Bougie Expenses That Are Worth Every Penny

💻 Need a financial pro? Check out RamseyTrusted®! From first-class flights to in-home saunas, today we’re confessing whether we’d “bouge it or lose it” with the internet’s best list of bougie splurges. Join the fun and drop your honest thoughts in the comments! Next Steps: · 🎙️ Catch our episode Waste or Worth It: Rating “Life-Changing” Products! · 🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour · 🎥 Watch George’s video Don’t Buy Another Roll of Toilet Paper Until You Watch This! · 💵 Create a free budget and find more margin with EveryDollar. · 📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram! Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it. Connect With Our Sponsors: · Check out the FAIRWINDS Credit Union exclusive account bundle. · Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. · Get 20% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍹 Dirt Road Martini Recipe by: Allrecipes · Ice as needed · 2 ounces vodka · 2 ounces unsweetened tea · 1/4 ounce brine from Mezzetta Italian Mix Giardiniera · Spanish Queen martini olives (pitted or stuffed), for garnish · Vegetable pieces from Mezzetta Italian Mix Giardiniera, for garnish Instructions: Combine vodka, tea and brine in an ice-filled mixing glass. Stir well to chill. Fill a lowball or rocks glass with ice. Strain martini over ice. Garnish with olives and vegetable pieces. 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?

  From first-class flights to in-home saunas. Today, we're playing would we or wouldn't we with the internet's idea of bougie living. Hey, hey, get off my case. You're not my personal trainer.

• 0:15Rachel Cruze?

  The next thing I wake up to is I am on a tour bus in Finland.

• 0:19George Kamel?

  But maybe if Winston's listening, maybe he gets the idea.

• 0:27Rachel Cruze?

  Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

• 0:29George Kamel?

  I'm George Kamel.

• 0:30Rachel Cruze?

  And this is

• 0:31George Kamel?

  Smart Money Happy Hour.

• 0:35George Kamel?

  Get our veggies in today.

• 0:39Rachel Cruze?

  Huh, that's different. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about, everything from pop culture, current events, and money.

• 0:47George Kamel?

  Let's talk about what we're sipping on today. It is a dirt road martini.

• 0:51Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 0:52George Kamel?

  A little low-class meets high-class for you. We're going to give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode, so stick around for that.

• 1:00Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, man.

• 1:00George Kamel?

  Now, this episode requires a little bit of a trigger warning, Rachel.

• 1:04Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, because we'll say this, not to brag. George and I are baby step seveners, okay? But we got some Jonathan's in the world that don't like us spending money on bougie things. They, they, they do not like it, George. And guess what? That's what this whole episode's about.

• 1:21George Kamel?

  So, sorry, not sorry. But we're going to talk about what we think is worth it and not worth it when it comes to high-quality or luxury purchases. So, yes, Rachel is Dave Ramsey's daughter, but there was a time when she and Winston lived in an unfurnished home for a year until they saved up cash. And there was a time when I was in a bunch of consumer debt.

• 1:40Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 1:41George Kamel?

  You know, a broke loser, and now I'm just a loser.

• 1:43Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, just hop.

• 1:45George Kamel?

  I kid.

• 1:45Rachel Cruze?

  Not living that high life all the time. We've worked our way up, George.

• 1:48George Kamel?

  And I'm weirdly frugal in some ways, and then weirdly not in other ways.

• 1:53Rachel Cruze?

  Same.

• 1:53George Kamel?

  You'll never figure me, I'm an enigma, is what they say.

• 1:56Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 1:57George Kamel?

  That's the word for that.

• 1:57Rachel Cruze?

  You know what? Give me some Amazon jewelry. I'm not mad about it.

• 2:00George Kamel?

  Exactly, but also

• 2:01Rachel Cruze?

  Target wardrobe.

• 2:02George Kamel?

  Give her valet at the airport. Get you a woman who can do both.

• 2:05Rachel Cruze?

  You pick and choose, people. You pick and choose. But today, that's, yeah, that's what it's all about. And we had some fun because we texted our spouses to ask what five bougie things were worth it to them.

• 2:19George Kamel?

  That's right. And my wife did not respond via text, so I had to corner her in person.

• 2:22Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, okay. I'm going to, I gotta get mine out just to make sure I got it right.

• 2:26George Kamel?

  Yeah, I wrote them down. I was very surprised. Were you surprised by what Winston said?

• 2:31Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, surprised? Hmm, no, but I thought it was funny.

• 2:36George Kamel?

  You were disappointed.

• 2:37Rachel Cruze?

  No, I thought it was funny.

• 2:38George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 2:38Rachel Cruze?

  He said sauna slash cold plunge.

• 2:41George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 2:41Rachel Cruze?

  Even though those are two separate things, but that is worth it.

• 2:45George Kamel?

  They go hand in hand.

• 2:46Rachel Cruze?

  Yep, that is worth it. Um, a cable tower for working out. So, it's the thing that has all the gap that you can like move your weights up and pull down. You can do all these different

• 2:55George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 2:55Rachel Cruze?

  Pull-ups on. It's like this whole like workout tower. Where it could be one of those things that you buy because it's kind of expensive and you never use, but

• 3:01George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 3:02Rachel Cruze?

  He uses it. Number three, George, a coffee maker.

• 3:06George Kamel?

  Yes. And he's got a good one.

• 3:09Rachel Cruze?

  The Jura.

• 3:10George Kamel?

  And you still use the Keurig left to your own devices.

• 3:12Rachel Cruze?

  Still love the Keurig coffee. Mm-hmm.

• 3:14George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 3:15Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, he's gonna get, um, hate for this one.

• 3:20George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 3:22Rachel Cruze?

  Dogs.

• 3:24George Kamel?

  That's a good one.

• 3:25Rachel Cruze?

  He said, get a good, get a good bred dog that you have the paperwork for.

• 3:32George Kamel?

  Like a bred chicken tender. Just get you nice.

• 3:34Rachel Cruze?

  Is it bred, bred? A dog, a dog breed?

• 3:38George Kamel?

  A well-bred. I don't know that bred is a term for it, but I love that. I want to use that. Yeah, no, my dog's bred. It's not a mutt.

• 3:47Rachel Cruze?

  I was taking notes as he was talking this morning, and I wrote it down.

• 3:52George Kamel?

  Well-bred dog. Coat it in flour, dip it in the

• 3:57Rachel Cruze?

  Sorry.

• 3:58George Kamel?

  That's fun.

• 3:59Rachel Cruze?

  But anyways.

• 4:00George Kamel?

  He likes a bougie dog.

• 4:01Rachel Cruze?

  He likes a bougie dog. And then I said, well, do you think George's dogs are bougie?

• 4:04George Kamel?

  A hundred percent.

• 4:05Rachel Cruze?

  And he said, yeah. And I was like, but his dogs mess up all the time. Like, he has to pay so much for his dogs because they're always, something's always messed up.

• 4:12George Kamel?

  Purebred dog, think about it.

• 4:13Rachel Cruze?

  But he said you got a lemon and/or you didn't read the health papers.

• 4:18George Kamel?

  Don't call my dog a lemon.

• 4:20Rachel Cruze?

  So, I will say, that was our conversation this morning.

• 4:23George Kamel?

  No, my dog is a Range Rover. You know what you're getting when you buy it. You know it's going to have issues, but you love the feeling.

• 4:28Rachel Cruze?

  So funny. Okay, last but not least, he said pay always for a good utility company. So, your HVAC, your roofer, your plumber.

• 4:37George Kamel?

  Oh, okay.

• 4:38Rachel Cruze?

  Anything that has utility in your home, get a good service company. Don't cut corners on that, is what he said.

• 4:43George Kamel?

  To save a buck.

• 4:44Rachel Cruze?

  And then he threw this in, just for a little bonus. Don't cut corners on cheese or toilet paper. So, he said that, too.

• 4:50George Kamel?

  Those are very specific.

• 4:52Rachel Cruze?

  He likes really good cheeses from like

• 4:54George Kamel?

  Can you name a cheese he loves? Like, don't gatekeep.

• 4:57Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, I mean, he does brie. He loves a good parm. That's like Parmesan.

• 5:01George Kamel?

  Golden Zola, a Dubliner.

• 5:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, all of it, like a, like a good quality cheese. He doesn't like when I buy like the Costco, like the, like the Publix brands and stuff. He's always like, go to the deli and get like the real cheddar, like

• 5:10George Kamel?

  Why is he sullying the name of Publix?

• 5:12Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know. I'm just telling you what he said. And then toilet paper, get good toilet paper in life.

• 5:16George Kamel?

  Okay, do you want to share which one the Cruz family uses?

• 5:19Rachel Cruze?

  For what?

• 5:19George Kamel?

  For toilet paper.

• 5:20Rachel Cruze?

  I think we're like Charmin.

• 5:22George Kamel?

  Ultra-strong, ultra-soft?

• 5:23Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know.

• 5:24George Kamel?

  Give us something here.

• 5:24Rachel Cruze?

  Whatever Costco has.

• 5:25George Kamel?

  Is it blue or red?

• 5:26Rachel Cruze?

  Blue.

• 5:27George Kamel?

  Ultra-soft.

• 5:29Rachel Cruze?

  And it's fantastic. And one time when I did my Instacart order for Costco, because you know I don't like to go in Costco when I Instacart it, I guess they didn't have Charmin, so they bought like, like terrible toilet, like the, like the rough toilet paper. The, it's like paper machete, machete.

• 5:45George Kamel?

  Like Scott 1000?

• 5:47Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 5:47George Kamel?

  Like the industrial one?

• 5:48Rachel Cruze?

  It was a Scott. That's exactly what it was.

• 5:50George Kamel?

  Yeah, that's a single ply.

• 5:51Rachel Cruze?

  And individually wrapped, and you gotta like, y'all, terrible.

• 5:55George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 5:55Rachel Cruze?

  Terrible.

• 5:56George Kamel?

  Thousand squares per roll, but it's single ply, and it's meant for your mortal enemies.

• 6:02George Kamel?

  I did an entire episode ranking toilet paper

• 6:04Rachel Cruze?

  No, you didn't.

• 6:05George Kamel?

  On my YouTube channel.

• 6:05Rachel Cruze?

  No, you didn't.

• 6:06George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 6:07Rachel Cruze?

  No, you didn't.

• 6:08George Kamel?

  Yep, we rated it. Best bang for your butt.

• 6:10Rachel Cruze?

  It's what we love for you.

• 6:10George Kamel?

  You have to watch to find out.

• 6:12Rachel Cruze?

  Where did Scott get listed?

• 6:13George Kamel?

  Scott 1000 was not the worst, but it was closer to the bottom of the list for me.

• 6:17Rachel Cruze?

  It was not good. Like, I didn't want to put it in my guest's bath, you know?

• 6:20George Kamel?

  No, I agree. No, the guests deserve better.

• 6:23Rachel Cruze?

  It's, yeah, embarrassing.

• 6:24George Kamel?

  Hot take, I think the guest should have the nicest toilet paper.

• 6:27Rachel Cruze?

  I think that's a great idea.

• 6:28George Kamel?

  I like to treat my guests.

• 6:29Rachel Cruze?

  So, that, that was our list.

• 6:30George Kamel?

  That's good.

• 6:31Rachel Cruze?

  My, or his list. Ours, married, one.

• 6:34George Kamel?

  Yeah. Okay, here's what Whitney Camel had to say about this. First up, she said the Shark Flex Style Air Styling Drying System, the hair thing from Shark.

• 6:44Rachel Cruze?

  All right, we got a hair, a hair tool.

• 6:45George Kamel?

  It's kind of like the Dyson one.

• 6:46Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 6:46George Kamel?

  So, that's, that's a game changer for her. The Jura, the coffee maker that we got.

• 6:50Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, there you go.

• 6:51George Kamel?

  Automatic coffee machine, worth it. Then she said this one, which is interesting. She said the top trim of whatever car you're going to get, like the top trim level.

• 6:58Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, okay.

• 7:00George Kamel?

  Because that changes the car experience completely.

• 7:03Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 7:03George Kamel?

  From the standard base trim

• 7:05Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 7:05George Kamel?

  To the highest trim.

• 7:07Rachel Cruze?

  Look at that bougie wife of yours.

• 7:09George Kamel?

  What can I say?

• 7:09Rachel Cruze?

  She has a good trim, good, that's a good one.

• 7:11George Kamel?

  She likes a heated seat.

• 7:12Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, go, I like that. That's good.

• 7:14George Kamel?

  And then, uh, mom cozy bottle washer and sterilizer. She said that is a game changer for all the moms out there. And similarly, for the kids, a rotating convertible car seat. So, we got the Chico 360.

• 7:27Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 7:27George Kamel?

  Chico Fit 360, and that's a game changer to not have to like

• 7:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, because when they're rear-facing, that's tough.

• 7:33George Kamel?

  Exactly. So, now I can just

• 7:35Rachel Cruze?

  When you're getting them out. Oh, that is nice.

• 7:37George Kamel?

  So, we got two of them in the minivan. We are living our best life.

• 7:39Rachel Cruze?

  Your best life, with a high, with a high-trim package in the minivan?

• 7:42George Kamel?

  Oh, yeah. The high, it's got a fridge, it's got a vacuum. What doesn't it have?

• 7:47Rachel Cruze?

  Telling you.

• 7:47George Kamel?

  Because I had to convince her to get the minivan in the first place.

• 7:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 7:50George Kamel?

  So, I said, I'm going to at least get you all the features money can buy.

• 7:53Rachel Cruze?

  And does she like it now?

• 7:54George Kamel?

  She's obsessed.

• 7:55Rachel Cruze?

  She is, I knew it.

• 7:56George Kamel?

  She grieved the loss of the SUV.

• 7:58Rachel Cruze?

  I know, you do. You, your ego just gets smashed to the ground.

• 8:01George Kamel?

  Sliding doors.

• 8:02Rachel Cruze?

  But then you hit those doors and just

• 8:04George Kamel?

  I can close them from the driver's seat.

• 8:06Rachel Cruze?

  It is

• 8:07George Kamel?

  Game changer.

• 8:07Rachel Cruze?

  It is the best. Love it, George.

• 8:10George Kamel?

  That was fun.

• 8:10Rachel Cruze?

  That is good.

• 8:11George Kamel?

  We married well. I'm really proud of our choices there.

• 8:14Rachel Cruze?

  That's a great one. Okay, so now we're going to play a little game. Bougie it or lose it. So, we had the internet generate some bougie splurges that are worth it. And we're going to see if we agree with the internet on what we think. And you can roast this all in the comments, you know?

• 8:28George Kamel?

  Yeah, let us know what you think.

• 8:29Rachel Cruze?

  We welcome it.

• 8:30George Kamel?

  These are just opinions.

• 8:30Rachel Cruze?

  We welcome it.

• 8:31George Kamel?

  Uh, but first, can we talk about the ultimate bougie money move? And that is banking with an institution you can actually trust.

• 8:38Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, like Fairwin's Credit Union?

• 8:39George Kamel?

  That's the one.

• 8:40Rachel Cruze?

  I knew you were going to say it.

• 8:41George Kamel?

  There we go. So, if you're working on getting out of a car loan and trying to make a change, you're trying to save up in that high-yield savings account for the emergency fund, Fairwin's makes it super easy, and they're a financial partner that actually, they help you pivot into better money habits.

• 8:55Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, and they've set up our, us, our audience, if you're listening or watching, with one of the best packages, I think, because you get a no monthly fee checking account, up to 10 high-yield savings accounts, and a Ramsey debit card. You can either get the debt-as-normal-be-weird-or-they'll-live-like-no-one-else debit card all together in the Smart Bundle, which we love.

• 9:17George Kamel?

  So, all those bougie purchases you want to make, you can just transfer from checking to savings into the little

• 9:22Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 9:22George Kamel?

  Jura Coffee Maker Fund?

• 9:24Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 9:25George Kamel?

  The car upgrade fund?

• 9:26Rachel Cruze?

  And then when you need to spend it, you just move it from saving to checking, swipe that debit card, and then you're good to go.

• 9:33George Kamel?

  Booyah.

• 9:33Rachel Cruze?

  So, Fairwin's, we love you.

• 9:34George Kamel?

  And it's federally insured by the NCUA, so you know your money's safe there. Learn more about the Fairwin Smart Bundle, just go to fairwins.org/Ramsey or use the link in the description.

• 9:44Rachel Cruze?

  All right. Should I do the first one?

• 9:46George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 9:47Rachel Cruze?

  Okay. Disney Premier Pass. So, Lightning Lane costs anywhere between $119 to $449 per person per day. And again, it, um, depends on when you go.

• 10:02George Kamel?

  Peak days, peak times.

• 10:04Rachel Cruze?

  So, Premier Pass, if I'm not mistaken, is where you can ride most any ride one time using the Lightning Lane, lane.

• 10:12George Kamel?

  Oh, is that like the top tier, essentially?

• 10:14Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 10:15George Kamel?

  I'm checking it out in the app now.

• 10:16Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, so I like it. I've done this once. And can I tell you it was worth it? Because you get so many rides done, you get to use the Lightning Lane. Now, you only get it once, so if you want to go back on the ride

• 10:29George Kamel?

  One-time entry to each available Lightning Lane experience.

• 10:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, and you get to hit so many rides so quickly. So, honestly

• 10:38George Kamel?

  You're for it.

• 10:39Rachel Cruze?

  I'm for it.

• 10:40George Kamel?

  You know, I used to be very anti. I thought it was all a scam. And Disney's just out to get our money, but I do think that it changes your whole experience.

• 10:49Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 10:49George Kamel?

  Because as I get older, I have less patience. So the idea of like, we have the part, we're gonna be in the park for three hours before naptime, and an hour and a half is gonna be spent waiting in lines? You just lost the whole day.

• 11:00Rachel Cruze?

  And here's the other great thing. When we were there and we used it, there was, um, what is it? Big Thunder Road? Mount, the mountain? Big Thunder Mountain?

• 11:11Rachel Cruze?

  It only had a 15-minute wait. So we jumped in the regular line.

• 11:15George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 11:15Rachel Cruze?

  Didn't use that pass for that one. Rode it. Went and did Tiana's. Um, and then came back and used it again, and used the lightning lane a second, and rode it a second time.

• 11:26George Kamel?

  Genius.

• 11:26Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. So you can actually kind of finagle if there's like, not a long wait line? Go ahead and jump in, do the regular line, and then you get to go again. You get to go twice, so.

• 11:35George Kamel?

  Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna budget for it and say, "Booja it." Worth it.

• 11:39Rachel Cruze?

  Booja it.

• 11:40George Kamel?

  Okay, next up. Winston's gonna love this one. In-home sauna and cold plunge tub.

• 11:47Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah.

• 11:47George Kamel?

  Has a wide range of pricing. You can go like Gangster and get like the trough version, or you can get the super expensive version. Now, saunas, it's hard to go super cheap on those. They have the little ones like Zip Up, you know?

• 11:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 11:59George Kamel?

  They're not a true sauna.

• 12:00Rachel Cruze?

  You tried that, didn't you?

• 12:01George Kamel?

  I tried that one out, where your head pops out of it, and if you're just like, "I'm in a camping chair in my bonus room, zipped up in like, basically, a homemade microwave."

• 12:11Rachel Cruze?

  I wanna see a picture of that, George.

• 12:14George Kamel?

  It's embarrassing. I'll throw a picture up.

• 12:16Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 12:17George Kamel?

  But, yeah, the in-home sauna cold plunge tub ranges from 700 bucks for a one-person version at Walmart to 8,500 for nicer ones with installation. And this one, I feel like people who love it swear by it.

• 12:28Rachel Cruze?

  I know. I mean, I'll say, I use ours four times a week. It's one of my favorite places to be. I like being hot, though. So when I'm all kind of cold and chilled, you turn it on, it takes about 20 minutes, 25, to like, really get a good heat going. I go and lay, because we have a bench. I lay down in it. Sometimes I bring my phone. I just scroll.

• 12:49George Kamel?

  Wow, so relaxing.

• 12:50Rachel Cruze?

  It really is, so, ooh, I am gonna say. And the detoxing that happens, like, it actually is really good for you.

• 12:57George Kamel?

  I have heard saunas, the science is there.

• 12:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 12:59George Kamel?

  Now, cold plunges.

• 13:01Rachel Cruze?

  I did, I did it for a season, and I'm like, "I don't know."

• 13:04George Kamel?

  I mean, it's a good way to, you know, wake yourself up, get the adrenaline going.

• 13:07Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 13:08George Kamel?

  But I'm gonna go, uh, booja it on saunas. I'm for it.

• 13:10Rachel Cruze?

  So a sauna, I would go booja it on. A cold plunge, genuinely, you can just get a trough and like, put water, I mean, really, like that, and if it's cold out.

• 13:18George Kamel?

  You're in it for a couple of minutes, and then you're back out.

• 13:19Rachel Cruze?

  Exactly. So, that's a good one.

• 13:22George Kamel?

  Wow, so we're worth it all the way now.

• 13:24Rachel Cruze?

  All right, next. Self-driving Tesla. $99 a month for this feature with subscription.

• 13:30George Kamel?

  This is controversial. So they got rid of the ability to buy it outright. You used to be able to like, buy this for, let's say, $8,000 one time, and you basically own it. They got rid of that, now it's all subscription-based, so you have to pay this forever. And I'll tell you, my, I found one.

• 13:47Rachel Cruze?

  We may have different ones on this.

• 13:48George Kamel?

  I found one that was built into the car, so I didn't have to pay for it, which is the only reason.

• 13:53Rachel Cruze?

  That's very nice.

• 13:53George Kamel?

  I use it 100% of the time. But it has changed my life. I mean that truthfully.

• 13:58Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 13:58George Kamel?

  Very few things have changed my life. A car that drives you, and you can just mentally check out, essentially, while looking at the road, but you're not having to focus and, you know, white knuckle it everywhere in traffic. So I'm gonna say, it's only worth it for the 100 bucks a month. If you have long commutes, or you're gonna take a long trip, just buy it that month.

• 14:16Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 14:17George Kamel?

  Or if you have a super-long commute all the time, this will get you your life back. So I'm gonna say, booja it on this one with that, with that caveat.

• 14:23Rachel Cruze?

  Okay. So I was gonna say, not worth it, because I don't have full self-driving. I did for like, three months. They gave it to all Tesla.

• 14:31George Kamel?

  To tempt you.

• 14:32Rachel Cruze?

  To tempt us. And it was great. I used it. But then when it was gone, I have the lane corrector one, so I can get in a lane and tap and it, and it drives me in that lane. It won't switch lanes, like the self-driving.

• 14:43George Kamel?

  Like an auto steer.

• 14:43Rachel Cruze?

  But even that, I don't, the auto steer, yeah. Even that, I don't really use.

• 14:47George Kamel?

  Wow, you just enjoy driving yourself.

• 14:48Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know. I guess so. I'm not used to it yet, so.

• 14:51George Kamel?

  I guess I'm a passenger princess on that one.

• 14:53Rachel Cruze?

  I'm gonna go, uh, I'm gonna go no, for me.

• 14:54George Kamel?

  Okay. I'm green lights all the way so far. Here's the next one. Hiring a night nurse for your newborn.

• 15:00Rachel Cruze?

  Hmm.

• 15:00George Kamel?

  This ranges between 25 to 55 bucks an hour, so you're talking 250 to 550 per night. How you feeling on this one? Have you done it? That's the question mark. Okay, you've never done it.

• 15:11Rachel Cruze?

  Mm-mm. I could say, the older I get, the more green the paddle is.

• 15:18George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 15:19Rachel Cruze?

  Uh...

• 15:21George Kamel?

  Like, if you had a baby today, you'd be like, "Absolutely."

• 15:24Rachel Cruze?

  Maybe for like, a night a week, maybe? I don't know. Um... Yeah, it would be hard to be in the newborn stage right now. That would be tough. But I will say, because we had friends that stayed with us with each baby, like, some of our BFFs, and they watched every baby, she did.

• 15:41George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 15:42Rachel Cruze?

  For like, two nights when they say, like, they like, slept, and then she'd come get me. She was like, kind of my night nurse. And to be able to sleep, and not, I mean, like, it was so, it changed your life. Like, if you get a full night's sleep in the middle of newborn phase, you're like a new person. Um, but I don't know if I would, I don't know.

• 15:57George Kamel?

  You don't know if you would do it? Or that you would find it worth it?

• 16:00Rachel Cruze?

  It's just, I'm not in that headspace right now, so I'm gonna say.

• 16:03George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 16:04Rachel Cruze?

  Would you do it?

• 16:05George Kamel?

  I'll speak on behalf of my wife, because we did this.

• 16:07Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, how was it?

• 16:08George Kamel?

  I wanna say, both kids.

• 16:10Rachel Cruze?

  You did with both?

• 16:11George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 16:12Rachel Cruze?

  Okay. How many nights a week?

• 16:13George Kamel?

  She had, she had a really tough time postpartum.

• 16:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 16:16George Kamel?

  Mastitis, all kinds of issues. And so, she, I mean, postpartum will mess with you.

• 16:21Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 16:21George Kamel?

  Especially when you're not sleeping night after night.

• 16:23Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 16:24George Kamel?

  So when we knew that was on the calendar, it was like, you could see some light at the end of the tunnel.

• 16:28Rachel Cruze?

  You know what? I get that. You're like, it is like, a desperation of sleep.

• 16:31George Kamel?

  And you don't realize how much you're thinking about.

• 16:33Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 16:34George Kamel?

  Is the baby okay? Is the baby gonna wake up? So to know there's a trustworthy adult.

• 16:38Rachel Cruze?

  Taking care of him.

• 16:38George Kamel?

  So we've had, um, an actual nurse.

• 16:40Rachel Cruze?

  How many nights a week?

• 16:42George Kamel?

  Um, I think at the worst of it, it was like, two nights.

• 16:45Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 16:46George Kamel?

  But generally, it was like, a couple nights a month.

• 16:48Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 16:48George Kamel?

  To just like, know that you have a little bit of reprieve.

• 16:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, I get that.

• 16:51George Kamel?

  So she would say it's 100% worth it, and I think we paid anywhere between 20 and 40 an hour, depending on the person.

• 16:57Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 16:57George Kamel?

  But I would say it's 100% worth it, if it's in the budget. It is definitely a luxury, privileged thing to have.

• 17:02Rachel Cruze?

  Sure, sure.

• 17:03George Kamel?

  But goodness gracious.

• 17:04Rachel Cruze?

  Was wonderful.

• 17:05George Kamel?

  It changed her life.

• 17:06Rachel Cruze?

  You know what? I get that.

• 17:07George Kamel?

  Got her through it.

• 17:08Rachel Cruze?

  I love it. I love it.

• 17:09George Kamel?

  Bless the moms.

• 17:10Rachel Cruze?

  Um, next is paying a financial pro. So, a tax pro, real estate pro, insurance pro, tax, uh, or like, an investment advisor, all of it. I'm going green for this.

• 17:24George Kamel?

  Worth it.

• 17:26Rachel Cruze?

  So excited about it.

• 17:26George Kamel?

  That's a booja it. Across the board, none of these are things that I want to do myself. Now, I'm probably the most knowledgeable on the investment side, versus like, real estate. I'm not gonna go try to negotiate a house.

• 17:38Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 17:38George Kamel?

  On my own.

• 17:39Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 17:40George Kamel?

  Insurance, I've got an insurance broker, so I don't pay them anything. They just make a small commission off whatever, you know, insurance I got. Tax pro, I pay a CPA once a year to help with our taxes, because I just simply don't wanna deal with it. And then investment advisor, I've got one that helps.

• 17:56Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 17:57George Kamel?

  And I use them not just to like, pick some mutual funds, but to give me a holistic strategy across tax, insurance, estate planning, cash flow planning, education planning. There's so much more.

• 18:08Rachel Cruze?

  Totally.

• 18:08George Kamel?

  And so it's worth it for that 1% fee.

• 18:12Rachel Cruze?

  Listen, I'm with you.

• 18:13George Kamel?

  Out of your portfolio.

• 18:14Rachel Cruze?

  I do think this, it ends up saving you so much money in the long run, because you have people in your corner that know what they're talking about. And these industries are niche, right? And you don't need to go in blind and be like, whatever the person says. Have them teach you and understand what's going on, but they know these worlds like the back of their hands. So I'm like, "You are way more knowledgeable. You're keeping up with all the regulation changes that happen, everything." And they're just so on top of it.

• 18:36George Kamel?

  And they're gonna see your blind spots, and everyone has them. If you think I have mastered it, I can do no better, then I, I can't help you there. Your ego's too big.

• 18:43Rachel Cruze?

  That's right, that's right.

• 18:43George Kamel?

  I'm always gonna have the humility to go, "That person knows more than me. I want them to look at this too."

• 18:48Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, I'm with you.

• 18:49George Kamel?

  So we're gonna, we'll drop a link for you guys. If you wanna connect with any of these pros, we have an awesome network that can help make this super simple, or you can scan the QR code on the screen, it'll take you there, if you're watching on TV.

• 19:01Rachel Cruze?

  Love it.

• 19:01George Kamel?

  A lot of TV viewers out there, we appreciate you.

• 19:03Rachel Cruze?

  My gosh, hi.

• 19:05George Kamel?

  I've been told I only look better in 4K. All right, next up on the list, country club membership.

• 19:11Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 19:12George Kamel?

  You had me in the first half, I'm a lose-it on this one immediately. And I know you're thinking, "Well, George doesn't understand."

• 19:19Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, well, initiation fees can range anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000. Monthly dues can be hundreds, thousands, plus your restaurant and drink tabs.

• 19:28George Kamel?

  That was the most shocking part. I thought this was like, an all-inclusive resort, after all the money you've paid in. You still pay high costs just to eat and drink at these clubs.

• 19:37Rachel Cruze?

  I think, I think it's a no-go. I can see, if golf is a big part of your life, maybe.

• 19:45Rachel Cruze?

  But we have lots of friends, lots of friends that are, and they'll like get to the end of the month. They're like, oh gosh, let's go get takeout because they have credit to the restaurant, but they don't like the food that much. It's just like a, I'm like, do you really use it?

• 19:56George Kamel?

  It kind of feels like a timeshare to me.

• 19:58Rachel Cruze?

  Oh.

• 19:59George Kamel?

  It's giving timeshare in that you're locked in, you're never going to get the initiation fee back.

• 20:04Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 20:05George Kamel?

  Plus there's all the ongoing costs.

• 20:06Rachel Cruze?

  Man.

• 20:07George Kamel?

  And you can't control the experience.

• 20:09Rachel Cruze?

  Love a membership, a country club membership.

• 20:11George Kamel?

  I would too if I already had paid all that money in and couldn't get out. I'd be like, oh, it's the best food.

• 20:15Rachel Cruze?

  But some of them have wait lists, so you probably could get out. Someone's waiting for your spot.

• 20:19George Kamel?

  Yeah, but that again, it makes me, gives me the ick to go like, oh, I'm on the waitlist for the country club. It's just not for me. Now, if you invite me, I will happily go.

• 20:29Rachel Cruze?

  Happily go test out the food there. Yes.

• 20:31George Kamel?

  Take me, but I don't think this one's worth it.

• 20:33Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 20:34George Kamel?

  I'd rather spend that money on a pool.

• 20:36Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, have your own. I know, right? Just enjoy it. And if it's any level of flex to say you're part of a certain club too, major ick.

• 20:44George Kamel?

  Have you ever heard someone mention they're part of a country club and you like them more afterwards?

• 20:50George Kamel?

  You're like, oh.

• 20:51Rachel Cruze?

  My gosh, you're part of that? No way. We should hang out. We should hang out. It's so true though.

• 20:57George Kamel?

  I don't know. And I'm terrible at golf, so that doesn't help anything.

• 21:00Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah. Um, all right, next, private school. So this could range from a couple of thousand dollars a year to a full $60,000 a year annually, like college tuition.

• 21:11George Kamel?

  That is wild.

• 21:12Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, mine's like a, can I go half? Havesies on this one?

• 21:15George Kamel?

  You can. It's a little bit of a hack.

• 21:16Rachel Cruze?

  I'll say as a parent, if I was in an area and the public schools were terrible, I would definitely consider private school.

• 21:22George Kamel?

  That's a fair thing to say. It's a good caveat.

• 21:25Rachel Cruze?

  We live in a great county in middle Tennessee.

• 21:30George Kamel?

  Some of the best public schools in the country.

• 21:31Rachel Cruze?

  And my kids are public school kids. We're not paying for private school, so.

• 21:34George Kamel?

  And they're, they're ending up okay. I'm looking at one right now.

• 21:37Rachel Cruze?

  Can I? Yeah.

• 21:37George Kamel?

  She's doing okay.

• 21:38Rachel Cruze?

  She is. Yeah, we, we love our, we are not freaked out by it. And public school teachers out there, all teachers, especially, y'all are amazing. They really are.

• 21:46George Kamel?

  You're doing the most.

• 21:47Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 21:49George Kamel?

  I'm going to lose it in general, but I do like your caveat that some people are like, I can't send my kid to the schools in my area.

• 21:55Rachel Cruze?

  Which is totally fair.

• 21:56George Kamel?

  So if you can afford it and you have lots of margin and it's not derailing your retirement and your other financial goals.

• 22:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 22:02George Kamel?

  Then I would say, you do you, boo.

• 22:05Rachel Cruze?

  That's right.

• 22:05George Kamel?

  But overall, I'm always like, can we put the kids in public school and see how they do first? And if they're not thriving, then we can move them out.

• 22:11Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. That's right.

• 22:12George Kamel?

  That's kind of how I feel about homeschooling. I'm like, I'm not opposed to homeschooling, but let's try out the option that I've been paying good taxpayer dollars into for years first.

• 22:19Rachel Cruze?

  See if we can get the, get the money out of it.

• 22:22George Kamel?

  Save that money. Take the money I would have spent on private school and invested for them and they can have it later on in life.

• 22:26Rachel Cruze?

  I know. And listen, and I think this is a total values cult too, because some people really do value.

• 22:31George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 22:32Rachel Cruze?

  But if there's any level of motivation because of the prestige, say your kids are somewhere.

• 22:38George Kamel?

  There's a lot of that.

• 22:39Rachel Cruze?

  I know, and I don't like that either.

• 22:41George Kamel?

  And the idea that.

• 22:42Rachel Cruze?

  I feel like I do the opposite. I kind of like saying my kids go to public school.

• 22:44George Kamel?

  It's a flex. It is the flex you think it is.

• 22:47Rachel Cruze?

  And I was a public school kid.

• 22:48George Kamel?

  Well, here's the other side. People think their child is better than yours because they went to private school. That's the vibe that I'm not into.

• 22:55Rachel Cruze?

  No, we're not into that. We're not into that vibe.

• 22:57George Kamel?

  Your kid can end up just fine either way. All right. Well, man, I'm on a, I'm on a downtrend now.

• 23:02Rachel Cruze?

  Um, here we go. Home gym with weights.

• 23:05George Kamel?

  I feel like with weights felt redundant, but okay.

• 23:09George Kamel?

  What else? I got like a treadmill wouldn't count as a home gym?

• 23:12Rachel Cruze?

  I'm saying yes. I mean, I, yeah, I mean, we use ours three, three days a week.

• 23:18George Kamel?

  Do you have a rough idea of how much the setup costs? I know it can range from like

• 23:22Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 23:23George Kamel?

  super cheap to I went all out and spent 10 grand on a home gym. I honestly, okay, I'll tell you what we have. So we have, we have a weight rack. Okay.

• 23:31Rachel Cruze?

  It goes from 10, 10s to 60s.

• 23:35George Kamel?

  All right.

• 23:36Rachel Cruze?

  Pairs. And those weights were expensive. So we got like a three, yep, there. Uh, we've got a good bench, so it goes up, it goes down. And then we have the, the, the tower thing they were telling you about. So that's what we got.

• 23:49George Kamel?

  Okay. Maybe I have, so I got a new one. We finally, I bit the bullet because Whitney knows that I need to work out for my own sanity.

• 23:59Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, yes.

• 23:59George Kamel?

  And she wants to also work out. So we found one called the Tonal and it's one of these.

• 24:04Rachel Cruze?

  We've talked about this.

• 24:05George Kamel?

  Peloton style companies, but it's like a weight machine that goes up against a wall.

• 24:09Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 24:09George Kamel?

  So it takes up no space and the resistance is crazy on them.

• 24:12Rachel Cruze?

  And has it been good?

• 24:13George Kamel?

  I'm shocked.

• 24:14Rachel Cruze?

  Is there a mirror?

• 24:15George Kamel?

  There's a screen, so it's not a mirror. It's a screen where you kind of watch, you select your workout. It's kind of like Peloton. There's different instructors.

• 24:21Rachel Cruze?

  How is it?

• 24:22George Kamel?

  There's yoga, Pilates, all kinds of attachments. Um, I would tell you if I had used it.

• 24:27Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 24:28George Kamel?

  But I need to like, I need to have the time.

• 24:31Rachel Cruze?

  George, how long have you had it?

• 24:31George Kamel?

  It's been like a week since we set it up and it's been a crazy week. So, you know, once the kids go down, I'm like, hey babe.

• 24:37Rachel Cruze?

  No, you gotta do it in the morning. You gotta get up at 5:30, 5:30.

• 24:40George Kamel?

  Well, the, you lost me there too.

• 24:42Rachel Cruze?

  George, you gotta make time.

• 24:43George Kamel?

  I'm burning the candle at both ends.

• 24:45Rachel Cruze?

  You do not want to work out at night. Don't work out at night.

• 24:47George Kamel?

  Oh, I'm not, I shouldn't be a night workout guy?

• 24:49Rachel Cruze?

  No, don't do a night workout. I think it's much better for you actually scientifically in the morning. I'm pretty sure.

• 24:54George Kamel?

  You can't just say that.

• 24:55Rachel Cruze?

  I think, yeah, I mean, I do think.

• 24:57George Kamel?

  Where's the data behind that?

• 24:58Rachel Cruze?

  Look, I got nods. It's true. I think the morning workout is.

• 25:01George Kamel?

  Neither of you are scientists.

• 25:02Rachel Cruze?

  No, I think it is better for you because of what it does to your, everything. And then throughout the day, your muscles and all of it versus going to sleep, I genuinely think it's better for you. What time do you wake up in the morning?

• 25:12George Kamel?

  You don't want to know.

• 25:13Rachel Cruze?

  What time do you?

• 25:14George Kamel?

  As late as I possibly can.

• 25:16Rachel Cruze?

  Which is what?

• 25:17George Kamel?

  I don't know. 6:40, somewhere around there.

• 25:20Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, then get up at six. A 30 minute workout is great, George.

• 25:23George Kamel?

  Okay, hey, hey, get off my case. You're not my personal trainer. You're not my life coach.

• 25:29Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh.

• 25:30George Kamel?

  But to that end, I got it used off Facebook because these things cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Plus there's a monthly subscription. So I found one in Alabama and my car drove me

• 25:40Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 25:41George Kamel?

  two hours there, two hours back. And I had a great time. It was a very relaxing road trip, honestly.

• 25:48Rachel Cruze?

  It was like a little road trip. Yeah.

• 25:49George Kamel?

  I couldn't carry the thing by myself and the, the sweet lady who sold it to me, it was just her and her daughter. And she probably weighed 100 pounds. So she's like, hey, I can't help. Now I'm standing here going, how do I lift this?

• 26:00Rachel Cruze?

  It's an extra kind of weightlifting machine.

• 26:02George Kamel?

  It's 150 pounds.

• 26:03Rachel Cruze?

  That's a lot.

• 26:04George Kamel?

  And I was like, how am I going to move this by myself into my car? So I found, I found a tiny dolly that I had in my car. Like a little baby one from Amazon.

• 26:14Rachel Cruze?

  Not George thing I would have ever expected.

• 26:16George Kamel?

  Well, I used it to like get like big packs of water into our apartment back in the day. You know what I mean? Like haul all the drinks in. So I somehow got it onto there and then slid it in, lifted it into my trunk.

• 26:29Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, look at you.

• 26:30George Kamel?

  And I was sore for days.

• 26:31Rachel Cruze?

  What a problem solver. And then I was sore. It's the most workout he's had since buying the workout machine.

• 26:36George Kamel?

  I'm aspirational. I'm going to say bouge it and next time you see me, I'm going to be ripped.

• 26:40Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. That's right, George. Oh my gosh. Well, when you buy things on Facebook Marketplace and anywhere else on the internet, you're putting your info out there, right? Things are, things are going. Forums are being filled out. Things are happening. And so having a company like Delete Me on your side is so important. In 2026, gosh, there's so much of our data out there, right? From our addresses, our home addresses, even old addresses are out there.

• 27:08George Kamel?

  It's like the new currency.

• 27:09Rachel Cruze?

  Family members, yes, your cell phone number, like all of it. So getting that removed off data broker sites is so, so key.

• 27:16George Kamel?

  Those free shipping texts or like the 10% off, give us your email. Oh, and by the way, give us your phone number. I'm like, goodness gracious. But now I do it without fear because Delete Me is out there. They're removing my info from hundreds of data broker sites. They're monitoring it all year round to make sure it stays gone, giving me peace of mind. So take back control of your data privacy and you'll get 20% off an annual plan while you're at it. Just go to joindelete.me.com/smartmoney. We'll also leave a link down in the description so you can just click it instead of typing it all out.

• 27:45Rachel Cruze?

  But it is worth it, you guys. In today's world with the internet, having safety on your side is so important.

• 27:50George Kamel?

  All right, next up, bouge it or lose it, wine club subscription.

• 27:54Rachel Cruze?

  Eh.

• 27:55George Kamel?

  So this is for premium sort of collector clubs. You might pay a hundred bucks for the month, but you get $400 worth of wine. Which I'm like, is it though? When I can just go to Costco?

• 28:06Rachel Cruze?

  Two to three bottles per month. I know. I'm not that big of a, you know, coffee and wine, not a snob here. I don't want like super cheap red wine. That's going to give me headaches though. So I do like a, a semi-priced, well-priced bottle to be like, okay, is this like a good quality? But I don't need a wine, eh, I don't need that.

• 28:23George Kamel?

  Yeah, I'm not a big wine guy, but even a subscription wine box is not for me personally, when I can get great wine locally. You can go to your local wine shop and they're very knowledgeable.

• 28:33Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, they'll get you some great bottles.

• 28:34George Kamel?

  Support your, your local spot or Costco. Just bought a bottle of Prosecco Kirkland brand, $8.

• 28:41Rachel Cruze?

  Oh yeah.

• 28:42George Kamel?

  Made a spritz out of it for Whitney's book club with the girls.

• 28:45Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 28:45George Kamel?

  They loved it. They talked about it in the group text. They let me know.

• 28:49Rachel Cruze?

  They did.

• 28:50George Kamel?

  I made it to the group chat. They're like, George's elderflower limoncello spritz was a big hit. He was wa- he was serving, walking around, serving.

• 28:57Rachel Cruze?

  George.

• 28:58George Kamel?

  Leaf filling.

• 28:58Rachel Cruze?

  What book did they do that month? Do you know?

• 29:00George Kamel?

  Um, is it Calamity Club?

• 29:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, I read that one.

• 29:03George Kamel?

  Is that a book?

• 29:04Rachel Cruze?

  Hundred percent it is.

• 29:05George Kamel?

  Don't quote me on it, but I saw that somewhere in the living room.

• 29:07Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, right. Yes.

• 29:08George Kamel?

  Was that a good one?

• 29:08Rachel Cruze?

  It's a very, yeah, it's a very popular one right now. The author of The Help wrote it.

• 29:12George Kamel?

  Good to know.

• 29:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. It was a good one. All right, first class flights. So the price can range here for sure, but here to Japan, ready for this? Eighteen thousand to twenty-three thousand dollars a person?

• 29:25George Kamel?

  What? Okay, you know what people have been telling me lately? I don't know why, but like three people have told me, you know, it's cheaper to go to Disney World in Japan, even with the flights than it is to do it in the States.

• 29:36Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, funny. Well, you fight coach, obviously, to make that math work.

• 29:40George Kamel?

  A hundred percent. I'm not paying first class unless it was like a very special experience or I'm a different place in life where

• 29:47Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 29:48George Kamel?

  like money is so abundant that I can't spend it fast enough. Then I might go, I'll try it once. But to me, I'm like, I'm watching a movie. I don't really care that much as long as

• 29:57Rachel Cruze?

  But if it's like a, like, a 12-hour flight, you don't want to lay down?

• 30:02George Kamel?

  It might be nice, but I don't sleep well on airplanes, so it'd be, it'd be wasted

• 30:06Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that's a good point. Okay.

• 30:07George Kamel?

  Yeah, I want to stretch my legs. Here's what I would pay extra for. Show me who I'm sitting next to. Make it like Tinder, but for who's sitting next to me on the airplane.

• 30:16Rachel Cruze?

  That's good.

• 30:16George Kamel?

  I'd pay extra to select that.

• 30:18Rachel Cruze?

  Typically.

• 30:19George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 30:19Rachel Cruze?

  There's a picture of every passenger and you're like, yes, yes, no, yes, yes.

• 30:23George Kamel?

  I want like height, weight, hygiene level. What do they bring in for food on the plane?

• 30:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. It affects the experience.

• 30:31George Kamel?

  Do they snore?

• 30:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 30:33George Kamel?

  Are they chatty? You know, like an Uber driver, you can select like, I want a silent ride.

• 30:37Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 30:37George Kamel?

  That's what I want.

• 30:38Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 30:39George Kamel?

  For my airplane passengers.

• 30:41Rachel Cruze?

  So first class for me is if it's over a three-hour flight and I'm just with Winston, I highly consider it.

• 30:50George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 30:51Rachel Cruze?

  Now, I don't pay like an absorbent amount more, like if it's like a stupid price and you're like, okay.

• 30:54George Kamel?

  Have you done one of the lay down ones or?

• 30:56Rachel Cruze?

  I did, but Dave and Sharon paid for it.

• 30:58George Kamel?

  Oh, yes. That's the key.

• 31:00Rachel Cruze?

  Thanks, Mimi and Papa.

• 31:01George Kamel?

  Huge caveat, first class is fantastic.

• 31:04Rachel Cruze?

  That was before kids. No, no, Amelia, we went to Israel.

• 31:07George Kamel?

  Oh, nice. That's a long flight.

• 31:09Rachel Cruze?

  And that was long to Tel Aviv. Yep, from New York. So, yep. And Amelia, that was eleven, ten years ago.

• 31:17George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 31:17Rachel Cruze?

  Ten years ago. Yep.

• 31:19George Kamel?

  So that's the caveat. If someone else is paying out of their own generosity, I'm happy to experience it.

• 31:23Rachel Cruze?

  Happy to experience it.

• 31:24George Kamel?

  I'm not going to poo poo the experience, but would I pay for it with my own money today? The answer is no.

• 31:30Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, now we're talking. Well, what do I do? Because I just

• 31:33George Kamel?

  You would do it.

• 31:34Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I would say under circumstances, yes, I would. Yeah. I'd say under cer- certain circumstances, it's worth it. Mm-hmm.

• 31:39George Kamel?

  The kids are going to be in coach, though.

• 31:42Rachel Cruze?

  Can I tell you a funny story?

• 31:43George Kamel?

  Please.

• 31:43Rachel Cruze?

  About my first, my first first-class experience overseas? I've done it, I think, three times. And all, because my parents love to travel. And so when we didn't have kids, they would take us adults on great trips.

• 31:54George Kamel?

  Yeah, she used to have fun.

• 31:55Rachel Cruze?

  I know. Then when the kids came, somehow it like, yeah, it, so the first time I ever went, Winston and I were just married. I don't even think Denise was married. Like, I think we, I think we had, we were like probably six months in.

• 32:06George Kamel?

  Babies. We were like twenty?

• 32:07Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. And we did like a Baltic Sea cruise. Okay?

• 32:11George Kamel?

  Fun.

• 32:12Rachel Cruze?

  So we fly first class. And I had never really flown first class at that point, even overseas. Like I wasn't a, we weren't first-class family. But we were on this. So you walk in and they had like champagne, like on like, you know, you're walking in and they're like, would you like a glass of champagne? And I said, is it free? And she said, yes.

• 32:29George Kamel?

  Great question.

• 32:30Rachel Cruze?

  I was like, sure. So I drink a glass of champagne. Um, and then before dinner, they give you like a cocktail menu. So you have like a cocktail before dinner. So get ready for my cocktail.

• 32:40George Kamel?

  Champagne and a cocktail before food.

• 32:42Rachel Cruze?

  I think I'm 21 years old at this point. And I'm not a big drink, like I don't like, like my tolerance is nothing. Like I, we, I was not a drinker, really. We didn't really drink that much. So you know what I ordered? Cranberry and vodka.

• 32:54George Kamel?

  Dangerous.

• 32:55Rachel Cruze?

  As you would at 21. Um, drink up. And then at dinner, they, they give you wine. Like, do you want white wine or red wine? You know, so I am, I have a glass of wine.

• 33:04George Kamel?

  It just kept flowing.

• 33:05Rachel Cruze?

  So I have three drinks in me. Okay?

• 33:08George Kamel?

  And you eat like a bird. So it's not like you had much soaking it up.

• 33:10Rachel Cruze?

  My mom is in front of us. My parents are in front of us. And all of a hit, Sharon turns around and she's like, who needs a sleeping pill? And I was like, I'll take one. Did not know you don't mix alcohol and sleeping pills. Didn't know. Didn't know. I take one, y'all. And when I tell you, the next thing I know, legitimately, the next thing I wake up to is I am on a tour bus in Finland.

• 33:38George Kamel?

  What?

• 33:40Rachel Cruze?

  And I'm like, and I kind of come to and I'm like, oh, man, I, and my, I did not feel good. I was like, I'm, I'm gonna be sick. And Winston's sitting next to me and he's like, hey, babe. And I was like, Winston? And he's like, are you, are you okay? And I was like, where, where am I? Like, what is happening? What is happening? And he's like, yeah. And I was like, how did I get through customs? Like, how did I get through the airport? And he's like, well, I mean, you, I was functioning. Is that not bizarre?

• 34:06George Kamel?

  But you have no memory of it.

• 34:07Rachel Cruze?

  No memory? And y'all, that was back during the time of digital cameras, when you had a little digital camera. Okay?

• 34:13George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 34:14Rachel Cruze?

  On my digital camera. I don't know why. There's a so picture of me in front of a castle and I'm just like, smiling.

• 34:22George Kamel?

  We need to find that photo.

• 34:23Rachel Cruze?

  And I don't remember it. I don't remember the castle.

• 34:26George Kamel?

  That's amazing and frightening.

• 34:27Rachel Cruze?

  Frightening.

• 34:28George Kamel?

  I'm glad you were with your family.

• 34:29Rachel Cruze?

  I know, George. I was like, my mother poisoned me.

• 34:32George Kamel?

  Was it like an Ambien?

• 34:33Rachel Cruze?

  Maybe. Yeah. I don't know. That was, golly, that was

• 34:37George Kamel?

  Like there's Z-Quell and there's Ambien.

• 34:39Rachel Cruze?

  Fifteen years ago, y'all, and I will never, never forget.

• 34:43George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 34:43Rachel Cruze?

  First first-class experience.

• 34:45George Kamel?

  First first class.

• 34:46Rachel Cruze?

  So you're welcome. You're welcome.

• 34:48George Kamel?

  Does Sharon know about this story?

• 34:49Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. Because I got sick and everyone was like, Rachel. I was like, I, what is happening to me? Mom, I guess that was the sleeping pill, you know? And I was like, I think it was, mom. Dave's like, Sharon, you're okay about sleeping? But you know, not good. So anyways.

• 35:03George Kamel?

  Wow, I'm glad you recovered.

• 35:05Rachel Cruze?

  I was fine, but wow, Finland really sneaks up on you, you know?

• 35:09George Kamel?

  Of all places to wake up. Pretty shocking.

• 35:12Rachel Cruze?

  On a tour with some

• 35:13George Kamel?

  How was it, by the way?

• 35:14Rachel Cruze?

  Sardines.

• 35:14George Kamel?

  Was Finland worth it?

• 35:16Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, we did Finland, Sweden.

• 35:17George Kamel?

  Lot of sardines? What are they eating out there?

• 35:19Rachel Cruze?

  Lot of sardines, schnapps, some schnapps.

• 35:21George Kamel?

  Schnapps and sardines.

• 35:22Rachel Cruze?

  That whole area was beautiful. Yes, the Baltic, it was beautiful.

• 35:25George Kamel?

  All right.

• 35:25Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, and Winston's grandmother's from Sweden. And we actually found where his great-grandparents were buried, the cemetery in Stockholm. And we visited and saw their great, like everything. Isn't that crazy?

• 35:35George Kamel?

  That's wild.

• 35:35Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it was very fun.

• 35:36George Kamel?

  That's beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

• 35:38Rachel Cruze?

  You're welcome. Storytime with Rachel.

• 35:40George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 35:41Rachel Cruze?

  Well, I will say, if I was ever on a first-class, lay-down, bed, flight, or not, I hope I have some Cozy Earth on. Could you imagine having athleisure from Cozy Earth on a long international flight?

• 35:53George Kamel?

  Well, I was imagining if the airline started using Cozy Earth sheets.

• 35:56Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 35:57George Kamel?

  Can you imagine? Now, with that, I would pay for it. That's a premium experience.

• 36:00Rachel Cruze?

  That is an experience. That would be so nice.

• 36:02George Kamel?

  And you get to keep them after. They use a fresh set and you get to keep it.

• 36:06Rachel Cruze?

  It'd have to be like a twin size.

• 36:08George Kamel?

  That's fine.

• 36:09Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, we'll take it. But no, Cozy Earth has bedding, blankets, like great throws, which we love. Um, great athleisure. You got socks. You got, I mean, you got so much stuff.

• 36:20George Kamel?

  Lingerware. They even got footwear that I love.

• 36:22Rachel Cruze?

  I was going to say, I pointed to your shoes and I didn't even say it, but he's got some

• 36:24George Kamel?

  I'm not wearing the clogs currently.

• 36:26Rachel Cruze?

  The lake house clog? Isn't that what you have?

• 36:27George Kamel?

  They're my house shoes.

• 36:29Rachel Cruze?

  They're wonderful. It is. It's so great. But for real, the, the towels, I mean, everything about it. We, we have so much Cozy Earth in our house now.

• 36:35George Kamel?

  And it makes a great gift, too. Whenever I'm like, what do I get them? What do I get them? I'm like, cozylearth.com/smartmoney.

• 36:40Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh. And the bamboo stuff. Oh, we love it. We love it. Yep. So make sure to head to cozylearth.com/smartmoney and use our code SMARTMONEY for 20% off at checkout. And if you have the post-purchase survey, make sure you said that you heard about it here.

• 36:56George Kamel?

  Give us a shout out.

• 36:56Rachel Cruze?

  Smart money, happy hour.

• 36:57George Kamel?

  We'll drop a link in the description as well.

• 37:00Rachel Cruze?

  All right, George. Well, what do we think?

• 37:02George Kamel?

  You know, the first half, I was like, am I just bougie now? Because I'm like, yes, yes, yes, yes. And the second half, I was kind of like, meh, meh. And it made me think everyone has just different values and priorities.

• 37:13Rachel Cruze?

  And what they enjoy.

• 37:14George Kamel?

  And hills they die on. And

• 37:16Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 37:16George Kamel?

  I think that's beautiful.

• 37:18Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. Create your life.

• 37:19George Kamel?

  You don't have to be bougie in every area, even if you have the money. Some people just go, eh, it's not worth it for me.

• 37:23Rachel Cruze?

  Yep.

• 37:24George Kamel?

  I'm fine.

• 37:24Rachel Cruze?

  Absolutely. Yep. And then when you do have the money, enjoy some of it. Some of you up there.

• 37:29George Kamel?

  Give yourself permission to enjoy it.

• 37:31Rachel Cruze?

  Just like save, save, save, save, save. And after a certain point in the baby steps, you guys, enjoy it. So splurge a little bit, right? Have some bougie moments.

• 37:38George Kamel?

  Bougie and luxury does not mean it's a waste or it's evil.

• 37:40Rachel Cruze?

  No, yeah.

• 37:41George Kamel?

  It's okay to have nice things when you do it in cash at the right times, for the right reasons. You're not trying to impress anyone, especially when it involves experiences with people you love.

• 37:51Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 37:51George Kamel?

  Which we learned from Arthur Brooks.

• 37:53Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, that's right. That actually does create happiness within your, within your brain.

• 37:57George Kamel?

  So that, to me, I'm like, is it giving me some lasting joy? Is it buying back my time? Is it helping me improve any area of my life?

• 38:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 38:06George Kamel?

  Health, relationships, social, whatever it is. That kind of helps me filter if this is a worthy purchase versus just, oh, I saw a thing and I want a thing.

• 38:14Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, I love that. Yep. That's good. Um, well, George, before we spill the tea on our Guilty as Charged segments, uh, give us the drink details on the Dirt Road martini.

• 38:25George Kamel?

  I was closer to finishing than you today.

• 38:27Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 38:30Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know.

• 38:30George Kamel?

  Dirt road martini.

• 38:32Rachel Cruze?

  And didn't Dolly Parton drink this?

• 38:33George Kamel?

  Apparently, this is Dolly Parton's recipe. Rest in power, queen.

• 38:38Rachel Cruze?

  We love her.

• 38:39George Kamel?

  As much as I love her, this drink is not for me. I'm gonna give this a four out of 10.

• 38:44Rachel Cruze?

  I know. I wouldn't make it.

• 38:46George Kamel?

  It's got vodka, unsweetened tea, brine from a Jardine... How do you say that? Jardine era mix.

• 38:53Rachel Cruze?

  You know me.

• 38:54George Kamel?

  The old Jardine era mix with Spanish queen olives. Now, the veggies I can get behind. But I think it's the vodka with the unsweetened tea that isn't doing much for me.

• 39:02Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 39:02George Kamel?

  But it costs a dollar and two cents. So, God bless her. Frugal. It's a frugal drink.

• 39:09Rachel Cruze?

  George, I might go two and a half.

• 39:10George Kamel?

  But if you want to do a cheers to Dolly, get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try. Maybe you'll like it more than we did.

• 39:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 39:17George Kamel?

  Maybe the team did a bad job. Maybe I don't want to blame Dolly.

• 39:20Rachel Cruze?

  No, stop. They make great...

• 39:21George Kamel?

  I can't blame Dolly.

• 39:22Rachel Cruze?

  Stop.

• 39:23George Kamel?

  They make great drinks.

• 39:24Rachel Cruze?

  Our team makes great drinks. We just didn't like this. We can love Dolly and not love her cocktail.

• 39:29George Kamel?

  Fair.

• 39:30Rachel Cruze?

  It's fine.

• 39:30George Kamel?

  Fair.

• 39:31Rachel Cruze?

  It's fine. She doesn't care. Listen, she's a strong woman.

• 39:35George Kamel?

  She is. She doesn't need approval from me. No man.

• 39:40Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, man. All right, now it's time for Guilty as Charged. And this is where we ask each other guilty charge question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, George, what's one bougie guilty pleasure you haven't tried yet but aspire to?

• 39:54George Kamel?

  Oh, boy. I mean, you definitely tempted me with some of your stories there, but first class.

• 40:00Rachel Cruze?

  I think an international first-class flight, if you can afford it, it's pretty wild.

• 40:04George Kamel?

  That is a guilty pleasure, I think, I would enjoy.

• 40:07Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 40:07George Kamel?

  Even though I'd be calculating what this is costing me per minute of this flight.

• 40:11Rachel Cruze?

  Sure. That's fair. That's fair.

• 40:12George Kamel?

  But the one that I'm into lately that I'm just curious about is watches. I've been watching, watch videos on YouTube.

• 40:20Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 40:20George Kamel?

  And I'm very... It's very intriguing, once you actually figure out the different brands, what they stand for, who they're for.

• 40:27Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 40:27George Kamel?

  There's wait lists, withdrawals, and I'm not in the market. I'm not looking to spend any amount of money on any watch.

• 40:33Rachel Cruze?

  But you could enter into that world eventually.

• 40:35George Kamel?

  It seems like it's a good hobby for me, like in my 50s, when I'm just bored and I don't want to golf.

• 40:40Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 40:40George Kamel?

  I can just, like, get into watches. That seems like a fun guilty pleasure for me.

• 40:43Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, that's good.

• 40:44George Kamel?

  How about you?

• 40:46Rachel Cruze?

  Um, I'm gonna go diamonds.

• 40:49George Kamel?

  Oh, wow.

• 40:51Rachel Cruze?

  I really... All my nice jewelry are my wedding rings, which I love.

• 40:54George Kamel?

  And everything else is Amazon.

• 40:55Rachel Cruze?

  And I do... Yeah, Winston's got me some great rings for, like, different milestones.

• 41:02George Kamel?

  Like anniversaries.

• 41:03Rachel Cruze?

  But I would love, like, a pretty, like, tennis necklace. That's like real diamonds.

• 41:08George Kamel?

  Why do they call it a tennis necklace? Do you know?

• 41:09Rachel Cruze?

  Tennis bracelet, tennis necklace. I don't know.

• 41:11George Kamel?

  I've just always wondered why the word tennis is in there.

• 41:13Rachel Cruze?

  You wear tennis? You play in tennis?

• 41:14George Kamel?

  You know? Okay. Our writer Savannah has an answer. Yes, in the back?

• 41:17Speaker 02

  I looked up ones I think it's because they were secure enough to play while... or to wear while playing tennis.

• 41:24Rachel Cruze?

  There we go.

• 41:25George Kamel?

  They're secure enough to wear while playing tennis.

• 41:29Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, it's like the actual, like, attachment?

• 41:31George Kamel?

  It's not gonna, like, fall off?

• 41:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. Perfect.

• 41:33George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 41:34Rachel Cruze?

  So, I think it's like a really pretty necklace. Or even like a single little ti... Like, I would... But I don't know if I can get myself to, like, spend money on that. That's a lot.

• 41:42George Kamel?

  But maybe if Winston's listening, maybe he gets the idea.

• 41:45Rachel Cruze?

  Maybe at some point. 20th wedding anniversary?

• 41:47George Kamel?

  When's that?

• 41:49Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, three years?

• 41:51George Kamel?

  It's coming up.

• 41:52Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 41:52George Kamel?

  Hey!

• 41:53Rachel Cruze?

  We can make a sinking fund with Fair Winds and make it happen. So, yeah, I'd say, like, really bougie jewelry. I'm starting to appreciate, like, passed down. It's my mom. My mom, she will always buy nice pieces. And she always says to me, "When I die, don't sell my jewelry." She says it to us all the time.

• 42:09George Kamel?

  Oh, you have to keep it. If you're gonna take it, you gotta keep it.

• 42:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. Because she wants to pass it down, you know? She's like, "Keep it. This is nice stuff." And I was like, "Okay, I..." Yeah, I could get into that realm. I could enter into the jewelry realm.

• 42:21George Kamel?

  Okay. I wouldn't put it past you.

• 42:23Rachel Cruze?

  But Amazon's still my number one. So, I don't know what to do about that.

• 42:26George Kamel?

  For now, Amazon tennis necklace will do.

• 42:28Rachel Cruze?

  Even my earrings, when I double up, they turn green because it's all fake. You know what I mean? Like, I mean, I just...

• 42:34George Kamel?

  I can't tell.

• 42:35Rachel Cruze?

  I could probably... Could probably upgrade a little bit.

• 42:37George Kamel?

  Stay safe out there.

• 42:38Rachel Cruze?

  I know. Well, if you have a guilty as charge question for us, make sure DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Kamel. We see them, we love them, we screenshot them and send them to our producer, Jenna.

• 42:49George Kamel?

  Yeah, we do.

• 42:49Rachel Cruze?

  So, we really appreciate it. Now, if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave us a review and you're gonna love our next episode, Waste or Worth It: Rating Life-Changing Products. We'll link it for you. And make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all-new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.