Responding to Your Money Drama (Not Holding Back)

💵 Enter to win $5,000 with Ramsey’s Christmas Cash Giveaway. No matter where you are on your wealth-building journey—everyone has money disagreements with their loved ones from time to time. Today, we’re reacting to your money drama and tossing in our 2 cents! Next Steps:🎙️ Catch our episode Our Unfiltered Takes on Your Real-Life Money Dilemmas. 🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour 📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Leave us a voicemail with your question at 877-306-1517 or 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. 💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar. Connect With Our Sponsors: Check out the FAIRWINDS Credit Union exclusive account bundle. Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. Get up to 40% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🥃 Christmas Slush Mocktail Recipe inspired by Taste Cove 3 ounces cranberry juice 1 ounce orange juice 1 ounce pineapple juice 1 ounce lime juice 1/2 ounce sparkling water Instructions: Combine cranberry juice, orange juice, pineapple juice and lime juice in a mixing bowl. Stir and pour mixture into a freezer safe container. Freeze for a couple hours and stir occasionally to create a slushy consistency. Scoop the slush into glasses and top with a splash of sparkling water, then enjoy! 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?

  Well, you asked and we love to yap. Today, we're answering your Ask Me Anything financial questions.

• 0:11Rachel Cruze?

  If I'm Baby Step 7, why can't I lease a car?

• 0:14George Kamel?

  Why can't you save up and just buy a car you like?

• 0:16Rachel Cruze?

  You gotta find those friends.

• 0:17George Kamel?

  Become friends with wealthy people. How long do I need to harp on this, guys? That's the life hack.

• 0:29Rachel Cruze?

  Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruze.

• 0:31George Kamel?

  I'm George Kamel.

• 0:33Rachel Cruze?

  And this is. Smart Money Happy Hour.

• 0:37Rachel Cruze?

  Cheers, George.

• 0:38George Kamel?

  Cheers.

• 0:41Rachel Cruze?

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

• 0:48George Kamel?

  But first, what are we sipping on? We're sipping on the Christmas slush mocktail.

• 0:53Rachel Cruze?

  I like it's like it is slushy, which I like the texture of it.

• 0:56George Kamel?

  It's like the gift that stopped giving immediately.

• 1:00George Kamel?

  Just.

• 1:03George Kamel?

  It's one of those, it's like a catfish of a drink. It's like it looks great on the outside.

• 1:08Rachel Cruze?

  Mocktails are hard.

• 1:10George Kamel?

  I agree. You know what? Way to give benefit of the doubt to whoever made this.

• 1:13Rachel Cruze?

  I may drink it.

• 1:14George Kamel?

  Concoction.

• 1:15Rachel Cruze?

  I'm gonna drink it.

• 1:16George Kamel?

  Stick around till the end. We're gonna give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass. All right, listen, this show has always been for you guys. It's not for us. All right, it's, we don't need this. This gives us nothing except joy. We do this for you, and today's no different.

• 1:31Rachel Cruze?

  I love this. Okay, so we are gonna do an Ask Me Anything. And thanks to social media, AKA Instagram, you can put up one of those little, those little squares. Yeah, and you just say, hey, Ask Me Anything. And did you respond? Man, we had so many questions. And so we just took a bunch of them, threw them in this episode, and we're gonna, we're gonna go through them. Because there's some common questions in there, maybe not so common. But this show is about you today. The Ask Me Anything Show, and here we are.

• 2:02George Kamel?

  It will range from helpful to hilarious to super sad to I'm doing better than I think.

• 2:10Rachel Cruze?

  You get all the emotions, all the emotions. All right.

• 2:13George Kamel?

  Let's get right into it.

• 2:14Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I think we just, I think we just go through these quick, George. What do you think?

• 2:17George Kamel?

  Lightning round.

• 2:19Rachel Cruze?

  Number one, wow, here you go. You ready? Should I keep paying lawyer fees to fight my ex who is trying to reduce child support?

• 2:30George Kamel?

  That's how we're starting?

• 2:31Rachel Cruze?

  Merry Christmas.

• 2:32George Kamel?

  This is happy hour.

• 2:35Rachel Cruze?

  Merry Christmas.

• 2:36George Kamel?

  Not dumb money sad hour.

• 2:37Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 2:38George Kamel?

  See, okay.

• 2:41George Kamel?

  I try to put myself in this person's shoes. This is obviously a very difficult, emotional, grueling process they've been through and that they are continuing to be through. So what I keep paying lawyer fees to fight the ex is trying to do... At some point, you have to go, are the lawyer fees worth what I'm trying to protect with the child support?

• 3:00Rachel Cruze?

  Correct. Yep, that's what I was gonna say.

• 3:01George Kamel?

  If you're paying $100,000 to lawyers, but you're only getting $40,000 worth of child support over the next however many years, I'd say it's time to cut your losses.

• 3:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yep, totally.

• 3:12George Kamel?

  Because they can just keep dragging this out and dragging this out to try to mess you over.

• 3:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 3:17George Kamel?

  And it's just like, it's a gross game and you're using a child as like a chess piece, which is extra gross to me.

• 3:23Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm.

• 3:23George Kamel?

  So just like, if you're the spouse, pay what you should pay.

• 3:27Rachel Cruze?

  100%, yes. And what's hard is if you're on the other side of that and you need the child support money to help, you know what I mean?

• 3:34George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 3:34Rachel Cruze?

  Like, you're making an income.

• 3:35George Kamel?

  That's a big factor.

• 3:36Rachel Cruze?

  That's so hard. But to your point, if the lawyers are costing you more, you're gonna come out net negative.

• 3:42George Kamel?

  Especially if you're in debt to the lawyers.

• 3:44Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 3:44George Kamel?

  To the tune of $50,000, $100,000. I know. I mean, we've heard some crazy stories on the Ramsey Show.

• 3:48Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. And, and again, I think the law can try to do so much, but when we've taken calls on the show where it's like, yeah, the other spouse like doesn't pay for a year, right? And they're supposed to all the things, but like, it is, it's, that's a hard one. But I would say you, you can look at the math on this to see what the lawyers are costing you versus the child support payment.

• 4:08George Kamel?

  And don't do the math with the lawyers because they'll charge you for that time.

• 4:11Rachel Cruze?

  There you go. That's right.

• 4:12George Kamel?

  Do it on your own.

• 4:13Rachel Cruze?

  All right, next up, what's the absolute worst way to pay off debt?

• 4:19George Kamel?

  Is this a trick question? I guess the worst way would be to not pay at all or to just like make minimum payments.

• 4:24Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that's good. I was gonna say use some like cash advance to try to get extra money to pay on the debt, but you're going deeper in debt somewhere else. That would be the worst.

• 4:32George Kamel?

  Yeah, the big thing is the worst way is to just move the debt around thinking you've done something. That's actually the scariest.

• 4:39Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 4:39George Kamel?

  To go like, well, I did a debt consolidation loan, and so I feel better. Or like the interest rate's a little lower, whatever it is. What I found is that when you move seven debts into one big debt, it's actually harder to pay off. It's hard to do the debt snowball method because they're not separated. You can't do smallest to largest when it's just one large one.

• 4:57Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. Yep. So I would say that. I think that's good. I think that's probably the worst way.

• 5:01George Kamel?

  Don't move it around. Just go through it.

• 5:02Rachel Cruze?

  Mm hmm. What's that? We're going on a bear hunt.

• 5:09George Kamel?

  Who's hunting bears? Is that a child's song?

• 5:11Rachel Cruze?

  I'm not scared. You gotta go over it. The river, all the things. You just quoted a child's book, George. You didn't even know it.

• 5:18George Kamel?

  I had no idea. There's a kid's book where they go on a bear hunt?

• 5:21Rachel Cruze?

  You all haven't heard the bear hunt. We're going on a bear hunt. We're gonna catch a big one. I'm not afraid. Or, um, I'm not scared. The river, the big cold river, can't go over it, can't go under it, gotta go through it. Swishy swashy, swishy swashy.

• 5:38George Kamel?

  At every turn, I'm like, where will this story go next?

• 5:40Rachel Cruze?

  And then you get, yeah, you go up the forest, the big dark forest, can't go over it, can't go, you gotta go through it. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.

• 5:50George Kamel?

  This is for children? It's a survival song?

• 5:52Rachel Cruze?

  You did not hear, thank you, the bear hunt.

• 5:54George Kamel?

  What's it called?

• 5:54Rachel Cruze?

  Look at that. Look at that. That's the bear hunt book.

• 5:57George Kamel?

  Who, who wrote it?

• 5:58Rachel Cruze?

  We, they had that when we were kids, George. This is a classic. And then you get to the cave.

• 6:04George Kamel?

  School did you grow up in? Didn't you go to Brentwood?

• 6:07Rachel Cruze?

  Then you get to the cave, can't go over it, can't go under it. Now I gotta go through it.

• 6:12George Kamel?

  Why is there a cave near a forest?

• 6:13Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, no. Big bulgy eyes. It's a bear. Run. Go out of the cave. Crunch, shh, shh, shit through the forest. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch. Through the river. Swishy swashy, swishy swashy. Through the mud. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

• 6:28George Kamel?

  And it keeps building.

• 6:30Rachel Cruze?

  To the house, close the door, or no, open the door, through the house, upstairs, yeah, and you go, oh. We're never going on a bear hunt again. I'll buy it for Mia.

• 6:39George Kamel?

  That's the end of the song?

• 6:41Rachel Cruze?

  It's the book. Oh, my gosh.

• 6:43George Kamel?

  It's not a song.

• 6:44Rachel Cruze?

  I'm gonna buy it for Mia.

• 6:45George Kamel?

  I'm glad it's not a song.

• 6:46Rachel Cruze?

  No, but you just said, can't go over it, can't go under it. Gotta go through that debt, and it triggered. Bear hunt.

• 6:53George Kamel?

  It triggered so much, so much trauma that we don't even have time to unpack today.

• 7:00Rachel Cruze?

  Comment below if y'all know Bear Hunt. This is a classic kids book.

• 7:05George Kamel?

  The dark forest, the big bulgy eyes, the kids love it.

• 7:12Rachel Cruze?

  It's a bear. Okay.

• 7:13George Kamel?

  This is what you can't get on another show. Oh, here's some financial. No, this is what you get. You learn new kids songs.

• 7:19Rachel Cruze?

  You're welcome. All right, next.

• 7:23Rachel Cruze?

  61 with student loans and needing to save for retirement. Help.

• 7:29George Kamel?

  Uh, okay, there's a lot of follow up I have here. Are they your loans? Or are they like a parent plus loan that you, you know, signed up for for your own children?

• 7:38Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 7:39George Kamel?

  If so, I would try to get that kid to pay back what they owed. If you guys agreed they would pay it. If they're your loans and you need to save for retirement, getting rid of the loans is paramount because that payment could be used to then invest.

• 7:51Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 7:51George Kamel?

  So make it a priority to get out of the debt. Don't invest anything right now. You're trying to do too much at once and you're not going to make progress on any of it.

• 7:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yep, and in a situation like this, like when you, you are in your early 60s still with consumer debt, the span of working is going to extend. So I think there is like a, you're going to be working longer than

• 8:12George Kamel?

  than you want to.

• 8:13Rachel Cruze?

  Probably than you want to, yes, just to get all this cleaned up, to get some income in, to save for retirement, all of it. So, um, yeah, I think that's, that's the road ahead. That's the truth.

• 8:22George Kamel?

  It's a hard truth.

• 8:23Rachel Cruze?

  That is so hard. I know, but, um, that's why student loans are so frustrating because it's an industry that works so against the person. But having an industry that works for you, like if your bank worked for you when it comes to your financial journey, that's, would be the most incredible thing ever. And we have that, George, with Fairwin's Credit Union, y'all. They are an incredible credit union that you get to bank with. And there's a smart checking and savings bundle that you can sign up for. They like packaged together for people going through the baby steps. And they are Ramsey fans. We are fans of them. George and I both have accounts. We use it and I love my debit card. It says debt is normal, be weird. Uh, it's like a Ramsey branded debit card. It's awesome. And like they, it is incredible.

• 9:07Rachel Cruze?

  It's an easy banking experience. Um, and again, the heart behind it is what I love is that they truly want to work with people that are, that have big financial goals. And they want a legacy for their family. It's like a really big picture for them and we love that. So being able to partner with them and for them to be a sponsor, we love. So Fairwinds Credit Union, make sure to check them out.

• 9:29George Kamel?

  And because they're a credit union, they're owned by their members, not by Wall Street. So they're not going to nickel and dime you trying to increase shareholder value. They actually want to see you win. So get started today. They make it super easy. Just go to fairwins.org/Ramsey or use the link in the description below.

• 9:45Rachel Cruze?

  All right, next, George. Um, let's see. Okay, I'm on baby step one. That means they're saving for a thousand dollars for their starter emergency fund and my company only matches 1% of retirement contributions. Is that all I should contribute right now?

• 10:00George Kamel?

  The real answer, you should contribute 0% right now because you got a priority. Right now, if something happened, you would be going deeper into debt to cover that emergency. So get that thousand dollar emergency fund, knock out all of your consumer debt, get your baby step three done, which is your fully funded emergency fund, and then you won't be investing a measly 1%. You're going to be investing 15%. Think about that.

• 10:25Rachel Cruze?

  That's what's amazing. So that's why I do love the way the order of the baby steps are because some people kind of freak out because like, wait, what? I'm like, there's free money and I should just do the employer match. But that's the thing is most people are only investing like 4% of their income. But if you tackle a goal, like getting out of debt and all of your focus and energy and money is going to that thing, you're going to wipe it out so much faster, which is incredible because you freed up as much money as you can to do that. And then when you get to the point to invest, you get to invest 15%, like more than double than what most people do. So you're going to have plenty for retirement. So pausing it for a few years to pay off debt in the long term, it's not going to hurt you. It's actually going to help you because you're going to have more money of your income freed up to invest.

• 11:05George Kamel?

  Yeah, otherwise you stay on this journey where you're like, well, I'm making some progress on retirement at 1%. I'm making some progress on the debt.

• 11:12Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 11:12George Kamel?

  Some progress on my savings. You got to be focused when you're building that foundation and then you can kind of like. Put your foot off the gas and enjoy life a little bit more and invest way more.

• 11:22Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. Okay. So that lines up with the next question a little bit. Should you pull money out of investments to throw at debt?

• 11:28George Kamel?

  Oh, the big caveat here, I would if it's non-retirement investments because those retirement investments, you pull that money out, it's like taking out a loan at 35% interest.

• 11:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 11:38George Kamel?

  Because you're going to get penalized. You're going to pay income tax, you're going to pay the 10% penalty. So I would never take money out of investments to pay off debt.

• 11:46Rachel Cruze?

  For retirement.

• 11:47George Kamel?

  Yeah. If you were like on the verge of bankruptcy or foreclosure, maybe then and only then would you even consider it? But no, use your future income, use any liquid savings you have, use any non-retirement assets that you can sell.

• 11:58Rachel Cruze?

  If you do have stock, like company stock from an old company, or you have some index funds or mutual funds, yes, you can cash those out. Yeah, you'll pay taxes on them, but you won't have that penalty that you will for specifically retirement investments. So leave those alone. Anything else, go ahead and cash out, throw at the debt and yeah.

• 12:17George Kamel?

  Do not touch that retirement. And unplugging that investment growth in those retirement accounts, you will just be very upset with yourself later going, I didn't give up 35 grand I took out. I gave up half a million because that's what it would have grown to if I left it alone for 30 years.

• 12:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. How quickly it grows. That's great.

• 12:34George Kamel?

  All right. Next one. How do I negotiate my salary? Best practices? Question mark?

• 12:42George Kamel?

  This is a tough one because like negotiate feels like you gotta go in defenses up, ready to fight.

• 12:48Rachel Cruze?

  That's a good point.

• 12:49George Kamel?

  Which rarely works out when you're talking to your leader or your employer, whoever it is. I found the best way to negotiate is to go in emotionless with just logic and facts and talk about value and be as specific as you can, not just like, here's how I feel. I feel like I'm underpaid.

• 13:09Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 13:09George Kamel?

  Go in with some actual data and do it in a logical way where you're just wanting to collaborate.

• 13:14Rachel Cruze?

  A hundred percent. And I would show you work history of like what you've been doing. Right? The hours you're clocking, the projects you've been working on, where you've added value to a team or a situation, like all of those things are helpful too with that data, not just the marketplace data of what people are being paid outside that company, but also like what you're contributing to. So, yeah.

• 13:34George Kamel?

  And I love, I talk with my friend Ken Coleman about this, and he always says, "Let's work on a growth track and a growth plan, because then it becomes collaboration. We're both looking in the same direction, and then you have something to hold yourself to."

• 13:46Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 13:46George Kamel?

  Because part of the frustration with not getting what you think you should be paid is just a lack of clarity. Of like, "Oh, this is what it takes to be a senior analyst versus a junior analyst. I need to be doing these things." So do those things and keep track of it all. Stay accountable to it, and you can keep your leader accountable.

• 14:04Rachel Cruze?

  And let me say too, best practices for most businesses is you should be getting an annual raise, like at the minimum. So if you're not getting that, red flag, in my opinion.

• 14:13George Kamel?

  Like, just like a cost of living adjustment versus like a promotion may happen later.

• 14:16Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 14:17George Kamel?

  It might happen every year, but

• 14:18Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 14:18George Kamel?

  At least some kind of raise unless you're underperforming in your KRA. And so again, having clear objectives laid out, and that might be on you, it might be on your leader. And so just get clarity of like, what does it take to grow in this role? And then you can work on those things. Oh, PS, KRA stands for Key Results Areas, and it's something we use here at Ramsey. You might hear like OKRs, whatever. There's all different kinds, but it really just means, here's your responsibilities and here's what your leader will hold you accountable to as part of your job.

• 14:49Rachel Cruze?

  Love it.

• 14:49George Kamel?

  Gets tactical.

• 14:50Rachel Cruze?

  All right, next. How can I feel safe financially as a stay-at-home mom?

• 14:55George Kamel?

  Oh, that's a real one. So this is about the vulnerability of, "I don't bring an income."

• 15:00Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, well, I went two different ways. I don't know. I'm gonna go A, B. Ready? Situation A is if you were working and you want to be a stay-at-home mom, and you just became one, but you guys are down in income.

• 15:13George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 15:14Rachel Cruze?

  How do we feel? Okay, so if you do, if you guys are in that situation and one person wants to stay home, I always say to practice living on one income. Like even while the other one's still working. Just like bank that to the side and be like, hey, this is our reality. Can we live within this and actually live in it, right? Not just numbers, like we are in the month doing it. And that helps the transition for stay at home moms to go from the workforce home to win income. So that that's a safety element of like, am I going to feel safe with that transition? And once I'm there, are we going to be okay? So I think that's really important to live out. And then the latter would be, yes, if I am a stay at home mom and husband's working, how do I feel safe?

• 15:57Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, I think that means that, I mean, you have access to everything. You have all the information. You have all the say that your say is no less than his say in what goes on in the household and how money is spent or saved or given. You bring as much value to the table as that. So there's a, that safety element to know that you guys are collaborating. And then if something is going awry from a marriage perspective, you know, we get these calls too, which is so heartbreaking and so difficult. But for some people, yeah, if the marriage starts to dissolve, you think, okay, what's my next steps? Right. And then that's a whole other game plan. But just as a stay at home mom, to feel safe, I would want knowledge and a voice into the situation.

• 16:38George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 16:39Rachel Cruze?

  For me personally, I don't know. George, channel your stay at home mom.

• 16:42George Kamel?

  I mean, I have, I have a stay at home wife. And so I'm trying to go like, what would she be experiencing? I do think the transparency is a big deal, like having joint accounts, like my name is on everything. I have access to everything. A transaction cannot happen where Whitney is like, I had no idea. Like she can see it all.

• 16:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, yes.

• 17:00George Kamel?

  And so that's a very important piece. And if the spouse, the dad, you know, or the husband is like, no, you can't see that. Well, that's a huge red flag we need to dig into.

• 17:10Rachel Cruze?

  Hundred percent.

• 17:10George Kamel?

  Like what is happening with this financial infidelity?

• 17:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 17:13George Kamel?

  That he is so unwilling to show you.

• 17:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 17:16George Kamel?

  Or to give you access. So that that's a control thing. That can become financial abuse.

• 17:20Rachel Cruze?

  Tony, stop that, Tony.

• 17:21George Kamel?

  No, thank you, Tony.

• 17:22Rachel Cruze?

  Tony.

• 17:24George Kamel?

  Classic Tony behavior. And then of course, there's like the law. And so if you go to court and there's a divorce, there's going to be alimony. If, you know, you didn't have an income and he was supporting the family and now you're on your own.

• 17:36Rachel Cruze?

  And for a lot of states, it's 50, I mean, for a lot of states, if it's like a co-mingling of finances, regardless of who brings it in, like, yeah, it's state by state for sure. But. God, it gets really complicated. We're not lawyers, but there are, you do have rights. Let me just say that. You have rights.

• 17:54George Kamel?

  Yes. Now, will he actually pay? I hope so. Otherwise, he's a scumbag.

• 17:58Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that goes back to like the first question. Remember that?

• 18:00George Kamel?

  Exactly. So that's a tough one, but I would say a lot of, I'm trying to phrase this delicately.

• 18:07Rachel Cruze?

  Mm hmm.

• 18:07George Kamel?

  Some of it is self-imposed as far as like feeling like, well, I don't contribute financially to the family and therefore

• 18:15Rachel Cruze?

  I'm less valuable.

• 18:16George Kamel?

  I'm less valuable, or I don't have as much say because, well, he makes all the money and I just, I rebuke that. I don't like that at all. My wife has

• 18:25Rachel Cruze?

  Brother George.

• 18:25George Kamel?

  Just as much vote when it comes to finances, if not more. And so I value her, I respect her, and so I don't see it as like, well, I make the money, so I should get to do this, or she doesn't get to do that. That is abuse.

• 18:38Rachel Cruze?

  Well, that, and it's a, and it's an immature man, like

• 18:42George Kamel?

  It's a boy.

• 18:43Rachel Cruze?

  That's so crazy. Like, that's, yes, yes.

• 18:45George Kamel?

  That's no, I feel like man is generous in that.

• 18:47Rachel Cruze?

  That's fair. Thank you. I appreciate that. Oh, my gosh.

• 18:50George Kamel?

  Got me riled up.

• 18:51Rachel Cruze?

  Got you riled up. You know what I get riled up about, George?

• 18:53George Kamel?

  What's that?

• 18:53Rachel Cruze?

  Internet safety.

• 18:54George Kamel?

  Yeah, talk about stay-at-home mom feeling safe. What about everyone feeling safe online?

• 18:59Rachel Cruze?

  Everyone needs to feel safe online. That's why we love and use Delete Me because it goes in and removes your information from the internet because our names and addresses and cell phones and kids' names and parents' names, I mean, everything's out there that hackers and all of them can figure out together and you're like, whoa, whoa. And these data brokers will take all of that and then even sell your data. And that puts you at risk for scams and fraud and all this stuff, and we don't want that. So removing your data from the internet is so important and Delete Me helps you do that.

• 19:28George Kamel?

  And they show their work. I mean, they'll send you a report every few months going, hey, here's where we found you. We removed you here. Here's how much time we saved you. And it's one of my favorite emails I get every month is that report.

• 19:38Rachel Cruze?

  Of all, I mean, seriously.

• 19:39George Kamel?

  Warms my heart.

• 19:40Rachel Cruze?

  And the fact that it's actual people doing it too. It's not just like bots. Like, it's amazing.

• 19:45George Kamel?

  Yeah, and I use it for my whole family. So I add in, here's my, the kids, here's their information. If you find any of that, delete it. You can even send a custom removal request. So if you guys want to get a sweet discount, go to joindelete.me.com/smartmoney and you'll get 20% off their annual plans. We'll drop a link in the show notes as well.

• 20:02Rachel Cruze?

  Beautiful. All right, George, can I use money from my 403B for a down payment on a home? So a 403B is like a 401K in the business world, but usually for like nonprofits.

• 20:15George Kamel?

  Teachers.

• 20:15Rachel Cruze?

  Teachers, yes, all that, yeah. So there's like another option for retirements that are 403Bs. Would you use it for a down payment on home?

• 20:22George Kamel?

  No.

• 20:22Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 20:23George Kamel?

  I'm assuming this person is not, you know, 60 plus years old.

• 20:27Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 20:27George Kamel?

  And therefore they can't use it without getting that penalty. So again, like we mentioned earlier, this is like taking out a loan at 35% interest. It's just not worth it.

• 20:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 20:37George Kamel?

  And so if you're struggling, find another way to save up the down payment.

• 20:40Rachel Cruze?

  Hundred percent. Yeah. Just think, don't use retirement savings for non-retirement things. Like genuinely, the only advice we ever say is to use, to cash anything out is if you're facing like a foreclosure or a bankruptcy and you need money to help get you out of that situation. That's the only time. Other than that, don't touch it.

• 21:00George Kamel?

  So I would dig in and go, why are you looking for a shortcut? Like where's the lack of patience coming from, the urgency? Like I get it. You want to get in a house. You feel like the market's always shifting, but the solution is not to rob your future.

• 21:12Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 21:13George Kamel?

  It is to make changes in the present to get there faster.

• 21:15Rachel Cruze?

  That's good.

• 21:16George Kamel?

  Tweet that.

• 21:17Rachel Cruze?

  All right. George, what's the best place to hold cash $200,000 to fund med school over the next three years? High yield savings account, question mark?

• 21:26George Kamel?

  I'm so impressed. This person has $200,000. You know how rare that is?

• 21:31Rachel Cruze?

  Well done.

• 21:32George Kamel?

  Most people just like stumble into med school and go, oh gosh, it's going to cost half a million dollars. Guess I'll take out loans. So this person has done a really good job. Maybe they had family help. I don't want to assume.

• 21:42Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 21:42George Kamel?

  But what an amazing privilege that is to have 200 grand to fund it. Where would I keep that money for, if it's a three-year time horizon? I would go high yield savings account.

• 21:51Rachel Cruze?

  Me too.

• 21:52George Kamel?

  You'll make, you know, three and a half percent.

• 21:54Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm.

• 21:55George Kamel?

  You might miss out on some market returns, but you also don't have the volatility.

• 21:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 22:00George Kamel?

  Like the market was down negative 20% this year and I need to pay for tuition.

• 22:04Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 22:05George Kamel?

  You can't risk that.

• 22:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, there's a safety, especially if you know there's a purchase coming in five years or less. They're like, oh no, we're going to make this. Play it safe. High yield savings account. It's great. Yep. Not volatile. You'll get that three and a half percent, which is fine.

• 22:17George Kamel?

  Yeah. Stable.

• 22:19Rachel Cruze?

  But if there's, yeah, but if there's money that you're, that you have and you know, like, okay, we may not need this for like five, six, seven years. I would invest it then because you have time to ride out the market and actually make. 12, 13, 14, 20%. God forbid we say that, but yes, I mean, the market's done great.

• 22:36George Kamel?

  The last three years, if you just invested in the US stock market, you'd be up well over 20%.

• 22:41Rachel Cruze?

  Isn't that crazy? Yes. So y'all.

• 22:43George Kamel?

  Go look at your 401Ks and prove me wrong.

• 22:45Rachel Cruze?

  Prove me wrong.

• 22:45George Kamel?

  Unless you're invested in bonds or something. You're like, I'm not getting 20%.

• 22:50Rachel Cruze?

  My CDs, my CDs aren't doing it.

• 22:51George Kamel?

  Yeah, grandma, get out of bonds. What are you doing?

• 22:53Rachel Cruze?

  Come on.

• 22:54George Kamel?

  All right. Next up, what should my net worth be before buying Super Bowl tickets?

• 22:59Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, do you have any desire to do the Super Bowl, sporty George over there?

• 23:04George Kamel?

  Borderline zero. Cause here's what I found. It's not about the sport. The experience watching at home is superior.

• 23:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 23:11George Kamel?

  I don't need the like, energy of the crap. It's just people yelling in my ear and you're staring down. You're looking at a screen to actually watch the game.

• 23:19Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 23:20George Kamel?

  You're probably missing out on all the ads. You get the halftime show, which I'd just rather watch it on the screen.

• 23:26Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, tell me this.

• 23:27George Kamel?

  Buffalo chicken dip at home.

• 23:28Rachel Cruze?

  Does a college national championship do something different for you?

• 23:31George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 23:32Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 23:33George Kamel?

  Those are actual fans. My hot take is that Super Bowl fans are like, whatever. I'm just rich. I know rich people. I got to go to the Super Bowl.

• 23:41Rachel Cruze?

  I agree. I agree.

• 23:42George Kamel?

  Those aren't real sports fans. No offense.

• 23:45Rachel Cruze?

  But a college national championship, that would be fun.

• 23:47George Kamel?

  That would be electric. And you know, they're going to do something crazy after. Like they're going to tear down.

• 23:52Rachel Cruze?

  The goalposts and throw it to the river.

• 23:54George Kamel?

  Yeah. And I get to witness a crime, which I think is a cool thing. Go balls.

• 23:59Rachel Cruze?

  Okay. So when it comes to these experiences that are big, like a Super Bowl or whatever it may be.

• 24:05George Kamel?

  A Taylor Swift concert, Backstreet Boys at the Sphere. Not that you would have done any of that.

• 24:10Rachel Cruze?

  Experiences. Uh, it's definitely one of those feelings of like, it's a, it's a quote my dad always says, but I, I think it's a good one emotionally. It's like the burn it in the middle of the table. Meaning like, if it's gone.

• 24:23George Kamel?

  The burn test.

• 24:23Rachel Cruze?

  Like if it's just gone, out of your account today, are you okay? And if you're like, oh my gosh, no, I would not be okay because I don't even know how much, how much they cost.

• 24:33George Kamel?

  I was gonna Google it.

• 24:33Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, look it up, look it up.

• 24:34George Kamel?

  All right.

• 24:34Rachel Cruze?

  Because I mean, yeah, if, if that's going to stress you out and you need that money and, and you feel something emotional, like, oh my God, I know we, I, if that was out of my account today, I, oh, that makes me nervous, then you can't do it. But if you're like, oh yeah, I don't think we would notice, we can keep on moving. You keep on moving.

• 24:51George Kamel?

  And if you budget, you pay for it in cash, you're not going into debt. It's not this impulsive last minute thing where like, oh, I didn't plan for it, but I'm gonna do it anyways. I'm totally fine with it regardless of your net worth. And again, if it really gives you a pit in your stomach because you're like, I make 40 grand a year and I have financial goals and I want to buy a house and 10 grand on tickets feels insane. That's your gut and spirit saying, don't do it. You're gonna regret it. Cheapest resale seats, $2,800. This is based on the 2025 Super Bowl. Some of the most premium seats, prime location, close to the field, listed as high as 25 grand. Official package options started around $6,700. That doesn't include your travel, your lodging, eating, all the other things that go along with it.

• 25:34George Kamel?

  So for those reasons, I just, I just don't see many experiences that would be worth it, like maybe once in your lifetime.

• 25:41Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 25:42George Kamel?

  But then again, let me just find a friend who's like, hey, you want to come to the Super Bowl?

• 25:46Rachel Cruze?

  100%, we gotta find those friends.

• 25:48George Kamel?

  Become friends with wealthy people. How long do I need to harp on this, guys? That's the life hack.

• 25:56Rachel Cruze?

  Get connections.

• 25:57George Kamel?

  Don't do it maliciously. Just find wealthy people that you would get along with and then infiltrate yourself into their life. It's not that hard.

• 26:07Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh. All right, next, my husband and I are newlyweds. Should I be added to his current personal and business accounts? Yes.

• 26:17George Kamel?

  I mean, personal, yes. Business, unless you're a part of the business, you don't need to be on a business account. Like the IRS is going, hey, you're not.

• 26:24Rachel Cruze?

  That's fair.

• 26:25George Kamel?

  You know what I mean? If you're not an employee of the business.

• 26:27Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 26:27George Kamel?

  If it's like a husband, wife duo.

• 26:29Rachel Cruze?

  If you both own, if you both own it.

• 26:31George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 26:32Rachel Cruze?

  But yeah, if it's his, yeah, that's fair. Yeah.

• 26:35George Kamel?

  But remember, like if you take out business debt and spouse signs their name, that's y'all's debt. Like you're responsible for that. So just know that going into it. But yes, as newlyweds, that's a great time. Like get back from the honeymoon and go down to the bank or, you know, do this online and make everything a joint account. And again, that's going to make your wealth building journey better, easier, more transparent, more accountability. And if there's things where like, well, I don't feel comfortable with that, get to the root of why one or both of you is uncomfortable joining accounts and joining your life.

• 27:07Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. So it doesn't have to be, I guess, his personal. You guys could open up a new one if you wanted to, just to.

• 27:12George Kamel?

  I just switched mine. I had a personal checking and I made it a joint. So it was the same account number, but Whitney got added to it.

• 27:18Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 27:18George Kamel?

  So that was easy. I didn't have to like get all new things. She did. But she just kind of closed down her side. You know what I mean?

• 27:24Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 27:25George Kamel?

  And joined mine.

• 27:26Rachel Cruze?

  It moved over. All right, next. Is it dumb to pay off my house with some of my current savings? I would have $5,000 left and no other debt.

• 27:37George Kamel?

  That's tight.

• 27:38Rachel Cruze?

  Dumb is not, that's a strong word. I wouldn't do it with $5,000 left. I would have a six-month emergency fund before I did that. Like I would have some good savings, but if you had money just to pay off your house, yeah.

• 27:49George Kamel?

  You're so close. I think within a few months, you could pull the trigger. Cause here's the other thing, your emergency fund gets lower if you don't have a mortgage payment anymore. So I would crunch the numbers on like what a three, four-month emergency fund would look like without having that mortgage payment, because that'll reduce your expenses. That might get you closer. So that's my caveat to go, you're closer than you think if you do that math. And then build it back up to six months if that's where you're comfortable. I prefer six months personally, especially as you get older. You're just like, why, why fool with it?

• 28:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, 100%. I love it. George, you know what I've been loving recently? Is the cuddle blanket from Cozy Earth. It is like

• 28:27George Kamel?

  You're speaking my language.

• 28:27Rachel Cruze?

  Winter time and this blanket, it is weighted, it is heavy, it is massive, so soft. And it's incredible. And Cozy Earth has blankets, it has sheets, it has bedding, it has clothes. Everything you need to make a cozy winter, Cozy Earth has.

• 28:45George Kamel?

  I pulled that thing out and I used it with my toddler, with Mia, and she had the best time. Cause she's never felt anything that soft.

• 28:53Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 28:53George Kamel?

  And she loves like a teddy bear. So imagine like the softest teddy bear, but it's like, like, I don't know, queen or king size blanket.

• 29:00Rachel Cruze?

  It's massive. I know.

• 29:01George Kamel?

  So we had a great time.

• 29:02Rachel Cruze?

  I love it. I know. So Cozy Earth, their quality is incredible, you guys. And everything that you buy, I promise, from like the fit of the clothes to the softness of the sheets, like the bamboo stuff I personally love. But all of it, it is, it's incredible. You're not going to be disappointed with Cozy Earth products. So make sure to go to cozylearth.com/smartmoney, click the link below and you can save up to 40% off.

• 29:25George Kamel?

  And that includes the new soft washed cotton sheets, which I just threw on there. You know, I'm a bamboo guy, but there's something about this like

• 29:31Rachel Cruze?

  You liked the cotton.

• 29:32George Kamel?

  Yeah, it's like, it's got that lived in feel.

• 29:35Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 29:35George Kamel?

  You know, it's lighter weight than the bamboo, naturally breathable, easy to launder. So I love all of that.

• 29:41Rachel Cruze?

  Perfect.

• 29:41George Kamel?

  So check that out too, while you're at it. Just go to CozyEarth.com/smartmoney or use the link in the description and use promo code SMARTMONEY at checkout.

• 29:50Rachel Cruze?

  Hey George, I think we have time for two more.

• 29:52George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 29:52Rachel Cruze?

  You ready? If I'm on baby step seven, why can't I lease a car? If that's where I want to spend my money?

• 30:00George Kamel?

  They make a good point. You can do dumb decisions and stomach it for a long time. Like if you have the money.

• 30:06Rachel Cruze?

  You can probably afford some dumb decisions in baby step seven.

• 30:09George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 30:09Rachel Cruze?

  Right?

• 30:09George Kamel?

  They could go like, well, Rachel, you have a golf membership and that costs money.

• 30:12Rachel Cruze?

  Right.

• 30:12George Kamel?

  What's the difference with me leasing a car?

• 30:14Rachel Cruze?

  Right. Yes. So it's just the idea of the lease of not only, there's so many, it's, it's a very complicated process to me. Like a part of me is like, just buy a great car and drive it for a few years, sell it, get another car. Like you can keep upgrading cars, changing cars. But yeah, if that's where you want to put the money, you can, but mathematically, it's the most expensive way to find, finance a vehicle. You almost, it'd be cheaper to even just take out a loan, right?

• 30:40George Kamel?

  Well, yeah, you just never own anything. You're just renting a car very expensively with a ton of restrictions and prepaying all of the depreciation. So if that's what you want to do, that's fine, but I would, don't tell people you're on the Ramsey plan with your car lease. Okay. Cause you still owe people money.

• 30:55Rachel Cruze?

  Protect that reputation, George. Way to protect that reputation.

• 30:58George Kamel?

  Yeah, you got it. You owe, I mean, there's a buyout amount that you would owe to actually own that car. So my, my pushback to you is if you're on baby step seven, why can't you save up and just buy a car you like?

• 31:07Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 31:08George Kamel?

  And if you're a net worth millionaire, you can even get it new if you want and pay all the depreciation yourself. That's on you, but do it the smart way. Delay gratification.

• 31:16Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. All right. Last one, George. This is fun. What would you do if you got $500,000 tomorrow?

• 31:25George Kamel?

  That's a big question. Okay.

• 31:27Rachel Cruze?

  Half a million dollars.

• 31:27George Kamel?

  I'm trying to think of like, not like, what would like smart, fiscally responsible George do, but like current, just gut reaction. What would I do with 500 grand?

• 31:36Rachel Cruze?

  I've got some, so I would give some away. Um, I would, we'd probably fund a rental flip because that's what Winston's doing these days. So we'd probably do that. Um, I would want to take a fun vacation. And then I'd throw, you know, a little like, I don't know, 50 grand in the old index fund.

• 31:55George Kamel?

  Oh, invest a little.

• 31:56Rachel Cruze?

  Just see what happens, you know, just watch it grow.

• 32:00George Kamel?

  I like that.

• 32:00Rachel Cruze?

  That's just off, that's just off the cuff.

• 32:01George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 32:02Rachel Cruze?

  I'm going on a bear hunt.

• 32:04George Kamel?

  Swishy swashy swishy swashy, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 32:07Rachel Cruze?

  That's what I would do.

• 32:08George Kamel?

  Big, dark fortus, bulgy big eyes, everyone's gonna die.

• 32:13Rachel Cruze?

  I'm gonna Amazon that book to your house.

• 32:16George Kamel?

  I don't know if I can read that. My toddler's gonna have nightmares.

• 32:18Rachel Cruze?

  No, it's cute.

• 32:20George Kamel?

  The big bulgy eyes is cute?

• 32:22Rachel Cruze?

  And the big, sharp claws. Keeps going. Okay, what would you do, George?

• 32:26George Kamel?

  What would I do? I think emotionally, right now, I'd need to like invest half of it.

• 32:31Rachel Cruze?

  Mm.

• 32:32George Kamel?

  Like I'd fully fund my kids' college funds, because doing that now at their age.

• 32:36Rachel Cruze?

  Would feel great.

• 32:36George Kamel?

  It's gonna be plenty.

• 32:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's fair, that's fair.

• 32:38George Kamel?

  So I would do that. I would put a bunch like outside of retirement, a sort of a bridge account.

• 32:42Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm.

• 32:43George Kamel?

  So for fun money later on, I probably would build a pool in the backyard.

• 32:48Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 32:49George Kamel?

  So probably sink, I don't know what that costs, you know, 150 grand.

• 32:52Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 32:53George Kamel?

  Into like redoing the entire backyard with like landscaping and the pool. That'd be a frivolous fun thing to do.

• 32:59Rachel Cruze?

  You know what? Vacation. I would buy, I would buy an SUV.

• 33:02George Kamel?

  Oh, are you an SUV mom now?

• 33:05Rachel Cruze?

  No, I'm a van, I mean, I'm a van mom.

• 33:06George Kamel?

  But you're trading in the van to get the SUV?

• 33:08Rachel Cruze?

  If I had $500,000.

• 33:09George Kamel?

  Yeah. What would you get? Would you get like a luxury SUV?

• 33:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. I mean, if this is like money just given to me.

• 33:16George Kamel?

  Yeah. Left to your own devices, what SUV would Rachel Cruz buy?

• 33:20Rachel Cruze?

  Uh.

• 33:22George Kamel?

  Like a Range Rover?

• 33:22Rachel Cruze?

  A Lex, no, I'd go Lexus.

• 33:24George Kamel?

  Like the GX, like the boxier ones?

• 33:26Rachel Cruze?

  Escalade. The, the, the.

• 33:28George Kamel?

  Escalade?

• 33:29Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's what all the Brooklyn moms drive.

• 33:33George Kamel?

  Okay, no offense.

• 33:33Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, it just fitted.

• 33:34George Kamel?

  I didn't know we were still doing Escalades.

• 33:36Rachel Cruze?

  No. Oh, yeah. Different colors. We got reds, we got blacks, we got, uh, white. We got, we got all the colors of the Escalades.

• 33:45George Kamel?

  A red Escalade?

• 33:46Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, like a deep, dark red. It's actually really pretty. Yeah.

• 33:49George Kamel?

  Like a maroon?

• 33:50Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm. Yeah.

• 33:52George Kamel?

  Okay, I'll need to Google it to see for myself.

• 33:55Rachel Cruze?

  Um, yeah, but the new Lexus that kind of looks like a Land Rover.

• 34:00George Kamel?

  Oh, yeah.

• 34:01Rachel Cruze?

  I think those are.

• 34:01George Kamel?

  That is the GX models.

• 34:03Rachel Cruze?

  So cool. I think they're too small for our family, though. We'd have to go bigger. But I would get a, I would get a luxury SUV. I would. I'd retire the van. I always said the van was a five-year car.

• 34:11George Kamel?

  Can you give us the Odyssey?

• 34:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I would do that. That's my char, that's my charity. I would do that for you. I would get, I, that's part of my giving.

• 34:19George Kamel?

  Let it be known. Not if, but when Rachel somehow stumbles upon $500,000. I will be gifted a van. Can't wait.

• 34:27Rachel Cruze?

  There you go.

• 34:28George Kamel?

  I can't wait.

• 34:28Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that was fun. All right, George. Uh, what's your takeaway from the episode?

• 34:32George Kamel?

  My takeaway, uh, number one, people have really good questions that span the gamut of like, you know, they're trying to get out of debt. Like, they're trying to do the right thing.

• 34:41Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 34:42George Kamel?

  And that gives me great hope.

• 34:44Rachel Cruze?

  Totally.

• 34:44George Kamel?

  Like, there's not a lot of, I would say dumb questions on here where it's like trying to justify, other than leasing the car.

• 34:51Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 34:51George Kamel?

  Which is kind of like justifying bad behavior.

• 34:53Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 34:53George Kamel?

  People want to do the right thing with their money. They just need some guidance. And so that's why I love the, the job that we get to do every day on The Ramsey Show, speaking, writing a book, hosting the podcast. It's just fun to like, help people navigate this. And we're not gurus. We don't have all the right answers. But it just feels good steering you away from the money traps and towards something that is reliable.

• 35:16Rachel Cruze?

  That's good. Yes. Yep. Yeah, that's my thing. And regardless of what stage you are in financially, or season of life, or wherever it may take you, like, you can always make wiser decisions with money or dumber decisions. And you get to pick, right? And sometimes the dumber decisions feel better in the moment because it's easier. Um, but pushing through and actually doing something long-term with your money and having that plan, I think is important.

• 35:39George Kamel?

  It makes me think, what's the proverb? The multitude of counsel?

• 35:42Rachel Cruze?

  There is wisdom.

• 35:43George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 35:44Rachel Cruze?

  Is that us?

• 35:45George Kamel?

  And that's where I go like-

• 35:45Rachel Cruze?

  Are we your multitude of counsel?

• 35:46George Kamel?

  When you make decisions in a vacuum, generally they're worse.

• 35:50Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm.

• 35:50George Kamel?

  But when you go like, hey, I'm gonna go to trusted people who I look up to or a step ahead of me, that's gonna make it always better.

• 35:57Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 35:58George Kamel?

  But if you go to people who are broke, who you know will justify your decision, you're gonna find-

• 36:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's fair.

• 36:03George Kamel?

  -your answer.

• 36:03Rachel Cruze?

  I like that.

• 36:04George Kamel?

  So it really depends on where you look, and I think finding wise counsel and, you know, the Ramsey Plan is never gonna do you wrong.

• 36:10Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm.

• 36:11George Kamel?

  Like, you can try to get rich quick, good luck. Our plan works 100% of the time.

• 36:15Rachel Cruze?

  If you do it.

• 36:15George Kamel?

  And so, as conservative as we may be, the reason we tell people to do all of this is because you're likely going to succeed.

• 36:22Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 36:22George Kamel?

  It's that simple.

• 36:23Rachel Cruze?

  I love it.

• 36:24George Kamel?

  That's my takeaway.

• 36:25Rachel Cruze?

  All right, before we get to our guilty as charged question, George, uh, what's the drink? What's the, what's the rating?

• 36:32George Kamel?

  This is a Christmas slush mocktail.

• 36:37George Kamel?

  Christmas slush mocktail.

• 36:38Rachel Cruze?

  Man, I'm going four out of 10, I'm sorry.

• 36:42George Kamel?

  Yeah, I'm going-

• 36:43Rachel Cruze?

  I love the texture, though.

• 36:44George Kamel?

  I'm gonna go three out of 10. It tastes like if you took a, you know, like the juicy juice that you'd give to a child? Take like the cranberry version, but then add like, just like lemon juice on top to make it even more tart and sour? And I love tart and sour. Like, I grew up on Warheads.

• 37:03Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 37:03George Kamel?

  Love a Warhead.

• 37:05Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 37:05George Kamel?

  This is like a sad attempt.

• 37:07Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 37:08George Kamel?

  I got a Warhead.

• 37:09Rachel Cruze?

  But I'm really thankful for all the effort.

• 37:11George Kamel?

  But you know what?

• 37:12Rachel Cruze?

  That was put in.

• 37:13George Kamel?

  Kudos to the crew. They put a lot of effort in, and to make anything a slush-

• 37:17Rachel Cruze?

  That's hard, genuinely, the, um-

• 37:19George Kamel?

  Like, do they have a, do you guys have a blender you're using?

• 37:23George Kamel?

  God bless. Kelly brought her blender from home.

• 37:26Rachel Cruze?

  See, that's why, that's why it was a four, not a zero for me, cuz the texture was amazing. It really was. The slush was really good, and it stayed. There's still slushiness on top.

• 37:35George Kamel?

  Yeah, no, the foam is, she be foamy.

• 37:38Rachel Cruze?

  She, it's great. Listen to that, it sounds like snow.

• 37:46George Kamel?

  Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. All right, this has cranberry juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, sparkling water even, and none of that was enough to save it. Because at face value, you're like, how could that be a bad drink? I'm still confounded by the product. The cost, not cheap, a dollar and 40 cents.

• 38:11Rachel Cruze?

  Oh wow, one of our cocktails on the show was just like a quarter more.

• 38:15George Kamel?

  I know, you could have had alcohol for a quarter more, kids. It's 1950's pricing. Hey, if you want to try it for yourself, maybe you can figure it out. Maybe we just messed it up. The recipe's in the show notes, let us know in the comments what went wrong.

• 38:29Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 38:29George Kamel?

  And give it a try this weekend, you can even have the kids try it out. Maybe they like sour red juice.

• 38:37Rachel Cruze?

  All right, now it's time for Guilty.

• 38:43Rachel Cruze?

  You never miss that, George.

• 38:44George Kamel?

  My brain was looking at the question.

• 38:46Rachel Cruze?

  In all of our times doing it.

• 38:48George Kamel?

  I got nervous at the question.

• 38:49Rachel Cruze?

  Here we go, you ready? Now it's time for Guilty as Charged. And this is where we ask each other a guilty as charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, ready for the question?

• 38:59George Kamel?

  I'm nervous.

• 39:00Rachel Cruze?

  Have you ever made a financial decision that Dave would call stupid? Stupid. Or have you made one that you didn't share with Dave because you knew he would disapprove?

• 39:12George Kamel?

  Wow, okay, as someone who is kin to Dave Ramsey, I feel like you have some inside knowledge of things you didn't share. Because you and Dave are a lot alike in ways with your spending.

• 39:26Rachel Cruze?

  You know, it's not a secret because it's out there, but the Tesla, I definitely did not

• 39:31George Kamel?

  Not a fan.

• 39:31Rachel Cruze?

  Tell him that I was buying an electric car.

• 39:35George Kamel?

  Wow. Not that he would have like cared necessarily, but he vehemently has made fun of our vehicles for like

• 39:42Rachel Cruze?

  Forever.

• 39:43George Kamel?

  Potentially exploding or lighting on fire because he read one article.

• 39:46Rachel Cruze?

  Cause it's a computer, you're driving a computer, you know.

• 39:49George Kamel?

  Unlike, you know, conservative man.biz or something that was like Teslas are, you know, fire starters. I'm like, okay. Like let's.

• 39:58Rachel Cruze?

  I think only like two blew up and that's it. Do you know how many real cars blow up on the side of the road? Real cars that like have.

• 40:04George Kamel?

  Many more.

• 40:05Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, not real. I mean, it's real. The Tesla's real, but like oil and gas cars.

• 40:10George Kamel?

  Is this the same reason he didn't like you watching Fern Gully growing up?

• 40:15Rachel Cruze?

  Probably.

• 40:16George Kamel?

  Is it because like people who buy electric vehicles think they're better than everyone because they're trying to conserve the environment?

• 40:21Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. I think if there's, I don't know, but that.

• 40:24George Kamel?

  I'm trying to see like, you know, if there's a red.

• 40:25Rachel Cruze?

  There probably is a connection.

• 40:26George Kamel?

  Follow the detective.

• 40:27Rachel Cruze?

  Childhood Rachel, they couldn't watch Fern Gully. Buys a Tesla and your dad still doesn't approve.

• 40:34George Kamel?

  Oh, I have one that.

• 40:35Rachel Cruze?

  I think it is all connected.

• 40:36George Kamel?

  So I'm guilty of this because I bought a used Tesla and Dave makes fun of both of us. So he would not approve. He doesn't like it. He makes fun of it. He rode in the car with me for the millionaires and cars getting coffee segment.

• 40:45Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah.

• 40:45George Kamel?

  And made fun of me for it.

• 40:46Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, of course.

• 40:47George Kamel?

  I told him how brave he was for taking the ride with me in a car that could explode at any moment. Evil can evil. The other one that I think he would disapprove of is when we got our French Bulldogs, I got pet insurance.

• 40:59Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that's a good one.

• 41:00George Kamel?

  Which like, it's a big Ramsey thing. Like, hey, like, don't do pet insurance. It's a rip off. It's a waste of money.

• 41:05Rachel Cruze?

  But you said, no, no.

• 41:07George Kamel?

  I said, George wants it. So Dave will say, hey, we have, you know, term life because Sharon wants it. SWI.

• 41:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 41:13George Kamel?

  We don't need it.

• 41:14Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 41:14George Kamel?

  Doesn't make sense financially. We, we're just gonna do it. That's how I felt about pet insurance.

• 41:19Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, that's fair. That's a good one.

• 41:21George Kamel?

  And here's my, here's my hot take. I got like the highest deductible plan, lowest premium because I never wanted to have, I don't want to have to make the decision. If there's a $10,000 surgery of, do we just?

• 41:33Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 41:33George Kamel?

  Put them down.

• 41:34Rachel Cruze?

  I.

• 41:34George Kamel?

  Instead I go, we live to fight another day because I'll pay the deductibles and move on with my life.

• 41:39Rachel Cruze?

  Moving, moving and shaking.

• 41:41George Kamel?

  So to me it's worth it in the budget. I don't have a lot of hobbies, as you guys may have guessed. And so I just put the money towards, you know, protecting my family. Call me a terrible human. Good luck.

• 41:52Rachel Cruze?

  What a savior. Get that cape out.

• 41:54George Kamel?

  So that's the one, and I just haven't canceled it because at this point, like getting new insurance, if I ever have to again, will be wildly expensive.

• 42:01Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 42:01George Kamel?

  Because now they have like few spinal bones.

• 42:03Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, we don't want to get them reexamined.

• 42:05George Kamel?

  They're only breaking more over time.

• 42:07Rachel Cruze?

  100% they are.

• 42:08George Kamel?

  So there you go.

• 42:09Rachel Cruze?

  So good. That's a good one.

• 42:10George Kamel?

  Sorry, Dave.

• 42:10Rachel Cruze?

  That's a good one. That's a good one. All right, if you have a great guilty as charged question, please DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Kamel. We are looking for those. And if you love this episode, make sure to leave a review. And also check out our episode, Our Unfiltered Takes on Your Real Life Money Dilemmas, coming up next. And we'll see you guys next Thursday on an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.