What Level of Crunchy Are You?

📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan. On a scale of cloth diapers to compost, how crunchy are you? In this episode, get Rachel and George’s take on popular “clean” products. Plus, find the best crunchy money-saving hacks out there. Next Steps: 🎥 Watch our video The #1 Budget Buster That No One Can Avoid. 🏅 Help us make the show better! Please fill out a quick survey. 🍸 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. 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app! Connect With Our Sponsors: 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. 🌿 Get up to 40% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍸 Kentucky Flyer Recipe: Difford’s Guide Luxardo maraschino cherries (optional for garnish) Mint sprigs (optional for garnish) 1 1/2 ounces straight rye whiskey 1/2 ounce Luxardo maraschino liqueur 1/3 ounce lemon juice (freshly squeezed) 1/6 ounce chilled water 3 drops saline solution Instructions: Pre-chill a Nick and Nora glass. Prepare a garnish of skewered Luxardo maraschino cherries and a mint sprig. Shake the rest of the ingredients with ice and fine strain into the chilled glass. Garnish with the skewered cherry and mint sprigs bouquet. Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🎙 The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 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?

  Today, we're unpacking what it means to be crunchy, scrunchy, and silky on a budget.

• 0:11Rachel Cruze?

  I had a friend that made her own deodorant.

• 0:13George Kamel?

  Mm-mm.

• 0:13Rachel Cruze?

  True story.

• 0:14George Kamel?

  Are you guys still friends?

• 0:15Rachel Cruze?

  Tide detergent.

• 0:16George Kamel?

  Ooh.

• 0:16Rachel Cruze?

  This is what we use.

• 0:17George Kamel?

  This one's become controversial. Do you use like the clean one? Or is it like the bright orange red bottle?

• 0:22Rachel Cruze?

  Bright orange red bottle.

• 0:28Rachel Cruze?

  Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

• 0:30George Kamel?

  I'm George Kamel.

• 0:32Rachel Cruze?

  And this is

• 0:33George Kamel?

  Smart Money Happy Hour.

• 0:39Rachel Cruze?

  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. This is a good one because we're going to dive in. There's a lot of trends happening. And it's good, right? We're being healthier, more

• 0:52George Kamel?

  Trying.

• 0:53Rachel Cruze?

  self-conscious of like what we're putting around our environment. I mean, I don't know. I mean, it's great, but it's very much a trend.

• 0:59George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 0:59Rachel Cruze?

  So we're going to dive in.

• 1:00George Kamel?

  What's worth the extra money?

• 1:01Rachel Cruze?

  It costs some money, some money. So while we're talking about that, what are we going to sip on, George?

• 1:04George Kamel?

  We are sipping on a Kentucky Flyer. And we're going to give you the rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode, so stick around for that.

• 1:11Rachel Cruze?

  All right, so the term crunchy mom.

• 1:15George Kamel?

  I hear it all the time.

• 1:16Rachel Cruze?

  It's a thing, right? So like, define that. Like, when you hear it, George, what are you thinking about?

• 1:21George Kamel?

  Well, my wife is in a crunchy mom Facebook group.

• 1:24Rachel Cruze?

  Wow.

• 1:25George Kamel?

  And let me tell you, I think there's a spectrum of crunchy moms. There's moms who are wanting the best for their kids. And then there's people who have, I think, lost their mind. And I think there's, you know, there's a spectrum. Again, don't even know where my wife falls on there. Some days, I don't know. But I would say it's people who are very concerned about what they're putting in their body, what is in their home, what's affecting the environment.

• 1:48Rachel Cruze?

  And this is everything from makeup to cleaning supplies to detergent.

• 1:51George Kamel?

  Foods, ingredients.

• 1:53Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, all of it, right? So it's, it is. And then there's like levels of it, like what you're saying. And so there's different terms people are using. So you got crunchy, which again, it's like no food dye, cloth diapers, like

• 2:05George Kamel?

  Essential oils are medicine. You know, you don't even go darken the door of a doctor.

• 2:11Rachel Cruze?

  Western medicine.

• 2:12George Kamel?

  Can't trust them.

• 2:13Rachel Cruze?

  Er, er.

• 2:14George Kamel?

  Okay, so that's full-blown crunchy.

• 2:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's full-blown crunchy. You got silky, which is the opposite. So you got, you know, your red Doritos, your copper tone sunscreen, Clorox wipes.

• 2:24George Kamel?

  All the chemicals.

• 2:25Rachel Cruze?

  You're just all in in 2025, like.

• 2:29Rachel Cruze?

  We're all good, right? We're all gonna die eventually.

• 2:32George Kamel?

  YOLO.

• 2:32Rachel Cruze?

  Might as well have some Doritos and

• 2:34George Kamel?

  Who has the tongue?

• 2:35Rachel Cruze?

  And the old stomach while you go.

• 2:37George Kamel?

  And then you have scrunchy, which I think is where most people would identify. They're teetering somewhere in the middle. Like, you're doing your best to live, quote, "clean", but also leaning on modern conveniences, like occasional screen time flexibility for Bluey and Paw Patrol. Just me?

• 2:52Rachel Cruze?

  For sure. Bluey, what a great show.

• 2:54George Kamel?

  And that's just screen time for me. Naughty, that doesn't count my daughter.

• 2:58Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so Whitney, what would you say, though?

• 3:02George Kamel?

  She's crunchy. I think she's leaning over time, crunchier and crunchier.

• 3:05Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 3:06George Kamel?

  But someone has to put a stop to the madness.

• 3:08Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 3:09George Kamel?

  And then sometimes she'll be like, "I want Swedish fish. I have a craving." I'm like, "You know, there's red dye." And she's like, "I don't care. Give me the Swedish fish."

• 3:14Rachel Cruze?

  I don't care, give it to me.

• 3:15George Kamel?

  So I think we all need to admit, we all

• 3:17Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, for sure.

• 3:18George Kamel?

  No one's 100% all the time.

• 3:19Rachel Cruze?

  It's the funniest memes of the moms that are like, looking at like, the ingredients at the grocery store. Have you seen those videos? It's like funny, because it's like, oh, it has that. Nope, nope, nope, those kind of oils. Nope, we're not doing that. No, nope. And then the next, the next second later, she's getting Botox, like, in her forehead, like, sitting in the doctor's office. You know what I mean?

• 3:35George Kamel?

  So it can go in the head, just not in the mouth.

• 3:37Rachel Cruze?

  It's funny.

• 3:37George Kamel?

  It just depends on where the chemicals are going. Got it?

• 3:39Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I know. But it's like, yeah, we're all crazy about it.

• 3:42George Kamel?

  I do read a lot of labels. I am that guy. And I try to avoid the gums, the dyes, the bad oils. I do my best.

• 3:49Rachel Cruze?

  I think y'all are crunchier than we are.

• 3:51George Kamel?

  Fair.

• 3:51Rachel Cruze?

  Right?

• 3:52George Kamel?

  Just based on the fact that you go to Sonic, I think we win. Like, if you look at Chick-fil-A ingredients and then claim to be crunchy, you're out. You can't do that.

• 4:01Rachel Cruze?

  Where I stand is, yes, I want to be healthy. And I do, I really do believe that there are certain industries out there that are just making hand-over-fist money off of our ignorance. I mean, I really do. So I do think understanding what's going on is very important. But then it gets paired with reality, right? And I'm like, my kids love deli meats.

• 4:21George Kamel?

  When the rubber meets the road.

• 4:22Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, my kids love deli meats. What am I gonna do? Like, they like milk, and I'm not gonna go milk a cow. And just eat-

• 4:29George Kamel?

  You could.

• 4:29Rachel Cruze?

  Drink raw milk. Yeah, I could, but I'm not. Like, I'm not.

• 4:32George Kamel?

  You have a garden. You're not far off-

• 4:34Rachel Cruze?

  There is.

• 4:34George Kamel?

  From livestock.

• 4:36Rachel Cruze?

  Livestock right around. Yeah, and even like my eggs, you know? I just get the Publix brand eggs. Which is probably the worst-

• 4:43George Kamel?

  Are you a white egg person?

• 4:45Rachel Cruze?

  What other egg do you do?

• 4:46George Kamel?

  Like the tan eggs?

• 4:48Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, no. Yeah, no, we don't do tan eggs.

• 4:50George Kamel?

  I don't know what it is, but I see a white egg-

• 4:52Rachel Cruze?

  You make it feel like you're really, yeah, you feel real good about yourself with those tan eggs, but I bet those same chickens are all-

• 4:58George Kamel?

  I have, can we just make this very clear? We are not experts when it comes to food, or health, or science. We stick to money. So we're gonna give you unbiased opinions that are wrong, and we will get roasted in the comments for anything we say for this episode.

• 5:12Rachel Cruze?

  That is true. I know.

• 5:12George Kamel?

  But it is exhausting.

• 5:13Rachel Cruze?

  I'm just laying out where we stand as people. George, you know?

• 5:16George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 5:17Rachel Cruze?

  You listen to the podcasts and you watch YouTube of Smart Money Happy Hour, and we're just the humans behind the microphone. That's what I was giving them, our human perspective.

• 5:24George Kamel?

  We're humans. And can I also just say, everything is going to kill us. In today's world-

• 5:29Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 5:30George Kamel?

  I feel like everything we do, buy, everything is just like, well, you know, that's bad for you.

• 5:34Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 5:34George Kamel?

  So that part, I have fatigue from just everything being bad for you.

• 5:38Rachel Cruze?

  Ooh, I have a question.

• 5:38George Kamel?

  Seltzer water, now bad for you. Oh, it's in aluminum can? Terrible for you.

• 5:42Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 5:42George Kamel?

  Forever plastics.

• 5:43Rachel Cruze?

  So let's like, let's flip the script a little bit, okay?

• 5:45George Kamel?

  All right.

• 5:46Rachel Cruze?

  So you got the Oregon Trail. They're for sure cutting off chickens' heads and making chicken from chicken, like, like, straight up. You know what I'm saying?

• 5:54George Kamel?

  How else you, what else do you make chicken from?

• 5:56Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, just like, they got real chickens. They kill that real chicken right there and they eat that chicken. I mean, like, it's very much, like, there's no processed anything at the Oregon Trail.

• 6:04George Kamel?

  No, that's how they got the distant Terry.

• 6:05Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so you got me. Okay, so we got Pilgrims, we got Oregon Trail, different decades, I know, of those two groups. But like, think, think that time period.

• 6:13George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 6:14Rachel Cruze?

  Are you with me?

• 6:14George Kamel?

  Yeah, yeah. Little House on the Prairie.

• 6:16Rachel Cruze?

  I'm doing real bad explaining this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 6:19George Kamel?

  Stuart Little.

• 6:20Rachel Cruze?

  And we are, we're milking cows, we're drinking the milk right there. Like, it's not, got it? Okay. You got that, but then you got like- Scarlet fever? Then you got, I mean, you got stuff killing you off a lot. Childbirth back in the day, right? Like, still today, but like, for sure. Like, so like, do we take that risk? But drink unpasteurized milk and eat a chicken an hour after it was killed?

• 6:47George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 6:48Rachel Cruze?

  Or do you live in today's world where you're like, alright? Isn't that what I'm saying?

• 6:53George Kamel?

  You make a good point. I don't know what the point is, but you're making it.

• 6:56Rachel Cruze?

  I'm debating it, like, like, they had it, they had it good then, in a certain way.

• 7:02George Kamel?

  Without access to modern medicine that could have saved them. Yet, modern medicine is now killing us, so we need to go back to the natural ways.

• 7:09Rachel Cruze?

  So that's what I'm saying, but I think I'd pick today. I think I would pick red Doritos.

• 7:13George Kamel?

  Got it, over, you get polio.

• 7:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's right.

• 7:16George Kamel?

  Forty percent chance.

• 7:17Rachel Cruze?

  Here's my point. I think we've romanticized that time of life to a degree of like, oh my gosh, everyone was so healthy then and natural then. And now villainized today's world because of.

• 7:31George Kamel?

  Ultra processing.

• 7:33Rachel Cruze?

  All the things, yes. Which again, I'm not disclaiming that that's not true. I think those things are happening. But also, we get the benefit of living longer in, because of like, health and, right? Refrigeration.

• 7:45George Kamel?

  Yeah, they used to use salt. Did you know that? Salt is what they used to preserve.

• 7:51Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, yes.

• 7:52George Kamel?

  Fascinating.

• 7:52Rachel Cruze?

  I did. There's a lot of references in the Bible to salt because of that. It was a major mineral.

• 7:57George Kamel?

  It was a magic mineral.

• 7:59Rachel Cruze?

  Used to keep food fresh. Okay. Alright, let's talk about budget-friendly ways to be, uh, to be a little.

• 8:06George Kamel?

  Let's do that. Shall we play a little, uh, guess the price?

• 8:10Rachel Cruze?

  Ooh, that would be fun.

• 8:11George Kamel?

  The differences in like, the standard process, bad-for-you thing versus the clean version?

• 8:17Rachel Cruze?

  Love it, absolutely. Here we go.

• 8:19George Kamel?

  We don't know the prices here. I guess Kelly's gonna tell us?

• 8:22Rachel Cruze?

  I do know.

• 8:22George Kamel?

  Thank you, producer Kelly. Let's compare, uh, Lysol disinfectant spray with Mrs. Meyer's all-purpose cleaner.

• 8:28Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 8:29George Kamel?

  Okay, I just had one bottle of this, a spray bottle. I'm gonna go, three bucks for Lysol?

• 8:35Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, I was going higher.

• 8:37George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 8:37Rachel Cruze?

  Five, five was my knee-jerk for a bottle of Lysol. Yeah, you're probably going four to five dollars.

• 8:43George Kamel?

  And for Mrs. Meyer's, I'm gonna go six?

• 8:46Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I'm higher, I'm like

• 8:48George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 8:48Rachel Cruze?

  Higher than you a little bit on all of these prices.

• 8:50Speaker 02

  All right, a bottle of Lysol disinfectant spray is $3.99.

• 8:54George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 8:55Rachel Cruze?

  $3.99.

• 8:56Speaker 02

  You said four to five dollars.

• 8:58Rachel Cruze?

  Four dollars.

• 8:58Speaker 02

  She said four to five dollars.

• 8:59Rachel Cruze?

  I know, but $3.99 is basically four dollars. Okay, I win.

• 9:01George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 9:02Rachel Cruze?

  Keep going.

• 9:04Speaker 02

  Mrs. Meyer's All Purpose Cleaner is $4.89. So not a huge difference between the two.

• 9:09Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, okay, I went way more expensive. I actually make my own cleaner. No joke, no joke. I had a Rachel Cruze episode about like homemade stuff that is more, is cheaper than buying store. And it's like water, rubbing alcohol.

• 9:23George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 9:24Rachel Cruze?

  Um, this like, mm, soap thing. It comes like, it comes in a massive bottle, but you only need like two tablespoons, or two teaspoons.

• 9:32George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 9:33Rachel Cruze?

  Um, and then you do lemon, um, drops, but, um, lemon, oh no, I'm not scrunchy.

• 9:40George Kamel?

  Like essential oil?

• 9:41Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 9:41George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 9:41Rachel Cruze?

  Like a drop, not like a true lemon squeeze, a dropper. Uh, like 10 drops or so. Shake it up. Ooh.

• 9:49George Kamel?

  Look at that.

• 9:49Rachel Cruze?

  There you go.

• 9:50George Kamel?

  That's clean.

• 9:51Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 9:51George Kamel?

  I'm proud of you.

• 9:53Rachel Cruze?

  I clean off my counters for our Sonic dinner.

• 9:55George Kamel?

  Yeah, that way it makes up for Sonic.

• 9:57Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, next. Tide detergent.

• 10:00George Kamel?

  Ooh.

• 10:00Rachel Cruze?

  This is what we use.

• 10:01George Kamel?

  This one's become controversial.

• 10:03Rachel Cruze?

  This is what we use.

• 10:04George Kamel?

  You use Tide, you're a Tide family.

• 10:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 10:06George Kamel?

  Do you use like the clean one, or is it like the bright orange red bottle?

• 10:10Rachel Cruze?

  Bright orange red bottle. I know.

• 10:12George Kamel?

  Okay, versus, what is a Tide?

• 10:14Rachel Cruze?

  I don't do the plastic pod, so I get a point. Um...

• 10:18George Kamel?

  What does that cost for a Tide?

• 10:20Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I'm trying to think. It depends on where I get it, honestly.

• 10:22George Kamel?

  I think they're pretty expensive, like 11 bucks maybe?

• 10:25Rachel Cruze?

  I'm going like $10.99.

• 10:28George Kamel?

  $9.99.

• 10:29Speaker 02

  All right, Tide detergent for a 64-loads, $12.99.

• 10:33George Kamel?

  Wow, she's good.

• 10:35Rachel Cruze?

  Man.

• 10:35George Kamel?

  Okay, now on the opposite side, we have the clean version, Blue Land, plastic-free refills. This is what the Camels have now been using.

• 10:43Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 10:44George Kamel?

  For 60 tablets, so it's about the same amount of loads. I know the price of this because I just bought them. They're about, uh, 33 cents a piece, so for 60 tablets, oh gosh, I'm gonna go 22 bucks?

• 10:58Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I was gonna say 19. 21.

• 11:00George Kamel?

  Yes!

• 11:01Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, well done. Well done.

• 11:03George Kamel?

  Your boy shops.

• 11:04Rachel Cruze?

  Look at you.

• 11:04George Kamel?

  What can I say?

• 11:05Rachel Cruze?

  Look at you. Okay, ready for this? Yankee candle versus boiling water with cinnamon and orange slices. So if you want to make your house smell good, the Yankee candle, and we don't do Yankee candles.

• 11:16George Kamel?

  Like, all candles are toxic to your household?

• 11:19Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, if they're scented. I think that's just bad.

• 11:21George Kamel?

  Who's lighting an unscented candle?

• 11:22Rachel Cruze?

  Soy candles, right? Soy candles, I think, are like the clean.

• 11:25George Kamel?

  The better-for-you version is soy candles.

• 11:26Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, but a Yankee candle, how much is a Yankee candle?

• 11:29George Kamel?

  Uh, I wanna say, I wanna say 15 bucks. Depending if you get it on sale.

• 11:33Rachel Cruze?

  31 dollars.

• 11:34George Kamel?

  Oh!

• 11:35Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, Yankee.

• 11:36George Kamel?

  They really think something of themselves.

• 11:41George Kamel?

  Wow!

• 11:42Rachel Cruze?

  All right.

• 11:42George Kamel?

  31 dollars?

• 11:44Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, and then you got orange slices and cinnamon, so what?

• 11:46George Kamel?

  Some cinnamon sticks and orange slices.

• 11:48Rachel Cruze?

  I mean...

• 11:48George Kamel?

  Maximum, I don't know, I mean, 5 bucks will get you all of that and plenty for multiple uses.

• 11:54Rachel Cruze?

  I was gonna say multiple uses, so for a single use, like a few cents.

• 11:57George Kamel?

  You don't have any, what's, you don't have a price on that?

• 11:59Rachel Cruze?

  I do.

• 11:59George Kamel?

  Water is free. Well, you pay for the water. 5 bucks.

• 12:03Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 12:03George Kamel?

  Nailed it.

• 12:04Rachel Cruze?

  Golly, George, well done.

• 12:05George Kamel?

  And you do pay for water. I take that back, water isn't free, before someone comes at me. "I don't know where you live, but I have a water..." Okay, relax, bud. Relax.

• 12:14Rachel Cruze?

  Nitpicky.

• 12:15George Kamel?

  Okay, let's move to personal care.

• 12:16Rachel Cruze?

  Ooh, this is fun. Okay, you got Maybelline Skin Tint plus Vitamin C versus, ooh, a fancy word.

• 12:23George Kamel?

  Ilia Skin Tint?

• 12:24Rachel Cruze?

  Skin Tint with SPF 40.

• 12:26George Kamel?

  Okay, I know for a fact my wife uses that one.

• 12:28Rachel Cruze?

  She does, okay.

• 12:29George Kamel?

  Two points for Whitney on the clean crew.

• 12:31Rachel Cruze?

  Well done. Um, all right, we're going Maybelline Skin Tint, I mean, we're going 7.99?

• 12:36George Kamel?

  I have no clue what makeup costs. I'm gonna say 9.99, Bob.

• 12:39Rachel Cruze?

  13.99.

• 12:40George Kamel?

  Yes!

• 12:41Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, that is more pricier, okay.

• 12:43George Kamel?

  And I imagine Ilia's Skin Tint, 47 dollars.

• 12:46Rachel Cruze?

  No, I'm going 32. 48 dollars.

• 12:49George Kamel?

  Oh my gosh! Can I be honest? I threw out a number so outrageous that I was like, it for sure won't be.

• 12:56Rachel Cruze?

  It's higher than that, $48.

• 12:59George Kamel?

  Our budget's tight, y'all. It's tight out there. It's tough times. All right, next up, Rachel, we have Batiste Dry Shampoo versus apparently the clean version, Amika Tauk-Free Dry Shampoo. I've always thought they were putting too much talc in our dry shampoos.

• 13:13Rachel Cruze?

  That's where the issues are.

• 13:14George Kamel?

  I'm gonna say $10 versus 20 on that one.

• 13:16Rachel Cruze?

  Dry shampoo, $12 versus 24.

• 13:24Speaker 02

  All right, so the Batiste Dry Shampoo is $8.99.

• 13:27George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 13:28Speaker 02

  And the Amika Tauk-Free Dry Shampoo is $28.

• 13:31Rachel Cruze?

  What did I say, 24?

• 13:33George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 13:33Rachel Cruze?

  What'd you say?

• 13:34George Kamel?

  I won the first one, you won the second one.

• 13:35Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, okay.

• 13:36George Kamel?

  I gotta know, it's crazy to me that taking ingredients out makes things cost more. Like, you want aluminum-free, that'll be $2 more. You want talc-free?

• 13:44Rachel Cruze?

  That's so true, they're putting less in there. What are they doing?

• 13:46George Kamel?

  Which makes you think, what the heck are they doing to the normal products? They're filling it with a bunch of crap they don't need to.

• 13:52Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, to get the results, but then it's bad for us. It's what they're, yeah.

• 13:56George Kamel?

  Which, I don't think anyone thought dry shampoo was like a natural thing in society. You know what I mean?

• 14:01Rachel Cruze?

  True.

• 14:02George Kamel?

  What is in there? We don't know.

• 14:03Rachel Cruze?

  We're not sure.

• 14:04George Kamel?

  Anything in a spray like that, it's gotta be toxic for you.

• 14:07Rachel Cruze?

  Well, that was a thing like years ago, right? The aerosol? I love it. I love an aerosol, though.

• 14:11George Kamel?

  She loves an aerosol, folks.

• 14:13Rachel Cruze?

  Love it. All right, we got Happy Perfume by Clinique versus Batouli Lavender Roll-On Fragrance.

• 14:20George Kamel?

  It's an odd combo.

• 14:21Rachel Cruze?

  All right, this is another thing about perfume, y'all.

• 14:24George Kamel?

  Perfume?

• 14:24Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, can I be bougie for a second? So I look at like Chanel number 5, right? That's been around since like the 20s.

• 14:34George Kamel?

  I'm sure it's changed over time.

• 14:35Rachel Cruze?

  That's gotta be bad. Like, do you know what I mean? It's been around since the 20s.

• 14:38George Kamel?

  But don't you think the recipe's changed over time?

• 14:40Rachel Cruze?

  No, I think they keep it pure. I mean, it's from, it's from like France. It's like they keep it...

• 14:47George Kamel?

  Do you think there's a reservoir in France that just produces Chanel number five?

• 14:50Rachel Cruze?

  No, they make it, but they make the same.

• 14:52George Kamel?

  It's from the spring.

• 14:53Rachel Cruze?

  No, I really do, but that's like the famous thing. It's like been like the sa- it's the same thing. It's the Chanel number five. It's like the classic. Do you think they changed it?

• 15:02George Kamel?

  I think they changed it to increase profits and make it cheaper for them and charge us more. That's, I don't, I didn't invent capitalism. That's just kind of how it works. But patchouli, who knows where that comes from? Imagine an old man's shoe. I don't know where they get patchouli from.

• 15:18Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 15:19George Kamel?

  So I'm gonna say the price, I mean, was it like sixty, seventy bucks for perfume? The Clinique perfume?

• 15:24Rachel Cruze?

  No, no, oh, no.

• 15:25George Kamel?

  A hundred bucks?

• 15:26Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, gosh.

• 15:27George Kamel?

  How nice is Happy perfume?

• 15:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, no, no, no. I would go, I would, I would go like forty dollars.

• 15:32George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 15:33Rachel Cruze?

  And then the patchouli roll-on fragrance.

• 15:37George Kamel?

  A roll-on feels like it'd be smaller.

• 15:38Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 15:39George Kamel?

  But I'm still gonna go forty, thirty-five bucks for the roll-on.

• 15:42Rachel Cruze?

  Roll-on, I'm going fifty-five.

• 15:45Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 15:45Rachel Cruze?

  Perfume's expensive.

• 15:46Speaker 02

  In this case, so the Happy perfume by Clinique is forty-five, fifty.

• 15:51George Kamel?

  Good job.

• 15:51Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 15:52Speaker 02

  And the patchouli lavender roll-on fragrance is fourteen dollars and fifty cents.

• 15:56George Kamel?

  There you go.

• 15:57Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 15:57George Kamel?

  Cause the roll-on doesn't have as much in it.

• 15:59Speaker 02

  And you have to smell like patchouli, so.

• 16:01George Kamel?

  It's an aggressive scent. I like it.

• 16:03Rachel Cruze?

  You pay for it.

• 16:04George Kamel?

  Can I just say, again, one point to Whitney, she got me a clean cologne.

• 16:10Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 16:10George Kamel?

  That doesn't have all the to- I don't know what's in it.

• 16:13Rachel Cruze?

  All the stuff.

• 16:13George Kamel?

  I don't think it lasts very long. I don't think it's very, it's not like amazing.

• 16:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 16:17George Kamel?

  But I feel better, cause like I'll put on the cologne and then I'll hold my baby. And then she's like, it rubs off onto the baby.

• 16:24Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, wow.

• 16:24George Kamel?

  So now I gotta worry about that.

• 16:26Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's, that is, that'll keep you up at night.

• 16:28George Kamel?

  It's a tough life.

• 16:30George Kamel?

  Lastly, in this category, we gotta talk deodorant. Do you use it?

• 16:36Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, and you know what? I had a story on Instagram the other night. I can't even remember what it was. And I think I show, I, it was something in my bathroom, cause I was showing something. And I use Dove deodorant, and I'm going to hell because like it's just, I got so many messages. I'm like, Rachel, you cannot use Dove deodorant. This is so terrible for you.

• 16:55George Kamel?

  Because of aluminum or what?

• 16:57Rachel Cruze?

  I don't even know, y'all. I don't know. And I'm tired. I'm so tired.

• 17:01George Kamel?

  She's a Dove girly. Just leave her alone.

• 17:04Rachel Cruze?

  It works. It is, it works. It is one of the best deodorants.

• 17:08George Kamel?

  Okay, so on here we have secret deodorant versus native. I know for a fact, secret is probably like three bucks. It's pretty cheap. Native, I know in my heart, is like seventeen dollars.

• 17:19Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, no, duh, your deodorant, it's gonna be eight or nine, like for a thing.

• 17:22George Kamel?

  For one thing of secret? I feel like secret is on the cheaper brands.

• 17:26Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, secret, why do duv?

• 17:27George Kamel?

  Yeah, yeah. Duv's a little, little pricier for the duv, folks.

• 17:29Rachel Cruze?

  You think so?

• 17:30George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 17:30Rachel Cruze?

  Is it a little bit? Okay. Okay, what is it? What's the price? I don't even know.

• 17:33Speaker 02

  Uh, the secret deodorant is five ninety-nine.

• 17:35George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 17:36Speaker 02

  And native is eleven ninety-nine.

• 17:39George Kamel?

  So it's legit double the price.

• 17:41Rachel Cruze?

  I had a friend that made her own deodorant.

• 17:43George Kamel?

  Mm-mm.

• 17:44Rachel Cruze?

  True story.

• 17:44George Kamel?

  Are you guys still friends?

• 17:45Rachel Cruze?

  True story. Yeah. She's super, talk about crunchy. She's...

• 17:49George Kamel?

  I would only FaceTime with her. You know what I mean? Like, I just...

• 17:53Rachel Cruze?

  George.

• 17:54George Kamel?

  I feel like deodorant's one thing you don't wanna skimp on.

• 17:57Rachel Cruze?

  Remember when I talked about chickens earlier?

• 17:58George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 17:59Rachel Cruze?

  Wrapping back there. Eggs. Okay?

• 18:01George Kamel?

  This is a big one, because eggs have gotten expensive. There was recently a shortage. Bird flu, Costco had a big thing. Did you see this?

• 18:09Rachel Cruze?

  There was no eggs at, yes, at the grocery store, y'all, for days. Like, I could not get eggs.

• 18:13George Kamel?

  Yeah, and Kirkland Eggs got recalled for other reasons.

• 18:16Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, no.

• 18:17George Kamel?

  And the bird flu happened, so like, eggs have been... We have white eggs in our house right now, and I'm not happy about it.

• 18:22Rachel Cruze?

  Not good. This is so silly. Okay, go through all the egg categories.

• 18:26George Kamel?

  Okay, so this is very confusing. We'll lay it out for you.

• 18:28Rachel Cruze?

  We'll switch off, because there's a lot.

• 18:30George Kamel?

  This is an egg state of the union. We have cage-free. We've all heard that. That mean, eggs from hens that are freely roaming a building, a room, or an enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle. This is regulated by the USDA. So that's cage-free.

• 18:42Rachel Cruze?

  So that's cage-free. Then you got free range, and this is where eggs from hens that have some access to a small fenced outdoor area... This implies that chickens have access to the outdoors, but not all farmers actually let their hens roam freely. This is not regulated by the USDA, but cage-free is regulated by the USDA. So...

• 19:04Rachel Cruze?

  Cage-free, free range.

• 19:07George Kamel?

  Then you have pasture-raised. These are eggs from hens that have access to the outdoors. If the carton says pasture-raised and also includes stamps that say certified humane and/or animal welfare approved, it means that each hen was given approximately 108 square feet of outdoor space as well as barn space indoors. This one's not regulated by USDA, so again, farmers are left to their own judgment. Little sketch there.

• 19:29Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 19:30George Kamel?

  And then finally, we have the classic, organic.

• 19:32Rachel Cruze?

  The organic.

• 19:32George Kamel?

  What does that mean?

• 19:33Rachel Cruze?

  So this is regulated by the USDA. Organic eggs must be free range. Gosh, I need a chart for this. Free range, but free range eggs aren't necessarily organic because they're not required to be fed organic feed.

• 19:47George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 19:47Rachel Cruze?

  Got it?

• 19:48George Kamel?

  What are time to be alive? Okay, so what's the, let's do the cost between organic versus conventional. I'm gonna go for a conventional eggs, like you get cheapest of the cheap, white eggs at your local Walmart. It's probably three bucks. And for the organic eggs, there's a wide range here. Cause I know you can get great eggs at like Whole Foods for $4.50, but it could go upwards of $9.

• 20:11Rachel Cruze?

  I'm going four to eight.

• 20:13George Kamel?

  I'm going three to nine.

• 20:15Speaker 02

  At Publix specifically, regular white eggs are $3.31 per dozen.

• 20:20George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 20:21Speaker 02

  And organic eggs at Publix are $6.31 a dozen.

• 20:26Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, alright.

• 20:27George Kamel?

  That's one point to you, one to me.

• 20:28Rachel Cruze?

  There we go.

• 20:29George Kamel?

  I do feel like eggs are one of those things that have been like overinflated as far as people's imagination. Like you remember when they're like, "The price of eggs is at a..." I'm like, guys.

• 20:38Rachel Cruze?

  No, but there was a season where it was though. Do you remember that?

• 20:41George Kamel?

  Maybe, but I was shopping for eggs regularly and the places I went, it was always like in the same range of...

• 20:48Rachel Cruze?

  See, I remember it being more expensive.

• 20:49George Kamel?

  You know, Trader Joe's or whatever. Whole Foods, $3.50, $4.50, maybe five bucks if I was getting the nicer eggs. But I think in people's minds, that was the thing holding them back was the egg prices.

• 21:01Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, okay. And I'm gonna keep pushing these buttons because I'm feeling crazy right now. But here's the problem, right? Is that I don't think the issue, which everyone's gonna get mad at me, I don't think the issue is like, is it, did you get range-free or pasture-raised eggs? People just aren't eating eggs. Like eggs are good for you, right? It's a healthy thing. Like we're just not even eating that. We're eating, you know, McDonald's breakfast sandwiches, right?

• 21:24George Kamel?

  Little Crunchwrap Supreme.

• 21:25Rachel Cruze?

  I think like, I think like, we're putting our stress in other, like, the stress should be just eating healthy. Eat an egg. Good protein. Have two eggs a day.

• 21:34George Kamel?

  Eat Whole Foods.

• 21:35Rachel Cruze?

  Whole Foods. All right, I'm sure myself feel better.

• 21:37George Kamel?

  She got off her soapbox.

• 21:39Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 21:39George Kamel?

  Okay, so in general, the fewer and more natural the ingredients, the better. Because that's what our bodies were made to process successfully long term. Hope that's not controversial.

• 21:47Rachel Cruze?

  We agree with that. I agree.

• 21:49George Kamel?

  The more heavily processed the ingredients, the less they start to look and function like their original, God-created form that is meant to nourish us.

• 21:55Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's exactly right. So like cane sugar is better than conventional sugar. Coconut sugar is better than cane sugar, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, but...

• 22:03George Kamel?

  And no sugar is better than all of that.

• 22:05Rachel Cruze?

  That's right, that's right.

• 22:06George Kamel?

  If you want to be really judgmental.

• 22:07Rachel Cruze?

  Like I do like Bobby, Bobby Parrish, the Bobby approved.

• 22:10George Kamel?

  Oh, I've seen this guy.

• 22:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, I mean, he's good, like when you are shopping and I'm like, okay. Um, great example. I switched tomato sauces at Costco. There's like the Rayos, R A O, right? Versus whatever the other one is. And he flips the ingredients around. He's like, look, this other one, which is actually cheaper, there's nothing weird in it. Like it's a better choice, that tomato sauce versus the other tomato sauce. So I'm like, those switches I'm great with and we've done in our home.

• 22:35George Kamel?

  I'm proud of you.

• 22:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, but accounts like Bobby, like is a great one.

• 22:39George Kamel?

  Yeah, I just like the way he talks. It's so funny. He's like, best in class ingredients. No, no bad oils.

• 22:45Rachel Cruze?

  No bad oils, I know.

• 22:46George Kamel?

  And he's got his own app too now to like scan things.

• 22:49Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, Sharon has it.

• 22:49George Kamel?

  So here's an app, uh, again, not sponsored here, but Yuka. Y U K A.

• 22:54Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, is that the one that's the A, B, C, D?

• 22:56George Kamel?

  Yes, and it'll grade foods. It really helps, especially with those with dietary restrictions.

• 23:00Rachel Cruze?

  But I think the Bobby one though, it gives you, um, alternatives. So like if you scan something, it'll give you at the same store, like yeah, just swap this and that, which is great.

• 23:08George Kamel?

  Very helpful.

• 23:09Rachel Cruze?

  But we also need to be, you know, taking care of our bodies another way, like, working out, walking, like, like there are things.

• 23:15George Kamel?

  It's not the only thing in life to be thinking about. Okay, let's talk pesticides, can we?

• 23:20Rachel Cruze?

  I love this subject.

• 23:21George Kamel?

  Have you heard of the Dirty Dozen?

• 23:23Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 23:24George Kamel?

  Can you name? I feel like I can name one.

• 23:26Rachel Cruze?

  It's things with like thick peels.

• 23:29George Kamel?

  Are strawberries part of the dirty dozen?

• 23:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 23:32George Kamel?

  Boom.

• 23:32Rachel Cruze?

  They are?

• 23:33George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 23:34Rachel Cruze?

  Is this the, this is the one with the thick peels though, right? In that dirty dozen? No, it's not. What's the dirty dozen? These are the things- Where it is dirty, you gotta wash it. Right. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you got apples, you got strawberries-

• 23:43George Kamel?

  That's why they named it Dirty Dozen.

• 23:45Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that, sorry, okay. And then there's like the, what, the clean?

• 23:48George Kamel?

  Clean fifteen.

• 23:49Rachel Cruze?

  Clean fifteen, that's what I was thinking of. So you got like bananas, you got avocados, you got onions. The things that you don't necessarily need to buy organic because it is the-

• 23:57George Kamel?

  They don't absorb pesticides, apparently.

• 23:58Rachel Cruze?

  That's right, because they usually have like a pretty thick-

• 24:00George Kamel?

  Sweet corn, papayas, sweet peas, asparagus, honeydew melon-

• 24:03Rachel Cruze?

  Mushrooms.

• 24:04George Kamel?

  Kiwi, cabbage.

• 24:05Rachel Cruze?

  Sweet potatoes.

• 24:06George Kamel?

  A lot of things on there.

• 24:07Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so while safety with what we're eating is not only the important safety we need to look at, George, in our lives, we need to look at the safety of our information that is online.

• 24:17George Kamel?

  Digital safety, often overlooked.

• 24:19Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, for real, our personal data is all over the internet, you guys, and if you don't know, just Google yourself and you can see, and all these random websites come up and they have your name and your address, even like where you've worked. I mean, it's just crazy, all the information they have on you. And so, that's why I love Delete Me, is because they go in and remove your information. Because there are data broker websites that collect your information, and then they take your information and they make money off of it, because they'll sell it or trade it and all this.

• 24:44George Kamel?

  And then what happens? You get the robo calls, the spam texts, and even worse, you could have fraud happen. And so, we want to help protect you from the risks of online scams. And so, check out Delete Me, they've got a great deal for our audience. You can get 20% off any of their plans if you go to joindelete.me/smartmoney. It's super affordable and I sleep better at night, and I get way fewer spam calls and robo texts. So my life is better.

• 25:08Rachel Cruze?

  Your life is better.

• 25:09George Kamel?

  Go check them out.

• 25:09Rachel Cruze?

  So yeah, make sure to check out Delete Me. All right, let's go, uh, let's go clothing. There's some crunchy people out there with clothing.

• 25:15George Kamel?

  Oh, this one's harder for me. Can I just tell you right now?

• 25:18Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, sure.

• 25:19George Kamel?

  I struggle with this one.

• 25:21Rachel Cruze?

  Struggle, meaning like you're not good at it? Or you judge people that are hardcore about it?

• 25:24George Kamel?

  No, I don't, well, both.

• 25:25Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 25:26George Kamel?

  Both. Because when you think about it, when we talk about like fast fashion and what's happening in the factories and it's sustainably made, and I feel like that's just marketing to say, "We're gonna charge you seven times a normal amount and make you feel bad."

• 25:38Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 25:38George Kamel?

  To say that it was sustainably made.

• 25:40Rachel Cruze?

  To say it, yeah, yeah. Just left the label on it, yeah. So, there was an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste that ends up in US landfills every year, and that equates to 81.5 pounds of textile waste per person, per year. So this fast fashion of like, we're just gonna buy a bunch of cheap stuff and you wear...

• 26:01George Kamel?

  Buying clothes on Amazon?

• 26:02Rachel Cruze?

  That's what I do. And it's like, oh yeah, and then the next season it's like, out of style. So you're like, that's fine, but I only paid like, $15 for that sweater, so it's not a big deal, right? So...

• 26:12George Kamel?

  You don't mind just getting rid of it, tossing it, whatever?

• 26:14Rachel Cruze?

  But I don't throw it away. I mean, I give it to places or people. So hopefully it continues on, but it may end up in landfills. I'm so sorry.

• 26:22George Kamel?

  But this is a tough one, for sure.

• 26:23Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, but here's the fabric safety. Here's like the really crunchy. Are you ready for this?

• 26:26George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 26:26Rachel Cruze?

  So, really crunchy people, okay? Uh, polyester, they don't want polyester because it is a form of plastic. So if you're working out and you're sweating, it's getting into your skin and into your bloodstream. Spandex and mixed fabrics can do the same thing, can carry that same risk. So the goal is to have 100% one material, okay? So 100% cotton, 100% linen, denim, wool, cashmere, whatever it is, uh, organic cotton is better.

• 26:54George Kamel?

  I wear 100% denim when I work out, so. It makes it easy. I don't have to think about it.

• 26:59Rachel Cruze?

  So you're fine?

• 27:00George Kamel?

  Yeah, I threw out all my spandex. I said, "No more."

• 27:02Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I am curious with like, Viori and Lululemon and like, all these like, you know, workout places. I want to go look at the tags now and be like, "Oh my gosh."

• 27:09George Kamel?

  Hmm.

• 27:10Rachel Cruze?

  Because I bet there is a lot of polyester in there.

• 27:12George Kamel?

  Well, again, if it says sustainably made, these clean fabrics, they're two and a half to four times more expensive on average.

• 27:17Rachel Cruze?

  Hmm.

• 27:18George Kamel?

  And so there is a price to be paid. This is a, can we just say it's a privilege to even be thinking about things like this? Like, "Ooh, can I shop for the sustainably made 100% organic cotton?" That is a luxury in today's world.

• 27:30Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's fair. I would say that. That's fair. But you know, what you can do though is buy secondhand, so...

• 27:36George Kamel?

  You can find 100% cashmere sweater secondhand.

• 27:38Rachel Cruze?

  That's right, absolutely. There's some great websites, yep. So, so there's a way. There's a way to do it on a budget if you want. The fact that we're talking about fabrics though, do you know one of my favorite companies to buy stuff from? Because it's incredible. It's Cozy Earth.

• 27:50George Kamel?

  Cozy Earth. Quality.

• 27:52Rachel Cruze?

  The sheets, the leggings, the joggers, the sweaters, the shirts. I mean, I have so much from them. Because I went and bought a bunch of stuff because it is, it's amazing. Like, they're bamboo stuff, especially the sheets.

• 28:02George Kamel?

  You don't have to worry about, is this cheaply made? Is it sustain- like they're-

• 28:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it's good quality.

• 28:06George Kamel?

  And I went to their website, Rachel. They're very transparent about how they make their stuff, the conditions. They personally ensure good working conditions.

• 28:14Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 28:15George Kamel?

  And so I really appreciate that about them. And if you wanted to get a better deal, they're giving our listeners a killer deal, up to 40% off their prices. And they know. They're like, hey, we know that we're more expensive than the, you know, Amazon whatever-

• 28:27Rachel Cruze?

  The do.

• 28:28George Kamel?

  -cheap thing made of polyester. But they aim for a long-lasting quality.

• 28:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 28:33George Kamel?

  You can tell that it's higher quality, it's softer, it's durable.

• 28:36Rachel Cruze?

  It's so great, yeah.

• 28:36George Kamel?

  So it's a, it's a buy-it-for-life kind of purchase, especially because they have a 10-year warranty on their bedding stuff, which is amazing.

• 28:42Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it's incredible. Yeah, so make sure to check it out. We'll put a link down below, or you can go to cozylearth.com, shop around, and then when you're checking out, use the code SMARTMONEY for a 40% off discount. So great.

• 28:53George Kamel?

  Be bougie on a budget.

• 28:54Rachel Cruze?

  Be bougie. All right, uh, let's go, uh, car crunchy, shall we?

• 28:58George Kamel?

  Oh, I don't even know about this one.

• 29:00Rachel Cruze?

  I'm so crunchy. We're crunchy.

• 29:02George Kamel?

  This one is-

• 29:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 29:03George Kamel?

  This one's very personal to us.

• 29:04Rachel Cruze?

  It is.

• 29:05George Kamel?

  Because we drive electric cars.

• 29:06Rachel Cruze?

  Electric cars.

• 29:07George Kamel?

  And people think that it's my, I guess this is me, virtue signaling about climate change because I drive a- I don't, hey, let the earth go the way it's gonna go. My car is not, it's not gonna be the thing that tips the scale.

• 29:21Rachel Cruze?

  You didn't do it for that.

• 29:23George Kamel?

  No.

• 29:23Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 29:24George Kamel?

  Well, and I've heard it's even worse. It's not environmentally, because the batteries, like, can't go anywhere and they end up in a landfill or something.

• 29:30Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, no, okay. So we're actually damaging the earth by driving Teslas, is what you're saying.

• 29:33George Kamel?

  So you'll never know my politics, because I don't know what my car says about me.

• 29:37Rachel Cruze?

  We're not even sure. Um, okay, and then kid crunchy.

• 29:41George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 29:42Rachel Cruze?

  So like, we'll go cloth diapers. You know what I did with Amelia, our first, is I made her, I made baby food. I pureed it.

• 29:48George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 29:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 29:50George Kamel?

  What a mom.

• 29:51Rachel Cruze?

  I know. And then didn't really with Caroline and then Charles, it was like pouches and.

• 29:58George Kamel?

  And have you seen the effect? But did you, have you noticed a difference in like their physical health or emotional health?

• 30:06Rachel Cruze?

  Nope, nope. And, and I'll say this too. Uh, they were bottle fed, formula fed for, I don't know.

• 30:13George Kamel?

  They ended up great. I think, I just think there's a lot of judgment either way.

• 30:16Rachel Cruze?

  A hundred percent.

• 30:17George Kamel?

  Then people are judging you for not doing it this way. And I want to release, especially moms, I think they're bearing the brunt of the weight from this mom guilt. And it's other moms that are judgy.

• 30:28Rachel Cruze?

  So judgy.

• 30:30George Kamel?

  And so just free yourself. Do the best you can do with the resources you have right now.

• 30:34Rachel Cruze?

  And you're doing fine. And we're all gonna be okay. Like I really, like seriously, we're all gonna be okay. So let's just like chill, take a deep breath. And because of, when we talk about comparison, especially with lifestyle and money, you know, the thing we always say, which is so true, is like, you don't know what's going on, right? Behind the scenes. You have no clue. You don't know. So, we're not gonna judge.

• 30:54George Kamel?

  Although, we do judge plastic cutting boards now, Rachel. I had to throw mine out. And my non-stick pans.

• 31:03Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah. That's fair.

• 31:05George Kamel?

  The camel's life have changed. Let me tell you, stainless steel, they really touted stainless steel pans to be this life-changing.

• 31:11Rachel Cruze?

  They're hard to cook on.

• 31:12George Kamel?

  It is so difficult.

• 31:14Rachel Cruze?

  It's so hard.

• 31:15George Kamel?

  Like, just let it heat up and then splash. Listen.

• 31:17Rachel Cruze?

  I got the stone stuff from Amazon. I'll send you my link. But it's like a, not sponsored, but it's a stone material and it, and it kinda acts like a non-stick.

• 31:25George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 31:26Rachel Cruze?

  But very easy to cook on. Much better with eggs and stuff.

• 31:28George Kamel?

  Cutting boards now? You have to go with the wood and the bamboo?

• 31:31Rachel Cruze?

  I've always done wood cutting boards.

• 31:33George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 31:33Rachel Cruze?

  I've never done plastic. And that was not a, like, specific choice.

• 31:37George Kamel?

  More can leach and the wood has natural antimicrobial properties.

• 31:40Rachel Cruze?

  Sense. See, and that's, okay, can I say this?

• 31:42George Kamel?

  I've learned so much against my will.

• 31:44Rachel Cruze?

  Those are the decisions, those are the purchases that make sense to me. Sure. Go get a wood cutting board, like. That's fine.

• 31:51George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 31:52Rachel Cruze?

  But remember, I'm not gonna milk a cow and just.

• 31:56George Kamel?

  What about microwave? Do you guys microwave anything?

• 31:58Rachel Cruze?

  Hundred percent.

• 31:59George Kamel?

  Do you put anything plastic in the microwave?

• 32:01Rachel Cruze?

  No, I usually will put it in a bowl. Yeah.

• 32:04George Kamel?

  Put in a bowl for ceramic or glass?

• 32:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, because also, my thing is, if you're taking it out of the refrigerator, and it has plastic, then when you heat it, it is like, you gotta heat the whole thing. I don't know, it makes sense to me to put it in a bowl because it's more of a neutral temperature, so it's gonna heat faster. Than trying to heat it the whole thing with the container being cold. Like, I even do it with glass. I have a glass Pyrex. I usually will take it out.

• 32:29George Kamel?

  And put it into a room temp glass?

• 32:32Rachel Cruze?

  And I do it more for temperature.

• 32:33George Kamel?

  You really go the extra mile.

• 32:35Rachel Cruze?

  Look how safe I am. So crunchy, so crunchy.

• 32:38George Kamel?

  Well, I did, so I use those microwave covers, because I don't like the splash. I only use it for food that I'm eating, not for the baby's food. Yeah, but sometimes a paper towel doesn't do it, depending on the food. Or like, will sop into the food. That's gross. And then I heard paper towels are now bad for you.

• 32:55Rachel Cruze?

  What?

• 32:56George Kamel?

  Rachel, I can't, I can't make this up.

• 32:58Rachel Cruze?

  No, y'all, stop.

• 33:00George Kamel?

  There's like chemicals in the paper towel, and so as you use it on your hands and the.

• 33:03Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, shoot.

• 33:04George Kamel?

  We can't live anymore. But I will say, someone at a party accidentally turned our microwave on. It's at like foot level, you know, knee level.

• 33:12Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah.

• 33:12George Kamel?

  They turned it on with the cover in there. The cover melted, because they accidentally put the microwave on for like sixteen minutes. And didn't know it was on until I smelled it.

• 33:22Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, no.

• 33:23George Kamel?

  I smelled burning plastic.

• 33:24Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 33:25George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 33:25Rachel Cruze?

  That's not good.

• 33:26George Kamel?

  I think I saved our life.

• 33:29Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, you did, George.

• 33:30George Kamel?

  It's exhausting.

• 33:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, you did.

• 33:32George Kamel?

  I'm overwhelmed.

• 33:33Rachel Cruze?

  We are overwhelmed, but all that to say.

• 33:35George Kamel?

  So how do we wrap this? How do people spend?

• 33:38Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I think you can make some healthy changes that are reasonable, right? But you always, still, there's a level of reality to our money and our life. And I think it's good to know that we have to live within that. So like, we're not gonna take on debt to create some like crazy lifestyle that we can't afford, because that, in turn, will add stress, which is not good for your health either. So, let's be wise. But I do think there are great alternatives to stuff that can be similar in price. And it's just a smarter choice of purchase. And I think that's great. And I'm, and I'm all about that, George.

• 34:09George Kamel?

  So make the swaps that you can make with the budget that you have.

• 34:12Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 34:13George Kamel?

  And over time, if you want to push it to the limit, you can do that with cash as you get to a better financial place.

• 34:19Rachel Cruze?

  For sure.

• 34:19George Kamel?

  And don't judge others who can't or choose to not do the thing that you do.

• 34:23Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's right. A hundred percent. Yeah, and if you need to budget, that's going to be good for your overall health, I would say, because getting control of your money and doing all of that is so key to all of this.

• 34:33George Kamel?

  You can make room for the things that matter to you.

• 34:35Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. So yeah, the budget is that. It is you getting to tell your income, hey, here's where I want you to go. And you get to decide that because you're an adult. So every dollar, we'll put a link down below, but you can check out our free budgeting app. Create your first budget for free and just kind of go down that road to help you make life choices and lifestyle choices that you want, just like this.

• 34:53George Kamel?

  That one I think is non-controversial.

• 34:55Rachel Cruze?

  I hope so.

• 34:56George Kamel?

  That one was stressful for me. I think the comment section is going to be juicy on this one.

• 35:00Rachel Cruze?

  I know. So like, again, should we say it again? We know, we know that there are bad things out there. We know, for sure.

• 35:07George Kamel?

  And you know what?

• 35:08Rachel Cruze?

  Just know that we know, that we know you know.

• 35:10George Kamel?

  We know you know that we know.

• 35:12Rachel Cruze?

  That we know.

• 35:12George Kamel?

  That you're offended at everything we said.

• 35:14Rachel Cruze?

  You know it all, we don't, but we know that you know, that we know.

• 35:18George Kamel?

  You know, I can't wait to get educated by a stranger's comment on the internet. That's my favorite form of free education. They always let me know.

• 35:25Rachel Cruze?

  They always.

• 35:26George Kamel?

  What I got wrong. My wife does it enough. I don't need to hear it from a random stranger in the comment section.

• 35:32Rachel Cruze?

  All right, George. Well, before we spill the tea on our guiltiest charge segment, what's in this? Is it all chemicals in there?

• 35:39George Kamel?

  It's all poison.

• 35:40Rachel Cruze?

  These cherries are supposed to be terrible for you, too.

• 35:41George Kamel?

  Yeah, those don't look like something God created.

• 35:45George Kamel?

  I'll tell you that much.

• 35:46Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, the mint looks fresh, though.

• 35:48George Kamel?

  Yeah, the mint looks wilty, which is how you know it's real.

• 35:51Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it's good. Okay, what's in it?

• 35:52George Kamel?

  So this is a Kentucky Flyer. I'm gonna, what's your rating on it?

• 35:55Rachel Cruze?

  Um, I'm gonna go eight out of 10.

• 35:57George Kamel?

  I'm gonna go eight out of 10 as well.

• 35:58Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, love it.

• 36:00George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 36:00Rachel Cruze?

  On the same page.

• 36:00George Kamel?

  I want a little more complexity, but I think it's a perfect whiskey sour style drink.

• 36:05Rachel Cruze?

  It's really good.

• 36:06George Kamel?

  It's got rye whiskey, maraschino liqueur, which is like a cherry liqueur, lemon juice and saline.

• 36:12Rachel Cruze?

  Mixologist Michael made the saline. It was like one part salt, three parts water or something and he.

• 36:20George Kamel?

  It really elevates a drink. You'd be shocked because you're like, what are you gonna drop some salt water in there? That's odd. But really good, it comes out to $2.52 a glass and I highly recommend if you like a whiskey sour, you will love this drink. It's like an elevated whiskey sour.

• 36:34Rachel Cruze?

  So good.

• 36:35George Kamel?

  And it's up to you if you want to add in the chemical cherries.

• 36:38Rachel Cruze?

  That's what you want to do. All right, George, now it's time for

• 36:42George Kamel?

  Guilty as charged.

• 36:44Rachel Cruze?

  And this is where our producer Kelly gives us a new guilty charge question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip, so. Kelly?

• 36:52Speaker 02

  Have you ever told a white lie about being crunchy or not crunchy?

• 36:56George Kamel?

  All right, I'll go first.

• 36:57Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 36:59George Kamel?

  Microplastics. We try to avoid them and yet we still drink out of plastic water bottles every night.

• 37:05Rachel Cruze?

  Ah, yes.

• 37:05George Kamel?

  But when confronted, you won't catch me telling anyone that.

• 37:08Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 37:09George Kamel?

  Only on this show, in front of thousands, will I tell.

• 37:12Rachel Cruze?

  Would you tell?

• 37:13George Kamel?

  But amongst my crunchy friends, like, oh yeah, no, we, yeah, filtered water.

• 37:16Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, gosh.

• 37:18George Kamel?

  And another thing my wife won't, she doesn't like the dogs to drink tap water because she thinks it affects their allergies. So I have to get fridge water for the dogs.

• 37:28George Kamel?

  And I think she has merit to it. I'm sure she's on the right side of history here. Our dog's life could be extended by at least a few days.

• 37:36Rachel Cruze?

  For sure.

• 37:36George Kamel?

  Based on the filtered water, tap water.

• 37:40Rachel Cruze?

  For sure, yep.

• 37:41George Kamel?

  While they eat plastic toys all day long, it's the filtered water that's gonna really help them.

• 37:47Rachel Cruze?

  Really do it, it's gonna really do it.

• 37:48George Kamel?

  Yeah, to wash.

• 37:49Rachel Cruze?

  Digesting, yeah, all the toys. Um, I'm trying to think what mine would be. A white lie, I can't think of a specific one. But I'm sure I downplay things like our fast, like fast food. Like, we don't eat a lot of it, same to me right now.

• 38:06Rachel Cruze?

  But when, like, I'm like, oh yeah, I probably don't like just like share that with the world.

• 38:09George Kamel?

  If I checked your bank statement, how many fast food visits would I see in a 30 day window?

• 38:14Rachel Cruze?

  Um, four?

• 38:17George Kamel?

  No way. That's impressive.

• 38:19Rachel Cruze?

  Probably. Yeah, I'd say at least once a week, we're doing like a Chick-fil-A or like a quick meal.

• 38:25George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 38:25Rachel Cruze?

  So that's, yeah.

• 38:26George Kamel?

  Would you count like a drink at the Sonic drive-thru? Is that?

• 38:28Rachel Cruze?

  I don't do that.

• 38:29George Kamel?

  Oh. All of a sudden you have judgment.

• 38:34Rachel Cruze?

  Do you do that?

• 38:36George Kamel?

  No, but I just thought that was something people do. They get the old Route 44 or whatever.

• 38:39Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I know. Yeah, yeah.

• 38:41George Kamel?

  Coconut sunset water or whatever they drink.

• 38:44Rachel Cruze?

  All this stuff, I know.

• 38:45George Kamel?

  All right.

• 38:46Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that'd be mine. I think we probably eat more Chick-fil-A than what like I... Do you think four's a lot? When you said, wow?

• 38:53George Kamel?

  No, I think once a week is a normal amount.

• 38:55Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 38:56George Kamel?

  I thought it would be more than that personally.

• 38:57Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, okay. That makes me feel better. Oh, yeah. That's it.

• 39:00George Kamel?

  Well, hey, if you guys enjoyed this episode, and I hope you did, and even if you hated it, let us know. You probably already have in the comment section. And for more budget-friendly food inspo, you gotta catch our episode all about grocery hacks. It's titled "The Number One Budget Buster That No One Can Avoid." It's coming up next, and we'll also link it down below.

• 39:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, so make sure to subscribe, you guys, so you don't miss an all-new episode next Thursday of Smart Money Happy Hour.