I had to frantically find another seat.

• 43:24Speaker 01

  Next to each other or separate?

• 43:25George Kamel?

  Next, luckily next to me.

• 43:27Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, good.

• 43:28George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 43:28Rachel Cruze?

  Whitney, I'm glad.

• 43:29Speaker 01

  Well, it is three weeks from now, so I'd hope y'all'd be able to get seats next to each other.

• 43:32George Kamel?

  We're gonna be okay.

• 43:32Speaker 01

  Great.

• 43:33Rachel Cruze?

  We're gonna be fine.

• 43:33George Kamel?

  I'll let you know how it goes.

• 43:34Rachel Cruze?

  Way to advocate for yourself, though.

• 43:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 43:36George Kamel?

  Did I?

• 43:36Rachel Cruze?

  You didn't make any assumptions that they didn't want you there.

• 43:38George Kamel?

  Oh yeah, I have no problem butting into other people's plans, once I know they exist.

• 43:41Rachel Cruze?

  Like Annie's wedding?

• 43:42Speaker 01

  Like my wedding. You're gonna come, right? You're not kidding me, right?

• 43:45George Kamel?

  Well, tell me the date offline. I don't need people trying to find out like Taylor Swift's wedding. You know, like, oh, it's at Madison Square Garden.

• 43:51Speaker 01

  It is at Madison Square Garden.

• 43:52Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh, man, wouldn't that be a dream?

• 43:54George Kamel?

  I am there. If I'm here, I'm there. You know what I mean?

• 43:57Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 43:58Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. Oh, never wait in line again, or never pay full price again?

• 44:05Speaker 01

  Oh, time over money. Never wait in line again.

• 44:07Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I think line is mine too.

• 44:09Speaker 01

  Yeah. George, are you either way? Would you rather wait in a long line and get 50% off?

• 44:13Rachel Cruze?

  He will drive to four different stores to get lower price on gas.

• 44:16George Kamel?

  My caveat is this, why, why are there lines? Can I not do the pickup option? Is there a self-checkout?

• 44:22Speaker 01

  Yeah, in this scenario.

• 44:24George Kamel?

  Like, I don't know where I've stood in a long line for a checkout lately.

• 44:27Speaker 01

  Okay, so here's the, here's the story. There's this line where the thing, the, the product costs a hundred dollars. No one's waiting. And Rach and I just, straight through. This line is a hundred people deep, but it's $50.

• 44:41Rachel Cruze?

  And Annie and I are like, we're gonna go to the restaurant, we'll, we'll save you a seat and you know that it's fun happening elsewhere.

• 44:46George Kamel?

  Overall, I lean towards never pay full price, because I feel like everything full price is a scam. So I'd love knowing that I got a deal.

• 44:52Speaker 01

  Great.

• 44:53George Kamel?

  Versus lines, I can, I can bide my time, listen to an audiobook, watch a YouTube video.

• 44:58Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 44:58George Kamel?

  You know?

• 44:59Speaker 01

  Your patience has made you the successful person you are.

• 45:02George Kamel?

  You're welcome.

• 45:02Speaker 01

  That's why you have dumb money.

• 45:03George Kamel?

  You just gave me the idea, every store, every store should have a, like, they should be like, hey, you can pay more and not wait, or you can pay this price.

• 45:12Rachel Cruze?

  I wonder which line would be more?

• 45:14Speaker 01

  I think that's Costco, isn't it?

• 45:15George Kamel?

  It's a great social experiment.

• 45:16Speaker 01

  You can pay more, you can pay to come in the store and you're gonna get the stuff cheaper and not wait quite as long.

• 45:20George Kamel?

  Instacart and have it delivered at a higher price. See, I always go into Costco. I can't do Costco Instacart, it hurts my soul.

• 45:26Speaker 01

  I need y'all to know what happened to me at Costco. Oh, can I tell the story? Yes.

• 45:30Rachel Cruze?

  We love a Costco story.

• 45:31Speaker 01

  I know. I do have an American Express.

• 45:34George Kamel?

  Okay, out.

• 45:37Speaker 01

  That's why I knew it was a bad story.

• 45:39Rachel Cruze?

  He's not going to the wedding anymore.

• 45:40George Kamel?

  No, I'm out.

• 45:41Speaker 01

  I got in there and I did not have anything else. And they don't take Amex. And all I needed, I just wanted the really big cottage cheese. So I'm just scouring my purse for dollars. I'm like, one, two, three, just cash, just a few. And my fiance's dad, I had bought lunch for the, for all of us one time. He had given me $30 cash. And I was like, there's cash. So I unzip this little pouch. Thank you, future father-in-law, for buying my, my, I learned an important lesson. I need my debit card.

• 46:15George Kamel?

  Costco knows it's worth. They're going, we're not paying three and a half percent

• 46:18Speaker 01

  Yes, yes.

• 46:18George Kamel?

  merchant fees.

• 46:19Speaker 01

  That's exactly right.

• 46:20George Kamel?

  To Amex for the pleasure? No, thank you.

• 46:22Rachel Cruze?

  No, thank you. We don't need to be swiping that. George, you know what kind of freaks me out today?

• 46:26George Kamel?

  What's freaking you out?

• 46:26Rachel Cruze?

  In today's world, is how much our information is on the internet.

• 46:31George Kamel?

  Oh, that is the new frontier that we're gonna be battling.

• 46:34Rachel Cruze?

  I'm not kidding. Like, we're like, oh my gosh, like, identity theft. Like, there's all these things that happen. And now, your security online and your information being in data broker sites, it's like, it's just flagged for me.

• 46:45George Kamel?

  Yes. And I used to be more freaked out about it before I had Delete Me, which is a sponsor of today's episode. Because what they do is they go in all these data broker sites, hundreds of data broker sites, remove your personal information, like your email address, your home address, phone number, your family's information, and they keep it gone with real data privacy experts behind the scenes. And they send me a custom report. Should we, hey, here's where it was, and now it's not there anymore, and we saved you all this time? You're welcome. And I say thank you.

• 47:10Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I think honestly, some of the biggest success stories in life is when you have a problem and someone or something comes in and saves the day. You know, not all heroes wear capes.

• 47:20George Kamel?

  Delegate it.

• 47:20Rachel Cruze?

  But Delete Me does it for us. So we are so thankful for them.

• 47:24George Kamel?

  Check it out. Go to joindelete.me.com/smartmoney and get 20% off their annual plans.

• 47:29Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, we're gonna end with, finish the phrase finale.

• 47:32Speaker 01

  Okay, big finale.

• 47:34Rachel Cruze?

  Here we go.

• 47:34Speaker 01

  I'm ready.

• 47:35Rachel Cruze?

  We all can jump in.

• 47:36George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 47:38Rachel Cruze?

  Money can't buy.

• 47:40Speaker 01

  Time.

• 47:42Rachel Cruze?

  Money can't, well.

• 47:44George Kamel?

  You can buy your time back, but you're right in that it can't physically.

• 47:48Rachel Cruze?

  We can't make time. Yes, money can't.

• 47:50Speaker 01

  Okay, let me answer again. What would y'all say? Y'all, and I'll think again, because it can't.

• 47:52George Kamel?

  Okay, there you go.

• 47:54Rachel Cruze?

  Money can't buy self-awareness.

• 47:59George Kamel?

  Oh, that's a good one.

• 48:01Speaker 01

  In fact, I think it would buy the opposite of it.

• 48:03Rachel Cruze?

  I think the more you get actually, the less aware you become. You gotta be careful. You gotta really keep that therapy bill going.

• 48:09George Kamel?

  I went with like, what is my heart saying? Not like, what is the cool right answer? So I said, money can't buy taste.

• 48:14Rachel Cruze?

  That's true.

• 48:15George Kamel?

  I've just been around too many people who have money and I'm like, but they chose that furniture?

• 48:19Rachel Cruze?

  That is so good, George. Actually, I love that.

• 48:21George Kamel?

  All the money in the world?

• 48:22Speaker 01

  I think my new answer, instead of time, because y'all are right, it can't buy us back time, is money can't buy you peace.

• 48:28George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 48:28Speaker 01

  I don't think it actually buys you peace.

• 48:30Rachel Cruze?

  Peace came in my head, too.

• 48:31George Kamel?

  Yeah, that's a good Annie answer.

• 48:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I know. Arthur Brooks, his like, take on the happiness and joy and what money does, and the mix of all of that.

• 48:39Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 48:39Rachel Cruze?

  Which I love, is he's like, at a certain point, so back to like the peace thing, or even some of the taste, or, like, I don't know, or self, even my answer, like, to a certain point, it can get you some things. It can get you a better sleep at night.

• 48:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 48:51Rachel Cruze?

  It can get you a level of like, okay, if I know my bills are taken care of, I have more calm. But once you get past that baseline of kind of like, survival.

• 49:00Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 49:00Rachel Cruze?

  Anything above that does not really get you what you're thinking.

• 49:04George Kamel?

  Diminishing returns.

• 49:04Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, does that make sense?

• 49:04Speaker 01

  Diminishing returns.

• 49:05Rachel Cruze?

  So like, to the, yeah, to the person listening who's like, working three jobs and is short 500 bucks a month still, like, and they're stressed, like, yes, money can give you a level of like, okay, I can breathe if I have this.

• 49:17Speaker 01

  Relief over peace.

• 49:18Rachel Cruze?

  Relief, yes. To a certain point. And then above that, it doesn't do what you think it does.

• 49:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 49:24Rachel Cruze?

  In that, in that vein. So, love it.

• 49:26George Kamel?

  All right, best thing I've spent less than $20 on is?

• 49:31Speaker 01

  Okay, I'm gonna have to think for a minute.

• 49:34Rachel Cruze?

  A long phone charger.

• 49:36George Kamel?

  That's a really good one.

• 49:37Speaker 01

  That's a great one.

• 49:38Rachel Cruze?

  I love that thing. I stick it in my purse, gets all tangled, I don't care. But anywhere I am, hotel, nightstand, I don't know where I am, it, it goes with me, because it's so long.

• 49:47Speaker 01

  Less than $20.

• 49:48George Kamel?

  May your iPhone cables be long and your pillow always be cold.

• 49:52Speaker 01

  What have you spent less than $20 on that's?

• 49:54George Kamel?

  Mine, that I truly think is like, kind of life-changing, is a toilet nightlight. It's like when you walk in the dark.

• 50:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 50:01George Kamel?

  As you approach the throne.

• 50:03Speaker 01

  It turns on.

• 50:03George Kamel?

  The Oval Office, if you will. The light guides your way. So you don't stub your toe in the, you know, in the door frame.

• 50:09Speaker 01

  Pick the color.

• 50:10George Kamel?

  And you can pick the color.

• 50:11Speaker 01

  That's cute.

• 50:12George Kamel?

  Now, I think there's only one color that should be chosen personally.

• 50:14Speaker 01

  And it is yellow.

• 50:16George Kamel?

  No, mine is a nice light blue.

• 50:18Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 50:19George Kamel?

  Like a nice pool.

• 50:20Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 50:21George Kamel?

  Yeah. I think red is maniacal, yellow's disgusting.

• 50:24Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 50:25George Kamel?

  Green has its own Ninja Turtle vibe that I'm not into.

• 50:28Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 50:28George Kamel?

  It's like the reflecting pool.

• 50:29Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 50:30George Kamel?

  So there's only just a few, a purple is fine.

• 50:32Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 50:33George Kamel?

  But it doesn't inspire me.

• 50:34Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 50:34George Kamel?

  So anyways.

• 50:36Speaker 01

  And that's what I'm going in the middle of the night to be inspired. I need to make sure I

• 50:39George Kamel?

  Inspiration.

• 50:40Speaker 01

  Get to my Oval Office inspired.

• 50:42George Kamel?

  I wanted to be inviting.

• 50:43Speaker 01

  Okay, I support that.

• 50:44George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 50:45Speaker 01

  I can't think of what I have bought for less than $20 that has changed my life.

• 50:48George Kamel?

  It doesn't have to be life-changing, but just the best thing lately.

• 50:51Speaker 01

  A pair of Target shoes.

• 50:53George Kamel?

  A latte.

• 50:54Speaker 01

  Y'all are not gonna be, I was gonna say. Y'all know that pop-up bagel is now here in Nashville.

• 50:58George Kamel?

  I did not know that.

• 51:00Speaker 01

  It's a, it's a, it's a chain.

• 51:03Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 51:04Speaker 01

  But they're mostly New York bagels and so they are wonderful.

• 51:07George Kamel?

  I will, I will add this, I was in New York this weekend and went to Levine Bakery and got their like vegan gluten-free monstrous cookie for six bucks. That's, that's as good as six dollars.

• 51:18Speaker 01

  Which one did you go to?

• 51:19George Kamel?

  You know, I couldn't tell you if you gave me a dollar.

• 51:23Speaker 01

  What if I gave you six though, so you could buy another cookie?

• 51:24George Kamel?

  I could probably think harder then for six.

• 51:27Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 51:28George Kamel?

  Midtown?

• 51:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 51:29George Kamel?

  Is that a place?

• 51:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 51:31George Kamel?

  He was there. Off Houston.

• 51:33Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah. Oh, so not Midtown.

• 51:35George Kamel?

  Well, let's not question that. I just like, Midtown sounds like a place it could be.

• 51:40Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There is a Midtown.

• 51:42George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 51:42Speaker 01

  And there may be a Levine there.

• 51:43George Kamel?

  We're getting a Levine Bakery and place a Burger Up. Did you hear that?

• 51:46Rachel Cruze?

  No way.

• 51:47George Kamel?

  Burger Up 12 South, going down, Levine Bakery popping up. I think that's a fair trade.

• 51:52Speaker 01

  Sad to lose Burger Up. I'll be happy to get, I haven't tried the gluten-free, dairy-free version you like.

• 51:57George Kamel?

  Oh, it's delicious. They warm it.

• 51:59Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 51:59George Kamel?

  There's so many chocolate chips, it's so gooey.

• 52:01Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 52:02George Kamel?

  Hard to be, and the walnuts really add something to it.

• 52:04Speaker 01

  I love their walnuts.

• 52:05George Kamel?

  You think, why put walnuts in it? Just wait.

• 52:07Speaker 01

  Just hang on, yeah.

• 52:08Rachel Cruze?

  All right, next, the most expensive thing in my closet is?

• 52:11Speaker 01

  Does it have to, do I have to have paid full price for them?

• 52:14George Kamel?

  No, it can be gifted.

• 52:15Speaker 01

  Okay, well, I went in New York, I at least still live in New York part-time, and in New York, they have sample sales all the time. And I went to the Christian Louboutin sample sale and got ungodly expensive shoes for $210. And so I have two pair that I own.

• 52:34George Kamel?

  Do you wear them?

• 52:35Speaker 01

  No, I've never worn either. I've tried them both on with outfits before.

• 52:39Rachel Cruze?

  They hurt.

• 52:39Speaker 01

  And then I've been, yes.

• 52:40Rachel Cruze?

  They're not comfortable, yes.

• 52:42Speaker 01

  And I thought.

• 52:42George Kamel?

  Welcome to being rich. It's not easy as you guys make it out to be.

• 52:45Speaker 01

  Right. So that's probably the most expensive thing I own are those two pair of shoes.

• 52:50Rachel Cruze?

  It's good.

• 52:51George Kamel?

  That's a good one.

• 52:52Rachel Cruze?

  I would say a piece of, I have one pair that I bought after my, after I wrote my first book.

• 52:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:57Rachel Cruze?

  Got my eyes, I'm gonna go buy a pair of Louboutins, some red bottoms. But I'm with you, they're not comfortable and that was like eight years ago and I'm like eh. It's probably a piece of jewelry. Winston got me a nice ring after Amelia was born.

• 53:08Speaker 01

  Yes. Oh yeah, my engagement ring's probably the winner.

• 53:11Rachel Cruze?

  And probably for that. No, well jewelry closet feels clothes-esque.

• 53:15Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't keep it in my closet.

• 53:16George Kamel?

  Clothing-esque.

• 53:17Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, so I'd say those shoes too.

• 53:19Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 53:19Rachel Cruze?

  I'd be with you.

• 53:20Speaker 01

  What's yours?

• 53:21George Kamel?

  Probably like the Bradley Mountain Jacket that Winston also has, local clothier.

• 53:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah.

• 53:27George Kamel?

  And it's probably, I think retail, they go for like $300, which is an insane price for a jacket. But it's like heirloom, generational, like very well-made.

• 53:37Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, all that I thought could have been more than $300.

• 53:39Speaker 01

  I would have.

• 53:40Rachel Cruze?

  The way you just described it.

• 53:41Speaker 01

  I thought you were gonna say a $1,000 coat and I was gonna be like, okay.

• 53:43George Kamel?

  I don't know that I have anything that fancy. I'm not really that like, you know, I don't wear like Louis Vuitton coats. I have my, because not a lot of clothing companies make clothes for someone my size. So it's not like I can just go off the rack.

• 53:58Speaker 01

  Really?

• 53:58Rachel Cruze?

  You gotta find your brand.

• 53:59George Kamel?

  Yeah, I gotta go extra small, you know, 36 short. There's a lot. So I struggle too, guys. I was literally told in J. Crew, I said, hey, do you guys have the 36 short? They said, um, yeah, in the crew cut section.

• 54:12Speaker 01

  No.

• 54:12George Kamel?

  If you go to the large, and I went, isn't that the kids' section? They went, yeah, just go for like the largest size for a child and that is you.

• 54:18Speaker 01

  That might work. George.

• 54:20Rachel Cruze?

  Did, and I bet it's cheaper.

• 54:21George Kamel?

  I've never been so helped and so offended at the same time.

• 54:23Speaker 01

  Did you buy it? Did you buy it?

• 54:26George Kamel?

  I didn't in-store because I just couldn't bring myself.

• 54:29Rachel Cruze?

  Couldn't do it, just couldn't.

• 54:30George Kamel?

  Like for my son.

• 54:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's the same size as me. Yeah, let me try it on and see if it fits him.

• 54:35George Kamel?

  Exactly.

• 54:36Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 54:36George Kamel?

  So yeah, that's probably a nice jacket, nice.

• 54:39Rachel Cruze?

  It's good.

• 54:40George Kamel?

  Yeah, all right, blank is priceless to me.

• 54:43Speaker 01

  Oh, this is cheesy, but.

• 54:45George Kamel?

  It has to be cheesy.

• 54:46Speaker 01

  JW, my fiance is priceless to me. That is true. It is, but like, better than I ever, it's not a fairy tale, but it's a good story. And he's, he's better than I thought I'd end up with. Like, we have, we have more fun than I ever dreamed, so it is, there's not, you couldn't pay me enough to, to pick someone else.

• 55:02Rachel Cruze?

  Switch that.

• 55:03Speaker 01

  Or to let him go.

• 55:03George Kamel?

  Beautiful.

• 55:04Rachel Cruze?

  Love it.

• 55:06George Kamel?

  Well, you can't choose Winston now.

• 55:07Speaker 01

  Yeah, sorry, I took that, I took my answer.

• 55:09Rachel Cruze?

  Um, what is priceless to me? Are we thinking, can we go people? Like, do you, I mean, family?

• 55:17George Kamel?

  Sure.

• 55:17Rachel Cruze?

  Or should we do a thing?

• 55:19Speaker 01

  Oh, do you want me to say a thing?

• 55:20Rachel Cruze?

  Let me think of a thing, just to be different.

• 55:22George Kamel?

  I think we all understand we love our families deeply.

• 55:24Speaker 01

  Oh, sorry, sorry.

• 55:25George Kamel?

  But yours felt more special.

• 55:27Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that, that was a fair answer.

• 55:29Speaker 01

  I've had your people for a while.

• 55:30Rachel Cruze?

  This is new for me.

• 55:30George Kamel?

  Still got the shine on it.

• 55:31Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's still got the shine on him.

• 55:34Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, I'll say my, I think my wedding rings.

• 55:37Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 55:37George Kamel?

  Oh, that's nice.

• 55:38Rachel Cruze?

  The metal diamond was my mom's 30th anniversary, one of her earrings.

• 55:43Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 55:43Rachel Cruze?

  So Denise got one, I got one, so it's like a family thing in it. And each band, this band was given on our 12th year anniversary because of like a hard season, hard season of marriage. And it was like, I don't know, all of this, I would say is probably pretty priceless. I mean, I could lose a lot of things and like be sad about it, but I think I would really be heartbroken.

• 56:05George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 56:05Speaker 01

  That, that's my fear, I'm like, can we put a tracker on these things?

• 56:08Rachel Cruze?

  I know, right?

• 56:09Speaker 01

  Like, this just exists in the world and I just have to know where it is all the time?

• 56:12George Kamel?

  No air tag for that.

• 56:13Rachel Cruze?

  And when people talk about upgrading their rings too, I'm like, I don't know if I, like, I think I'm just so sentimental, I just like love.

• 56:18Speaker 01

  Yeah, same.

• 56:19Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, what would you be, George?

• 56:20George Kamel?

  Existentially, I would say peace. You can't put a price on peace.

• 56:25Rachel Cruze?

  You gotta have a thing.

• 56:27George Kamel?

  For a thing, I think beyond my family, whom I love dearly, the dogs are priceless based on my actual

• 56:32Speaker 01

  Based on your behavior. Yeah, yeah, your behavior says, there is no price.

• 56:37Rachel Cruze?

  There is no price tag.

• 56:38George Kamel?

  And I know, I told someone to sell the horse, they go, would you sell your dogs? No, I would not sell my dogs. That's a very strange.

• 56:44Speaker 01

  But you told someone to sell their horse.

• 56:45George Kamel?

  People sell horses all the time, by the way.

• 56:47Speaker 01

  People sell dogs all the time.

• 56:49George Kamel?

  Yes, but there's like my personal dogs that I'm just like, I'm done with them. That's a strange thing to do.

• 56:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, okay.

• 56:56George Kamel?

  Now, rehoming fee, a modest rehoming fee, that's appropriate. But to be like, my dogs are worth, my dogs went down in value, you know what I mean? Horses go up in value if they're good horses.

• 57:06Speaker 01

  Oh, sure.

• 57:07George Kamel?

  Very few dogs are like, wow.

• 57:09Speaker 01

  Are going up in value, yeah.

• 57:10George Kamel?

  That French Bulldog with a spine disease, he's now worth even more.

• 57:15Rachel Cruze?

  All blue.

• 57:16George Kamel?

  God bless him.

• 57:17Rachel Cruze?

  Blue is loved so well. All right, before we get to our guilty as charged segment, let's share the details of the drink and reveal our rating. What do we think?

• 57:24George Kamel?

  This was the Shirley Temple Mocktail, or as Annie calls it, let's crush some Shurleys.

• 57:30Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 57:31George Kamel?

  This got grenadine.

• 57:32Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 57:33George Kamel?

  Sprite and maraschino cherries. Very simple drink. Again, my toddler definitely could make this.

• 57:38Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 57:39George Kamel?

  Maybe with, without spilling, that's questionable, but it's a great drink, honestly. For 89 cents a glass.

• 57:45Speaker 01

  Oh my gosh, that's a great cost.

• 57:48George Kamel?

  This is a great one, like put in a punch bowl at the wedding.

• 57:50Speaker 01

  Yeah, I think, let me tell you the only thing I would upgrade. There is a rich cherry version of this, where you use those really nice cherries.

• 57:59Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, the mel, isn't that start with an M?

• 58:01Speaker 01

  Yes, yes. And so that would be my only upgrade, is we tend to prefer the rich cherries.

• 58:06Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 58:06George Kamel?

  Like the dark cherry.

• 58:07Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 58:07Rachel Cruze?

  So you're going what, nine out of 10, eight out of 10?

• 58:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's a strong one. I'll give it an eight out of 10.

• 58:11Rachel Cruze?

  Eight out of 10?

• 58:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 58:13Rachel Cruze?

  I think I'm gonna go eight out of 10 and I think I would go more sprites, like the color of it, I'd go a little lighter.

• 58:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 58:19George Kamel?

  Oh, interesting.

• 58:19Rachel Cruze?

  More sprite in mine.

• 58:20George Kamel?

  Um, I try to, I think the high fructose corn syrup and any kind of soda that has sugar is a little, like the viscosity changes. So I think I'd go Sprite Zero next time.

• 58:30Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 58:31George Kamel?

  For that, I go seven out of 10.

• 58:33Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 58:33George Kamel?

  Still good, I can't complain.

• 58:36Speaker 01

  George, are, are your insides just squeaky clean?

• 58:39George Kamel?

  No, no. I eat a lot of treats. Like at night, when the kids are down, like last night, maybe three different ice creams.

• 58:48Rachel Cruze?

  But you got your.

• 58:48Speaker 01

  But are they made of milk or are they coconut?

• 58:50George Kamel?

  I try to go like A2 milk if I can, you know.

• 58:54Speaker 01

  Your insides are like a factory.

• 58:56George Kamel?

  I try to go for like higher-end brands, like I'm not getting like the Good Humor ice cream sandwiches. I'm getting the Good Pop gluten-free ice cream sandwich.

• 59:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 59:04Rachel Cruze?

  Because you did get your blood work back and you were like.

• 59:06George Kamel?

  My blood work is pristine.

• 59:07Speaker 01

  It's pretty amazing, pretty amazing. I picture a factory at the end of the night where it's been cleaned and every, every piece of silver is shining.

• 59:15George Kamel?

  I do, I'm OCD of that.

• 59:16Speaker 01

  If we that is you open, your insides would be a clean factory.

• 59:19George Kamel?

  That means the world to me. Thank you for that. Let science study me. So this is what every man could have been.

• 59:26Rachel Cruze?

  This is what it is.

• 59:26Speaker 01

  Every man could have had a large kid shirt.

• 59:28George Kamel?

  Never lived in their potential.

• 59:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 59:30Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 59:31George Kamel?

  All right, get the recipe in the show notes, give it a try this weekend or weekday. I mean, it's a mocktail, so have at it.

• 59:37Rachel Cruze?

  Have at it, and with the kids.

• 59:38George Kamel?

  Crush some Shurleys, that's hard to say 10 times.

• 59:41Rachel Cruze?

  It is my, we just went on a trip with my niece and my oldest daughter and every restaurant, every night, they're like, can we get Shirley Temples?

• 59:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 59:50Rachel Cruze?

  It doesn't make, it just brings joy.

• 59:51Speaker 01

  I don't know why it's named a Shirley Temple, y'all, I mean, I know who she is, but.

• 59:53Rachel Cruze?

  We should figure it out.

• 59:55George Kamel?

  It does sound more fun and looks more fun, like I'll have a Coke.

• 59:58Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 59:58Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, for sure.

• 59:59George Kamel?

  Live a little.

• 1:00:00Speaker 01

  It's happy. And it's better than saying, I'll have a cherry Sprite.

• 1:00:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, we don't need that. We ain't sex.

• 1:00:04Speaker 01

  I need a Shirley.

• 1:00:05George Kamel?

  Have some glass.

• 1:00:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, some glass. All right, now it's time for

• 1:00:09George Kamel?

  Guilty as charged.

• 1:00:11Rachel 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, y'all, you ready?

• 1:00:16Speaker 01

  Uh huh.

• 1:00:17Rachel Cruze?

  Have you ever been guilty of putting something off financially and regretted it, wished you had done it sooner?

• 1:00:23Speaker 01

  Oh, you had said it before.

• 1:00:24Rachel Cruze?

  I know, you had said it.

• 1:00:25George Kamel?

  Yeah. If you haven't, are you really living if you haven't put something off financially?

• 1:00:30Speaker 01

  Hmm, yes.

• 1:00:30Rachel Cruze?

  Man.

• 1:00:33Rachel Cruze?

  Guilty.

• 1:00:33Speaker 01

  Guilty as charged.

• 1:00:34Rachel Cruze?

  Yours would be probably saving, Annie, just in general.

• 1:00:36Speaker 01

  Oh, I mean, there's a thousand things that I probably could have paid for sooner, paid for different.

• 1:00:40Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 1:00:41Speaker 01

  That's, if you're, if you don't, if you didn't drink with us on that one, I don't know if you're using money.

• 1:00:45Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, if you're not a human.

• 1:00:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:00:47Rachel Cruze?

  If you're not a human.

• 1:00:48George Kamel?

  What's yours?

• 1:00:49Rachel Cruze?

  Do you have a thought?

• 1:00:50George Kamel?

  I'm gonna wait till yours to see if I can top it.

• 1:00:52Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh. Um.

• 1:00:56George Kamel?

  Oh, my God.

• 1:00:57Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my God. Yeah, my thing would be it's the saving. We've been pretty consistent with like the retirement side. But we're to a point where we want to make some moves and do some certain things. And we don't necessarily have the cash because it's all tied up till I'm 59 and a half in retirement.

• 1:01:14Speaker 01

  Sure.

• 1:01:15Rachel Cruze?

  So like what we call the bridge account. Like, it's all good. 65 year old Rachel's going to be wonderful. She will be fine. But right now, where there's like a couple of like business things, like Winston's side of the and you know, and I'm like, oh, man, I wish I could take that out. So there's a little bit that I'm like, I wish we had done that. It was a little bit, we can go prodigal son, but it's like, oh, but this could have been so great for that.

• 1:01:36Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 1:01:37Rachel Cruze?

  So that's what I would say.

• 1:01:38George Kamel?

  I can't top that, but I will say that I needed to get an additional term life insurance policy. And it was one of those things where I was like, I know I should. I already have one, but I need to up it. It's been years. And so I finally did it and it just took a while to finally get it in place. And then I was like, what if I die before the policy goes in place? Egg on my face.

• 1:01:58Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that would be the worst.

• 1:01:59George Kamel?

  You know what I mean?

• 1:02:00Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 1:02:00George Kamel?

  Like, that would be the cruelest.

• 1:02:02Rachel Cruze?

  Your intention.

• 1:02:02George Kamel?

  No.

• 1:02:03Speaker 01

  The intention was so good.

• 1:02:04George Kamel?

  I would get to heaven and be like, hey, send me back until the policy's in force.

• 1:02:07Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 1:02:08George Kamel?

  I need Whitney to be a very wealthy woman. Whitney needs more money to take care of these dogs. The kids will be fine. The dogs are going to cost her pretty fast.

• 1:02:16Rachel Cruze?

  Just give me a heartbeat for four more weeks.

• 1:02:18Speaker 01

  The kids can get scholarships.

• 1:02:21George Kamel?

  So when I woke up and that email came through, your policy is now in effect. I was like.

• 1:02:24Rachel Cruze?

  It feels so good.

• 1:02:25George Kamel?

  You can take me now, Lord.

• 1:02:26Rachel Cruze?

  That's fair. You know, we did the same thing with our will. And I, and I want to say, I think we're still in limbo. I don't think we've like officially, like we made all the decisions.

• 1:02:34George Kamel?

  It's not done, done.

• 1:02:35Rachel Cruze?

  And the attorney like sent it back and we have to like, yeah. So we're, I'm a little bit like.

• 1:02:39George Kamel?

  Not too late to put me in it.

• 1:02:40Rachel Cruze?

  I ain't thinking about it, though. Because we have one in place.

• 1:02:43George Kamel?

  Can you, just to troll me, leave me something? Like, it doesn't have to be a lot of money. It can be like.

• 1:02:47Speaker 01

  Oh, my gosh, just to troll me.

• 1:02:49Rachel Cruze?

  For you?

• 1:02:49George Kamel?

  Like Winston's coat that he loved dearly, you know?

• 1:02:52Speaker 01

  Winston's coat that you have the same one of.

• 1:02:54Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 1:02:55Speaker 01

  But you get Winston's size and George's size.

• 1:02:57George Kamel?

  We're not growing to it, so.

• 1:02:59Rachel Cruze?

  Just to look and remember him, but.

• 1:03:00George Kamel?

  Yeah, just something.

• 1:03:01Rachel Cruze?

  He can leave you that.

• 1:03:02George Kamel?

  I want everyone to leave me something stupid in their will that I have to like go through the whole process.

• 1:03:06Rachel Cruze?

  It's a probate.

• 1:03:06George Kamel?

  Do like probate. I'm like, okay, what is it?

• 1:03:08Speaker 01

  The lawyer's reading it, they're like, I don't understand this. George Kamel gets a coat? You're like, Winston.

• 1:03:14George Kamel?

  They left you their Yahtzee board. In case you wanted that. Their mahjong table.

• 1:03:18Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh. I'll leave you my mahjong, Matt. Oh, Lord, so funny. Well, if you have a guilty as charged question for us, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruisin' at George Kamel. We love them, we use them, we're thankful for y'all. Annie, thanks so much for being on.

• 1:03:30Speaker 01

  Oh, I love you all.

• 1:03:31George Kamel?

  This was so fun.

• 1:03:32Rachel Cruze?

  We're so excited that your new book. It's on pre-sale right now as this launches, but you may be watching a little bit later, past the launch date, so you may be able to pick it up. Okay.

• 1:03:40Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 1:03:40Rachel Cruze?

  Tell us all about it.

• 1:03:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's called Don't Let That Hold You Back. The whole idea is what is the thing that has kept you from doing the thing you've always wanted to do?

• 1:03:46Rachel Cruze?

  So good.

• 1:03:47Speaker 01

  And it has been amazing. And we did this thing a couple of weeks ago where we said, tell me a dream that you have. And, and I'm going to email you in one year and ask you if you've taken any steps. And like, in a day and a half, we had a thousand people tell us a dream that they have that they haven't stepped toward. And I'm like, don't let that hold you back. You know, like, and so I'm so, I am so excited about this one because I cannot wait for people to, what I actually did is I said, okay, without putting tons of Bible in the book,

• 1:04:17Speaker 01

  what does scripture say? It says the enemy comes to kill still and destroy. And so where have your dreams or your hopes been killed, stolen, destroyed? And we need to separate those. Those are three really different things. And then we said, okay, now, after you've identified what's happened, here's what you do. You ask, see, can you knock? So our friends who are faith people are going to see the wink in the book of these are scriptural. What our friends at the airport and our friends at bookstores and our friends who watch shows that I'm on will go, yeah, something has been stolen, killed, or destroyed. Huh, that is what, you know? So I think it'll be fun.

• 1:04:52Rachel Cruze?

  A place to all people. All people, yes.

• 1:04:55Speaker 01

  Yeah, so for preorder, if people are getting this before September 15th, if they're watching, there's a, as soon as you order it, we're going to send you a talk about how to fall in love with your life. Because one of the ways you don't let that thing hold you back is fall in love with the life you already have.

• 1:05:07Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 1:05:07Speaker 01

  So I'm going to send you a little message on that. And then y'all are going to love this. For anyone who pre-orders, after the book comes out, there's a secret password in the book. And you come back to the website and you put the password in and you get a bonus chapter of what happened since the book ended.

• 1:05:24Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that's fun.

• 1:05:26George Kamel?

  That's brilliant.

• 1:05:27Speaker 01

  And that's only for preorder people. So once September 15th hits, no one will be able to get the bonus chapter. But the password is in the book.

• 1:05:33George Kamel?

  Someone's watching on September 16th.

• 1:05:35Speaker 01

  And they are sad.

• 1:05:36Rachel Cruze?

  They're heartbroken.

• 1:05:37Speaker 01

  They're sad in their spirits. DM me and we can talk about it. Annie F. Downs, we can talk about it.

• 1:05:42George Kamel?

  We'll put a link in the description to the book for you guys to preorder or buy if the book's already out by now.

• 1:05:47Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 1:05:47George Kamel?

  Congrats.

• 1:05:47Speaker 01

  Thank you, guys.

• 1:05:48Rachel Cruze?

  Superb. We love it. Now, if you enjoyed this episode, you're going to love our episode, How Matt and Abby Went From Broke College Kids To Unplanned Parents. That is coming up next. And we'll see you guys next Thursday on an all new episode of.

• 1:06:01George Kamel?

  Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers.