Put Your Financial Knowledge to the Test! (Game Show Edition)

💻 Looking for an advisor? Check out SmartVestor Pro! Ramsey Solutions is a paid, non-client promoter of SmartVestor Pros. Hear us out: What if sometimes it IS all fun and (money) games? Today, we’re testing our financial knowledge under pressure with a little friendly competition. Next Steps: · 🎙️ Catch our episode Luxury vs. Dupe (Can You Spot the Difference?)! · 💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar. · 🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour · 📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it. Connect With Our Sponsors: · Check out the FAIRWINDS Credit Union exclusive account bundle. · Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. · Get 35% off the Home and Pajama collections for a limited time with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🥃 Maple Walnut Manhattan Recipe By: itscocktailhour_ · 1 ounce vermouth rosso · 2 ounces rye whiskey · 3/4 ounce maple syrup · 3 dashes black walnut bitters · Dash ground cinnamon Instructions: Start by throwing a coupe or martini glass into the freezer to chill. Then combine vermouth rosso, rye whiskey, maple syrup, black walnut bitters and ground cinnamon in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir well to chill. Strain into your chilled glass and garnish with a walnut. Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 📈 EntreLeadership Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

• 0:05George Kamel?

  Okay, hear me out. What if it is all fun and money games? Today, we're gonna test out our financial knowledge and yours with a little friendly co-host competition.

• 0:13Rachel Cruze?

  Mama, I love you. Oh, Rachel.

• 0:18George Kamel?

  Who are you trying to be?

• 0:19Rachel Cruze?

  Rachel, why did you buy that?

• 0:21George Kamel?

  Why are you doing that face? What's that face about?

• 0:22Rachel Cruze?

  Because you're gonna know it, and it's fine.

• 0:24George Kamel?

  What is it?

• 0:30Rachel Cruze?

  Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

• 0:31George Kamel?

  I'm George Kamel.

• 0:33Rachel Cruze?

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

• 0:38George Kamel?

  Cheers.

• 0:43Rachel Cruze?

  Wow.

• 0:46George Kamel?

  That should require a prescription.

• 0:48Rachel Cruze?

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

• 0:56George Kamel?

  And you're probably wondering what we're sipping on for this episode. It is a maple walnut Manhattan. We're gonna give you the rating at the end of the episode, and as always, the recipe's in the show notes. All right, this episode was your idea, Rachel, so if it falls flat, it's your fault.

• 1:11Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, well, here's, here's the thing, George. I was looking on our, we have a Smart Money Happy Hour Instagram.

• 1:17George Kamel?

  We do. Do you follow it, people? You should.

• 1:20Rachel Cruze?

  You should. I thought you were asking me if I follow it. I was like, I do follow it.

• 1:22George Kamel?

  Proud of you.

• 1:23Rachel Cruze?

  And I was looking the other day, and there were so many comments, because we do, we do a lot of games on that. That's not in the episodes. We like, we'll do like a different video shoot for some games to get some like, you know, Instagram content, as they say.

• 1:37George Kamel?

  Some quick-hit content for the people.

• 1:38Rachel Cruze?

  But there's so many comments, and everyone's like, oh, my gosh, I wish this game was in the episode. Oh, my gosh, I want to play.

• 1:43George Kamel?

  What episode is this from?

• 1:44Rachel Cruze?

  Or I had a different opinion, all of this. And I mean, we've gotten so much of that. And I just like, you know what? The people have spoken, George. Let's do an entire episode and play some games.

• 1:54George Kamel?

  I love it. We're gonna combine our two favorite things on earth. Rachel's is competition, and mine is bettering myself through financial knowledge.

• 2:00Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, all together. This is it. But go ahead and comment down below. Who do you think's gonna win the challenges?

• 2:08George Kamel?

  We already know the answer, but I'm gonna let you win.

• 2:11Rachel Cruze?

  No, stop that, George. Have fun.

• 2:13George Kamel?

  Because that takes all the steam out of the person who loves winning.

• 2:16Rachel Cruze?

  Play, play these games. I think they're fun.

• 2:18George Kamel?

  Right there. You just let them bully, and they go, well, this is no fun now. I want you to put up a little fight.

• 2:23Rachel Cruze?

  Anyways, don't, don't let the steam out, though. Play, play these games.

• 2:26George Kamel?

  I'm gonna play my heart out.

• 2:27Rachel Cruze?

  Don't ignore me, George.

• 2:28George Kamel?

  I'm gonna leave it all on the dance floor field. That's what they say.

• 2:31Rachel Cruze?

  That's weird.

• 2:33George Kamel?

  Okay, first up, blind ranking.

• 2:36Rachel Cruze?

  We're going right in. Okay, okay.

• 2:37George Kamel?

  Yeah, there's no time to waste here. The people want the content.

• 2:39Rachel Cruze?

  All right, okay, blind ranking.

• 2:41George Kamel?

  All right, these are five costs that have increased from August 2025 through August 2026 due to inflation.

• 2:48Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 2:48George Kamel?

  So you're gonna rank them, one through five, but you don't know what's coming next. So one is it's gone up the most.

• 2:53Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 2:54George Kamel?

  Five is that inflation has hit at the least.

• 2:56Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, and you're, you're doing this game, correct?

• 2:59George Kamel?

  And I have the actual correct answers of how much each one has gone up. All right, first up in our blind ranking of costs that have increased, gas.

• 3:10Rachel Cruze?

  Man, this is where I wish I was more detailed in life. I'm gonna go two.

• 3:14George Kamel?

  Okay, next up, we have electricity.

• 3:18Rachel Cruze?

  Energies. Three.

• 3:22George Kamel?

  All right, apparel. That's clothing, by the way.

• 3:25Rachel Cruze?

  Thank you, I do know that. Five?

• 3:29George Kamel?

  All right, new vehicles.

• 3:31Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, one.

• 3:35George Kamel?

  Medical care services.

• 3:37Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, crap. Okay, four.

• 3:39George Kamel?

  All right, hey, you got one right.

• 3:42George Kamel?

  I was hoping, because once you get one wrong, the chances just diminish. You were close, though.

• 3:48Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, okay.

• 3:49George Kamel?

  Gas was number one.

• 3:50Rachel Cruze?

  It was number one.

• 3:51George Kamel?

  Gas was up 27.4%.

• 3:53Rachel Cruze?

  I put that at two, thinking there was gonna be some like, housing, right? Or something that's like massive.

• 3:59George Kamel?

  That's true. Yep, so year over year, gas was up 27.4%. Electricity was the second spot.

• 4:05Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, all right.

• 4:06George Kamel?

  You had it right there after gas.

• 4:07Rachel Cruze?

  I was in the same order.

• 4:08George Kamel?

  Up 3.8%. Apparel was in the third spot.

• 4:11Rachel Cruze?

  Really?

• 4:12George Kamel?

  At three, up 3.6%, and then medical care services in the number four spot, up 2.5%. And finally, surprisingly, new vehicles were only up 0.6%.

• 4:24Rachel Cruze?

  Wow.

• 4:25George Kamel?

  Didn't move much from.

• 4:26Rachel Cruze?

  I guess I'm still in the COVID days when used cars were as expensive as new cars.

• 4:31George Kamel?

  2018 to 2026.

• 4:33Rachel Cruze?

  I know, it would have been different. Okay, wow, really busted that.

• 4:37George Kamel?

  I can't call that a win for me, but it was definitely a loss for you. So, negative one point for Rachel.

• 4:44Rachel Cruze?

  Man, all right, I got, I got some blind rankings for you.

• 4:48George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 4:48Rachel Cruze?

  We've got your favorite Cozy Earth products, three slots.

• 4:52George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 4:53Rachel Cruze?

  Think Home Goods, like the cuddle blanket.

• 4:55George Kamel?

  Oh, that's really hard.

• 4:57Rachel Cruze?

  Where would you put that?

• 4:58George Kamel?

  I'm gonna put that at number two.

• 5:01Rachel Cruze?

  Bamboo Sheets.

• 5:03George Kamel?

  That's a number one. I spend the most time on that.

• 5:05Rachel Cruze?

  And third, PJs.

• 5:08George Kamel?

  Yeah, I'll put that at number three.

• 5:09Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so that's it. Well, thankfully, Cozy Earth's whole pajama collection, you all, and home collection is 35% off for a limited time between now and December 3rd. So again, that home collection, that is towels, and sheets, and bedding, and all the wonderful stuff, and then all their pajamas, which we love.

• 5:28George Kamel?

  When you combine the two, game changer.

• 5:31Rachel Cruze?

  I wore mine last night in my Cozy Earth sheets, and it's just, and now that it's like colder out.

• 5:36George Kamel?

  Oh, yeah.

• 5:37Rachel Cruze?

  Man, I just love, I love the pants, the long sleeve. Oh, it's just so cold.

• 5:42George Kamel?

  There's a huge difference in quality with their products versus the other stuff out there. So you gotta figure out for yourself. You gotta check this stuff out. It makes a great gift, too. So go to cozylearth.com/smartmoney to get that deal 35% off, cozylearth.com/smartmoney. And if you see a post-purchase survey, mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here on the show.

• 6:01Rachel Cruze?

  All right, next, my game to you, George. Not your best, so maybe we can be tied, but I just love. We got, we got a little lip-reading action, some Ramsey teaching. You ready?

• 6:12George Kamel?

  I am the worst lip-reader of all time.

• 6:15Rachel Cruze?

  I'm not really trying, though. I'm really gonna try to enunciate, so you can really see what I am saying.

• 6:20George Kamel?

  Maybe you're the problem.

• 6:21Rachel Cruze?

  No, I am speaking very specifically.

• 6:28George Kamel?

  All right, so I'm gonna blast some tunes in my ears, so I cannot hear you, and we're gonna do a test.

• 6:33Rachel Cruze?

  You got yours? Oh, you're already set up.

• 6:35George Kamel?

  I got my AirPod Pros. I'm ready to go.

• 6:37Rachel Cruze?

  Make sure it's loud.

• 6:40George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 6:42Rachel Cruze?

  I did hear they're on.

• 6:44George Kamel?

  Let's see, should I play, uh, let's see, the new Taylor Swift? First time hearing it.

• 6:48Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, that's fun.

• 6:49George Kamel?

  Okay, I'm gonna put the noise cancellation on.

• 6:53George Kamel?

  Okay, test me out.

• 6:54Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, can you hear me, George? Can you hear me?

• 6:57George Kamel?

  No clue.

• 6:58Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, great, that's perfect.

• 6:59George Kamel?

  You say, okay, good, that's perfect?

• 7:00Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, I did. That doesn't count, though.

• 7:03George Kamel?

  All right.

• 7:03Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, we're gonna start.

• 7:05George Kamel?

  It is so loud.

• 7:06Rachel Cruze?

  Number one.

• 7:07George Kamel?

  Number one.

• 7:08Rachel Cruze?

  Save $1,000 in the emergency fund.

• 7:12George Kamel?

  $50,000 purchase. Go again.

• 7:15Rachel Cruze?

  Save.

• 7:16George Kamel?

  Debt?

• 7:18Rachel Cruze?

  Save.

• 7:18George Kamel?

  Down, Downton Abbey.

• 7:21Rachel Cruze?

  Do my D's look like S's? Save.

• 7:24George Kamel?

  Saving?

• 7:26Rachel Cruze?

  Save $1,000.

• 7:29George Kamel?

  Save $1,000.

• 7:31Rachel Cruze?

  In an emergency fund.

• 7:34George Kamel?

  Save $1,000 in an emergency fund.

• 7:36Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, ding ding ding ding ding. Good, okay, number two.

• 7:39George Kamel?

  Sorry, the course about to hit.

• 7:40Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, here we go.

• 7:42George Kamel?

  That's actually pretty good.

• 7:43Rachel Cruze?

  It's pretty good. Um, pay off all debt except the mortgage.

• 7:51George Kamel?

  Pay off all debt except the mortgage?

• 7:53Rachel Cruze?

  What? Yes!

• 7:55George Kamel?

  I think I'm learning.

• 7:56Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, number three.

• 7:59Rachel Cruze?

  Increase emergency fund to three to six months expenses.

• 8:06George Kamel?

  Save, say?

• 8:08Rachel Cruze?

  Increase.

• 8:10George Kamel?

  What?

• 8:11Rachel Cruze?

  Increase.

• 8:13George Kamel?

  I know, I heard an emergency fund up to three to six months of expenses?

• 8:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, but the first word.

• 8:19George Kamel?

  Before?

• 8:20Rachel Cruze?

  The first word.

• 8:21George Kamel?

  One.

• 8:22Rachel Cruze?

  One word.

• 8:24George Kamel?

  One, uh?

• 8:25Rachel Cruze?

  Increase.

• 8:27George Kamel?

  Increase. Increase your emergency fund to three to six months of expenses.

• 8:30Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, yes! Okay, number four, so easy. Number four.

• 8:36George Kamel?

  Okay, four? Why are you doing that face? What's that face about?

• 8:40Rachel Cruze?

  Because you're gonna know it, and it's fine.

• 8:42George Kamel?

  What is it? Is it too easy?

• 8:43Rachel Cruze?

  Because it's the Ramsey baby steps. Okay, here we go. Invest 15% in a Roth IRA or 401K.

• 8:53George Kamel?

  Invest 15% into a Roth IRA or 401K?

• 8:56Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 8:57George Kamel?

  This is my speed.

• 8:58Rachel Cruze?

  This is stupid. You got it.

• 9:00George Kamel?

  Is it not fun because I'm winning?

• 9:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, and you're so loud.

• 9:03George Kamel?

  Does it sound like I'm yelling? Am I talking really loudly?

• 9:07Rachel Cruze?

  All right.

• 9:07George Kamel?

  Am I done?

• 9:08Rachel Cruze?

  We're done. Man, George, well done. Well, that was the Ramsey baby steps.

• 9:15George Kamel?

  That's what helped me is I was like, oh, I think we're on track here.

• 9:17Rachel Cruze?

  We are on track.

• 9:18George Kamel?

  Like we're moving through the baby steps. So that was.

• 9:21Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, so if you're not familiar, you guys, if you're starting out your financial plan, you start with a thousand dollars for an emergency fund. To start our emergency fund, pay off all of your debt. Once all your debt's paid off with your mortgage, increase it to three to six months of expenses and then start investing 15% of your income into retirement. It's the baby steps.

• 9:39George Kamel?

  That's it. It works.

• 9:40Rachel Cruze?

  You did great. Uh, increase was tough for you, though.

• 9:43George Kamel?

  Increase. That's a hard one.

• 9:45Rachel Cruze?

  Increase.

• 9:45George Kamel?

  Some of them, you can really tell what your mouth is doing.

• 9:48Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it's pretty tough.

• 9:49George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 9:49Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, that's great. So baby steps one through three, emergency fund, pay off debt, fully funded emergency fund, you do one at a time. But then four, five and six steps, you do at the same time. So that's fund 15% of your income into retirement. Start a 529 for your kids for college, put some money in there, let it grow and then pay off your mortgage early. So that's kind of the steps. And then once your house is paid off, baby step seven, just continue to invest, build wealth and give.

• 10:15George Kamel?

  The world is your oyster.

• 10:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, so it's pretty great. But that's it. That's the, uh, that's the plan, George.

• 10:20George Kamel?

  It's that simple and it's that hard. You're like, is that it? You're like, yeah, that's kind of it. That's all it takes.

• 10:24Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it is, but it does take years.

• 10:26George Kamel?

  Don't overcomplicate it.

• 10:27Rachel Cruze?

  It's a marathon, people. It's a marathon.

• 10:29George Kamel?

  Woo, okay, is that a win for me? Can we call that a win?

• 10:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's a win for you. You did really great, George. Congratulations.

• 10:35George Kamel?

  Well, it was a soft toss in your defense.

• 10:38Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, what percentage has apparel increased in the last year? You think I'm supposed to know that?

• 10:42George Kamel?

  Is that what I sounded like? Is that your impression of me? What percentage did apparel increase?

• 10:46Rachel Cruze?

  No, I'm just mad. It's okay, I'm fine.

• 10:49George Kamel?

  It's okay. Hey.

• 10:50Rachel Cruze?

  My drink is great.

• 10:51George Kamel?

  You told me. You told me to try. This is me trying.

• 10:54Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I'm so glad you are trying.

• 10:57George Kamel?

  All right, next up, how many can you name? Subscription services. So we gotta bet how many we can list and then we'll prove it. Whoever has the higher number.

• 11:06Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I could name five subscription services.

• 11:10George Kamel?

  I could name 10 subscription services. You have 10. Don't act like you can't think of them all.

• 11:15Rachel Cruze?

  My gosh.

• 11:16George Kamel?

  I guarantee you have 10. Think of your EveryDollar, line items.

• 11:20Rachel Cruze?

  I can name 11.

• 11:21George Kamel?

  I can name 12. Go 13, you can do it. You can go the distance.

• 11:26Rachel Cruze?

  Are you gonna go 14 if I do 13?

• 11:28George Kamel?

  No, I'm gonna let you take 13.

• 11:29Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 11:30George Kamel?

  You need an easy win and this one should be.

• 11:32Rachel Cruze?

  I, I don't think I know 13.

• 11:34George Kamel?

  There's enough just streaming services you could name to get there.

• 11:37Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, oh, Lord have mercy, I'm gonna lose it. Uhhhh. I'll go 13.

• 11:43George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 11:44Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, you go 14.

• 11:44George Kamel?

  Lucky number 13.

• 11:45Rachel Cruze?

  You go 14.

• 11:46George Kamel?

  What?

• 11:47Rachel Cruze?

  Just do it, you can do it.

• 11:48George Kamel?

  You want me to do it?

• 11:49Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, you go 14.

• 11:50George Kamel?

  I can name 14 subscription services.

• 11:52Rachel Cruze?

  That's what we needed to hear.

• 11:53George Kamel?

  That's cruel. You wanna see me fail in front of America.

• 11:57Rachel Cruze?

  14.

• 11:57George Kamel?

  All right.

• 11:58Rachel Cruze?

  Ready?

• 11:58George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 11:59Rachel Cruze?

  Go.

• 11:59George Kamel?

  YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, Spotify, Apple Music, iCloud, Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Peacock. Where am I at?

• 12:17Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, you need four more.

• 12:20George Kamel?

  Bark Box.

• 12:21Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-hmm.

• 12:23George Kamel?

  I need three more?

• 12:24Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 12:25George Kamel?

  What are the other streamers? HBO Max, Apple TV Plus, or is it just Apple TV now? I need two more?

• 12:32Rachel Cruze?

  Nope, one more.

• 12:33George Kamel?

  One more? Okay, um, oh, gosh.

• 12:37Rachel Cruze?

  Think about, I don't wanna help you.

• 12:39George Kamel?

  Help, dude.

• 12:39Rachel Cruze?

  No, I'm not gonna help you.

• 12:41George Kamel?

  What do I pay for? It's a subscription. Uh, My Q Garage Opener.

• 12:48Rachel Cruze?

  I was thinking EveryDollar. 14.

• 12:52George Kamel?

  I forgot EveryDollar. You know why? Because I don't view EveryDollar as a cost.

• 12:58Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 12:59George Kamel?

  Cause I get it for free.

• 13:00Rachel Cruze?

  You see that?

• 13:01George Kamel?

  That's a benefit of being a Ramsey team member.

• 13:03Rachel Cruze?

  That is true, you do get it.

• 13:04George Kamel?

  So therefore, it's not one that I pay for.

• 13:06Rachel Cruze?

  That's good, George, you did good.

• 13:07George Kamel?

  My Q was a stretch.

• 13:08Rachel Cruze?

  Um, I would've done My Q, I would've added, uh, my other one's Marco Polo.

• 13:13George Kamel?

  Oh, see, I would've never thought of that.

• 13:15Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know any others that I would have paid for, honestly. So you did way better than I would've.

• 13:20George Kamel?

  Did I hit it in under 60 seconds?

• 13:22Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, you did, yep. It was like 42 seconds.

• 13:25George Kamel?

  Would you have gotten there?

• 13:26Rachel Cruze?

  We have the garage thing too, George.

• 13:28George Kamel?

  Did you pay the subscription?

• 13:29Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 13:30George Kamel?

  I don't understand what happened, cause my old car, I didn't have to pay, but then when I got the new.

• 13:34Rachel Cruze?

  Well, actually, I don't know if we pay for it, but our garage is open on an app.

• 13:38George Kamel?

  Yeah, mine automatically opens when I get within, you can set how many feet.

• 13:41Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, mine's automatically, yeah, it doesn't open, but it appears on my Tesla screen and I hit it.

• 13:47George Kamel?

  Oh, I'm one step ahead of you.

• 13:49Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so you are paying for it.

• 13:50George Kamel?

  You wanna hit a button to open my garage?

• 13:52Rachel Cruze?

  Um, you know what we don't pay for, and we probably should, is Ring.

• 13:55George Kamel?

  Oh, I do pay for, I have SimpliSafe.

• 13:57Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, SimpliSafe would've been good.

• 13:59George Kamel?

  So, don't mess.

• 14:01Rachel Cruze?

  Don't, don't break into.

• 14:02George Kamel?

  Don't come near my house. Usually just kids, okay, a bunch of kids were just writing and we left chalk out. It was our mistake, but all the neighborhood kids like swarmed our front porch. We weren't even outside and they just drew everywhere, all over our sidewalk and I was just.

• 14:18Rachel Cruze?

  It's gonna rain, though.

• 14:19George Kamel?

  You say that.

• 14:20Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 14:21George Kamel?

  It hasn't rained, like nine months without rain. We are in the desert out here. We need bread, we need milk, we need honey, we need rain.

• 14:29Rachel Cruze?

  That's cute, though. Oh, I, I love a sidewalk chalk. Does it make you happy a little bit?

• 14:35George Kamel?

  No, not really. I just went get off my, it was very get off my lawn energy.

• 14:39Rachel Cruze?

  Get off my lawn vibes, not good. Okay, all right, uh.

• 14:42George Kamel?

  So it's two to negative one, is that what we're saying?

• 14:45Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. All right, so we have another, um, oh crap, this next one you're gonna get to. Jeez, man, not my day. Um, how many can you name good investment strategies?

• 14:58George Kamel?

  Oh, that's interesting. What counts as an investment strategy?

• 15:01Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know. This'll be fun, though, so we can make it up.

• 15:04George Kamel?

  Okay, we're gonna cover the bad ones later. So right now, we're just covering the good ones.

• 15:08Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. Um, and remember also with your subscriptions, you guys, great way to save on the budget. If you got stuff you're paying for that you don't need to, get it out of there. Um, okay, investment strategies, um, I mean, I'm thinking of like investment accounts.

• 15:23George Kamel?

  That's what I'm thinking of.

• 15:25Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so let's go accounts. Can we change on the fly?

• 15:28George Kamel?

  I'm good with that.

• 15:29Rachel Cruze?

  Different ways you can invest?

• 15:31George Kamel?

  Check them with the referees.

• 15:32Rachel Cruze?

  All right, um, I could name seven.

• 15:36George Kamel?

  I could name eight, probably not nine. I think you should go for nine. I wanna see you struggle.

• 15:44Rachel Cruze?

  Of smart investment, my, my investments are pretty simple.

• 15:47George Kamel?

  It can be, it can be accounts plus strategy, so think about it that way.

• 15:50Rachel Cruze?

  Okay. I'll go nine.

• 15:55George Kamel?

  Don't get too excited about it. The people are about to get some wisdom.

• 15:59Rachel Cruze?

  I know, mine is just so simple. We don't have like complicated investment strategies.

• 16:02George Kamel?

  Well, it doesn't have to be you, just, just in general.

• 16:04Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 16:05George Kamel?

  When you think about everyone in the world.

• 16:07Rachel Cruze?

  That could be good.

• 16:08George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 16:08Rachel Cruze?

  So I may name things that actually could be good investments that I don't do necessarily.

• 16:13George Kamel?

  Oh, I see where you're going with this. You're really opening the door.

• 16:15Rachel Cruze?

  I'm opening the door to make me win at least one.

• 16:17George Kamel?

  A single family home.

• 16:19Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I know.

• 16:20George Kamel?

  A duplex, a triplex, a quadplex. No, that doesn't count.

• 16:24Rachel Cruze?

  Commercial real estate, residential real estate.

• 16:27George Kamel?

  You get real estate, that's a freebie on the bingo board.

• 16:29Rachel Cruze?

  No, I get two, at least two options there.

• 16:31George Kamel?

  Okay. All right, let's hear it. You got nine.

• 16:34Rachel Cruze?

  I get three options on real estate.

• 16:36George Kamel?

  What?

• 16:36Rachel Cruze?

  Different types of real estate.

• 16:37George Kamel?

  I get four options.

• 16:38Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I have nine. I'm gonna do different accounts.

• 16:40George Kamel?

  I think we should make it 10 now.

• 16:42Rachel Cruze?

  Here we go. We'll see what happens.

• 16:44George Kamel?

  All right.

• 16:44Rachel Cruze?

  We'll see what happens.

• 16:45George Kamel?

  You have to name 10 because you're cheating and I wanna make sure that you're above reproach.

• 16:50Rachel Cruze?

  Ah.

• 16:51George Kamel?

  All right.

• 16:51Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I'm going like specific accounts, like.

• 16:54George Kamel?

  It's up to you. We'll let the ref decide what's appropriate. Three, two, one, go.

• 17:00Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, we're gonna go index fund. Um, we're going aggressive growth mutual funds. We're going international mutual funds. We're going, what?

• 17:13George Kamel?

  Okay, keep going.

• 17:14Rachel Cruze?

  Just growth stock. We're gonna go, um, uh, wait, aggressive, aggressive, aggressive. Oh no, what's the fourth one that we always recommend? International?

• 17:24George Kamel?

  Did you already say that?

• 17:26Rachel Cruze?

  Nope, I'm at five. I'm at five. We got commercial real estate, we got residential real estate, we got land real estate, we got high yield savings account. It's kind of an investment. I got nine.

• 17:41George Kamel?

  I think you said international twice.

• 17:42Rachel Cruze?

  I think you did too. Did I? Okay.

• 17:45George Kamel?

  Oh, you got two more.

• 17:45Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, growth and income. There we go, thank you, thank you, thank you. Does like large cap, small cap include in all that? Does.

• 17:55George Kamel?

  I'm not gonna count that.

• 17:57Rachel Cruze?

  Why? It should.

• 17:58George Kamel?

  All right, fine, you did it.

• 17:59Rachel Cruze?

  Thank you.

• 18:00George Kamel?

  That was such a cheat. You didn't mention Roth IRA, 401K.

• 18:05Rachel Cruze?

  Well, that's what you invent, but these are specific funds you invest within those.

• 18:08George Kamel?

  But we said accounts.

• 18:09Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so, okay, I'm sorry, I was going even more specific. I get extra points for my specific.

• 18:14George Kamel?

  Oh, now you get bonus points?

• 18:16Rachel Cruze?

  My, uh, specificity, yes.

• 18:22George Kamel?

  The specific.

• 18:23Rachel Cruze?

  I get extra points for that. That's right.

• 18:27George Kamel?

  TSP, 403B.

• 18:29Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, 403B is a good one. That's a good one. You do a, yeah.

• 18:34George Kamel?

  Simple IRA, SEP IRA, solo 401K.

• 18:37Rachel Cruze?

  All right.

• 18:38George Kamel?

  Backdoor Roth IRA, mega backdoor 401K.

• 18:41Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, George, you know, fair.

• 18:43George Kamel?

  Brokerage account.

• 18:44Rachel Cruze?

  Fair. Well, but you use the brokerage account.

• 18:47George Kamel?

  MITC, Trump account.

• 18:48Rachel Cruze?

  So you do the brokerage account. Oh, my gosh. You do the brokerage account, though, to do your index fund. That's why I'm just like, I, do you know what I'm saying?

• 18:54George Kamel?

  Well, it didn't say types of investments.

• 18:56Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know how specific. We went off the range. We went off.

• 18:59George Kamel?

  It's fine.

• 18:59Rachel Cruze?

  Off the range, but we.

• 19:00George Kamel?

  A win is a win. I'm not going to be a sore loser about it.

• 19:02Rachel Cruze?

  Just give it to me. Small cap, large cap. Cheers.

• 19:07Rachel Cruze?

  Hey, listen, different funds.

• 19:08George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 19:09Rachel Cruze?

  What? Listen, my stuff is so boring. We really don't have, like, very complicated stuff.

• 19:14George Kamel?

  Oh, your own personal life?

• 19:16Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 19:16George Kamel?

  Well, tell us more. The people want to know.

• 19:18Rachel Cruze?

  Well, no, well, we do the backdoor Roth.

• 19:20George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 19:21Rachel Cruze?

  And then.

• 19:22George Kamel?

  You have a work 401K.

• 19:23Rachel Cruze?

  And then the 401K, um, we have like an index fund.

• 19:28George Kamel?

  Like a brokerage account. It's invested in index funds for outside of retirement.

• 19:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. Uh, we have our high yield. Um, we have like a Canvas account that.

• 19:38George Kamel?

  What is that?

• 19:38Rachel Cruze?

  I know. Well, it's a type of account because I think it does like tax loss harvesting and stuff.

• 19:43George Kamel?

  Oh, yeah, yeah.

• 19:44Rachel Cruze?

  So that's our, that's our new goal, Winston and I.

• 19:46George Kamel?

  That's an interesting.

• 19:47Rachel Cruze?

  We have a number we're going to try to hit in that. That's our new financial goal. And we're calling it the, uh, if crap hits the fan.

• 19:55George Kamel?

  Oh, that's good. Apocalypse hits.

• 19:57Rachel Cruze?

  Everything hits and we have, and we're like, oh my gosh, how do we still live life? Right? Like if, if we have no jobs and we're done. Ramsey just shuts down, gets canceled.

• 20:09George Kamel?

  Or we fire you.

• 20:10Rachel Cruze?

  Or I get fired.

• 20:12George Kamel?

  Like I'm a collective part of the process.

• 20:14Rachel Cruze?

  Or I get fired. Yeah, but it's a, but it's a good, it's like an extra autonomy.

• 20:17George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 20:18Rachel Cruze?

  Do you know what I'm saying?

• 20:19George Kamel?

  Yeah, I call it kind of like a freedom fund. It's just like.

• 20:21Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, freedom. But is a crap hit the fan much more fun than a, than a freedom fund? Yeah.

• 20:25George Kamel?

  Are you talking about direct indexing? Is that what it's called for your tax loss harvesting?

• 20:30Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, I think they do. Yeah, do that within the Canvas account.

• 20:33George Kamel?

  Instead of investing in an S and P 500 fund, which is just one fund you're investing in, they're investing in all 500 companies separately in the same weighted amounts.

• 20:42Rachel Cruze?

  And then if like a Home Depot goes down, but Lowe's doesn't, they can buy within and then write off the, yeah.

• 20:47George Kamel?

  So they sell Home Depot, buy Lowe's.

• 20:49Rachel Cruze?

  That's why you need a SmartVestor Pro. I'm not kidding you.

• 20:51George Kamel?

  It's very complex.

• 20:52Rachel Cruze?

  Genuinely, like, it's that stuff that I'm like, they're pressing buttons and doing stuff that I trust fully and I understand, right?

• 20:59George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 20:59Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, so I'm not like blindly walking into this stuff, but I'm like, that's the stuff I would have never, ever done on. Like Winston and I would never have done that on our own.

• 21:07George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 21:07Rachel Cruze?

  So it is, it's.

• 21:08George Kamel?

  There's complexities and it's why I still use a pro.

• 21:10Rachel Cruze?

  Have a financial advisor in your corner. You can go to RamseySolutions.com, check out a SmartVestor Pro because they really will. From the basic level, which was what we did for years, was like our Roth and 401K, like, pretty simple. And then as you get into baby step seven and you start, you know, actually building some wealth and it's like, okay, what else is out there? And it's not like secrets of the rich. It's not, it's not something that on the dime is going to just like make you millions by any means, but it's a smart way and strategies to do this stuff. And I think it's important to know. Once you're on baby step seven and beyond.

• 21:42George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 21:42Rachel Cruze?

  That's where you can really start to dial in some of this stuff and it's great.

• 21:46George Kamel?

  We'll drop a link in the description if you're interested in connecting with one of those pros.

• 21:50Rachel Cruze?

  For sure. Well, as we were naming off subscriptions earlier, there is one subscription that you forgot.

• 21:57George Kamel?

  Hmm.

• 21:58Rachel Cruze?

  Do you know what it is?

• 21:59George Kamel?

  Delete Me.

• 21:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. Oh, my gosh. How did you forget it, George?

• 22:02George Kamel?

  Again, I don't put it in, when in my head, subscriptions are like annoying things I pay for. Delete Me is a pleasure. Because it takes so much time off my hands and gives me so much peace of mind.

• 22:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 22:12George Kamel?

  Because they scour hundreds of these data broker sites that are selling and packaging our information they find online. And that's how you end up with all this spam in your life and scams and phishing and fraud and emails and texts. And if you want to help reduce that, Delete Me is the people that we trust.

• 22:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. And it's all these like random sites, right? Like if you plug into some, which I've done before, it's like some political thing. And then they're going to blow you up during election time, right? But it's the sneaky things that Delete Me gets that you would never even see or think about.

• 22:42George Kamel?

  How do they get this information?

• 22:44Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, these data broker sites, man, it is wild in 2026. So to have your information removed today is so, so important. So Delete Me, gosh, is our friend and let me tell you, a subscription worth it.

• 22:57George Kamel?

  And they keep it gone all year long, which is the best part.

• 22:59Rachel Cruze?

  That's exactly right. So you get 20% off your annual plan at joindelete.me.com/smartmoney. We will leave a link down below, so make sure to sign up ASAP. All right, our next game, George. Flirt, marry or ghost. So we're going to do the family friendly version of that.

• 23:15George Kamel?

  I like that. Much more appropriate.

• 23:16Rachel Cruze?

  My mother, Sharon Ramsey, listens to the show. So does your mother.

• 23:19George Kamel?

  Appreciate you, Sharon. My mom, they don't miss an episode.

• 23:21Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. So we are gonna, yeah, keep it PG. So we modified it and we're going to talk money. So again, flirt, marry, ghost. And these are hard, these are, these are terrible options that we're going to have to decide, George. Okay, you ready? Bad investing strategies. So we talked about the good ones. Here's the bad ones. So you got to pick one that you'd flirt with, one that you would marry and one that you would completely ghost. You ready? Sports betting, day trading or Bitcoin?

• 23:48George Kamel?

  Oh, gosh.

• 23:49Rachel Cruze?

  Hmm.

• 23:51George Kamel?

  I'm going to let you go first. Ladies first.

• 23:53Rachel Cruze?

  Okay. I would flirt. Man, I even hate this because I wouldn't do it, but I would. Um, oh wait, I gotta do marry. Okay, okay, okay, okay. I'd flirt, day trading. I would throw like five bucks in Apple and be like, what is it going to do today? Take it up, right? Like, I think I'd marry Bitcoin. Um, I know we, we like rag on Bitcoin a ton. Because it's, I don't, and I don't have any Bitcoin, so I'll be honest with that. But I do want, I do think at some point in the future, there will be digital currency that we could possibly, and we do tell people, if you're on baby step seven and you have like a small amount and you kind of are like, hey, I want to buy a little Bitcoin. It's the one that I'm like, it's so volatile. I don't like it. I don't do it.

• 24:35Rachel Cruze?

  But in the future, looking out 20 years, it's the one that I'm like, okay, I could marry that one.

• 24:40George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 24:41Rachel Cruze?

  And then I would ghost sports betting. I just hate sports betting with everything in me. That's mine.

• 24:49George Kamel?

  I hate to admit it, but I think you're right.

• 24:52Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, would you do my order?

• 24:53George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 24:54Rachel Cruze?

  Did you like all my reasoning?

• 24:55George Kamel?

  Here's the problem with sports betting. You have to then keep up with the sports, like all of them. All the things you bet on, now you have to like tune into, keep up with the scores.

• 25:04Rachel Cruze?

  Well, that's like fantasy football.

• 25:06George Kamel?

  It's, day trading happens within minutes.

• 25:08Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 25:08George Kamel?

  So I can move about my day and, you know, 9:00 AM, the market opens, I go bloop, bloop, bloop, lost some money. Great. Move on with my day.

• 25:14Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 25:15George Kamel?

  Sports betting, you got to think about it of like, oh, the game's coming up. Who do I want to bet on?

• 25:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 25:19George Kamel?

  Right now I gotta, I lost money there, but then what about this game happening at 2:00 AM in China? And it's like, I don't want to keep up with it.

• 25:25Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 25:26George Kamel?

  And Bitcoin would be the marry if I had to.

• 25:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 25:29George Kamel?

  To just go, I'm going to just kind of like dollar cost average, just put a certain amount of money every month and just sort of leave it there.

• 25:34Rachel Cruze?

  Yep, yep. Okay, George.

• 25:36George Kamel?

  That's good.

• 25:37Rachel Cruze?

  Look how similar we are.

• 25:37George Kamel?

  But if I love sports, I'd probably put sports in the flirt and ghost and day trading.

• 25:42Rachel Cruze?

  Fair.

• 25:42George Kamel?

  That's a hard one.

• 25:43Rachel Cruze?

  Yep, that's a hard one. But all of those, bad.

• 25:47George Kamel?

  Bad. To be clear, we don't do either of those.

• 25:51Rachel Cruze?

  And I really don't recommend it.

• 25:52George Kamel?

  No thank yous.

• 25:53Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, honestly, man.

• 25:54George Kamel?

  Too much stress.

• 25:55Rachel Cruze?

  I will say the day trading sports, but that gambling like sector of life, it's just horrible. And I know I joke about playing craps when I go to Vegas once every three years.

• 26:03George Kamel?

  Yeah, people think that she's like a gambling addict.

• 26:05Rachel Cruze?

  Everyone's like, oh my, I'm like, no, I play craps like literally once every three years. So.

• 26:10George Kamel?

  Relax.

• 26:11Rachel Cruze?

  Simmer down. Um, but for real, the gambling addiction, it is like 100X now, the number one addiction right now in America.

• 26:18George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 26:18Rachel Cruze?

  It's, it is, it is.

• 26:19George Kamel?

  We just got a call on the Ramsey show of a guy who went 87 grand into debt behind his wife's back, day trading.

• 26:26Rachel Cruze?

  Cash out his 401K, all like everything.

• 26:29George Kamel?

  Bad, bad, bad.

• 26:30Rachel Cruze?

  It's just, there is something about that hit and the belief that it's come, that, that, that you can get more and I don't know, it's so.

• 26:37George Kamel?

  Or you can climb out of it.

• 26:38Rachel Cruze?

  It can, it can be so addicting. So I, yeah, not, not a great thing.

• 26:42George Kamel?

  For a world that's has so much anxiety, you would think we'd go, maybe we don't need any more. But instead we're flocking to these things that just produce more anxiety.

• 26:50Rachel Cruze?

  I know. Yeah, it's tough. Tough, tough. But it's a medicator like anything else, right? That people can use, so.

• 26:57George Kamel?

  I'd rather have no hobbies than those hobbies.

• 26:59Rachel Cruze?

  There you go, George.

• 27:00George Kamel?

  Proud of that. All right. Next up on Flirt, Marry, Ghost, family money situations.

• 27:06Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, no. Okay.

• 27:07George Kamel?

  Number one, borrowing money from siblings.

• 27:10Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 27:12George Kamel?

  Number two, co-signing a loan for your boyfriend or girlfriend. Number three, lending money to your parents. Oof.

• 27:18Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, gosh. Okay. Flirt, marry, ghost. Okay, you go first on this one.

• 27:25George Kamel?

  Okay, I'm going to go, oh, this is so hard. I'd probably flirt with borrowing money from siblings.

• 27:32Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 27:33George Kamel?

  I would marry lending money to your parents as much as I hate that one. And I would ghost co-signing a loan for boyfriend.

• 27:40Rachel Cruze?

  George, that's my exact order too? That's so weird.

• 27:43George Kamel?

  Twinning.

• 27:44Rachel Cruze?

  Twinning. That was it too.

• 27:46George Kamel?

  Okay, what's your logic?

• 27:47Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, co-signing a loan for boyfriend or girlfriend, that's an easy ghost for me. No, thank you. You, no.

• 27:54George Kamel?

  That's a legitimate, like, you signed a contract saying you're on the hook.

• 27:57Rachel Cruze?

  So at any moment you can get a text and be like, sorry, I think I'm out of the relationship. And then they're off with someone else and you're, and they stop paying and you have to continue to pay for someone that you have zero connection to at that point. They're living another life. No, thank you. I would flirt with, yes, borrowing money from siblings.

• 28:16Rachel Cruze?

  I don't love it, but knowing my siblings, it's like, okay. I think I would be the one probably not to pay it back out of all three of us.

• 28:24George Kamel?

  Okay, out of the three of you, you're the least.

• 28:26Rachel Cruze?

  I would be the one they probably would not lend money to.

• 28:30George Kamel?

  Well, Denise is so sweet that she would not stop thinking about it. And Daniel is so like methodical.

• 28:35Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 28:35George Kamel?

  That he would just be like, all right, I'm gonna make a plan to pay this back immediately.

• 28:38Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 28:39George Kamel?

  Whereas you'd be like, oh.

• 28:39Rachel Cruze?

  No, no, no, I'm borrowing money from them, though.

• 28:42George Kamel?

  Yeah, that's scary.

• 28:43Rachel Cruze?

  So they, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 28:46George Kamel?

  Well, you said you're the most likely to forget to pay them back.

• 28:48Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I would marry, yeah, lending money, because I feel like Dave and Sharon would.

• 28:55George Kamel?

  That would be, what a bizarre world where you're lending money to Dave Ramsey because he's like, hey, can you spot me, can you spot me a couple grand?

• 29:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, but if they weren't my parents, if you're an adult and you have the money, I guess lending, you're expecting them to pay it back. But I think you would eventually just be like, mom and dad just need it.

• 29:13George Kamel?

  That's why I said marry. I was like, even if they never paid me back.

• 29:15Rachel Cruze?

  It's like the up punch.

• 29:16George Kamel?

  I wouldn't care. I would, if I was going to lend money, first of all, I would just gift it. If they really needed the money, I'm just gonna gift it.

• 29:22Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 29:22George Kamel?

  That's how we always say, don't ever lend money to anyone, let alone family.

• 29:26Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 29:26George Kamel?

  Make it a gift so that way you're not expecting it and it's not causing resentment.

• 29:30Rachel Cruze?

  Always.

• 29:30George Kamel?

  But then at the end of the day, even if they never paid me back, it's my parents. They've done so much for me.

• 29:34Rachel Cruze?

  You might be a little bitter, like the in-law, if it was like your in-laws, I could see you being even more like.

• 29:39George Kamel?

  Well, the problem is it rarely is like just a one-time lending. Usually it's like, hey, so we need more.

• 29:44Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, that's right.

• 29:45George Kamel?

  Can you cover our life? Okay, we didn't save for retirement, can you also pay all of our bills?

• 29:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 29:50George Kamel?

  Can we live with you?

• 29:51Rachel Cruze?

  It can snowball quick.

• 29:52George Kamel?

  Exactly.

• 29:52Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I know. So yeah, never, ever borrow or lend family money. You give it as a gift, no strings attached. It just makes life way more peaceful. And then don't ever cosign, because remember, if someone needs a cosigner, it means the bank, whose job is to lend money, doesn't trust them, not a good idea.

• 30:12George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 30:13Rachel Cruze?

  All right, George, last game, and we're on the same team.

• 30:16George Kamel?

  That's rare.

• 30:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, so we are, we are winners or losers together on this one. Don't say the same word, four rounds.

• 30:24George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 30:24Rachel Cruze?

  Are you ready?

• 30:25George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 30:26Rachel Cruze?

  All right, Ramsey podcasts and shows.

• 30:31George Kamel?

  This is tough.

• 30:32Rachel Cruze?

  Don't say the same word as me, ready? Three, two, one.

• 30:37George Kamel?

  Smart Money Happy Hour.

• 30:38Rachel Cruze?

  Entree Leadership.

• 30:40George Kamel?

  Good, very good, very good.

• 30:42Rachel Cruze?

  I win, I win, yeah.

• 30:43George Kamel?

  Deep cut.

• 30:45Rachel Cruze?

  All right.

• 30:45George Kamel?

  Went small business.

• 30:46Rachel Cruze?

  Ramsey personalities, three, two, one.

• 30:51George Kamel?

  Rachel Cruz.

• 30:52Rachel Cruze?

  Warshaw.

• 30:54George Kamel?

  Warshaw?

• 30:55Rachel Cruze?

  Jade Warshaw.

• 30:56George Kamel?

  We know she said Jade Warshaw, we know it.

• 30:59Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, we're doing good.

• 31:00George Kamel?

  I knew you wouldn't name yourself, because you're not an egomaniac.

• 31:03Rachel Cruze?

  That's fair, thank you.

• 31:04George Kamel?

  That's why I went, she's not gonna say Rachel.

• 31:05Rachel Cruze?

  I know, okay. US coins, three, two, one.

• 31:12George Kamel?

  Sacagawea. That counts.

• 31:16Rachel Cruze?

  Stop it.

• 31:17George Kamel?

  Is that not a coin? Is that not 50 cents?

• 31:21Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh, I don't know.

• 31:23George Kamel?

  I was so scared.

• 31:24Rachel Cruze?

  Would a store take it?

• 31:27George Kamel?

  I think, it's legal tender, I think. Isn't that what it's called? It's that gold one? Do you ever have those as a kid growing up and you're like, I don't wanna spend it?

• 31:36Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, we had the, the massive silver, what is that, the doll, maybe the silver dollar? But it's like the mass, it's like really big.

• 31:42George Kamel?

  Oh, it's a $1 coin, not 50.

• 31:45Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 31:46George Kamel?

  Wasn't there a 50 cent coin too? I thought that was Sacagawea. Sacagawea is a dollar.

• 31:51Rachel Cruze?

  Go, girl, go.

• 31:53George Kamel?

  She knows her worth.

• 31:54Rachel Cruze?

  She knows her value.

• 31:56George Kamel?

  Okay, that counts, though. The US, it's a half dollar, it's 50 cents, obviously.

• 32:00Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, okay.

• 32:01George Kamel?

  Duh.

• 32:02Rachel Cruze?

  Well done.

• 32:03George Kamel?

  But do Sacagawea still exist? That's the question. Minted only for an, okay, it still counts. I'm gonna count it.

• 32:09Rachel Cruze?

  We got it. All right, uh, last one. This is a good one. Name your favorite bank.

• 32:15George Kamel?

  But we can't say the same word? All right.

• 32:21Rachel Cruze?

  Three, two, one.

• 32:23George Kamel?

  Fairwinds.

• 32:24Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. Okay, you guys, so if you're trying to get out of any kind of debt, honestly, the best banking institution to be behind you on the Ramsey plan is Fairwinds Credit Union, because they are such fans of Ramsey, we are fans of them. And they are a financial institution that, man, you guys, their whole banking system, not only is easy and so user-friendly, but the people behind the curtain, if you will, are wonderful people. Like Fairwinds, we have loved working with them.

• 32:55George Kamel?

  And they are so aligned with the Ramsey principles. They encourage their own team members to get out of debt, and they celebrate when that happens, which is crazy rare for a bank. So there are two exciting offerings from Fairwinds right now. The Ramsey Live Like No One Else debit card, we got a new design there, which I know is a small win in the debit card world, but it just feels nice having a good-looking debit card.

• 33:14Rachel Cruze?

  We love it.

• 33:15George Kamel?

  It's Ramsey branded, there's another one that says, debt is normal, be weird. And they also have a smart bundle, which includes a no monthly fee checking account, high-yield savings account with up to 10 of those, and of course, those debit cards. So check it out for yourself, it's federally insured by the NCUA. You can learn more at fairwins.org/Ramsey. Add it to your banking mix, we'll also drop a link in the description below.

• 33:35Rachel Cruze?

  Well, George, we did it.

• 33:37George Kamel?

  That's right. There's no winners or losers here, who's keeping score at home?

• 33:40Rachel Cruze?

  I, yeah, I don't even, I didn't keep score.

• 33:41George Kamel?

  I feel like we all won today.

• 33:43Rachel Cruze?

  I feel like you did win, George. I feel like you won more rounds.

• 33:46George Kamel?

  I didn't wanna say it, but you did.

• 33:48Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I know, well done.

• 33:49George Kamel?

  Felt good.

• 33:50Rachel Cruze?

  Did you know we covered bad investment strategies all the way to don't loan your family money?

• 33:56George Kamel?

  I think there was some.

• 33:57Rachel Cruze?

  I think we covered a lot today.

• 33:57George Kamel?

  We snuck in the medicine today, with the good financial wisdom. You didn't even know it. You were like, wow, I didn't even, I didn't realize that, but I'm never gonna cosign for anyone.

• 34:06Rachel Cruze?

  What is it, the medicine go down, Mary Poppins?

• 34:08George Kamel?

  A spoonful of sugar.

• 34:09Rachel Cruze?

  Little sugar helps the medicine go down, that's what we gave you today, ladies and gentlemen, a little Mary Poppins episode.

• 34:14George Kamel?

  Wow, do the kids even know Mary Poppins?

• 34:16Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, my kids watch Mary Poppins.

• 34:18George Kamel?

  Wow, you watch like 90's movies with your kids.

• 34:20Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 34:21George Kamel?

  Which makes you an awesome mom.

• 34:23Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, there was like a list the other day about 90's movies, like Rookie of the Year, Mighty Ducks, Beethoven, I mean, you go through them all, and my kids have seen every single one of them. I thought I'm such a great kid.

• 34:35George Kamel?

  Raising them right. Can I tell you, my three-year-old daughter.

• 34:38Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 34:39George Kamel?

  Only wants to listen to Spice Girls. And Turn Down For What. And I'm like, guys, I literally looked at Whitney, I was like, can you believe we made this, child?

• 34:50Rachel Cruze?

  This is so funny.

• 34:50George Kamel?

  She's gonna be okay.

• 34:52Rachel Cruze?

  Mia is the best.

• 34:53George Kamel?

  She even likes the deep cuts from Spice Girls, like songs I didn't know existed, like Mama, I Love You. You know the song? Mama, I love you.

• 35:02Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 35:03George Kamel?

  I can't. It's so good. It makes me wanna cry, too, but anyways.

• 35:08Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 35:10George Kamel?

  Who knew?

• 35:10Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, I love it, I love it, so good. Well, before we spill the tea on our Guilty as Charged segments, let's rate the drink, George.

• 35:18George Kamel?

  All right, we've got a maple walnut Manhattan.

• 35:21Rachel Cruze?

  I will say, this one.

• 35:22George Kamel?

  You love a Manhattan.

• 35:23Rachel Cruze?

  I love a Manhattan. This was a, and this was like a sweeter, in a good way.

• 35:28George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 35:28Rachel Cruze?

  In a good way.

• 35:29George Kamel?

  Well, it's gotta cut through the, you know, the Vermouth Rye whiskey, so the.

• 35:32Rachel Cruze?

  It was so good.

• 35:33George Kamel?

  Little maple cinnamon hints in there really sent it over the edge for me. I'm gonna go 10 out of 10.

• 35:38Rachel Cruze?

  I know, 10 out of 10, I hate to be so extreme on the rating, but honestly, I'd make it at home, Thanksgiving.

• 35:44George Kamel?

  Oh, that's a great one for Thanksgiving. I would make this at home, too. And if you guys wanna make this at home, get the recipe in the show notes of this episode, let us know what you think.

• 35:55Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, so fun, all right, now it's time for.

• 35:57George Kamel?

  Guilty as charged.

• 35:59Rachel Cruze?

  And this is where we ask each other a guilty as charged question every week, and if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, have you ever bought something you judged others for owning?

• 36:08George Kamel?

  Oh, this is a very like foot and mouth, egg on face type question.

• 36:12Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I did. Did you? Have you?

• 36:15George Kamel?

  The one that comes to mind is my Crocs, because I very publicly have dogged on Crocs.

• 36:21Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 36:22George Kamel?

  And I finally, here's the thing, like, I've bought the Amazon versions.

• 36:26Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 36:27George Kamel?

  And then I was like, you know, let me see what all the fuss is about. So I got the slide Crocs, they're not as lame-looking as one with the holes in it.

• 36:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 36:33George Kamel?

  But I got the slides, and I use those to let the dogs out, and if I step in something, I can just rinse them off and we're done.

• 36:39Rachel Cruze?

  It's rubber, yeah, yeah.

• 36:40George Kamel?

  That's why I got them, and I gotta say, they are very comfortable.

• 36:43Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 36:44George Kamel?

  But they're technically Crocs brand, and that part I regret.

• 36:47Rachel Cruze?

  Does Mia have a pair of Crocs?

• 36:48George Kamel?

  She does.

• 36:49Rachel Cruze?

  Good, okay, I was gonna say, my kids, cute.

• 36:53George Kamel?

  It is cute on kids.

• 36:54Rachel Cruze?

  Kids' Crocs, it's the best summer shoe, honestly, so that is, I think that's a good move.

• 36:59George Kamel?

  If you're like under 13, go for it, wonderful. But if you're a grown adult in public, that's my concern, grown adults in public, not in the privacy of your own home. I abhor it, if you're wearing them in an airport, it tells me everything I need to know.

• 37:14Rachel Cruze?

  You're so judgmental.

• 37:15George Kamel?

  Be honest, do you wanna sit next to a guy in Crocs?

• 37:18Rachel Cruze?

  I mean.

• 37:19George Kamel?

  On a flight?

• 37:19Rachel Cruze?

  No, no.

• 37:21George Kamel?

  Thank you.

• 37:21Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, I shouldn't say no, he could be the one saving the plane. If something happens? I think he's utility, that's who he is.

• 37:31George Kamel?

  That's right. He's a man who has no shame.

• 37:34Rachel Cruze?

  I think so.

• 37:35George Kamel?

  He'll save that plane.

• 37:36Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 37:36George Kamel?

  All right, how about you? Have you ever bought something you judge others for owning?

• 37:39Rachel Cruze?

  Um, I did. Okay, so there's, you may, ALO, the brand.

• 37:47George Kamel?

  ALO, oh, I know it well.

• 37:48Rachel Cruze?

  Listen, workout, I'm usually like Old Navy, Amazon, and then I did some investment pieces, where I was like, you know, I'm gonna get some nice X, Y, and Z, tank top, whatever. I went Viori.

• 38:00George Kamel?

  Yeah, that's a great brand.

• 38:01Rachel Cruze?

  Because it's a great brand, very nice.

• 38:02George Kamel?

  High quality.

• 38:03Rachel Cruze?

  Love it. But everyone's wearing, all these moms are wearing the ALO shorts.

• 38:08George Kamel?

  They want you to see the logo.

• 38:09Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 38:10George Kamel?

  It feels like the Calvin Klein underwear days, where you wanna see the logo.

• 38:13Rachel Cruze?

  It's like the band.

• 38:13George Kamel?

  Sticking out of the pants.

• 38:14Rachel Cruze?

  So I was having to take back, um, something at the mall, and the ALO store was right there. And George, I went in and bought a pair of shorts. And it said ALO, and you know.

• 38:27George Kamel?

  Are they that good?

• 38:28Rachel Cruze?

  And I, no, and I still feel a little like, bleh, wearing, I don't like to wear them. I wear them working out, and that's about it. I go back to my Vioris in public.

• 38:38George Kamel?

  Oh, Vioris in public, ALO in private, that's a change up.

• 38:40Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, I know, because I feel, I don't know why, it just feels so.

• 38:45George Kamel?

  I thought it was like a neighborhood run, you're rocking the ALO, so the other mom's like, oh, she's good.

• 38:49Rachel Cruze?

  That's, you would think, but I think I just feel so like, oh, Rachel.

• 38:53George Kamel?

  Who are you trying to be?

• 38:54Rachel Cruze?

  Rachel, why did you buy that? I did, I know. No, I did buy a tank or two from them, and I did like those. But it's, but it's those specific shorts, and they're not bad, like, it's fine if you have them. Yes. I just always kinda judged them, and then I bought a pair, and now I feel like I can't find myself wearing them fully in public.

• 39:13George Kamel?

  I respect that.

• 39:14Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 39:14George Kamel?

  You know what I do like, though? I hope it took some market share from Lulu, I'm just done with Lulu.

• 39:18Rachel Cruze?

  It did, no, I.

• 39:19George Kamel?

  I'm emotionally done with them.

• 39:20Rachel Cruze?

  I'm gonna say, Lulu, in my world, which is small, uh, it's going high school, middle school. I feel like all the moms now are going ALO, Viori, like, it's separating the youth, if you will. You know? Lulu's going, going youth, that's what I find.

• 39:40George Kamel?

  Wow, like hand-me-downs from mom are now going to the teenage girls.

• 39:43Rachel Cruze?

  Maybe, yeah.

• 39:44George Kamel?

  Maybe that's it, I don't know. It just feels like, who are you trying, who are you trying to impress? I'm impressed, all right, we happy now?

• 39:50Rachel Cruze?

  And it's like, it's what we talk about, the quiet luxury.

• 39:53George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 39:53Rachel Cruze?

  No brands, that's why I like Viori, like, they do have a little like thing on the side, but.

• 39:58George Kamel?

  It's pretty minimal, it's just like a little V.

• 40:00Rachel Cruze?

  But I'm like, I got a great black tank that's nice, and I like it. Uh, I don't need like my brand on it, but I bought, I bought it, I did, so sorry.

• 40:11George Kamel?

  I'll give you a bonus.

• 40:12Rachel Cruze?

  Why do I feel so convicted?

• 40:13George Kamel?

  I'll give you a bonus, it makes you feel better.

• 40:14Rachel Cruze?

  Why do I feel convicted?

• 40:15George Kamel?

  What did I buy I judge others for owning? A minivan.

• 40:18Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that's a good one.

• 40:19George Kamel?

  I came around.

• 40:21Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 40:21George Kamel?

  We were like teen, like, we'll never own a minivan, and now we're like, how did anyone live without a minivan with little kids?

• 40:26Rachel Cruze?

  You know, we're about to sell ours, though. I keep, I keep saying this, it's been six months.

• 40:30George Kamel?

  I wanna know.

• 40:31Rachel Cruze?

  We keep saying we're gonna sell it. But yeah, it was my five-year car, we've talked about this, right?

• 40:36George Kamel?

  Yeah, and you held it for longer than five. Because in your mind, it's five years.

• 40:40Rachel Cruze?

  We're going on seven.

• 40:41George Kamel?

  It's seen some things.

• 40:43Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, if you have a great guilty as charged question, make sure to DM us, at Rachel Cruz and at George Kamel, because we see it, we screenshot it and send it to our producer, Jenna.

• 40:50George Kamel?

  You are seen, you are loved.

• 40:52Rachel Cruze?

  We love it. If you enjoyed this episode, you're going to love our next episode. Luxury versus dupe, can you spot the difference? We will link it for you, and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all-new episode of.

• 41:04George Kamel?

  Smart Money Happy Hour.