Unpacking Money Lessons from Your Favorite Christmas Movies

💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app! It’s easy to get caught up in holiday commercialism during the holidays—just ask the Grinch. In this festive episode, Rachel and George find money lessons in nostalgic Christmas movies that you can apply all year long. Next Steps: 🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour 🎄Shop the Ramsey Solutions store 50 Days of Christmas sale 📱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: 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe 🌿 Get up to 40% off at Cozy Earth with code Smart Money Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🥛 Upgraded Eggnog Recipe: Town & Country 1.5 ounces Cognac 1 whole egg 1 ounce heavy cream ½ ounce maple syrup ¼ ounce St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram Instructions: Combine all ingredients into a shaker. Shake without ice first, then add ice and shake again to chill and dilute the eggnog slightly (by about 1 ounce). Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg if desired, enjoy! Listen to More From Ramsey Network: 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💼 The Ken Coleman 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.

• 0:05Rachel Cruze?

  Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

• 0:06George Kamel?

  I'm George Kamel.

• 0:07Rachel Cruze?

  And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George.

• 0:12George Kamel?

  Cheers.

• 0:16Rachel Cruze?

  Well.

• 0:17George Kamel?

  That puts the spirit in Christmas spirit. I'm gonna tell you that right now, Rachel.

• 0:21Rachel Cruze?

  With a little gag, too. I don't like it, but 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.

• 0:30George Kamel?

  And let me just say, Rachel, Merry Christmas to you.

• 0:32Rachel Cruze?

  Merry Christmas as well.

• 0:34George Kamel?

  Fa, and I cannot stress this enough, la la la la la.

• 0:37Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 0:37George Kamel?

  La la la la.

• 0:38Rachel Cruze?

  Well, thank you, George. So part of the Christmas spirit always is the films that we engage in every holiday season, and they actually have a lot of lessons that we can learn, not just in life and love and the Christmas season, but also our money.

• 0:54George Kamel?

  Great tease.

• 0:55Rachel Cruze?

  We're gonna dive into that today.

• 0:56George Kamel?

  Expertly done, but before we go on.

• 0:58Rachel Cruze?

  And what are we, I know, I just don't like it. And I know what it is.

• 1:00George Kamel?

  Right out the gate, okay.

• 1:01Rachel Cruze?

  And I know what it is.

• 1:02George Kamel?

  We are sipping on an upgraded eggnog.

• 1:05Rachel Cruze?

  So eggnog, yeah.

• 1:06George Kamel?

  Not Rachel's favorite, apparently.

• 1:07Rachel Cruze?

  You either love it or you hate it, right?

• 1:09George Kamel?

  You seem to be a little bit Scrooge-ish.

• 1:10Rachel Cruze?

  I'm still gonna drink it, let's be honest. We don't waste a

• 1:14George Kamel?

  Someone spent a lot of time on this.

• 1:16Rachel Cruze?

  And it's beautiful.

• 1:17George Kamel?

  And money.

• 1:18Rachel Cruze?

  It's beautiful.

• 1:18George Kamel?

  So we're gonna give you the rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode, so stick around for that.

• 1:23Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so we should like set the Christmas vibe, the tone, if you will.

• 1:28George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 1:28Rachel Cruze?

  Can you give us like a little Mariah tone, George?

• 1:33George Kamel?

  How was that?

• 1:35Rachel Cruze?

  It's really good, George. That's really good.

• 1:39George Kamel?

  You said it like a mom who had to be proud of her kid for doing like the worst cartwheel ever.

• 1:46Rachel Cruze?

  No, it really sounded good, though. Well done, you can carry a tune.

• 1:49George Kamel?

  Thank you. You have to do a real just back of the throat breathiness there.

• 1:53Rachel Cruze?

  Man, she's, she's everything.

• 1:55George Kamel?

  Do you wanna give it a go, or?

• 1:56Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 1:57George Kamel?

  Okay, that's your Christmas gift to all of us, is you not singing.

• 1:59Rachel Cruze?

  Maybe four eggnogs in. We might, but I'm not, not now. What was that, the 90s? Like the 90s Christmas?

• 2:06George Kamel?

  Sure.

• 2:06Rachel Cruze?

  I saw something on Instagram, it was a video, like a, from a home camera, like the old school home camera. Like at a local mall, like that's all it was, it was just like a B-roll of like the mall in like 1994, and it just takes you back. Like, there's just something about the 90s, you know?

• 2:21George Kamel?

  I think we could admit Christmas was more special back then.

• 2:23Rachel Cruze?

  I really think so. Is that age, or is that culture?

• 2:26George Kamel?

  I think both, but also we've just, in the digital age, you just lose something.

• 2:30Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 2:31George Kamel?

  When you're just like clicking add to cart, it just shows up. There's something about going to a physical place and choosing the item and seeing the excitement as a kid.

• 2:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yep, and you got, you know, tacky sweaters that were actually not tacky then, that was the style.

• 2:42George Kamel?

  Now they're back in trend. I can see you wearing one.

• 2:44Rachel Cruze?

  Snow days. This isn't a tacky sweater.

• 2:48George Kamel?

  I just wanted to see if you'd go with me on that.

• 2:51Rachel Cruze?

  Unbelievable.

• 2:53George Kamel?

  It's a great sweater.

• 2:54Rachel Cruze?

  Did y'all ever have snow days up where you were in Massachusetts? In the north, sir.

• 2:58George Kamel?

  Yeah, in Boston, a snow day, I remember watching the morning, you know, news.

• 3:02Rachel Cruze?

  But y'all would get them really?

• 3:03George Kamel?

  To see your school show up.

• 3:04Rachel Cruze?

  Is that real though? Because usually up north, you don't get snow days because it's just part of the world.

• 3:08George Kamel?

  It'd have to be like a nor'easter, a blizzard, like something that was, you'd look outside going, we're not gonna be able to shovel this in time to get up the car out.

• 3:14Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, wow, yeah.

• 3:16George Kamel?

  And we don't, remember, they don't have a lot of garages up north. It was a lot of just driveways. So your car is just under snow. Buses, if buses can't get to you, party's over.

• 3:24Rachel Cruze?

  Done so, yeah, yeah. We got out of school a lot here in Nashville. And it was great, but I did love, man, remember Fox Family, that channel?

• 3:33George Kamel?

  Oh my gosh.

• 3:34Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 3:35George Kamel?

  You just triggered something for me.

• 3:37Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 3:37George Kamel?

  Core memory.

• 3:38Rachel Cruze?

  Man, those were, those were the days. But the Christmas movies would always be playing on TV, still are. It's where I go back to my old school cable. That's where cable comes in. Comcast doesn't leave you hanging on Christmas.

• 3:49George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 3:49Rachel Cruze?

  You can turn to AMC.

• 3:51George Kamel?

  You might as well have said, we TiVo all the Christmas movies. That was impressive.

• 3:56Rachel Cruze?

  Anyways, but Christmas movies.

• 3:58George Kamel?

  Do you watch the classics with the kids? Like, do they still like it, or do they want to watch the modern?

• 4:02Rachel Cruze?

  They want to watch the modern, but I do make them, uh, watch a couple of like just the classics.

• 4:07George Kamel?

  Have they ever watched a movie four by three ratio versus the sixteen by nine?

• 4:12Rachel Cruze?

  I'm not sure the measurements you speak of, sir.

• 4:14George Kamel?

  Well, you know, like a square TV style movie versus a widescreen movie.

• 4:18Rachel Cruze?

  Aren't they all on the same screen now?

• 4:21George Kamel?

  Never mind. Never mind, some of us, some of us didn't take a film class and it shows.

• 4:26Rachel Cruze?

  Do they?

• 4:29George Kamel?

  Know your ratios.

• 4:30Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, but my question is for real. Will there be-

• 4:32George Kamel?

  They expand it for TV these days.

• 4:33Rachel Cruze?

  So how will you know?

• 4:34George Kamel?

  You wouldn't unless-

• 4:36Rachel Cruze?

  You can see it, and you're like, "That was expanded." Wow, George, you're so smart. Unbelievable. But anyways, today we are gonna go through some classic iconic Christmas movies, and some of the famous quotes that came out of them, because again, we can learn something from them.

• 4:51George Kamel?

  You're gonna get a money lesson out of these, or your money back?

• 4:53Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 4:54George Kamel?

  How about that? What are we kicking it off with here?

• 4:56Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, this is a more current classic, but it has become a classic. Elf.

• 5:00George Kamel?

  Elf is the modern classic.

• 5:02Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, funny. Still funny, to me. What's the best quote?

• 5:05George Kamel?

  Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

• 5:07Rachel Cruze?

  Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?

• 5:09George Kamel?

  That's a good one.

• 5:09Rachel Cruze?

  Should we answer like Ramsey show calls like that now?

• 5:11George Kamel?

  I would love nothing more. If we just got to ask people their favorite color, instead of be like, "No, tell me more about your $160,000 in credit card debt." That'd be way more fun.

• 5:24Rachel Cruze?

  "Oh, you have $400,000 in debt without a mortgage? Please break that down for us." We could just say, "What's your favorite color?" And we all could just live in a happy childhood world.

• 5:31George Kamel?

  I use this Elf quote more than I should, but I say this. "You sit on a throne of lies." That's a great one. Because Buddy tells the truth no matter what. He genuinely wants everyone to win. And I feel like you need someone like that in your corner when it comes to money.

• 5:45Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 5:46George Kamel?

  Someone who would tell you the truth.

• 5:47Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. And to know who is throwing out the lies out there in the world. Credit card companies.

• 5:53George Kamel?

  I thought you were pointing to me. I was like, "What have I lied about?"

• 5:57Rachel Cruze?

  You speak truth, George.

• 5:58George Kamel?

  That's true. No, one of the things I try to do is that-

• 6:00Rachel Cruze?

  It's a lie. I mean, what they're dangling out in front of you for a bigger and better life, and taking away your peace, liars.

• 6:08George Kamel?

  And some of it's not even malicious. It's just the credit card companies' really happy joyful marketing about how they're gonna give you financial freedom with your 2% cash back.

• 6:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, but they also know they're making a crap-ton of money off of people, so-

• 6:19George Kamel?

  Billions, while charging you 25% APR.

• 6:22Rachel Cruze?

  You sit on a throne of lies.

• 6:23George Kamel?

  So listen to us, because we'll tell you the truth.

• 6:25Rachel Cruze?

  All right, next one. This is one of my favorites. Might be, uh- Uh, I'm gonna go top, sorry. Could be in the number one slot.

• 6:34George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 6:35Rachel Cruze?

  It's a Wonderful Life.

• 6:36George Kamel?

  Hmm.

• 6:37Rachel Cruze?

  God.

• 6:37George Kamel?

  George Bailey?

• 6:38Rachel Cruze?

  Cry every year.

• 6:39George Kamel?

  Is it the transatlantic accent for you?

• 6:41Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I do love, we've talked about this on the show, I do love a good accent.

• 6:45George Kamel?

  That's part of the charm.

• 6:45Rachel Cruze?

  It is, but I do, they do it in color now. Talk to me film school grad. Oh, is that weird?

• 6:52George Kamel?

  I didn't graduate. Come on now. I took a class.

• 6:57Rachel Cruze?

  But, yeah, they put it in color, which I honestly think I prefer the, the black and white.

• 7:02George Kamel?

  Does it sort of ruin the imagination part?

• 7:04Rachel Cruze?

  I guess so.

• 7:05George Kamel?

  It's like, too distracting?

• 7:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I guess so, but man, when George Bailey at the, I mean, it's just a, it's just a really good movie. I just love it, so.

• 7:12George Kamel?

  Okay, give us a quote.

• 7:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. Remember, no man is a failure who has friends. That's a good one, because I do think, especially in this like, you know, consumer part of the year, I'd say Christmas is part of that, we do get wrapped up a lot in the stuff.

• 7:29George Kamel?

  Just stuff.

• 7:30Rachel Cruze?

  And, we talk a lot about, you know, you as a whole person is so important to being a healthier version of you, right, and so money is part of that, but when we constantly feel like we're finding our value and our worth in our stuff, and that stuff can be taken away any moment, yeah, it's just a scary place to be, so relationships, the stuff money can't buy, which I would include friendships in that.

• 7:52George Kamel?

  That's a good one, so.

• 7:53Rachel Cruze?

  It's really special.

• 7:53George Kamel?

  People are priceless, and here's the thing, don't let money, stress, or disagreements compromise your relationships, especially around the holidays. It's easy to get into some of those heavier conversations, I just personally avoid it. If I have friends who I know it's gonna be a blow up argument, I go, I'd, I'd rather be your friend than be right.

• 8:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 8:12George Kamel?

  And I don't wanna have to argue.

• 8:13Rachel Cruze?

  What's the blow up argument around Christmas?

• 8:14George Kamel?

  Well, just money conversation and.

• 8:16Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, if stuff starts, oh.

• 8:18George Kamel?

  Politics, and who knows what else you can get into around Christmas.

• 8:20Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 8:21George Kamel?

  You know?

• 8:21Rachel Cruze?

  Not worth it.

• 8:22George Kamel?

  Not worth it.

• 8:22Rachel Cruze?

  But friendships are priceless, it's a beautiful thing.

• 8:25George Kamel?

  And just being content with the stuff you already have.

• 8:26Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it's great.

• 8:27George Kamel?

  That's a powerful place to be as an adult.

• 8:29Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. No, not, not, where not to put your joy in stuff, but in relationships and people you love.

• 8:35George Kamel?

  And you've written a lot about this with your books.

• 8:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, contentment's a big, it's a big, uh, part of life, and a big lesson to learn money-wise, too. If you can have the discipline of contentments, you can do a lot financially.

• 8:47George Kamel?

  You will win with money.

• 8:47Rachel Cruze?

  You can do a lot financially.

• 8:48George Kamel?

  Good lessons there, okay, next up, Christmas Vacation.

• 8:51Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, in my top three. I'm gonna go number two.

• 8:54George Kamel?

  Is the, can I guess the third one? Is it four Christmases?

• 8:58Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh, George? Yeah, I think it would be.

• 9:01George Kamel?

  She is known.

• 9:02Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, what a good friend you are.

• 9:04George Kamel?

  I just had a feeling.

• 9:05Rachel Cruze?

  You're priceless, George.

• 9:06George Kamel?

  I feel like she's gonna go.

• 9:07Rachel Cruze?

  This friendship, priceless.

• 9:08George Kamel?

  She's going with the comedy.

• 9:09Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, but Christmas Vacation, funny.

• 9:11George Kamel?

  Great one.

• 9:12Rachel Cruze?

  Still hilarious.

• 9:13George Kamel?

  Holds up. I watched it fairly recently and I was like, oh, this was pretty edgy back then. Like, I'm surprised parents let their kids watch it.

• 9:20Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, oh, man. I mean, just, it's just quote after quote after quote after quote.

• 9:26George Kamel?

  Would it be indecent to ask the grandparents to stay in a hotel?

• 9:29Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, so great, yeah. Yeah. Are we at the airport, Clark? Grandma, Aunt Bethany?

• 9:34George Kamel?

  Oh, yeah.

• 9:35Rachel Cruze?

  That was a funny one, too. She gets up and doesn't pray, but says the Pledge of Allegiance and they all stand up and, I know.

• 9:40George Kamel?

  Here's the question. Do your family and families travel a long way and pile into the same house, or do you spread out? Do you team hotel?

• 9:47Rachel Cruze?

  Winston's family, no, we're all at the house.

• 9:50George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 9:51Rachel Cruze?

  And it's Knoxville, so it's two and a half hours. So not, I wouldn't say that's a long way for some people that, you know, pile in and take a big road trip. Uh, but no, yeah. And his parents, they have like two rooms for the grandkids, too. So they all have bunk beds and they like, yep, put the kids, put the kids away. But his sister lives in Knoxville, so they usually go home.

• 10:11George Kamel?

  That makes sense, if you're local.

• 10:12Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. How about you guys?

• 10:14George Kamel?

  Yeah, well, we have to travel, you know, families in Boston and families in Florida, so we generally stay at the house. I think it would be considered rude not to.

• 10:20Rachel Cruze?

  Um, do y'all see both families for the holidays, a Florida and?

• 10:24George Kamel?

  This year, did Thanksgiving in Boston and then we're gonna drive to Florida for Christmas. Actually, Whitney.

• 10:30Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so you pick one for each other?

• 10:31George Kamel?

  Whitney and me are flying and I'm gonna be driving with the pups, solo.

• 10:35Rachel Cruze?

  Wait, I'm so sorry, say this all again.

• 10:37George Kamel?

  Whitney and me are flying, because they're queens. They don't need to be in a car for eight and a half hours. I will be driving solo with the dogs in the back. And they'll likely drive back with me.

• 10:46Rachel Cruze?

  Do you not get a dog sitter?

• 10:48George Kamel?

  Um, the dogs can hang for this trip.

• 10:51Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, how long are you gonna be gone for?

• 10:52George Kamel?

  Uh, a full week.

• 10:53Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 10:54George Kamel?

  It's pretty serious.

• 10:55Rachel Cruze?

  Down to Florida?

• 10:56George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 10:56Rachel Cruze?

  Man, so you're driving eight hours for the dogs.

• 11:00George Kamel?

  Well, we could all fly and leave the dogs.

• 11:03Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 11:04George Kamel?

  But I think it's, uh, it's just finding a dog sitter for the week of Christmas, it feels like a lot to ask. And I'm not gonna board them. That's too much trauma for my dogs.

• 11:13Rachel Cruze?

  You don't board your dogs?

• 11:13George Kamel?

  They're very sensitive emotionally.

• 11:15Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 11:16George Kamel?

  Very weak, very weak. They wouldn't survive.

• 11:18Rachel Cruze?

  You know what? You're a good dad.

• 11:20George Kamel?

  It would be like me sending my dogs to prison. They're gonna come out a little different.

• 11:23Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 11:25George Kamel?

  It's just different. You gotta have a dog that's emotionally strong enough.

• 11:28Rachel Cruze?

  To hold their own.

• 11:29George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 11:30Rachel Cruze?

  To hold their own.

• 11:31George Kamel?

  Nothing wrong with boarding, hear me say that. My dogs just cannot handle it. It's about the weakness of my dogs.

• 11:37Rachel Cruze?

  And I think we can all say, Clark Griswold, wish he had an emergency fund, cuz a lot of things came up in that movie.

• 11:43George Kamel?

  He was a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kinda guy.

• 11:45Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I know. And he spent the Christmas bonus before he even got it.

• 11:50George Kamel?

  Dangerous.

• 11:50Rachel Cruze?

  That's tough too, y'all. So yeah, there's a lot we could learn from old Clark Griswold.

• 11:53George Kamel?

  Don't count the chickens before they hatch.

• 11:57Rachel Cruze?

  Clark, man, he announces the swimming pool and then the Jelly of the Month Club comes in.

• 12:01George Kamel?

  Oh, that's right.

• 12:02Rachel Cruze?

  Just terrible.

• 12:03George Kamel?

  But here's the thing, you can't live your life just on the edge all the time. No emergency fund, just hoping, that's too stressful of a life. And as you can see in the movie, it's a great example of what can happen on the outrageous side. But for a lot of people, Christmas is stressful. You know what's happening every year. There's no reason not to start saving up with a sinking fund, not to have an emergency fund, so be prepared.

• 12:24Rachel Cruze?

  All right, next, great one, Home Alone.

• 12:27George Kamel?

  This one was near and dear to my heart.

• 12:29Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, this is a good one. So the great quote is, "Bless this highly nutritious microwave macaroni and cheese dinner and the people who put it on sale. Amen."

• 12:38George Kamel?

  I think that's a George Kamel quote right there. I actually prayed that with you right now.

• 12:42Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, thank you.

• 12:43George Kamel?

  Yeah, I thought it was, I wanted to be kind.

• 12:45Rachel Cruze?

  So moving, Kevin McCallister, what a guy.

• 12:48George Kamel?

  Cheers to inexpensive meals at home.

• 12:50Rachel Cruze?

  And, and I, we always wonder, what did the dad do that flies everyone to Paris and lives in this massive house? Man, do you ever get nervous the pizza delivery guy? Or no, no, that it was the cop, that the cop who shows up isn't really a cop?

• 13:04George Kamel?

  Oh, I didn't think about that.

• 13:06Rachel Cruze?

  Do you ever ask for like, can you ask a cop for ID? Like, I need to make sure you're a cop.

• 13:11George Kamel?

  Yeah, but if you got a badge, I'm like, I don't know, is that a real badge? You can fake an ID pretty easily.

• 13:16Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know, I don't know, there's something to learn there, some identity theft.

• 13:20George Kamel?

  Well, here's the thing, is there a police car that looks legitimate outside?

• 13:23Rachel Cruze?

  That's a good, that's a good question, alright, we gotta.

• 13:25George Kamel?

  Dude just walks up to my door, I'm going, how'd you get here, man?

• 13:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 13:28George Kamel?

  Just walking around the neighborhood?

• 13:29Rachel Cruze?

  Where's the car?

• 13:29George Kamel?

  Patrolling?

• 13:30Rachel Cruze?

  Man, uh, do you know the name of the, uh, gang they like, they called themselves?

• 13:37George Kamel?

  As soon as you said that, it left my brain.

• 13:38Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, oh, okay, so they have one name in Home Alone 1, and then number two in New York is a difference.

• 13:44George Kamel?

  Sticky Bandits?

• 13:45Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, that was New York.

• 13:46George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 13:46Rachel Cruze?

  What's the first one?

• 13:49Rachel Cruze?

  No, don't tell him, you both use cheaters.

• 13:52George Kamel?

  Well, just tell me then.

• 13:53Rachel Cruze?

  The Wet Bandits.

• 13:54George Kamel?

  Wet Bandits, I don't know, Sticky was in my brain.

• 13:57Rachel Cruze?

  And then Sticky was New York, that's good.

• 13:58George Kamel?

  Wow, I didn't know that was a name change.

• 14:01Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 14:01George Kamel?

  Good for them.

• 14:01Rachel Cruze?

  I know, the Sticky Bandits.

• 14:02George Kamel?

  I guess you gotta change it up so no one catches you.

• 14:04Rachel Cruze?

  And that mansion, George, that they lived in, big house, sold for 1.6 million in 2012, and now is on the market, ready for this, for 5.2.

• 14:15George Kamel?

  Wow, that's some serious appreciation.

• 14:17Rachel Cruze?

  Talk about some equity if they were owning that house, man.

• 14:20George Kamel?

  So if you're thinking about buying it, may we suggest a 15-year mortgage? On 5.2 million, I feel like that'd be a pretty high payment. But this is a good lesson in the power of homeownership.

• 14:30Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, for sure.

• 14:31George Kamel?

  I mean, just buying a home, getting it paid off, having the home appreciate over time, it's a wealth-building hack. In our millionaire study, we found that people with a net worth of a million bucks or more, one-third of their net worth was made up of their home equity.

• 14:43Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, you know, I talked to a lady today, and she had two homes. She had her primary home, and then she had another home that she bought as a rental property. Well, she was like, I want to be debt-free, so she's selling the rental property, and the equity on it was $320,000. She's paying off her primary home, and paying off her mom's home that still owes 62,000 on it.

• 15:01George Kamel?

  That is incredible.

• 15:03Rachel Cruze?

  Isn't that great? So anyways, yay for real estate, but it's very high right now, so.

• 15:07George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 15:08Rachel Cruze?

  If you can get in, and you have a great emergency fund and no debt, and a good down payment of at least 5%. Get in there, girl.

• 15:14George Kamel?

  Get in the game, get your foot in the door.

• 15:16Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 15:16George Kamel?

  Next up on the docket, Miracle on 34th Street.

• 15:19Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 15:20George Kamel?

  Was that a classic for you?

• 15:21Rachel Cruze?

  Can I, I was gonna say, can I have a little confession?

• 15:24George Kamel?

  We'd appreciate honesty around here.

• 15:25Rachel Cruze?

  Yep, I think I've seen it once.

• 15:29George Kamel?

  Fair.

• 15:30Rachel Cruze?

  I know, y'all, I know, it's not one of my, it's not one of my go-tos.

• 15:33George Kamel?

  I might say the same. It wasn't a movie I watched every year.

• 15:36Rachel Cruze?

  No, yeah, they had the one with like the little girl who's Matilda.

• 15:40George Kamel?

  That's right, that was the 1994 edition.

• 15:42Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm, and I think that may have been the one, I don't think I ever saw the black and white one.

• 15:45George Kamel?

  1947.

• 15:47Rachel Cruze?

  Wow.

• 15:47George Kamel?

  Where were you?

• 15:50Rachel Cruze?

  Where was I?

• 15:51George Kamel?

  Can you imagine like, World War II ends and they're like, you know what we should do? We should make a nice little Christmas movie. That's a crazy thing to do.

• 15:58Rachel Cruze?

  About Santa.

• 15:59George Kamel?

  We need some positivity around here.

• 16:01Rachel Cruze?

  Alright, what's the quote there?

• 16:02George Kamel?

  Here's a quote. "If you can't believe, or if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt."

• 16:08Rachel Cruze?

  Jeez.

• 16:09George Kamel?

  Pretty heavy for like a sweet little Christmas movie.

• 16:12Rachel Cruze?

  That'll preach though.

• 16:13George Kamel?

  But that's a really good line.

• 16:14Rachel Cruze?

  You know, sometimes faith and Kris Kringle need to come together and just make the world a little better place.

• 16:18George Kamel?

  What are you choosing? A life dominated by doubt?

• 16:21Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 16:21George Kamel?

  Or a life of belief and faith and hope?

• 16:24Rachel Cruze?

  Yep, so good.

• 16:26George Kamel?

  That's pretty good.

• 16:26Rachel Cruze?

  I love that.

• 16:27George Kamel?

  And I think that with money, this happens a lot. We get cynical, we're doubtful that we can ever get out of debt, we're doubtful we can ever build wealth, and what happens? You never get out of debt, you never build wealth.

• 16:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, the belief is huge. The belief in Kris Kringle and for your financial future. Of really believing like, okay, I'm gonna believe in faith and hope and that I can, I can do things with my life and my money and make wise decisions that can have a great outcome to help my life, so.

• 16:55George Kamel?

  So keys to a great life, believe in Santa and believe in debt freedom.

• 16:58Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. Alright, up next is a Christmas story, and the quote is, "I want an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot-range model air rifle."

• 17:07George Kamel?

  If I had a nickel for every time I've said that.

• 17:08Rachel Cruze?

  This is not one of my favorites either, I'm gonna say it.

• 17:11George Kamel?

  Was it because of the pro-gun agenda? What's going on here? Is that why? Young Rachel was like, "I don't like this."

• 17:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I don't know, it just was not a movie that like, I find it a little boring. It's a little slow for me.

• 17:23George Kamel?

  Yeah, you need fast-paced action.

• 17:25Rachel Cruze?

  But I love It's a Wonderful Life, so like...

• 17:28George Kamel?

  You need either fast-paced action or transatlantic accents.

• 17:31Rachel Cruze?

  Maybe that's what it is. Did you like, did you like It's a Wonderful Life? I am sorry, I'm sorry, A Christmas Story?

• 17:36George Kamel?

  No, I can't say it was very impactful on my life.

• 17:39Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 17:40George Kamel?

  It didn't shape who I am as a man today.

• 17:41Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I see it on TV a lot during the Christmas season and it's not one that I'm like, oh, I want to like DVR it.

• 17:47George Kamel?

  Yeah, well, you know, it's, it's very much about stuff. Maybe that's why. DVR. You're one step away from TiVo.

• 17:55Rachel Cruze?

  I was hoping you would appreciate that one, George.

• 17:57George Kamel?

  Tell us about your VHS rewinder while you're at it.

• 17:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, uh huh. Okay, so is there, uh, was there a Christmas gift as a kid that you were like, this is what I want, so specific?

• 18:06George Kamel?

  Oh, man, there was a Nickelodeon thing. You shoot a light at a wall and then you can draw on the wall.

• 18:13Rachel Cruze?

  Ooh, that's cool.

• 18:14George Kamel?

  I still don't know how they do it, but that was my favorite. I still think about it.

• 18:18Rachel Cruze?

  Is it like a projector?

• 18:18George Kamel?

  I've searched on eBay for it to see if I can find one.

• 18:21Rachel Cruze?

  Funny, yeah.

• 18:22George Kamel?

  Yeah, it's somehow, it's a really bright flash.

• 18:25Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 18:25George Kamel?

  And then it kind of creates like an image on the wall and you can actually...

• 18:29Rachel Cruze?

  Like with a marker and draw on your wall?

• 18:31George Kamel?

  I guess with your finger. I don't remember how it worked, but yeah, you could like draw pictures just with light and eventually it would fade as the...

• 18:36Rachel Cruze?

  How cool.

• 18:37George Kamel?

  I don't know.

• 18:38Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, the technology of Nickelodeon was...

• 18:40George Kamel?

  Someone will let me know in the comments what it was because they had one.

• 18:43Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah, let us know.

• 18:44George Kamel?

  How about you? I imagine Christmas was like crazy at the Ramsey house.

• 18:49Rachel Cruze?

  No, no, not really.

• 18:51George Kamel?

  Nothing, no gifts.

• 18:52Rachel Cruze?

  No, I mean gifts, but is that crazy?

• 18:54George Kamel?

  But like, were you like, oh my gosh, I got the X, Y, Z?

• 18:57Rachel Cruze?

  I'm trying to think what I...

• 18:58George Kamel?

  Barbie Jeep, what was the thing for you?

• 19:00Rachel Cruze?

  There was like probably all the Barbie stuff. Uh, a Tamagotchi was big.

• 19:04George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 19:04Rachel Cruze?

  And a boombox. I got a boombox one year and it was a big deal because you could put your tape recorder in.

• 19:10George Kamel?

  With CD as well?

• 19:11Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, yeah, it had CD.

• 19:13George Kamel?

  CD tape.

• 19:13Rachel Cruze?

  You know what else I got? Same on the electronic, um, wagon, was a CD alarm clock.

• 19:21George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 19:22Rachel Cruze?

  So you could wake up to a CD and I had Samantha Mumba, her CD.

• 19:26George Kamel?

  I could have guessed it. The one song you knew for the first 20 years of your life was just Samantha. What was the name of the song?

• 19:32Rachel Cruze?

  Mumba. Oh, my gosh. It's time for school. We gotta get up.

• 19:41George Kamel?

  Are they playing guitar on a keyboard?

• 19:51Rachel Cruze?

  So, I'm sure Rachel's just getting her caboodle out? Putting her contacts in?

• 19:56George Kamel?

  Caboodle?

• 19:58Rachel Cruze?

  Do you remember this song, anyone? Anyone?

• 20:03George Kamel?

  Why was that the voice of every singer back then? Very like Britney Spears-esque? Little Christina in there?

• 20:11Rachel Cruze?

  Totally. Anyways, bring me back to 2000. When the world was peaceful and good. Alright, next up, A Christmas Carol.

• 20:19George Kamel?

  I don't even remember this.

• 20:20Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 20:21George Kamel?

  Oh, this is what's...

• 20:21Rachel Cruze?

  This is Mickey Mouse.

• 20:23George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 20:24Rachel Cruze?

  The Mickey Mouse.

• 20:25George Kamel?

  We're all looking at each other like...

• 20:26Rachel Cruze?

  Isn't it Scrooge?

• 20:27Speaker 02

  Well, it's originally a Charles Dickens novel.

• 20:30Rachel Cruze?

  No, I know it is, thank you. But I'm going to my childhood.

• 20:33George Kamel?

  Ghost of Christmas Past, that's all you need to know.

• 20:36Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I'm pretty sure Mickey Mouse had a version there. Listen. Okay, so the quote is, "These were shadows of things that have been. They are what they are, don't blame me." Wow, it's real deep.

• 20:49George Kamel?

  Why is this... He sounds like a Gen Z-er.

• 20:51Rachel Cruze?

  Well, no, he's an 1800-er.

• 20:53George Kamel?

  "They are what they are, don't at me." It's like, what energy is this?

• 20:58Rachel Cruze?

  It's an 1800-er. Is what that is.

• 21:01George Kamel?

  Yeah, I guess... I guess Gen Z often sounds like the ghost of Christmas past.

• 21:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. But I think the key here is that you don't want to take your money habits that were in the past with you to the future.

• 21:13George Kamel?

  That's right. And, accept some responsibility. Enough with this "don't blame me," like, "I didn't know." You have to take responsibility for all of the money mistakes from the past. Own it and go, "Hey, that's fine, I'm gonna get better in the future. I'm going to get out of this debt, I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice."

• 21:28Rachel Cruze?

  That's good. Yeah, Charles would be proud of us.

• 21:30George Kamel?

  Yeah, I think so.

• 21:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, love it. Alright, this is one of my three. Funniest Christmas movie I think of all time. Poor Christmases. Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, I mean, they are, it is, it is

• 21:45George Kamel?

  At their best.

• 21:46Rachel Cruze?

  Literally makes me laugh every year. And I still know what's coming.

• 21:49George Kamel?

  It holds up for an old school kind of comedy.

• 21:51Rachel Cruze?

  So funny. So the quote is, I didn't know there was a $10 spending gap.

• 21:55George Kamel?

  We've all been there.

• 21:56Rachel Cruze?

  So listen, yeah, we're not gonna be embarrassed if this Christmas looks different for you, you know, than past Christmases. Cause you know, life is expensive these days. Inflation is just up, up, up. And it feels like, oh my gosh, it just takes a lot of money to travel.

• 22:09George Kamel?

  If you have a list of like 14 people you're buying for.

• 22:12Rachel Cruze?

  And to buy gifts, it's a lot. So, so don't be embarrassed if it's, you know, a Christmas that you're on a tighter budget. But also, it's probably a little too late for this episode, but maybe for next Christmas, talk about it. Draw names, have a spending, you know, limit. And that's, I think that's great. I think everyone appreciates that.

• 22:29George Kamel?

  Yeah, just communicating your boundaries, communicating the budget that you're comfortable with, the expectations, and do it as early as possible. Don't wait until the ninth hour.

• 22:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 22:37George Kamel?

  Just, hey, in October, November, call up the family and go, hey, what's our plans? Here's what I'm thinking.

• 22:42Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm. Okay, one thing from the movie that Winston and I have implemented in the year, across the year, is like a code word. Cause in the movie, if they have to leave the in-laws' house, they're like, uh, mistletoe. That's their code word to get out of there.

• 22:57George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 22:58Rachel Cruze?

  And Winston and I come up with code words in social situations.

• 23:01George Kamel?

  I wanna know what it is.

• 23:01Rachel Cruze?

  Mostly for him. It changes. It changes every time.

• 23:04George Kamel?

  Okay. Do you remember one?

• 23:05Rachel Cruze?

  It could be like a Taylor Swift, or it could be, you know, we'll just like throw it out before we go somewhere.

• 23:09George Kamel?

  What if you're accidentally?

• 23:11Rachel Cruze?

  And if he like comes and holds my hand, it's like, I really, you know, how was that Taylor Swift concert? I'm like, he's ready to go. We gotta wrap this up. I've never used a code word, as you can imagine.

• 23:19George Kamel?

  Oh, I was gonna say.

• 23:21Rachel Cruze?

  I'm always chatting.

• 23:22George Kamel?

  Rachel could never have code word Taylor Swift. Cause four seconds into the party, she'd be like, oh my gosh, did you hear the new Taylor? Winston would be like, uh, we have to go.

• 23:30Rachel Cruze?

  That's so true. That's so true. Yeah, but we've, uh, yeah, we'll do that. Have you and Whitney ever done that?

• 23:34George Kamel?

  Well, we have a physical version where she'll squeeze the hand.

• 23:39Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 23:40George Kamel?

  You know?

• 23:40Rachel Cruze?

  What was that?

• 23:41George Kamel?

  It was me PTSD from Whitney squeezing my hand after I've been at a party for far too long, trying to escape a conversation that I cannot escape.

• 23:50Rachel Cruze?

  Ooh.

• 23:51George Kamel?

  Because I am a people pleaser. And here's what I do, Rachel. I will double down. I will be like, So tell me exactly what happened in 4th grade. And we talked about 5th, and I'm like, I'm trying to get out of it, and I'm somehow digging deeper.

• 24:05Rachel Cruze?

  But you keep asking more questions.

• 24:05George Kamel?

  I'm asking more questions.

• 24:06Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh, yeah. You gotta wrap those combos up, George.

• 24:09George Kamel?

  I'm a terrible, I must be secretly from the Midwest.

• 24:12Rachel Cruze?

  Nice.

• 24:12George Kamel?

  Cause I cannot say goodbye.

• 24:14Rachel Cruze?

  Cannot say goodbye, just keep on going, keep on going. Alright, let's end with a, with a classic. A cartoon and a real person movie classic. How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

• 24:26George Kamel?

  One of Jim Carrey's best.

• 24:27Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, and Whoville, Cindy Lou Who had a great quote. I think it was her, maybe it was the narrator. "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more." I think that was the narrator. Did I sound like a narrator?

• 24:43George Kamel?

  You actually did.

• 24:44Rachel Cruze?

  But it's really so true. Doesn't come from a store, George.

• 24:47George Kamel?

  And you talk a lot about comparison, and we mentioned contentment earlier. This feels like one of those, like, it's a hokey thing to say, but there's so much depth and truth.

• 24:55Rachel Cruze?

  But it's so true, yes. And I feel like, honestly, the memories of Christmas that you have, it is more of like, oh, that funny conversation about time that everyone couldn't stop laughing. Or like, there's always a thing that happens. It's really not about the gifts. We talk about gifts a lot, but like, that's not really what people remember, I don't think.

• 25:12George Kamel?

  Yeah, I feel like the memory for me, when I just think Christmas as a child. I remember just wrapping gifts with my mom. Didn't matter, I don't remember what the gifts were.

• 25:20Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah.

• 25:20George Kamel?

  But I just remember helping her, like, I would get all the tape, and I'd put a piece of tape on each finger, and I would be ready with more tape for mom.

• 25:26Rachel Cruze?

  George, what a helper.

• 25:27George Kamel?

  And I just love that. I love that, I didn't care about the gifts necessarily. But, so that's a, you know, it's more about the quality time.

• 25:33Rachel Cruze?

  Where Mr. and Mrs. Camel, where they went, it's like, you had to wait on the stairs, dad had to get the video camera.

• 25:38George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 25:38Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, it felt like years before we could come downstairs.

• 25:41George Kamel?

  Well, we do a very Camel tradition, which is, everyone, cousins, aunts, uncles, Christmas Eve.

• 25:49George Kamel?

  And then we opened all the gifts together.

• 25:50Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, okay.

• 25:51George Kamel?

  We're talking 35 people. There's music. It's 1 a.m. We might get to the presents eventually. Kids are hopped up on sugar. We're having a good time.

• 25:59Rachel Cruze?

  So fun.

• 26:00George Kamel?

  So Christmas morning was less about gifts and

• 26:03Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 26:03George Kamel?

  more just taking it easy, sleeping in.

• 26:05Rachel Cruze?

  Do you all do that still, if you go to Boston?

• 26:06George Kamel?

  Still.

• 26:07Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, George.

• 26:08George Kamel?

  And someone dresses up as Santa and comes through the front door.

• 26:10Rachel Cruze?

  I have heard this.

• 26:11George Kamel?

  Sombrero. It's wild.

• 26:13Rachel Cruze?

  Santa Claus.

• 26:14George Kamel?

  Yes, honestly, a decent accent. Offensive to all people, but accurate.

• 26:20Rachel Cruze?

  You do it. Do your accent.

• 26:22George Kamel?

  When I do it, it's not, I can do it. You know what I mean? Like, check my 23 and me. I can pull it off. But Santa Claus is pretty, that's pretty good. I love that you remember that.

• 26:32Rachel Cruze?

  I remember you saying it. Say it.

• 26:34George Kamel?

  No, I won't do it now. I want to leave the audience with your version in their mind.

• 26:37Rachel Cruze?

  It's what you say every year. It's what I remember.

• 26:39George Kamel?

  It's so much funnier hearing your version. I want that burned into the memory of Smart Money Happy Hour listeners.

• 26:45Rachel Cruze?

  Anyways.

• 26:45George Kamel?

  That's a good, but yeah, Christmas Eve was our gift opening time. Christmas morning was like, setting it up, playing with it all. Carollers come to the door from the church.

• 26:54Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, really?

• 26:55George Kamel?

  Moms making baklava, coffee. Oh, yeah.

• 26:57Rachel Cruze?

  That was a different Christmas than mine. That sounds really idyllic.

• 27:02George Kamel?

  It was. Was yours like, craziness on Christmas morning?

• 27:05Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I mean, it was just like us kids getting up and we had to wait on the stairs. Well, they had to get the video camera.

• 27:11George Kamel?

  One gift at a time, or what?

• 27:12Rachel Cruze?

  And you know what? They would set up the video camera on a tripod.

• 27:15George Kamel?

  Oh, that's smart.

• 27:16Rachel Cruze?

  And you would just film it.

• 27:17George Kamel?

  Who's "they"?

• 27:18Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, mom and dad.

• 27:19George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 27:20Rachel Cruze?

  And they had to get their coffee.

• 27:21George Kamel?

  It sounded like there was a team of filmmakers. Crew would come, set up early.

• 27:25Rachel Cruze?

  They all came, you know?

• 27:26George Kamel?

  Get some lights.

• 27:27Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, yeah. And, uh, yeah, yeah, you had to wait. And it was usually just us. My aunt, my mom's twin. Sharon and Karen.

• 27:35George Kamel?

  Sharon and Karen. How can you forget?

• 27:37Rachel Cruze?

  Aunt Karen and Uncle Mac would come. And actually, Uncle Mac sometimes dressed up as Santa.

• 27:41George Kamel?

  Oh, that's fun.

• 27:42Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. So great, George. Well, listen, I think I am fully in the spirit. And you know what? Um, I got you a little something, George.

• 27:50George Kamel?

  You would not believe this. I did too.

• 27:52Rachel Cruze?

  What? In the same gift bag?

• 27:56George Kamel?

  In a very similar bag, different color.

• 27:58Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, shall we exchange?

• 28:00George Kamel?

  We also shop for the $1 bag at Target.

• 28:02Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 28:03George Kamel?

  Love that for you. Okay, let's exchange gifts.

• 28:05Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, here you go.

• 28:06George Kamel?

  Thank you so much. You could have reached a little further, but it's fine. All right, you go first.

• 28:13Rachel Cruze?

  All right.

• 28:15George Kamel?

  You know what it is.

• 28:18Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, wow, a light bulb for my toilets. Thank you, George.

• 28:25George Kamel?

  One of the all-time best gifts you can give someone.

• 28:28Rachel Cruze?

  I'm gonna, I'm gonna use it. I'm gonna introduce this to the cruises and I'm gonna be just okay.

• 28:34George Kamel?

  Any colors.

• 28:35Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, what color do you choose?

• 28:36George Kamel?

  I prefer a light blue, it feels clean.

• 28:39Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah.

• 28:40George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 28:40Rachel Cruze?

  I hear ya.

• 28:41George Kamel?

  Yeah, green toilet, that's weird. Red toilet, danger, danger. Yellow, we're letting that melt out. So I think a nice, light blue, not an aggressive blue.

• 28:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, orange is too much like the, okay, I'm gonna go purple. Purple seems a little fun.

• 28:53George Kamel?

  Purple's actually a safe color.

• 28:54Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it feels right. All right, thank you, George. I so appreciate that.

• 28:58George Kamel?

  I hope that blesses you.

• 29:00Rachel Cruze?

  It does. Thank you.

• 29:02George Kamel?

  No, can I tell you though, recently, uh, ours broke. And now in the middle of the night, it's tumultuous.

• 29:08Rachel Cruze?

  I'm like figuring out.

• 29:10George Kamel?

  I mean, you're stumbling through, because I don't like turn lights on in the middle of the night. You know, waking up people.

• 29:14Rachel Cruze?

  Do you not have like, streetlights that are coming through, like, some level, some window?

• 29:19George Kamel?

  No.

• 29:19Rachel Cruze?

  No?

• 29:19George Kamel?

  No streetlight, everything's closed off. I don't want none of that coming in.

• 29:22Rachel Cruze?

  All right, all right.

• 29:23George Kamel?

  What did Rachel get me? A woofie. Oh my gosh.

• 29:30Rachel Cruze?

  For your high maintenance dogs.

• 29:32George Kamel?

  The thing I didn't know existed and didn't know I needed. So you clip it to any phone, you add a treat to it, so the dog looks directly at the lens for all photos. That is actually something I will be using more than I would care to admit. Oh my gosh, thank you so much.

• 29:50Rachel Cruze?

  You're so welcome.

• 29:51George Kamel?

  I feel so known, and they donate a percentage of the sale to local animal shelters. They don't say what percent, they just say 8%. And I appreciate that, a woofie, that they're honest while being vague.

• 30:01Rachel Cruze?

  0.02%, we don't know.

• 30:03George Kamel?

  But you know, speaking of generosity, Rachel, it's powerful. So if you want to give a thoughtful, impactful gift, way more impactful than a woofie. Here's your reminder, Ramsey is wrapping up its 50 days of Christmas deals right now. We've got bestselling books and products, including for my friend Rachel Cruz. Up to 30% off, just go to ramsysolutions.com. This is your last chance. Depending on when you're listening, it might be over, but go to ramsysolutions.com and check it out.

• 30:27Rachel Cruze?

  So great. All right, you guys, well, I don't know, I think there's a lot to learn in this episode. I think the meaning of Christmas is much more than this stuff.

• 30:35George Kamel?

  Gratitude, contentment, generosity.

• 30:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, there's a lot to embrace. And we hope that you are enjoying time with your family, too. Maybe you guys are traveling as you're watching or listening to this to the people you love. Or maybe, you know, it's a Christmas at home this year. And that's beautiful, too. So regardless of what your plans are.

• 30:49George Kamel?

  This is a free show, so we appreciate your frugality this Christmas season. Not trying to add to it.

• 30:54Rachel Cruze?

  All right, before we head to Guilty as Charge, let's tell us, tell us about this eggnog drink. Look, did you see I almost finished it?

• 31:03George Kamel?

  I'm impressed. Yes, this is the upgraded eggnog, and that's because it's got some cognac in it.

• 31:09Rachel Cruze?

  Versus what? What's other, what do you usually spike eggnog with? Bourbon?

• 31:12George Kamel?

  You could do bourbon, you could do whiskey, you could do rum.

• 31:14Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 31:15George Kamel?

  Those are good ones. Cognac feels a little bit uppity.

• 31:18Rachel Cruze?

  It is elevated.

• 31:19George Kamel?

  It's a little more French. It's got whole egg, heavy cream, maple syrup, and St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram, which is a spiced rum.

• 31:26Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, very nice.

• 31:27George Kamel?

  So you're getting a mix of the spiced rum with the cognac in there. $2.72 per glass.

• 31:32Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 31:32George Kamel?

  That's actually a really good price for the ingredients involved here.

• 31:35Rachel Cruze?

  Not terrible, not terrible.

• 31:37George Kamel?

  So make a batch for the adults, make a non-alcoholic batch for the kids if they're into eggnog, and check out the recipe in the show notes.

• 31:44Rachel Cruze?

  All right, what's your rating?

• 31:45George Kamel?

  I'm gonna give this one more sip.

• 31:50George Kamel?

  I'm gonna go nine out of 10.

• 31:52Rachel Cruze?

  Wow.

• 31:52George Kamel?

  I think it's a great eggnog, if you like eggnog.

• 31:56Rachel Cruze?

  I know. I'm going five out of 10.

• 31:58George Kamel?

  But I could not improve on it. If I was craving an eggnog, I would go, this is exactly what I'm needing.

• 32:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I don't think I crave an eggnog, so that's why I'm giving it five out of 10. It's just not my drink. Not my drink.

• 32:09George Kamel?

  That's fine.

• 32:09Rachel Cruze?

  But it wasn't bad, it's just not what I would order.

• 32:11George Kamel?

  So just know that. If you like eggnog, don't take Rachel's word for it.

• 32:21Rachel Cruze?

  All right, George, it's time for Guilty as Charged. And this is where our producer Kelly gives us a new guilty as charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. Kelly?

• 32:31Speaker 02

  All right. Have you ever, as an adult or as a kid, peeked at your Christmas gifts?

• 32:37Rachel Cruze?

  Wow.

• 32:40George Kamel?

  If we admit it, are we gonna get coal? It's one of those where like, do we keep this to ourselves?

• 32:47Rachel Cruze?

  Honestly,

• 32:49Rachel Cruze?

  I don't think I did, because I don't think I knew where they were. Like, they were hidden.

• 32:54George Kamel?

  Under the tree?

• 32:55Rachel Cruze?

  So well. See, they, yeah, see, it wouldn't ha- we wouldn't-

• 32:59George Kamel?

  Was this like Elf on the Shelf in your family? What was going on?

• 33:02Rachel Cruze?

  No, we were- they don't come to Christmas morning.

• 33:05George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 33:06Rachel Cruze?

  So, yeah, so no.

• 33:08George Kamel?

  They weren't just like sitting under the tree all week?

• 33:10Rachel Cruze?

  No, Mom had-

• 33:11George Kamel?

  Because you'd know.

• 33:11Rachel Cruze?

  Mom had, as we got older and she got bougie, she had fake presents under the tree for decoration.

• 33:17George Kamel?

  What a trickster.

• 33:18Rachel Cruze?

  But like, the real gifts came Christmas morning. So, I mean, no, I don't think I ever did. I don't think I-

• 33:23George Kamel?

  Did you ever try to like, find out? Like, kinda-

• 33:25Rachel Cruze?

  I think I prob- oh, I'm sure I looked. I'm sure I looked at like-

• 33:27George Kamel?

  Interrogation?

• 33:28Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, looked in places and closets. I'm sure I did that. I- that's not, that's not above me.

• 33:33George Kamel?

  Feels like something you would do.

• 33:34Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, not above me.

• 33:34George Kamel?

  You've admitted to cheating on a test once or twice.

• 33:36Rachel Cruze?

  How about you?

• 33:39George Kamel?

  Have I peeked? No, have I gone to great lengths to figure out box sizes and searched those sizes online to see if it measures up? Yes.

• 33:49Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, wow.

• 33:50George Kamel?

  I would- I'm scared to shake things, because you never know what's in it, if it's sensitive. Like, what if she got me the china I've always wanted, and now I shake it and the china breaks?

• 33:59Rachel Cruze?

  And it shatters, and it shatters.

• 34:00George Kamel?

  But no, I truly feel like you should not peek. It's just way more fun versus ruining it.

• 34:06Rachel Cruze?

  Well, you shouldn't, but also when you're a kid and you're curious.

• 34:09George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 34:10Rachel Cruze?

  You're gonna wanna, you're gonna wanna see.

• 34:13George Kamel?

  I think I had too much childlike innocence-

• 34:15Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 34:16George Kamel?

  Enjoyed.

• 34:16Rachel Cruze?

  We're so pure.

• 34:18George Kamel?

  Yeah, that's true.

• 34:18Rachel Cruze?

  Kelly?

• 34:19George Kamel?

  We've lost that.

• 34:20Rachel Cruze?

  I bet Kelly did.

• 34:21George Kamel?

  Kelly seems like a peep.

• 34:22Rachel Cruze?

  Did you find him?

• 34:23Speaker 02

  My sister and I used to, we would do this. You tell me one and I'll tell you one if we knew.

• 34:31George Kamel?

  That's called collusion.

• 34:32Speaker 02

  It was very, very much collusion. And then one year, um, she and I, we traded our big gift. Like we told each other the big gift that we were getting. And then we were both really sad about it because I knew, like I knew I was getting a new bike.

• 34:47George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 34:47Speaker 02

  And then it was like.

• 34:48George Kamel?

  See, it ruins it.

• 34:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, it ruined it.

• 34:50George Kamel?

  And you feel guilty.

• 34:51Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 34:52George Kamel?

  Cause now you have to fake the response.

• 34:54Speaker 02

  Right. So my mom thought that we were unwrapping our gifts to figure out. She didn't know we were telling each other. So she decided one year to have color schemes, no tags. And like, this is the eighties, so a lot of burgundy and hunter green.

• 35:06Rachel Cruze?

  100%.

• 35:07Speaker 02

  And, but my sister was like green and gold and I was green and silver, but she mixed it up halfway through the season.

• 35:12George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 35:13Speaker 02

  Yeah. And my sister's eight years older than I am, so I was getting like car, like car key rings when I was 10.

• 35:19George Kamel?

  Yeah. What is happening?

• 35:21Speaker 02

  She was getting toys.

• 35:22Rachel Cruze?

  Oh no, y'all wrapping up, yeah.

• 35:23Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 35:23Rachel Cruze?

  Unwrapping the wrong gifts.

• 35:24Speaker 02

  It was mayhem that Christmas morning.

• 35:26Rachel Cruze?

  There you go. See memory. Memories.

• 35:28Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 35:29George Kamel?

  Memories were made by peeking.

• 35:30Rachel Cruze?

  There you go. I love it. So good. Well, you guys, it's closing time. Thank you so much for listening and watching.

• 35:39George Kamel?

  All right. My heart was warmed by this episode. And the cognac, I think the cognac is also warming.

• 35:44Rachel Cruze?

  And if you want to keep the holiday vibes going, make sure to check out our episode on unique money traditions from around the world. And if you want to stay connected, make sure to follow us on social, all the things.

• 35:55George Kamel?

  Send us a DM, let us know what you thought. Send us, uh, drink ideas. That's how I've been getting some of those. Send us your guilty as charged questions. We might feature them.

• 36:03Rachel Cruze?

  Always fun. And yeah, we'll see you guys next Thursday on an all new episode of. Smart Money Happy Hour.