Stirring the Pot With These Off-Limits Topics

💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app! If you love awkward silences, just try asking your blind date how much money he makes. In this episode, Rachel and George share hot takes on common taboo money topics, plus how you can avoid cringey situations. Next Steps: 🍸 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: 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. 🌿 Get up to 40% off at Cozy Earth with code Smart Money. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍸 Smashing Sage Spritzer (Mocktail) Recipe: Drinking for Two: Nutritious Mocktails for the Mom-To-Be Ingredients: 1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries or cherries 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon honey 1/3 cup coconut water 1 cup seltzer 4 sage leaves Additional blackberries and sage leaves for garnish Instructions: Muddle blackberries with sage leaves and honey in the bottom of a shaker. Add lime juice and coconut water; fill shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain, if desired. Divide the shaken mixture between two ice-filled lowball glasses. Top with seltzer and stir. Garnish with fresh sage and blackberries. Listen to More From Ramsey Network: 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

• 0:05Rachel Cruze?

  Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.

• 0:06George Kamel?

  I'm George Kamel.

• 0:07Rachel Cruze?

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

• 0:11George Kamel?

  Cheers.

• 0:16Rachel Cruze?

  So refreshing.

• 0:17George Kamel?

  Effervescent.

• 0:17Rachel Cruze?

  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.

• 0:24George Kamel?

  And today's episode is gonna get awkward, Rachel, because we are talking about conversation grenades, as I have, I think I'm not the first one to call it that.

• 0:31Rachel Cruze?

  Look at us, just stirring the old pot, George.

• 0:34George Kamel?

  This is definitely a pot-stirring episode, so even if you just watch for the entertainment value, it's gonna be worth your time.

• 0:40Rachel Cruze?

  This makes my heart race a little fast.

• 0:43George Kamel?

  Yep. No violence here, by the way. I know grenades, it's a very strong word, but we're talking, you know, salaries, politics, wedding budgets. We're not afraid to go there.

• 0:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 0:51George Kamel?

  But first...

• 0:52Rachel Cruze?

  All the way in. What are we sipping on, George?

• 0:53George Kamel?

  We are sipping on a Smashing Sage Spritzer Mocktail.

• 0:57Rachel Cruze?

  Mmm.

• 0:58George Kamel?

  That upset me, just reading that name.

• 1:00Rachel Cruze?

  That's a hefty...

• 1:01George Kamel?

  Great drink with one of the most annoying names. Smashing Sage.

• 1:06Rachel Cruze?

  But it's great.

• 1:06George Kamel?

  It's like Fabulous Life. A Smashing Sage Spritzer Mocktail.

• 1:10Rachel Cruze?

  I remember that show. That's so good.

• 1:12George Kamel?

  So, stick around till the end, we'll give you our rating, and reveal the cost per glass.

• 1:16Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, it's funny when people find out that you're like, part of Ramsey.

• 1:20George Kamel?

  Mmm.

• 1:21Rachel Cruze?

  You get a couple of different...

• 1:23George Kamel?

  It's dangerous.

• 1:23Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, a couple of different takes, sometimes. You get some that are like, "Oh my gosh, seriously? We paid off like, $24,000 in debt? Thank you so much." Like, "Oh my gosh." And I would say, 90% of my interactions is that.

• 1:37George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 1:38Rachel Cruze?

  And then you have like, the, "Oh, okay, sorry, we still have a credit card," or like, "Mmm, sorry, we love Carl, loans, don't like, hate me," and you're like, "No, it's fine, it's fine." And then you have like, the 1% that's like, "Hmm." They do that I thing and you're like.

• 1:53George Kamel?

  Have you ever had like a really awkward interaction? I had one while we were downtown.

• 2:00Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 2:00George Kamel?

  Doing a man on the street interview. So we find strangers, say, hey, let's talk about money and like they have to sign a waiver at the end saying we can use it on the YouTube channel. Well, she didn't know that we were part of Ramsey at first. We told her, but she didn't, it kind of breezed by it. She's signing the waiver and goes, wait, Ramsey? As in like Dave Ramsey? We're like, yeah. And she goes, oh, I can't sign this. And she just walked away. And we're like, girl, who hurt you?

• 2:25George Kamel?

  It was wild. So I was like, it is controversial. Just to help people get out of debt.

• 2:30Rachel Cruze?

  Just trying to help people budget, you know, do that EveryDollar app. That's what we're out here doing for America.

• 2:36George Kamel?

  Weirdly are okay sharing a lot of details about their finances, which is rare in other small talk.

• 2:40Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, because it is funny in our jobs, especially on the Ramsey show, you immediately ask people. Okay, so how much do you make? Okay, how much does that take home? Okay. What's your car payment? I mean, you are just, you are just diving in.

• 2:52George Kamel?

  What are your exact debt loads? Why did you take out that debt? What was going on in your life?

• 2:56Rachel Cruze?

  What was going on with the personal loan? I mean, you gotta get all the info.

• 2:59George Kamel?

  We gotta get to the bottom of it.

• 3:00Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, but money can definitely be a conversation grenade, but some other things too, George.

• 3:05George Kamel?

  Well lately, it's, you know, last year it's been politics, Rachel.

• 3:08Rachel Cruze?

  That is the number one, man.

• 3:10George Kamel?

  So we're going to help you today, maybe avoid them, maybe learn how to navigate them. And for us, that's another day at the office.

• 3:16Rachel Cruze?

  This is what we do.

• 3:17George Kamel?

  This is what we do.

• 3:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 3:18George Kamel?

  We talk about the taboo.

• 3:20Rachel Cruze?

  So some common off limit topics. I'll throw conspiracy theory out. That's my number one.

• 3:25George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 3:26Rachel Cruze?

  I think it's a good one.

• 3:26George Kamel?

  That's a good one.

• 3:27Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, another one. Why aren't you drinking?

• 3:30George Kamel?

  Oh, that's a big one.

• 3:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. What's going on? What's wrong? You good?

• 3:34George Kamel?

  Something is wrong with you if you're not drinking. Either you're pregnant. That's what, are you pregnant?

• 3:39Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally.

• 3:39George Kamel?

  If you're a woman, that's the first thing.

• 3:41Rachel Cruze?

  Everything okay?

• 3:42George Kamel?

  Did you have a problem?

• 3:43Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. Is everything fine? Yes. I know.

• 3:46George Kamel?

  So I don't, I don't personally pressure, I don't get into it. If they're not, I don't, I don't go, why? You should, you should be if you're not. That's a weird thing.

• 3:53Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I'm glad you, I'm glad you don't do that, George.

• 3:56George Kamel?

  Not me.

• 3:57Rachel Cruze?

  You should be drinking.

• 3:58George Kamel?

  People choose sobriety for a lot of reasons.

• 3:59Rachel Cruze?

  Even though this is Smart Money Happy Hour.

• 4:02George Kamel?

  And we're drinking a mocktail today.

• 4:03Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. What an appropriate drink for that topic.

• 4:06George Kamel?

  So we're above reproach for one episode.

• 4:07Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, but let's, uh, yeah, yeah, you don't need to ask.

• 4:10George Kamel?

  People choose sobriety for a lot of reasons. Maybe it's health, maybe it's addiction, pregnancy, religious beliefs. Maybe they're just not into it. It's fine. Budget priorities, because alcohol is expensive.

• 4:19Rachel Cruze?

  Here's another one: sports.

• 4:21George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 4:22Rachel Cruze?

  This could be a grenade depending on the family.

• 4:25George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 4:25Rachel Cruze?

  Right?

• 4:26George Kamel?

  This could tear up a family if you're not careful.

• 4:28Rachel Cruze?

  Man.

• 4:28George Kamel?

  If you have rival sports teams in the family.

• 4:30Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I had a cousin that went to Georgia.

• 4:32George Kamel?

  Oh, so Tennessee, Georgia, big rivalry there?

• 4:36Rachel Cruze?

  Sure, yeah. And then I had another cousin that got married on a UT weekend, and the uncles brought small TVs to the reception and watched the game.

• 4:43George Kamel?

  You gotta expect that.

• 4:45Rachel Cruze?

  I think, I mean, being in the South and that, like, that's your...

• 4:48George Kamel?

  People know.

• 4:48Rachel Cruze?

  It's a religion. It's a religion down here.

• 4:50George Kamel?

  You can't have a wedding during a football game. What are you expecting? They're not gonna hit the dance floor.

• 4:54Rachel Cruze?

  But still, also, come on.

• 4:56George Kamel?

  Sometimes what I do, can I be honest? I will throw a conversation grenade just by saying, "War-tied."

• 5:03Rachel Cruze?

  War-tied?

• 5:04George Kamel?

  Real legal. Yeah, you have to think about it.

• 5:08Rachel Cruze?

  He did.

• 5:09George Kamel?

  Because I don't care. You know what I mean? I have no allegiance to any team, only to God.

• 5:13Rachel Cruze?

  But you just switched up the...

• 5:14George Kamel?

  I switch it up. I just mix it all together, jumble it. That way, everyone's angry.

• 5:18Rachel Cruze?

  And everyone's confused.

• 5:19George Kamel?

  But can I tell you, I went to one of my first NFL games recently.

• 5:23Rachel Cruze?

  Good for you, George. How was it?

• 5:24George Kamel?

  Sports fans are not okay. Like, first of all, all these grown men wearing jerseys with another grown man's name on it is just weird.

• 5:34Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 5:34George Kamel?

  Like, why are you cosplaying as the person on the field? Like, you can show support. It's just weird.

• 5:40Rachel Cruze?

  It's like Taylor Swift when you dress up as Taylor to go to her concert.

• 5:42George Kamel?

  That even feels different, to be like, "Oh, I love her outfits." You're literally dressing like a professional athlete. Like, that's the only sport we do that for. That's odd.

• 5:51Rachel Cruze?

  Not the only sport. You do it for hockey. Other sports do it.

• 5:54George Kamel?

  I guess, yeah, but football's the big one.

• 5:56Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 5:57George Kamel?

  And then the anger, the emotion. And then they're going like, "How'd you miss that? You should've ran faster." And this dude is not, he's not in shape. He's huffing down a corn dog. Might be his last one.

• 6:07Rachel Cruze?

  It is so true.

• 6:07George Kamel?

  And he's judging the guy on the field for not being athletic enough. It's just a weird.

• 6:12Rachel Cruze?

  Because the guy on the field is getting paid to do it, though.

• 6:15George Kamel?

  Millions.

• 6:16Rachel Cruze?

  Exactly. So it's like, catch the football. That's always what I think.

• 6:19George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 6:20Rachel Cruze?

  That's a catchable ball. Catch the football.

• 6:22George Kamel?

  I don't talk about sports unless I know I can make people angry.

• 6:25Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, and you know what? This is why sports betting makes me crazy. Crazy. I hate sports betting. So like, you are betting on something that you have no control over. At least like, playing craps in Vegas.

• 6:35George Kamel?

  That's the concept of betting.

• 6:36Rachel Cruze?

  You get to like, roll the dice.

• 6:38George Kamel?

  That's true.

• 6:38Rachel Cruze?

  It drives me nuts, though, because I'm like, you don't know. You can't control Alan, number 18.

• 6:44George Kamel?

  Oh, you know the players.

• 6:45Rachel Cruze?

  No, I don't know. It's made up a name. But like, it's just, you can't control them. And here they are, and you're like, what do you do?

• 6:52George Kamel?

  That's true.

• 6:53Rachel Cruze?

  I don't like it. I don't like it.

• 6:55George Kamel?

  All right, next up, this is a, this is a recent conversation grenade for you, Rachel.

• 6:58Rachel Cruze?

  Ooh, uh, how much did you pay for your dog or your cat?

• 7:02George Kamel?

  The adopt, don't chop discussion is getting, has gotten out of hand. And you recently had, your dog had puppies.

• 7:08Rachel Cruze?

  My dog had puppies.

• 7:09George Kamel?

  On purpose, was not an accident.

• 7:11Rachel Cruze?

  We meant for her.

• 7:12George Kamel?

  It was intentional family planning.

• 7:13Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, it was. It was. Uh, yeah, and I got a lot of, a lot of hate. I did not realize, did not realize how angry people get when you breed your dog. I didn't know. I mean, I think adopting is great. Children, dogs, I mean, all, like, adoption is a wonderful, beautiful thing.

• 7:35George Kamel?

  Have you never watched The End of Price is Right?

• 7:38Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, get your dog spayed and neutered, Bob Barker. I know.

• 7:41George Kamel?

  That was his one mission, Rachel.

• 7:42Rachel Cruze?

  But I know, but that's so that your dog doesn't go get pregnant, and then you get a litter of puppies, and you have to put them in the shelter. Like, I get it. But when you want a specific dog for hunting, or whatever, like, people do look for specific breeds. And if you want that specific breed, the breed has to live on, which means it has to have puppies.

• 8:01George Kamel?

  And how many puppies did Sweet June have?

• 8:03Rachel Cruze?

  She had six.

• 8:04George Kamel?

  Is she Catholic?

• 8:05Rachel Cruze?

  She...

• 8:06George Kamel?

  That's a lot. That's a lot of puppies. Is that normal? Is that a normal amount of puppies?

• 8:10Rachel Cruze?

  No, for her size and the first litter, they said like, three on average.

• 8:15George Kamel?

  That's what I was thinking.

• 8:16Rachel Cruze?

  She had six. So we have, um, May, April, May.

• 8:22George Kamel?

  June, Mom.

• 8:23Rachel Cruze?

  And then Liberty.

• 8:26George Kamel?

  Couldn't have gone July.

• 8:27Rachel Cruze?

  Because Liberty, I know. Well, because Liberty's going to a family in DC and they named her Liberty, which is super cute.

• 8:32George Kamel?

  Okay, that's cute.

• 8:32Rachel Cruze?

  She's really cute. And then we have Cinnamon, Boulder, and Buddy.

• 8:37George Kamel?

  Wow, we really lost the months quickly there.

• 8:40Rachel Cruze?

  For the boys, yeah.

• 8:41George Kamel?

  It was like April, May, June, Boulder, Cinnamon.

• 8:44Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I know, I know.

• 8:45George Kamel?

  Mango.

• 8:46Rachel Cruze?

  The kids, the kids' names. Anyways.

• 8:47George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 8:48Rachel Cruze?

  It was, it's been so, it has been so fun. It's been so great. But anyways, yeah, that's a, that's a bomb to drop in front of people.

• 8:55George Kamel?

  Well, I'm guilty.

• 8:56Rachel Cruze?

  Apparently, that you didn't know.

• 8:57George Kamel?

  Yeah, I bought French Bulldogs, which are very, some of the most expensive dogs money can buy.

• 9:01Rachel Cruze?

  And the number one dog breed in America. It passed the Labrador Retriever for the first time in like 50 years. Did you know that, George?

• 9:07George Kamel?

  I'm a trendsetter, I've heard.

• 9:08Rachel Cruze?

  It's the number one popular breed now in America is the, is the French Bulldog.

• 9:11George Kamel?

  And let me just say, before you go.

• 9:13Rachel Cruze?

  Do people mad, are people mad that you have them?

• 9:14George Kamel?

  They're mad I didn't adopt.

• 9:16Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, yeah.

• 9:16George Kamel?

  And I'm like, but these are the dogs that my wife and I both have always dreamed of owning. But yeah. Is there a limit you think of how much you should spend on a dog? Or are you like, hey, if you pay cash and it's your dream, go for it? People spend money on stupid things.

• 9:26Rachel Cruze?

  I think it's that. I don't think there's a, I don't think it's a black or white issue. I think it's, yeah.

• 9:31George Kamel?

  My dogs bring me more joy than humans, so why would I not?

• 9:35Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. We do have a, Winston and I both have a number. His is higher than mine, on what you would spend to like, keep your dog alive.

• 9:43George Kamel?

  That's a conversation grenade. What is the number where, hey, if it's gonna cost 11 grand for phyto surgery, we let him meet Jesus?

• 9:51Rachel Cruze?

  What do you do? I know, what do you do? It's very hard. Cause you could keep a dog alive. I mean, people go through like, cancer treatments with their dogs. I mean, like, people do, they, they go to the ends of the earth for their dogs.

• 10:02George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 10:02Rachel Cruze?

  And I love dogs, but I don't know. And I think it's important if you do have an animal to have a number, to say what's wise for our situation. Because just like your famous call on the Ramsey Show with Katie and the horse, she couldn't afford the horse, so George told her to sell the horse, and the horse doesn't even know her name.

• 10:21George Kamel?

  You didn't have to put that part in, but that's also, that's also what happened.

• 10:25Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, but to have like, yeah, just to be wise with it. But anyways, that's a, that's a conversation grenade.

• 10:29George Kamel?

  Another conversation grenade that now leans into polit, uh, religion. This lady in the lobby the other day, at the Ramsey, she came by the Ramsey Show, she slipped me a tract. Like an old school tract, and it said, "Do, do pets go to heaven?"

• 10:42George Kamel?

  Didn't read it?

• 10:43Rachel Cruze?

  What did she have the answer?

• 10:46George Kamel?

  Yeah, apparently had the answer, but I was too scared to look.

• 10:48Rachel Cruze?

  That's a fun theological discussion. I'm gonna say yes.

• 10:52George Kamel?

  Here's my thing. If I don't make it to heaven, but my dog does, I'm gonna be pissed.

• 10:57Rachel Cruze?

  I think you'll have other reasons to be pissed.

• 11:00George Kamel?

  I don't wanna know.

• 11:00Rachel Cruze?

  I think they do. I think God created them. I do think it, yes.

• 11:04George Kamel?

  But then you have to go, well, cats too?

• 11:07Rachel Cruze?

  No, no, I'm just kidding. Yes.

• 11:09George Kamel?

  Snakes? What about snakes?

• 11:11Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 11:12George Kamel?

  Exactly. Now we're starting to judge what animals get to go? That doesn't feel like grace and mercy?

• 11:16Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I just said I wasn't theoretically.

• 11:17George Kamel?

  What a great conversation grenade to talk to your friends about.

• 11:19Rachel Cruze?

  But I believe, I don't know.

• 11:21George Kamel?

  Moving on to something less controversial, dietary judgment.

• 11:25Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, I've done this to you, George, and I apologize. Will you forgive me? I'm so sorry.

• 11:28George Kamel?

  One friend orders gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free. Another friend gives them a hard time because they're jumping on a bandwagon and it's not a real allergy. You know, people have real.

• 11:37Rachel Cruze?

  Sorry, George.

• 11:37George Kamel?

  I got gluten this weekend.

• 11:39Rachel Cruze?

  How was it? Terrible?

• 11:41George Kamel?

  It wasn't fun. I think I'm getting some canker sores. We were all together with some guys, guy hangout, and he had these like bourbon balls that are made with like peanuts and corn, and he was like, no, it's gluten-free, trust me. So I went, oh, great. So I had one. And then he calls me 10 minutes later and goes, hey, man, I forgot I put Oreos in there. And I was like, oh, that's definitely not gluten-free.

• 11:59Rachel Cruze?

  So what happened for real?

• 12:00George Kamel?

  I took gluten digestive pills when I got home, chugged a ton of water, and I've survived. I have not been hospitalized, but I do think I'm getting some canker sores on my tongue and mouth. Like, it's just, it's not fun.

• 12:10Rachel Cruze?

  Man, George.

• 12:12George Kamel?

  So again, it's not like a life or death thing. It doesn't have to be that, but it's just like, I'm intolerant to it. You know, like a dairy intolerance.

• 12:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 12:18George Kamel?

  So don't judge people. Or if they, if they wanna eat sugar and you're like, you know what that's doing to your body, just.

• 12:23Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. Red 40, listen.

• 12:25George Kamel?

  Earn their relationship.

• 12:26Rachel Cruze?

  Eating that popsicle, that red popsicle, just whatever, you know?

• 12:29George Kamel?

  My thing is, was the advice solicited? Did you ask for Rachel's advice about sugar? Or did she just come up to you and go, I wouldn't put that in my body?

• 12:36Rachel Cruze?

  That's great. Yes, yes. Do you have family members?

• 12:41Rachel Cruze?

  Or friends that would make comments like that.

• 12:45George Kamel?

  Here's one, here's one from my own family and bless my little sweet Arabic mom. I'm, I've been gluten free since 2017.

• 12:52Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 12:52George Kamel?

  And that's when I met Whitney. So she thinks it's happenstance, but I used to eat pita bread. That's what you eat with hummus, like with everything in the, in the Middle Eastern culture. So all of a sudden I'd go, no, I can't have pita bread. And she's like, but you had pita bread for 27. Why can't you have, and I'm like trying to explain to her like my body is now intolerant because I took it out of my system. I don't react well with it. And so.

• 13:13Rachel Cruze?

  And she didn't get it.

• 13:13George Kamel?

  It's hard. Yeah. Which I get like.

• 13:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. She's like, George, you've done this your whole life. What are you doing now? Yes, that's good. That's good.

• 13:20George Kamel?

  Sweet May. I love you.

• 13:21Rachel Cruze?

  Okay. Here's another one. How much money do you make?

• 13:24George Kamel?

  Oh, this one has become like, we should all be transparent with our salary. Like, why aren't we all just sharing?

• 13:31Rachel Cruze?

  I will say this though, I've had friends that are in a similar space that I am in on different things. And they've been so, I mean, they're like, oh, I did this and this and made this and this. And you're like, oh, wow. I didn't know. Okay. That's good to know. If it's in a weirdly a business context and you're comfortable with a person.

• 13:51George Kamel?

  Sharing your business revenue.

• 13:51Rachel Cruze?

  It's, yeah, it doesn't like that does not.

• 13:54George Kamel?

  Cause they're solopreneurs essentially, right?

• 13:55Rachel Cruze?

  And it's helpful to know like, okay, here's like what I'm doing and what I'm making. Yeah. I don't know. There's a part of me that that's helpful.

• 14:01George Kamel?

  But they're like solopreneurs.

• 14:02Rachel Cruze?

  But when it's your mother in law and it's like, so how, how much are you making or what? Like that feels weird, right?

• 14:08George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 14:09Rachel Cruze?

  It's the situation.

• 14:09George Kamel?

  For me, you know who it is? My grandma.

• 14:11Rachel Cruze?

  Does she ask how much you make?

• 14:13George Kamel?

  I think she wants to know what all the grandkids are making and she'll kind of like size everyone up secretly.

• 14:18Rachel Cruze?

  Who's more successful.

• 14:19George Kamel?

  Exactly.

• 14:20Rachel Cruze?

  Money wise. Oh, stop it, George. That's funny.

• 14:22George Kamel?

  That's her toxic trait.

• 14:23Rachel Cruze?

  That is.

• 14:24George Kamel?

  Shout out to grandma.

• 14:25Rachel Cruze?

  You know what? I'm going to be that grandma. Give me your info. I want to know.

• 14:29George Kamel?

  She wants to be proud, you know, she's, but it's like she's keeps tabs on what all the, all the grandkids are making.

• 14:34Rachel Cruze?

  Have you ever told her how much you've made?

• 14:35George Kamel?

  I don't think so. Maybe back in the day when I was, you know, early in my career.

• 14:39Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. Yeah.

• 14:40George Kamel?

  But no, I don't, I don't, I don't find it to be helpful.

• 14:43Rachel Cruze?

  That's funny.

• 14:43George Kamel?

  To grandma or anyone. Cause you know, grandmas are catty.

• 14:46Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah.

• 14:47George Kamel?

  They're, they're sharing that information somewhere.

• 14:48Rachel Cruze?

  I cannot wait to be, I can't wait to be like in my eighties. I feel like I could get away with anything.

• 14:53George Kamel?

  You will be so toxic.

• 14:54Rachel Cruze?

  And I will be to, oh, bougie, toxic Rachel comes out. Call me Ray Ray.

• 15:00George Kamel?

  82 year old Rachel will be spilling the tea everywhere she goes.

• 15:03Rachel Cruze?

  And she'll be gossiping everywhere, all over town.

• 15:06George Kamel?

  You'll be sparking drama. You'll spark fake drama. Oh, did you hear what she said about you?

• 15:11Rachel Cruze?

  Oh my gosh, no, I won't.

• 15:12George Kamel?

  And you'll always be the like-

• 15:13Rachel Cruze?

  I'll be a redeemed version of what you see right now.

• 15:16George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 15:17Rachel Cruze?

  I'll become healthier and healthier.

• 15:18George Kamel?

  Can I say, there are times where it makes sense to talk about how much you make.

• 15:21Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I mean, if your parents are aging, they're older, it's good to know and they're still working. Okay, so like, it's good to know what the financial situation is so you can help if or when something happens, right? I mean, like, there are scenarios.

• 15:32George Kamel?

  You want to make sure they're on track so you don't have to take care of them. Your spouse, this is a big one, if your spouse doesn't know how much you make, you should not be married. That's ridiculous.

• 15:41Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, for sure.

• 15:42George Kamel?

  Or like, well, he has his own bank account, so I don't really know what comes in. And that's why we talk about budgeting together, combining finances, once you're married, and the budget helps you look at everything together.

• 15:53Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, and being unified, especially as a married couple.

• 15:56George Kamel?

  Yeah, so if you want to check out Every Dollar, we'll drop a link in the description.

• 15:59Rachel Cruze?

  So great. Um, all right, another conversation grenade. What's your name, address, and social security number?

• 16:06George Kamel?

  I'm not falling for this one again.

• 16:08Rachel Cruze?

  I'm glad you don't, because you know why, George? You use Delete Me.

• 16:11George Kamel?

  That's right.

• 16:12Rachel Cruze?

  And Delete Me is such a great service because it goes online and removes all of your personal info from data broker websites.

• 16:19George Kamel?

  Name, address, phone number, emails.

• 16:20Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, because data breaches are so common nowadays, and our information online is, it's a huge steal.

• 16:26George Kamel?

  It's huge.

• 16:26Rachel Cruze?

  It's a huge steal. So to getting it off is really important, and Delete Me, that's what they do, that's their service, and it's amazing.

• 16:32George Kamel?

  So if you want to protect yourself from the risks of online scams and data breaches, check out Delete Me. They've got a custom promo code just for Smart Money Happy Hour listeners.

• 16:40Rachel Cruze?

  You got it.

• 16:41George Kamel?

  You'll get 20% off any of their plans if you go to joindelete.me/smartmoney, and these are super affordable.

• 16:47Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 16:47George Kamel?

  We're talking about like nine bucks a month for an individual, a little bit more for a whole family, and it's so worth it.

• 16:52Rachel Cruze?

  And honestly, today, I probably wouldn't talk about this maybe 15 years ago, because it like wasn't a thing. But like, in today's world, there are things that are evolving that like you have to be on top of to protect yourself, and this is one of them. It is, we live in a world of the internet, and so protecting your data is really key.

• 17:06George Kamel?

  And you'll sleep easier, and it's a lot of work. So to have someone else do it for me and send me a report, I'm like, great, one less thing to worry about. Thanks, Delete Me.

• 17:13Rachel Cruze?

  I so appreciate that, yes. Um, all right, next. Conversation grenade commenting on physical appearances. Wah wah.

• 17:22George Kamel?

  This one, I feel especially bad for females.

• 17:25Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 17:26George Kamel?

  They get the brunt of this, even from other females, from their mother, from their mother-in-law, from the grandma.

• 17:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 17:33George Kamel?

  Of like, oh, you, you, you've been eating good. Whatever it is, just the comments.

• 17:38Rachel Cruze?

  Or you look too little. You're too, you need this.

• 17:41George Kamel?

  Need to eat more.

• 17:42Rachel Cruze?

  Or are you pregnant?

• 17:44George Kamel?

  You look tired. I just don't have makeup on grandma.

• 17:47Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, come on grandma.

• 17:48George Kamel?

  You need to smile more.

• 17:50Rachel Cruze?

  No, have you gotten that one?

• 17:52George Kamel?

  I'm always smiling.

• 17:56George Kamel?

  But you know.

• 17:56Rachel Cruze?

  The physical appearance thing.

• 17:58George Kamel?

  Can we not?

• 17:58Rachel Cruze?

  Unless it's just a compliment, like you look really pretty today, right? Like just something kind.

• 18:02George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 18:02Rachel Cruze?

  But it's almost like the Chris is only.

• 18:04George Kamel?

  This happened to me this weekend.

• 18:04Rachel Cruze?

  Uh oh.

• 18:05George Kamel?

  We were at the guys hang.

• 18:06Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 18:07George Kamel?

  One guy said, dude, you've been slimming down. You look great. Another guy said, you've been putting on a few pounds? I was like, one of you is wrong.

• 18:15Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, stop it. That's so.

• 18:16George Kamel?

  I don't know. I haven't been on a scale to know. But this, how are, these two guys have radically different views.

• 18:22Rachel Cruze?

  Different views. Yes. So funny.

• 18:24George Kamel?

  So it just feels like, there's no need for that. It's not helpful.

• 18:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 18:28George Kamel?

  If you don't have nothing nice to say, keep to yourself.

• 18:30Rachel Cruze?

  Don't say anything at all, especially if it's condescending, but in like a nice, cheery way. We don't need it. We don't need it. Uh, the fun, uh, we get this a lot, George, when we go and meet people, whether it's like at live events or if we do the show here and we go out and take pictures. We get comments a lot about our physical appearance. Like it's pretty like.

• 18:51George Kamel?

  Can I tell you the most common one for me?

• 18:52Rachel Cruze?

  I know it. I know it, George.

• 18:53George Kamel?

  Say it.

• 18:54Rachel Cruze?

  You're so much shorter than I thought you were. They say it to George.

• 18:58George Kamel?

  Sometimes not even that long. They just go, you're short. Go, that's the first thing that popped in your mind. And I get what they're saying. They see me all, you know, on whatever the shows.

• 19:08Rachel Cruze?

  I know, I know.

• 19:08George Kamel?

  You can't tell height that much. I could be 6'2" for all you know.

• 19:10Rachel Cruze?

  And I don't think it comes from a bad place, but it's one of those like, golly.

• 19:14George Kamel?

  Yeah. Little do they know I'm 5'10" instead of 6'2". It's like a big difference.

• 19:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 19:17George Kamel?

  Who cares? What about you? What do they say to you?

• 19:20Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, I've gotten, wow, you're much smaller in person comment.

• 19:24George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 19:24Rachel Cruze?

  Uh huh. Oh my gosh, you're so much smaller in person. I'm like. Hi.

• 19:29George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 19:29Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know what to tell you.

• 19:30George Kamel?

  I got a weird one.

• 19:31Rachel Cruze?

  Camera's 10 pounds or whatever they were saying.

• 19:33George Kamel?

  I went to the, uh, that, the FinCon, like financial content creator thing. And people kept saying, "You look just like your profile picture." And I was like, "What? What do you think, I'm gonna catfish you? Like, I don't understand."

• 19:44Rachel Cruze?

  Totally. God, my picture looks like me.

• 19:45George Kamel?

  I guess because I'm primed the exact same way every day. I don't know.

• 19:48Rachel Cruze?

  The hair goes the exact same way. I know. So anyways, I don't think it's all a negative motivation, but...

• 19:55George Kamel?

  Yep. Have I wanted to comment back about their physical appearance? Yeah.

• 20:00Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. What have you?

• 20:01George Kamel?

  On occasion, I say it in my heart.

• 20:03Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, I will say, people that are really tall, I end up saying, "Oh, my gosh, you are so tall." I do say that. That's like the one attribute that like, it just like naturally comes out.

• 20:13George Kamel?

  I do it more casually. I'll say, "Do I have to stand next to you?"

• 20:16Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, that's sweet.

• 20:17George Kamel?

  And that way, it's more of a like, because I'm so little.

• 20:19Rachel Cruze?

  I wonder if really tall people, it's not that annoying.

• 20:23George Kamel?

  I think they're tired of it. I think they're tired of being tall. It's exhausting being tall.

• 20:27Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 20:28George Kamel?

  Ask me.

• 20:28Rachel Cruze?

  We have a friend and he's, and he's like 6'5". I mean, he's huge. And he has to get like custom like shirts and stuff because he can't like shop places. So I bet they are tired. We're so sorry if you're very tall.

• 20:42George Kamel?

  I love Rachel's empathy for tall people. Like, where is this coming from?

• 20:45Rachel Cruze?

  I know, it makes me just like...

• 20:46George Kamel?

  You don't think short people have to get their pants and jeans penned? Every single time?

• 20:51Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, man.

• 20:52George Kamel?

  Because jeans come in a standard 30-inch inseam?

• 20:54Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, man.

• 20:55George Kamel?

  All right, moving on from physical appearance. It's exhausting. Next up, we have compliments and questions about cost.

• 21:01Rachel Cruze?

  Mmm.

• 21:01George Kamel?

  "Oh, I love your bag. How much was it? This house is nice. What did it cost you? Love your place, but why are you still renting?" Awkward.

• 21:11Rachel Cruze?

  Throwing in that.

• 21:11George Kamel?

  Now, the only time that's fun is when you spent very little. You're like, "Oh, thank you, I got it at TJ Maxx. It was on sale, it was on clearance."

• 21:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.

• 21:19George Kamel?

  Kind of at Target, actually. You wouldn't believe.

• 21:20Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 21:21George Kamel?

  It's fun when it was a frugal purchase, but when it's...

• 21:24Rachel Cruze?

  Flipped jeans, Abercrombie.

• 21:25George Kamel?

  It feels weird.

• 21:26Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. Because you do feel like, ugh.

• 21:29George Kamel?

  Unless it's a very close friend.

• 21:30Rachel Cruze?

  You don't want to like, yeah, overly do it if it is something really nice.

• 21:34George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 21:34Rachel Cruze?

  Compliment me on my watch, George.

• 21:37George Kamel?

  Wow, what a nice watch. How much was it?

• 21:39Rachel Cruze?

  Thanks, George. I got it on Amazon for $14.99.

• 21:42George Kamel?

  Here's what, instead of saying how much it costs...

• 21:44Rachel Cruze?

  You're ruining my thing. Wow, George, I like your watch.

• 21:49George Kamel?

  Thanks, Rach.

• 21:51Rachel Cruze?

  What kind of watch is that, George?

• 21:53George Kamel?

  This is a Rolex, Rachel.

• 21:54Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, how do you feel?

• 21:56George Kamel?

  You want to know where it's from?

• 21:58Rachel Cruze?

  Where is it from?

• 21:59George Kamel?

  My wife's deceased grandpa, Rachel. How do you feel now?

• 22:04Rachel Cruze?

  How much did it cost to repair that watch, George?

• 22:07George Kamel?

  About a thousand bucks.

• 22:09Rachel Cruze?

  Wow, I could have bought a lot of these watches for us.

• 22:11George Kamel?

  I could have bought a lot of Amazon watches. No, I'm just remembering his memory.

• 22:16Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 22:17George Kamel?

  But thanks for the reminder, actually. It's very sweet. It's an heirloom piece to carry the family.

• 22:23Rachel Cruze?

  The family generations.

• 22:24George Kamel?

  Heritage. That was a good one.

• 22:26Rachel Cruze?

  That was funny.

• 22:27George Kamel?

  I got you, but it was a good one.

• 22:29Rachel Cruze?

  That was good.

• 22:29George Kamel?

  It was a nice attempt.

• 22:31Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I tried. I tried.

• 22:32George Kamel?

  But this is an awkward one. You know what's funny? There's a comedian I love, Hasan Minhaj. And he talks about different cultures.

• 22:38Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 22:38George Kamel?

  Some want to talk about how expensive something was. Some want to talk about how little something was. And some want to tell you exactly what it cost. So it was a great riff on different cultures.

• 22:47Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, and how people present it in different ways. Yes, I love it.

• 22:51George Kamel?

  It's in his latest Netflix special.

• 22:52Rachel Cruze?

  That's so good.

• 22:52George Kamel?

  Do you want to check it out?

• 22:53Rachel Cruze?

  Yep. Well, you know, one thing I will always spend money on, though, George.

• 22:56George Kamel?

  What's that?

• 22:57Rachel Cruze?

  Cozy Earth products.

• 22:59George Kamel?

  That's not a flex. That's just you being bougie.

• 23:02Rachel Cruze?

  That is me deciding to have quality in my life. And their sheets, their blankets. I mean, everything about their products are amazing.

• 23:12George Kamel?

  I kind of want to like, collect them all. Like, I'm just adding to the collection.

• 23:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, I did a bunch of Christmas gifts for people from them.

• 23:19George Kamel?

  Well, they've got such a wide variety. It's not just bedding and sheets and blankets. But they also have joggers and sweaters and all kinds of things.

• 23:25Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, it's such good stuff, you guys.

• 23:26George Kamel?

  The PJ sets, goodness gracious.

• 23:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, if you just want some good quality products, make sure to check out Cozy Earth. What's great is they have a 10-year warranty on their bedding, which is incredible. So go to cozylearth.com/smartmoney. And if you put in the promo code SMARTMONEY, then you get up to 40% off.

• 23:44George Kamel?

  Because they love Smart Money Happy Hour listeners.

• 23:45Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, so great.

• 23:47George Kamel?

  So go check it out.

• 23:47Rachel Cruze?

  Now, that's a number I'd share with people.

• 23:49George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 23:50Rachel Cruze?

  How much was that? I got a 40% off coupon.

• 23:53George Kamel?

  I got a high-quality item at a great bargain.

• 23:57Rachel Cruze?

  At a great deal.

• 23:58George Kamel?

  So if you get the post-purchase survey, let them know you heard about Cozy Earth on.

• 24:02Rachel Cruze?

  Smart Money Happy Hour.

• 24:04George Kamel?

  Okay, next up, we have therapy.

• 24:07Rachel Cruze?

  Ooh.

• 24:07George Kamel?

  This is a conversation grenade for some. It's a little social landmine here.

• 24:11Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, this is a generational grenade.

• 24:14George Kamel?

  The older you are, the more you're confused why you would pay someone to listen to you. That's how they view it.

• 24:19Rachel Cruze?

  To tell you your problems.

• 24:20George Kamel?

  Yeah. But the younger you are, the more you see the value in this.

• 24:24Rachel Cruze?

  Totally.

• 24:25George Kamel?

  Because your parents are not helpful to share your problems with. I'm just gonna say it.

• 24:31Rachel Cruze?

  That is fair.

• 24:32George Kamel?

  So, and I think it's one of these things you kind of have to experience to see the value of. It's hard to go, oh, I see what happened. They gave me tools that I can use versus, oh, someone listen to me vent.

• 24:43Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, yeah. And you don't have a great therapist if that's all it is.

• 24:47George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 24:48Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, you need to be able to like navigate. And they, and they ask good questions and make some statements and awareness of like, oh yeah, that's why I do what I do. The more you know yourself, and the more self-aware you are, I think just the healthier you are in life. You don't have to get all cra- right? These conversation grenades. I think the more therapy you do, the less conversation grenades in your life.

• 25:10George Kamel?

  Or you just set boundaries to go, I'm not gonna, not gonna step foot in that again.

• 25:13Rachel Cruze?

  Or that too, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 25:15George Kamel?

  But I will say, some people who do therapy, it's like vegans and CrossFit bros. It, they're like, it's their thing they want to talk about.

• 25:22Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's fair.

• 25:23George Kamel?

  Like, oh my gosh, my therapist? And just, I'm like, okay.

• 25:26Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 25:26George Kamel?

  We're good, I'm glad you go.

• 25:28Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 25:28George Kamel?

  Don't need to bring it up every three seconds.

• 25:30Rachel Cruze?

  That's fair, that's fair. Ooh, this is a good one, asking about an ex.

• 25:34George Kamel?

  Ooh, do people do that?

• 25:37Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know.

• 25:38George Kamel?

  Like, hey, how's your ex doing? Said no one ever that you like.

• 25:43Rachel Cruze?

  No, no. But wouldn't that be so interesting to be a part of that discussion?

• 25:47George Kamel?

  Uh, how your ex is doing?

• 25:49Rachel Cruze?

  And watching it play out, though?

• 25:51George Kamel?

  Well, that assumes you're just keeping tabs on your ex, which tells me you're not.

• 25:54Rachel Cruze?

  No, no, you're not part of it, but you're watching the grenade happen between other people.

• 25:57George Kamel?

  Oh, yeah.

• 25:58Rachel Cruze?

  And you're like, wow.

• 25:58George Kamel?

  I would watch that, I've gotta, you know, I'll admit, I'm not that great of a person. I would want to see that unfold.

• 26:03Rachel Cruze?

  That's what I'm saying, that's one that I'd be like, huh.

• 26:05George Kamel?

  Another one is like when a marriage dissolves like a divorce, people are very nosy. They want to know, like, was it a moral failure? What happened? And it's, that's none of your business.

• 26:15Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 26:15George Kamel?

  Unless you're sharing with a friend voluntarily.

• 26:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 26:18George Kamel?

  So.

• 26:19Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, here's another one. How much are you paying for your kid's school? Listen Linda, you can Google it.

• 26:26George Kamel?

  Google it.

• 26:27Rachel Cruze?

  You can find out, online if you want to know.

• 26:31George Kamel?

  Is it because of private school and how expensive it is and people get nosey of like,

• 26:34Rachel Cruze?

  I think so.

• 26:35George Kamel?

  The cruises pay thirty-five thousand dollars a year to send little Amelia, which you guys are...

• 26:41Rachel Cruze?

  We're taking the public route.

• 26:42George Kamel?

  Public school folk.

• 26:43Rachel Cruze?

  We pay taxes in the county. We're taking advantage of that.

• 26:45George Kamel?

  That's always my thought. I have nothing against private school, but I'm like, I'm paying all this money for this thing, I should take advantage of it.

• 26:51Rachel Cruze?

  I think it all depends on where you live and the school system.

• 26:53George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 26:53Rachel Cruze?

  I mean, I really do, I think. But, but within that world, which we're not in that world, but I have some friends that are, there's even a hierarchy of that world.

• 27:02George Kamel?

  Of like the private schools.

• 27:03Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 27:03George Kamel?

  Oh, they send them to that private school? Whoa.

• 27:06Rachel Cruze?

  Or like, wow, that, I don't know, there's like a thing there.

• 27:09George Kamel?

  Don't you think some of it, just some of it, I get there's legitimate reasons, but some of it is for the parents' reputation.

• 27:15Rachel Cruze?

  For sure.

• 27:15George Kamel?

  Kind of like going to a certain college.

• 27:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, yes.

• 27:18George Kamel?

  And some of them are like, okay, they live in an area with rougher schools and they want their kid to have the best education, so they're willing to pay for the private school.

• 27:25Rachel Cruze?

  Sure.

• 27:26George Kamel?

  But we have the privilege of living in a county with some of the best schools.

• 27:29Rachel Cruze?

  For sure.

• 27:30George Kamel?

  So I'm like, this school's not good enough for you?

• 27:33Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 27:33George Kamel?

  Come on.

• 27:34Rachel Cruze?

  I don't know. I think it's a, I think it's a personal preference idea. I think for some people, they do it for like a spiritual sense, they want, you know.

• 27:41George Kamel?

  But there's a lot of judgment. Can I tell you this? To add to this is the homeschool versus public school or private school.

• 27:47Rachel Cruze?

  Oh yeah.

• 27:47George Kamel?

  The homeschoolers-

• 27:48Rachel Cruze?

  I feel more judged from homeschoolers these days, where we used to judge them!

• 27:51George Kamel?

  Love you homeschool moms, but the judgment is strong.

• 27:54Rachel Cruze?

  It is flipped. We used to judge the homeschoolers and now...

• 27:59George Kamel?

  It's like, oh, you send your kid to a school?

• 28:01Rachel Cruze?

  You're indoctrinating your children with the government. I'm like, I don't know.

• 28:05George Kamel?

  Stranger teaching your kids about values and such?

• 28:06Rachel Cruze?

  This school's a great principal. I don't know, I just love our school. I love our school. Love our school.

• 28:12George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 28:12Rachel Cruze?

  Hate me. People do get mad at me and I do want to give shout out always to public school teachers because you are not bad people and you're doing a great job.

• 28:19George Kamel?

  They needed to hear that.

• 28:21Rachel Cruze?

  They are, they are.

• 28:22George Kamel?

  Amen. And homeschool moms, you're doing a great job too. It's not a competition.

• 28:26Rachel Cruze?

  Private school teachers, amazing.

• 28:28George Kamel?

  You're doing the most.

• 28:28Rachel Cruze?

  Well done.

• 28:29George Kamel?

  All schools, all teachers. Anyone trying to help the next generation, just good on you.

• 28:33Rachel Cruze?

  We love you.

• 28:34George Kamel?

  Stop fighting each other. Stop, start fighting a lack of literacy. Let's end on a, something real light and fun. Politics.

• 28:44Rachel Cruze?

  The explosion of the grenade occurs.

• 28:46George Kamel?

  Yep, like what feels controversial now may not always be this heated. We got masks from four years ago. You had vaccines.

• 28:53Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 28:54George Kamel?

  You had, you know, electric cars for some reason have become a conversation grenade.

• 28:57Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah.

• 28:58George Kamel?

  They think because I have chosen to drive a electric car that I either want to die in a car fire, hate my family, um, I am, I hate gas and oil and I want to see America blue. I don't know, people are just so angry.

• 29:13Rachel Cruze?

  They get so mad at the electric cars.

• 29:15George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 29:15Rachel Cruze?

  Who knew?

• 29:16George Kamel?

  Religious differences, that's a big one.

• 29:19Rachel Cruze?

  Man, you, you could put a lot, yeah, there's a lot.

• 29:22George Kamel?

  So just current events in politics.

• 29:23Rachel Cruze?

  A lot in this category.

• 29:24George Kamel?

  That's aside from who you voted for and why.

• 29:28Rachel Cruze?

  Just ask that question.

• 29:29George Kamel?

  Do you have strong feelings about, I mean, I know you, you have political feelings, but about people who have strong feelings about politics? How do you deal with those people?

• 29:37Rachel Cruze?

  Um, no, I do think that, and I genuinely feel this way, when you can't have any level of conversation with somebody, that's the problem today, I think.

• 29:48George Kamel?

  Like if you can't hear them out for five minutes without losing your mind?

• 29:50Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, like I, like, and, and can I say this? Have genuine curiosity. Cause I think there are people on both sides of the aisle, they have, they have yelled at each other so much. Both sides, that's today, I feel like more than ever before. Even in 2020, 20, I mean, I don't think through all the elections that I've like lived through. This one feels like literally one side really believes the other side's evil and the other side really believes, and I'm like, it's, I mean, obviously he won the popular vote, so he, a little bit more. But overall, it's a pretty split down the middle.

• 30:23George Kamel?

  Yep.

• 30:23Rachel Cruze?

  And not all of those millions and millions of people that voted either side. Are not eat like I I just don't I cannot believe I can't believe that I can't believe that so

• 30:32George Kamel?

  I don't like this moral high horse that I'm better than those people because I voted this

• 30:36Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, no, no. So I think

• 30:38George Kamel?

  Hate us if you want.

• 30:40Rachel Cruze?

  Get mad at us if you want, but that I genuinely genuinely believe that so

• 30:44George Kamel?

  My favorite is

• 30:45Rachel Cruze?

  Because I meet people

• 30:46George Kamel?

  We have friends on all sides.

• 30:47Rachel Cruze?

  That have level heads on both sides.

• 30:48George Kamel?

  I love those people.

• 30:49Rachel Cruze?

  And you're just like, yeah, I want to hear what you have to say and both sides are educated in their way. Both I mean, both have legitimate reason. I mean, there is it's not that, oh, my gosh, 73 million on this side. Don't know what they're talking about or 73 million on this. I don't know what they're like. They have legitimate reasons for both.

• 31:06George Kamel?

  And you can be a person of character on both sides. Some of my neighbors had the Kamel sign. Some had the Trump sign. And I would have never known their politics without their little sign out there.

• 31:14Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 31:14George Kamel?

  But they're both they're all great people. We never talk politics.

• 31:17Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah. So that's my problem. So I don't I I don't get mad with people having opinions. I have opinions.

• 31:21George Kamel?

  Yeah.

• 31:22Rachel Cruze?

  There's certain things that I that I do think is, in my opinion, is better than another. I do. But I don't like hold this ground that like I can't have this conversation or not believe that I can learn something too. I want to know where you're coming from because I genuinely could understand that and that makes me think differently. And that's good.

• 31:41George Kamel?

  Yes.

• 31:42Rachel Cruze?

  Ted Lasso, don't be judgmental. Be curious. But man, some people

• 31:45George Kamel?

  I just usually avoid it. You're one of the only people that I can actually talk politics with because it's I say from a place of curiosity. And there's a looseness about it. We're not ever getting heated.

• 31:54Rachel Cruze?

  And if we can be there, it's fun. Like we've had fun up in we've had some fun discussions with like people and it's like, oh, my gosh, that it's it's great. I don't know. But it but it is the grenade of the year 2025.

• 32:08George Kamel?

  If there was going to be an award, that would be it.

• 32:10Rachel Cruze?

  This would be it. So, yep, I

• 32:13George Kamel?

  So what are the final takeaways here?

• 32:15Rachel Cruze?

  Man.

• 32:16George Kamel?

  I think golden rule has to be one.

• 32:18Rachel Cruze?

  Yes. Treat others as you would want to be treated 100%. Yeah.

• 32:22George Kamel?

  And give benefit of the doubt. Be curious, not judgmental.

• 32:26Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 32:26George Kamel?

  And not everyone might be as comfortable with a conversation as you might be.

• 32:29Rachel Cruze?

  I think that's it, too.

• 32:30George Kamel?

  So be aware of that.

• 32:31Rachel Cruze?

  Depending on what has happened and either of right, you could take what were some of ours like? Yeah, politics, you got physical appearance, you got money. Like, you never know where people stand in these categories. And even if you think you know someone, you may not know the full person, right? So don't make assumptions in that way.

• 32:54George Kamel?

  Another one that has to do with money, don't give unsolicited money advice. Don't talk about money unsolicited.

• 33:00Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, that's right.

• 33:01George Kamel?

  It's just a weird one. So unless it comes up from someone else, and it's the right conversation, the right person, the right environment, it's a weird thing to talk about.

• 33:10Rachel Cruze?

  If Brett shows up with his new Jeep, don't be like, "Oh, did you get payments on that?" Like, you don't need to know that.

• 33:15George Kamel?

  And if they bring it up and tell me, and they go, "What do you think? I got a lease," I'll give them my honest opinion.

• 33:19Rachel Cruze?

  That's right. You can be honest. If they ask, for sure, if they've opened the door, you're allowed to speak.

• 33:24George Kamel?

  But if it doesn't affect me, I'm not gonna ask questions. You do you.

• 33:27Rachel Cruze?

  That's good, George. That's good.

• 33:29George Kamel?

  Next, know your audience. We talked about that.

• 33:32Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, know the audience. And I think a good challenge in life, do you have people where none of these would be grenades? That you could, like, literally throw out topics?

• 33:40George Kamel?

  That's my dream friend group. Where are these people?

• 33:42Rachel Cruze?

  I know.

• 33:43George Kamel?

  Let's see, what else?

• 33:44Rachel Cruze?

  Man, I think just the older I get, the more tired I am. I'll be honest with you, in that way.

• 33:48George Kamel?

  The less energy expenditure I have to give to some of these.

• 33:51Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, I agree.

• 33:52George Kamel?

  So the last one, I think, is boundaries over defensiveness. Like, just put up a boundary. You can only control yourself. If you're going through a life change, and you know people will ask, prepare an answer that you're comfortable with in advance.

• 34:00Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 34:01George Kamel?

  People are going to ask. You can shut it down. You can give a straight answer.

• 34:05Rachel Cruze?

  Let's practice this in real time.

• 34:06George Kamel?

  Okay.

• 34:09Rachel Cruze?

  Maybe you be like the neighborhood nosy Nancy.

• 34:13George Kamel?

  Why can't I be Ned? Why you have to make me?

• 34:16Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, I'll be, oh, I'm sorry.

• 34:17George Kamel?

  I'll be nosy Ned.

• 34:19Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, nosy Ned.

• 34:20George Kamel?

  And who are you in this situation? And you someone non-toxic?

• 34:23Rachel Cruze?

  And I'm going to practice setting up a boundary with a conversation that I don't want to have.

• 34:29George Kamel?

  Okay, I'm gonna try this on you.

• 34:30Rachel Cruze?

  Are you Ned?

• 34:31George Kamel?

  I'm Ned.

• 34:31Rachel Cruze?

  Okay.

• 34:32George Kamel?

  Hey, Rachel, you talk about giving an awful lot. I see your Instagram stories. But how much are you actually giving to charity? What's the, like, dollar amount you guys give per year?

• 34:40Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, Ned, you know? We...

• 34:49George Kamel?

  Did I stump you on that?

• 34:50Rachel Cruze?

  I just don't want, no, I just don't want to tell you a specific dollar amount. Because you don't need to know that.

• 34:57George Kamel?

  I don't need to know, I'd like to know.

• 34:58Rachel Cruze?

  It's, yeah, you don't want to know that, you don't need to know that. Ned, Ned, Ned. Oh Ned, Ned, I just...

• 35:11George Kamel?

  Wow.

• 35:12Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, golly, why is it so hard?

• 35:13George Kamel?

  She's spiraled.

• 35:14Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, um, you know what I would really say Ned? God, that's a rude, that's kind of a rude question Ned.

• 35:20George Kamel?

  I was just asking about generosity, it's just, since you talk about it so much, I was curious, what, you know, a truly generous person...

• 35:25Rachel Cruze?

  How much do you give Ned?

• 35:27George Kamel?

  Uh, we, we give to our local church, we give to nonprofits that we care about.

• 35:31Rachel Cruze?

  How much?

• 35:32George Kamel?

  Oh, it depends on the year.

• 35:34Rachel Cruze?

  Well...

• 35:34George Kamel?

  And what's going on.

• 35:35Rachel Cruze?

  What did you do this past calendar year?

• 35:36George Kamel?

  Hmm, I'd have to get with my, uh, my tax pro on that, I don't remember the exact dollar amount.

• 35:41Rachel Cruze?

  Just give me a range Ned. See how I flipped the tables now? I mean, I'm really down.

• 35:44George Kamel?

  Let me be honest Rachel, you know generosity, it's a, it's a matter of the heart and it's private for our household, but I just always give what you can, give a little until you can give a lot, my friend Rachel Cruz says that.

• 35:55George Kamel?

  I think it's a great quote. You know, and it's, it's a, for me, it's, it's a private thing for us, and I think everyone should give as much as they are able to, and it's one of the reasons we got out of debt, so that we could give more to things that we care about.

• 36:08Rachel Cruze?

  You could probably give more if you didn't have a nice watch like that Ned.

• 36:12George Kamel?

  Well, actually Rachel, this was inherited.

• 36:17George Kamel?

  That was pretty good, I think I did better. I think I won.

• 36:20Rachel Cruze?

  Well, before we spill the tea on guilty as charged George, this has been fun, but what, what have we sipped on?

• 36:24George Kamel?

  This has been a smashing sage spritzer mocktail, so no alcohol in this one, safe for the little ones, if you want to make it for them and make them feel fancy. It costs $2.10 per glass, it's got blackberries, lime juice, honey, coconut water, seltzer, and sage leaves.

• 36:40Rachel Cruze?

  So good.

• 36:40George Kamel?

  If you want to be extra, what do you rate it?

• 36:41Rachel Cruze?

  Uh, 10 out of 10. One of my favorite mocktails. It's really good. The flavor's great.

• 36:49Rachel Cruze?

  It's easy, light.

• 36:51George Kamel?

  Yeah, I'm gonna give it an eight out of 10. I wish it was a little bit sweeter and also a little bit punchier with the lime juice.

• 36:58Rachel Cruze?

  Mmm.

• 36:58George Kamel?

  It's a little bit light for me. I like a mocktail that would

• 37:01Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, yeah.

• 37:02George Kamel?

  Shock me with how punchy it is. So, still a great one. Find the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend.

• 37:07Rachel Cruze?

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

• 37:17Speaker 02

  All right. Have you ever said something that shut down a conversation?

• 37:20Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, man.

• 37:21George Kamel?

  Oh, boy.

• 37:25Rachel Cruze?

  I had a moment with a friend a few years ago. I was really deep in my conspiracies, like, real deep. And it was like, uh, oh, it sounds terrible. But it was like about like sex trafficking stuff, like out of DC. Like, they were like, yeah, prosecuting people. Like, it was like a kind of a thing. And then you go deep into like the what was, what was really happening. And so, oh, man, and I was full on, full on in belief. I mean, I was in, I was, I was

• 37:56George Kamel?

  Was it a passionate speech about what was happening?

• 37:58Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, yeah. Winston finally was like, I was like, read this. And he finally was like, you gotta get out of this hole. Like, what's happening to you? Like, and I was like, oh, my gosh, all this stuff is happening, big in it. And I told one of my friends. I was telling her and she's like, I just don't know. I don't know. I said, wake up.

• 38:14George Kamel?

  Oh, no. You did the wake up line?

• 38:17Rachel Cruze?

  But this was back like before, this was like pre, pre the wake up line. But I was like, this stuff is happening in all this. And then I had another friend that was like, you know, crimes do happen, Rachel. Like, this isn't a, like, some of it's not a conspiracy. Like, things really do happen in life. But yeah, but that was one of mine with a friend. And she was like, wow, wow, Rachel.

• 38:40George Kamel?

  Did you apologize after or no?

• 38:42Rachel Cruze?

  Yes.

• 38:43George Kamel?

  You're like, sorry, got a little

• 38:44Rachel Cruze?

  Got a little

• 38:45George Kamel?

  A little fired up there?

• 38:45Rachel Cruze?

  Got a little worked up, yeah. So that was a shutdown conversation with a friend.

• 38:50George Kamel?

  Where it just brought the whole party down?

• 38:51Rachel Cruze?

  No, no party. Just her and I.

• 38:53George Kamel?

  Oh.

• 38:54Rachel Cruze?

  And I was like, are you not, are you not like freaking out about this? We gotta do something. You know, it was one of those like, we're gonna charge the hell. Save the kids.

• 39:05George Kamel?

  Wow. Yeah, I was like, what are you, even if it's true, what are you gonna do?

• 39:08Rachel Cruze?

  I'm not sure.

• 39:09George Kamel?

  Report it to the FBI?

• 39:10Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, I was supposedly working on it. We don't know.

• 39:12George Kamel?

  I feel like the person who did the video or the article should have done that.

• 39:16Rachel Cruze?

  It was an article and a video. There was a lot there. What's yours?

• 39:20George Kamel?

  I feel like I only elevate conversations. I never detract. So it's a weird one for me because, you know, I only add social value.

• 39:29Rachel Cruze?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 39:29George Kamel?

  I never take away.

• 39:30Rachel Cruze?

  No.

• 39:31George Kamel?

  I'm always keeping the ball in the air in social settings. I think out of like a nervous energy of like, I don't want the party to die.

• 39:36Rachel Cruze?

  Have you shut down a room, though?

• 39:38George Kamel?

  Uh, not on purpose. I think with my presence probably and my general just ick. But not with something I said out loud.

• 39:45Rachel Cruze?

  Yes, that's fair.

• 39:46George Kamel?

  But I am the most likely to like throw the grenade and then just kind of like back away and watch it unfold.

• 39:51Rachel Cruze?

  And see what happens.

• 39:52George Kamel?

  So.

• 39:53Rachel Cruze?

  That's good.

• 39:53George Kamel?

  But again, I don't shut it down. I just create chaos.

• 39:56Rachel Cruze?

  There you go. And watch it all play out.

• 39:58George Kamel?

  Watch it all burn.

• 39:59Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. Yeah, I'd say most of mine would have been around conspiracies in my world and in my life. Uh huh.

• 40:07George Kamel?

  I'd say anytime I talk about the fact that I wiped my dog's butt, that shuts the room down. So I think I am guilty in that regard.

• 40:14Rachel Cruze?

  Yeah, that's good. That's a good one.

• 40:15George Kamel?

  No one has questions. They want to just exit this conversation completely.

• 40:19Rachel Cruze?

  And they're like, we're done.

• 40:19George Kamel?

  Yeah, no one's ever curious about that. Like, tell me more.

• 40:23Rachel Cruze?

  There's more judgment there.

• 40:24George Kamel?

  Like, well, she has an inverted tail, you see. No, no one cares.

• 40:27Rachel Cruze?

  Okay, well, if you guys want to follow us, make sure to go on TikTok because we're there now, George.

• 40:31George Kamel?

  We're there, at Smart Money Happy Hour. Give us a follow.

• 40:33Rachel Cruze?

  Make sure to check us out. And if you want to know how to navigate more of these kind of conversations, check out our episode on Awkward Money Conversations.

• 40:42George Kamel?

  That was a good one.

• 40:43Rachel Cruze?

  It's a good one, too. Yep. And make sure you subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.