Pod Insights Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel Things That Scream “I’m Pretending to Be Upper Class” About this episode 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app!
We all know that person who wears flashy designer logos like they’re personally endorsed by Michael Kors. In this episode, Rachel and George react to ways people pretend to be upper class and discuss how to be smart with your money instead.
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Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍸 Japanese Slipper
Recipe: Difford’s Guide
1 fluid ounce Cointreau triple sec liqueur
1 fluid ounce green melon liqueur
1 fluid ounce lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Instructions: Select and pre-chill a martini glass. Prepare garnish of Luxardo maraschino cherry dropped into drink. Shake all ingredients with ice. Fine strain into chilled glass.
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Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:05 Rachel Cruze? Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.
0:06 George Kamel? I'm George Kamel.
0:07 Rachel Cruze? And this is
0:08 George Kamel? Smart Money Happy Hour.
0:11 Rachel Cruze? Cheers.
0:12 George Kamel? Cheers.
0:14 George Kamel? Mmm.
0:15 Rachel Cruze? Wow. It's a lot of flavor. 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.
0:25 George Kamel? And today's episode is all about things that scream, "I'm pretending to be upper class."
0:30 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, I mean, these days, it's cool to care about your money, right? But sometimes, we care about the things that we shouldn't care about.
0:37 George Kamel? Putting the care in all the wrong places.
0:39 Rachel Cruze? Dun, dun, dun.
0:40 George Kamel? So, think about words like "try hard," remember when that was a thing?
0:43 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
0:43 George Kamel? "Humble brag."
0:44 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
0:45 George Kamel? Now, the new one, according to Gen Z, is "pick me energy."
0:47 Rachel Cruze? Oh.
0:48 George Kamel? She has "pick me energy."
0:49 Rachel Cruze? Ah, ew.
0:50 George Kamel? When you're trying to sort of flex and, you know, get the attention.
0:53 Rachel Cruze? Yes.
0:53 George Kamel? So, we're gonna talk about what showing off looks like when it comes to your money. But first, let's show off what we're sipping on, Rachel.
0:59 Rachel Cruze? Uh, yeah, we are sipping on a Japanese slipper.
1:02 George Kamel? Well, stick around till the end, we're gonna give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode.
1:07 Rachel Cruze? So great.
1:08 George Kamel? So, like we said, it's cool to care about your finances, and we're trying to make that fetch, but that doesn't mean flaunting name-brand stuff just to prove something. In fact, it's become kind of a social turn-off.
1:18 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, people aren't liking it as much, and I appreciate that. It's almost like when people just use big words to feel like, "Oh, I'm smart," you know?
1:25 George Kamel? Like ibuprofen.
1:28 Rachel Cruze? Say again? I stop, are you serious?
1:31 George Kamel? Yeah.
1:31 Rachel Cruze? That's not the hard one.
1:32 George Kamel? Just say Advil.
1:32 Rachel Cruze? That's not the hard one. Yeah, but what's the acetaminophen?
1:36 George Kamel? Acetaminophen.
1:37 Rachel Cruze? Acetaminophen.
1:39 George Kamel? Supercalifragil...
1:40 Rachel Cruze? I was gonna say allergousis.
1:41 George Kamel? There, she got that one.
1:42 Rachel Cruze? You know, when I always mispronounce, I always say "nuclear."
1:45 George Kamel? Oh, you and George Bush. I think still...
1:50 George Kamel? Strategery and nuclear.
1:51 Rachel Cruze? Nuclear.
1:52 George Kamel? Nuclear.
1:53 Rachel Cruze? Nuclear.
1:53 George Kamel? Yep.
1:54 Rachel Cruze? Nuclear.
1:54 George Kamel? That's why we're friends. I love correcting you more than anything. It's the only thing that gives me joy.
1:59 Rachel Cruze? Oh, my gosh, but yeah, I like the, I like the Gen Z level, though, of, um, listen, we don't have to show off, right? There's like a downplaying that is occurring.
2:09 George Kamel? It's cool to not care in a way.
2:10 Rachel Cruze? It's cool not to care, but yet, yet, people are still caring about the wrong things.
2:14 George Kamel? Let's talk about some of the, uh, pick-me moves, according to the internet, and see if we agree with them. You ready for this one?
2:19 Rachel Cruze? I love it, yeah.
2:20 George Kamel? And again, this is in good fun. We've all been guilty of these, we are not above this, one-upping.
2:26 Rachel Cruze? Oh, so annoying.
2:28 George Kamel? That's so, someone's sharing a story and you go, oh. One time, and sometimes it's, it's not malicious.
2:33 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
2:33 George Kamel? But a lot of times, you know the person is trying to one-up you.
2:36 Rachel Cruze? Okay, can I say, I may be guilty of this, but I, and I hope it's not a one-up, but I do love in conversation to like, hear something that someone's saying, and I'm like, oh my gosh, me too.
2:48 George Kamel? You're relating to it.
2:49 Rachel Cruze? It's a relating thing. I don't think it's a one, I mean, it's not like, oh, we went to the store and I was like, I went to Fiji. Like, it's not, it's not like that level.
2:56 George Kamel? Yes.
2:57 Rachel Cruze? But like, I'm trying to think, like, if you're like, yeah, I'm drinking a green drink. I'd be like, oh, my gosh, I love green. I love wicked and alpha. Or like, I don't know, I don't know. But you just try to like weave conversation in and relate to the person.
3:08 George Kamel? Yeah, I think a general curiosity is the best move you can do in conversation versus, ooh, what's something I can do to steer away the conversation back to me? That's, I think, a good sort of rule of thumb.
3:18 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, that's good. I appreciate that. Yeah.
3:20 George Kamel? Name dropping.
3:21 Rachel Cruze? Hate it.
3:22 George Kamel? That one, this one personally bothers me.
3:24 Rachel Cruze? This one grinds my beans.
3:25 George Kamel? Maybe because I don't know anyone, I don't know anyone like famous enough to name drop, other than you? No offense. Sorry.
3:32 Rachel Cruze? No, I, and you know who does, you know, the most annoying ones, are you ready? A little Enneagram talk.
3:38 George Kamel? Okay.
3:38 Rachel Cruze? Enneagram three males that are unhealthy, this is what they do, and it drives.
3:44 George Kamel? So, and if you want an explainer of an Enneagram three male, they want to win and they want to look good doing it. They want you to know that they're with.
3:51 Rachel Cruze? That they're important, and so they will let you know all the names of all the people. It is just, and I think it's a universal.
3:57 George Kamel? Have you ever been guilty of this, that you remember, you're like, oh, I mentioned this name and it fell, it came across this way?
4:01 Rachel Cruze? I hold on to my, I hold on to the names so tightly in my life that I will not.
4:06 George Kamel? Wow.
4:07 Rachel Cruze? I don't, I don't like it. I don't like it.
4:09 George Kamel? Easiest way to avoid this?
4:10 Rachel Cruze? I don't like people that like famous people. It's just like, I don't like it.
4:13 George Kamel? Yeah. Do you ever name drop Dave?
4:16 Rachel Cruze? I did, twice in my life.
4:19 George Kamel? Did it work? Did it get you what you wanted?
4:22 Rachel Cruze? Uh, yes, it did.
4:25 George Kamel? That's not helping anything.
4:26 Rachel Cruze? One of them was my econ class, my econ 101 with Ken Baker at UT. I was failing.
4:32 George Kamel? And you were like, my dad.
4:34 Rachel Cruze? Because I didn't go to class and I had a D. And it was one of those classes at UT. It was a massive lecture hall, massive. So like, if you never, they don't take roll. I mean, it's one of those like, you just.
4:44 George Kamel? You're an adult.
4:45 Rachel Cruze? And your grade was literally the midterm and the final. Like, it was one of those like, but then all of his exams, old exams were at the sorority dorm. So there's file cabinets that you could study the old exams and be fine.
4:59 Rachel Cruze? Not true. The midterm, I failed. I think I got like a 60 something and I was like, oh no, oh no. And so then you had office hours you could go to. And I was like, I have to find a way in to Ken Baker's heart. I'll never forget him. Ken Baker, Professor Ken Baker.
5:14 George Kamel? Is he still out there?
5:15 Rachel Cruze? I don't know, I don't know. That was, that was 20 years ago. And yeah, and I totally, in the, yep, in the session with like other students, I figured out a way to drop Dave's name. And he was like, wait, what? And I was like, wait, what? Oh yeah. I know, it was terrible, y'all. And then.
5:32 George Kamel? Your grade suddenly went up? No.
5:36 Rachel Cruze? I gotta be, I took a final, so I did better on my final. But also then apparently the study sessions, he like gave people extra credit. So I don't know if it was because of Dave's. But I, I don't know. I don't know if the University of Tennessee would appreciate me telling that story.
5:52 George Kamel? It's fine.
5:52 Rachel Cruze? But it was true.
5:53 George Kamel? Statute of limitations, I think, is just bad on that.
5:55 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, it was true. So yeah, I did. I dropped his name then, and then there was one other time and I can't remember. But I've never done it for like a police officer or anything like that. Not that I've had many encounters with police officers.
6:07 George Kamel? That felt way too specific to just be an example.
6:08 Rachel Cruze? I was thinking like a speeding ticket or something.
6:10 George Kamel? I've never done it while getting pulled over on I-65.
6:12 Rachel Cruze? I did do it one other time. So I've done it twice in my life, yeah.
6:15 George Kamel? Okay.
6:15 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
6:16 George Kamel? It worked out.
6:16 Rachel Cruze? I'll be honest. How about you?
6:18 George Kamel? Again, if you looked at my phone Rolodex, you'd be very unimpressed. You'd be like, I don't know any of these people. You should know cooler people. The coolest people I know are in this room.
6:26 Rachel Cruze? Oh.
6:27 George Kamel? Mostly Kelly, our producer. But no, I've never, I try to avoid name dropping at all costs.
6:32 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, boo.
6:33 George Kamel? What's next?
6:34 Rachel Cruze? Uh, bragging about kids. So respectfully, no one cares that John Williams, which Patrick the fifth is crawling at four months.
6:42 George Kamel? We're experiencing this now because our daughter Mia is not walking yet and she's about 15 months.
6:47 Rachel Cruze? Yep.
6:47 George Kamel? So there's a lot of, even for my own family, accidentally they'll just be like, well, you know, Jimmy was walking when he was only nine months.
6:55 Rachel Cruze? Yes, the comparison.
6:57 George Kamel? It's like, what are we doing here?
6:58 Rachel Cruze? Oh yeah, 100%.
6:59 George Kamel? She'll be walking the rest of her life. She'll be fine.
7:01 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, oh, she'll be good. The funniest though is parents that, um, and I probably have done, I mean, I feel like every parent's probably guilty at some level of this, so I'm sorry to anyone that may have heard that, but you do talk to parents and they're, and when their kid is so specialized or so smart that they can't be in that sports league or that school anymore because they're just so smart.
7:24 George Kamel? They're too advanced.
7:24 Rachel Cruze? They're so advanced that like, we just can't, and you're like, they're five. Like, I don't know how, like, you're like, really? That's the stage of life we're in. Now, when they're in high school and they're legitimately, like, who knows what, getting, like, there's legitimate ages of like, no, that is like legitimate.
7:40 George Kamel? My rule is if you're, if you're still wet in the bed, you don't get to brag on your kid.
7:43 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
7:44 George Kamel? You're not there yet.
7:45 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, I know, I know.
7:46 George Kamel? But Amelia had a piano recital and you were bragging about her?
7:50 Rachel Cruze? She did great. Yeah, but I was not like, she is a prodigy.
7:54 George Kamel? Truthfully, I was very inquisitive. I was like, how did she do?
7:56 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, she just did a little recital, nothing like out of the ordinary, but I was proud of her.
8:00 George Kamel? But she is a prodigy.
8:01 Rachel Cruze? But, but if I was like, y'all should listen to this.
8:04 George Kamel? She's a young Mozart, I'm telling you all right now.
8:06 Rachel Cruze? It is literally the best, like, it's just, it's unbelievable. No, not yet, you're doing great.
8:10 George Kamel? This one personally bothers me. I don't know if it's, uh, southern guys do this, but sunglasses inside.
8:15 Rachel Cruze? Oh, and it's always like, um, what's the sunglasses that have the O on them?
8:20 George Kamel? Oakley?
8:21 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, it's always like an Oakley guy.
8:22 George Kamel? Yeah, that describes him well.
8:23 Rachel Cruze? And you're like, you don't need a, or the big ones that the baseball players wear now.
8:27 George Kamel? I haven't seen those.
8:28 Rachel Cruze? Have you seen those?
8:29 George Kamel? I don't know enough baseball players, I guess.
8:31 Rachel Cruze? And you're just like, you don't need to wear sunglasses.
8:33 George Kamel? I could see Winston Cruz accidentally keeping his sunglasses on. He wears them, is he a, wear them on his head or is he like a croaky guy on the neck?
8:40 Rachel Cruze? He's a croaky guy. He's still a Knoxville.
8:42 George Kamel? When I showed up to the south.
8:43 Rachel Cruze? You can take the man out of Knoxville, you can't take the Knoxville out of the man.
8:46 George Kamel? I moved south from Boston and I was like, what are these men doing?
8:49 Rachel Cruze? But the croquis is a very, very, very, very, it's like a wire almost.
8:53 George Kamel? Yeah, and Winston does make it look cool. I'll give him that.
8:55 Rachel Cruze? Uh, yeah, yeah.
8:57 George Kamel? Here's another one. Ordering in another language to sound cultured.
9:02 George Kamel? You know, you went on that one little trip in college and now you feel like you need to really exert the...
9:08 Rachel Cruze? Can I tell you a sharing story? We were in Peru when we were like, um, gosh, when was that? That would have been like in high school, like on a mission trip. And mom said aloha to one of the...
9:21 George Kamel? Oh, wow.
9:23 Rachel Cruze? True story.
9:24 George Kamel? Was it like in a southern accent?
9:25 Rachel Cruze? Probably, yeah.
9:27 George Kamel? That makes it even better.
9:29 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, but if you're at a Mexican restaurant and you're like, "Hola, como estas? Mi nombre es Rachel."
9:34 George Kamel? No.
9:34 Rachel Cruze? "Queso, por favor," you know, and you're just like, you don't, yeah.
9:37 George Kamel? I try not to offend. I just, I point and I say, "This one." And they go, "Okay, cool."
9:42 Rachel Cruze? This one.
9:43 George Kamel? I don't want to mess it up.
9:44 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, that's true. That's true. It is fun to go to restaurants, though, and you're like, "I don't know how to pronounce this. I don't know what this is." And the general, like genuinely curious. And if you have a great server and they're like, "Love the food," and you can like sit there and have a big conversation and learn about it, love it. It just happened to us recently. I loved it.
10:03 George Kamel? All right, what's next?
10:05 Rachel Cruze? Giving expert advice when you're not qualified.
10:08 George Kamel? Ooh, a lot of armchair experts out there. They listened to one podcast about the microbiome and now all of a sudden they are expert nutritionists.
10:15 Rachel Cruze? They know everything.
10:15 George Kamel? I think people have gotten more staunch about their takes on things.
10:20 Rachel Cruze? Yes.
10:20 George Kamel? Because of their media sources, whatever they listen to or read, it's now like, they kind of jump on the trend.
10:26 Rachel Cruze? For sure.
10:27 George Kamel? And they're very like, "Well, if you don't do it this way, you're so wrong."
10:30 Rachel Cruze? You're so wrong. Yes, I agree. I agree with that.
10:32 George Kamel? Uh, this is another one. Waiters trying too hard to be your friend. I like a waiter who plays it cool, who's
10:38 Rachel Cruze? Funny, yes.
10:38 George Kamel? uninterested in me and wants to just do the job. I don't need the whole like, "Hey," like they get down on the table, you know? When they kneel down on the table, I'm like, "Oh, Brad, we're not that table."
10:48 Rachel Cruze? We got him, Brad.
10:49 George Kamel? Or they slip into the booth with you. You ever had one of those?
10:52 Rachel Cruze? No!
10:53 George Kamel? They slide onto the bench and they write on the table like they're just hanging out with us, like, "What are we doing today? What are we thinking? What are we thinking?" I don't like that energy.
11:02 Rachel Cruze? That is so funny. Uh, captains of the four-way stop.
11:06 George Kamel? Oh, what happens here?
11:08 Rachel Cruze? Uh, when someone gets there first, but they gesture that you go first.
11:11 George Kamel? Oh, wow.
11:12 Rachel Cruze? Yeah. That's a funny one.
11:14 George Kamel? I guess I've done that, but mostly out of like, I don't know who got there first. So I give benefit of the doubt that they were there first.
11:20 Rachel Cruze? You were a very distracted driver.
11:22 George Kamel? To me, it's not worth the road rage for me to assume that I was there first to go.
11:27 Rachel Cruze? Sure, sure.
11:27 George Kamel? So sometimes I'll do that.
11:29 Rachel Cruze? Uh, and then lastly, stuck in the glory days.
11:31 George Kamel? Oh, these people bother me.
11:33 Rachel Cruze? Do you hear it a lot? Do you hear this a lot? I don't hear it as much anymore of like people reminiscing.
11:40 George Kamel? Well, like back in college, like, yeah, I almost went pro, but you know, I got an injury and I was like, mm, did you though?
11:46 Rachel Cruze? Did you?
11:46 George Kamel? Did you almost go pro? But no, honestly, I don't think I had glory days, so that helps. Like, I can't be stuck in my glory days that never happened.
11:54 Rachel Cruze? That's right.
11:55 George Kamel? You know, I will do that with skateboarding, because I'm very proud of my skateboard heritage and I was decently good at a very specific skill set in skateboarding. So sometimes I'll be like, hey, do you want to see my skate video? I did this, you know what?
12:07 Rachel Cruze? You saw, you showed me my skate video?
12:09 George Kamel? I ran into a kid skateboarding the other day. I ran into this kid skateboarding and he landed this trick, Rachel. It was incredible. It was four stairs and he did something called a hard flip. And it was first try, he landed it so smoothly. And I had to go up to him and I went, hey, man. Like, I just saw you from over there. That was incredible. And I saw he was filming on his phone. I said, do you mind if I watch that with you? So we watched the footage and I said, I used to skate. And I, so then I pulled up my phone and I pulled up, we watched my entire skate part.
12:38 George Kamel? It's four and a half minutes. I made this teenager.
12:41 Rachel Cruze? George, you're the worst.
12:43 George Kamel? Watch 15-year-old George, watch me.
12:44 Rachel Cruze? George!
12:45 George Kamel? And halfway through, I went, I shouldn't have done this. What am I doing? So I'm so guilty of this.
12:50 Rachel Cruze? Okay.
12:51 George Kamel? Let's focus on money now. Let's talk about the financial habits that are trying to be upper class, but are actually a waste of money more often than not. I'm going, you could build so much more wealth if you just stopped caring what other people think.
13:02 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, because there's a lot of these.
13:03 George Kamel? All right. Here's the financial habits that people use to try to look upper class.
13:07 Rachel Cruze? First up, we got flashy designer logos.
13:10 George Kamel? So big logos plastered on there, trying to say, look at me. Look at the brands I wear.
13:14 Rachel Cruze? Look at this. We're in fact- Some of the nicer brands are like, you know, very understated, if you will. But it's like a really nice bag, right? So like a Celine bag. There's not Celine everywhere on the bag.
13:27 George Kamel? I'm learning.
13:28 Rachel Cruze? It is, yeah, very chic, very nice.
13:30 George Kamel? Very demure.
13:31 Rachel Cruze? Very demure, yeah.
13:32 George Kamel? So that's the key. When you meet real wealthy people who aren't trying to flex, you wouldn't know the brands they wear.
13:38 Rachel Cruze? That's right, yes. But they're very nice. But they're probably very nice, like a real cashmere sweater, but they don't have like labels all over it, you know?
13:45 George Kamel? And we've talked about this idea of stealth wealth, quiet luxury, where it's not as flashy.
13:50 Rachel Cruze? And I think what's hard too is, you know, in today's world with money, right? Like you look at big wealth purchases of like a house, for instance. But if you can't afford a $50,000 down payment, but you can afford, you know, or buy a $2,000 bag, there's kind of that like quick hit of like feeling luxurious without like looking at actual real net worth.
14:10 George Kamel? Priorities are out of whack.
14:11 Rachel Cruze? Yes, it's so true, so true.
14:12 George Kamel? Next up, ordering expensive wine when everyone knows you have a beer budget. You ever heard the old champagne taste on a beer budget?
14:19 Rachel Cruze? I have.
14:20 George Kamel? That's a great one.
14:21 Rachel Cruze? I have. Yeah, that's a, that's a good one.
14:24 George Kamel? We prefer affordable cocktails.
14:26 Rachel Cruze? For sure.
14:26 George Kamel? This is why. I mean, you know, we were out to dinner this past weekend and you're paying 20 bucks for cocktails these days. And I go, take me back to Smart Money Happy Hour.
14:34 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
14:34 George Kamel? Where the cocktails are $1.77. It's like the 1950s over here.
14:38 Rachel Cruze? Just such a, such a bougie, bougie stealth wealth way to live.
14:43 George Kamel? Absolutely.
14:43 Rachel Cruze? Smart Money Happy Hour life. Okay, next is talking about money too much.
14:48 George Kamel? Ooh.
14:49 Rachel Cruze? This is real. There is just some people and they, and again, it's, I don't know what it is, but we just did not grow up talking about dollar amounts with people. Maybe like the idea of like, as a family, like we talk about, you know, budgeting or like concepts. The people that like ask very point blank how much something costs in your life.
15:09 George Kamel? That's strange.
15:10 Rachel Cruze? But it's not weird to them. Sometimes maybe it is weird, but then to some people it's just like, oh yeah, didn't this, oh yeah, how much you pay for that? And they're just wheeling and dealing. But I just, I get like deer in the headlights. I'm like, you can't ask that? I don't know.
15:23 George Kamel? Yes, well, it's funny because we talk about money for a living. And outside of work, we never bring up money in conversation.
15:29 Rachel Cruze? Right.
15:30 George Kamel? You know, maybe with our close friends, if they bring it up first, I'll be as open as I, you know, as I can. But other than that, it's a weird thing to constantly talk about, and this is why the crypto bros are exhausting. They have hashtag Bitcoin in their like Twitter bio.
15:43 Rachel Cruze? Do they?
15:44 George Kamel? You're not okay if you do. I want you to know that. If Rachel had a hashtag mutual fund in her Instagram bio, it would be like, Rachel, contact the therapist.
15:52 Rachel Cruze? Just simmer down, simmer down.
15:53 George Kamel? It's just odd.
15:54 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, I agree. I agree. Uh, next, one of our favorite topics, flaunting wealth on social media. You got that like, you know, nice dinner out and you're posting the meal. Uh, I may have done that recently, actually.
16:09 George Kamel? Well, you had a great trip to New York recently that I was impressed by. A little jealous.
16:14 Rachel Cruze? I do love.
16:15 George Kamel? But I didn't think, wow, Rachel's trying to, you can't hide money.
16:18 Rachel Cruze? Can't hide money.
16:19 George Kamel? You just wanted to capture a moment.
16:20 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, I was just capturing the weekends.
16:22 George Kamel? Yeah.
16:23 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
16:23 George Kamel? I didn't read into it.
16:24 Rachel Cruze? Yes, okay. Well, thank you. I just saw that.
16:26 George Kamel? Now, Winston, on the other hand, always trying to flex on social media, and I'm sick of it. He's always in the background going.
16:33 Rachel Cruze? Tell him to simmer down.
16:34 George Kamel? Rachel, put the camera on me.
16:37 George Kamel? Yeah. Yeah, giant, like if you got a vacation, people flex with that, cars. If you take a pic in front of a private jet, I already don't like you. Like, there's no way we're ever gonna be friends.
16:47 Rachel Cruze? I think that's the worst. That's the worst.
16:49 George Kamel? Or worse, you're on the private jet and you rented it by the hour to get a social media pic? You need.
16:54 Rachel Cruze? I heard that's a thing people do.
16:56 George Kamel? Yes. They'll like make videos.
16:59 Rachel Cruze? That's crazy to me.
17:00 George Kamel? To make it look like, you know, they're really successful so that people will buy their course or whatever. It's gross.
17:05 Rachel Cruze? Okay, do you think you could have, you know, let's just say Sally and Sarah on Instagram?
17:11 George Kamel? Okay.
17:12 Rachel Cruze? They both take the same vacation, but depending on how they post, what they post about, can you feel a difference with people's spirits via like a situation?
17:25 George Kamel? Yes.
17:25 Rachel Cruze? Do you know what I mean?
17:26 George Kamel? Yeah.
17:26 Rachel Cruze? Yeah. Is it bad? I don't want to be judgy, but there are people that I'm like. Oh my god, they're just try- like it's real hard, the pose, the, I mean, the whole thing. It's just a whole thing.
17:37 George Kamel? I like the, if you're posting the like funny moments, behind the scenes, the drama, then I know you're a real one.
17:43 Rachel Cruze? Yes.
17:44 George Kamel? But if you're only posting like beautiful manicured highlights.
17:47 Rachel Cruze? Yes, I know.
17:48 George Kamel? It's kinda just gross.
17:49 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, I agree. And then, on the other end, as a cons- as a consumer of social media, there are a few people that I follow that I genuinely like stalk when they're on a trip because they post and I'm like, oh, I wanna see, like if they go to Disney or something, I'm like, I like, I intentionally go to their stories because I wanna watch their vacation.
18:05 George Kamel? Wow.
18:06 Rachel Cruze? What does that say about me?
18:07 George Kamel? I, it sounds like you're the problem.
18:08 Rachel Cruze? No.
18:09 George Kamel? Not them, they're living their life.
18:11 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, and I'm not mad at them, though. Like they're, like, it's not like, oh, they're annoying, it's actually, I'm like, weirdly interested.
18:18 George Kamel? That's fine, I think you have a-
18:19 Rachel Cruze? You know what I mean?
18:20 George Kamel? A dark curiosity, that's human.
18:22 Rachel Cruze? I know. And some of them are nice.
18:25 George Kamel? Just don't let it consume you.
18:27 Rachel Cruze? Hmm, thank you, George.
18:28 George Kamel? I'm here for you.
18:29 Rachel Cruze? What a great friend.
18:30 George Kamel? Next one, leasing luxury cars. This is a big one, it's another status symbol, and I feel bad for those that lease, like I truly, it's not like a judgment thing, I feel bad for how much money they have wasted while thinking they're winning.
18:44 Rachel Cruze? Yep.
18:44 George Kamel? Because you're prepaying all of the depreciation for that car. The dealership is winning, it's why they push leases so hard, especially in the bros out there who have to have the nicest, and they go, Rachel, I'm, I'm saving money because I, I don't pay the insurance, they cover all the maintenance, and I get to have this really nice car for a low payment. And I'm like, bro, they really hosed you.
19:04 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
19:05 George Kamel? That salesman did a great job.
19:06 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, leasing is the most expensive way to finance a vehicle. You would be better as the consumer to go get a car loan.
19:11 George Kamel? Yeah, I mean, if you're gonna rank-
19:12 Rachel Cruze? We don't want you to, but that's it.
19:13 George Kamel? The car products out there.
19:14 Rachel Cruze? Yes.
19:14 George Kamel? Leases are the worst.
19:16 Rachel Cruze? You know what I heard? This isn't fact-checked, but I heard Dallas, Texas is the number one city of leased cars.
19:22 George Kamel? I believe that. Think about who's in Dallas.
19:25 Rachel Cruze? I mean-
19:25 George Kamel? All the like bros, crypto bros who are like-
19:30 George Kamel? Driving fast, taking chances.
19:31 Rachel Cruze? It's like a southern bougie city. I don't know. But isn't that interesting? Yeah.
19:35 George Kamel? I don't know why that is.
19:36 Rachel Cruze? And do you think majority of leased cars are luxury? More on the higher end?
19:40 George Kamel? Yes.
19:41 Rachel Cruze? Yep.
19:42 George Kamel? Because they can quote "afford the payment" while they have this great income. And they usually are people who are doing fairly well for themselves. They could be doing a lot better because they're drowning in payments usually.
19:52 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
19:52 George Kamel? If you've got a lease, I guarantee you, you have debt payments all around you. It's rarely the only debt you have.
19:57 Rachel Cruze? That's right. That's right. Totally. Totally.
19:59 George Kamel? So, don't do it. Just save up. Pay cash. I know it's painful. Go for the used luxury car if you really want that luxury car.
20:06 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
20:06 George Kamel? And until you're a millionaire, do not buy new. It's too much of your world wrapped up in that thing going down in value.
20:11 Rachel Cruze? Yes. 100% agree. 100% agree.
20:14 George Kamel? You got one more for us?
20:15 Rachel Cruze? Okay, last is like the over-accessorizing. Flashy nails, expensive watches, loud makeup, strong perfume, extensions. Like you get the whole spray tan. I mean, it is the whole kit and caboodle. I don't know. What do you think?
20:28 George Kamel? I think this is a pot calling the kettle black situation, Rachel.
20:31 Rachel Cruze? I think I might have nails. And I might have an Amazon watch.
20:33 George Kamel? Yeah, how many of those are you guilty of?
20:35 Rachel Cruze? I have a watch from Amazon.
20:37 George Kamel? Okay, that's fair.
20:38 Rachel Cruze? My nails are real. I don't have tips on them.
20:42 George Kamel? Okay, I didn't know what you meant by that.
20:43 Rachel Cruze? These are my real nails.
20:44 George Kamel? Okay, versus like a stick-on nail situation.
20:47 Rachel Cruze? Or tips.
20:48 George Kamel? I don't know what this is. Why are we doing this to ourselves?
20:52 Rachel Cruze? None of these are bad, though. I would say having a good perfume.
20:56 George Kamel? Over-accessorizing? It's not bad. And if you're trying to try to be flashy.
21:00 Rachel Cruze? This is it. It's all about the motivation.
21:02 George Kamel? Yes.
21:03 Rachel Cruze? It's the heart behind all of this.
21:04 George Kamel? Although strong perfume, I don't think is ever like a great thing. If it's like, whoa, I can smell her from a mile away.
21:09 Rachel Cruze? You know Winston Cruz. Winston Cruz loves smells. Like he loves candles, he loves incense, he loves perfumes, colognes. Like, it's like his thing. It's funny.
21:19 George Kamel? Wow.
21:19 Rachel Cruze? He always has.
21:20 George Kamel? Can you tell us what cologne he's like his go-to?
21:22 Rachel Cruze? He just bought some new one, a new one, when we were on our trip. And I don't care, I remember what it is.
21:26 George Kamel? Wow.
21:26 Rachel Cruze? But he wanted like a nice cologne. But, and it's not a cologne, it's a... Perfume.
21:31 George Kamel? Oh, de parfum?
21:32 Rachel Cruze? Perfume.
21:33 George Kamel? Parfum?
21:33 Rachel Cruze? Parfume.
21:34 George Kamel? Parfum.
21:34 Rachel Cruze? That's it, that's it. That's it, that's it. But he said, you should never be announced, you should always be discovered.
21:42 George Kamel? Oh, that's right. You want to discover the scent.
21:45 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, it's like, huh, I smell that. I need to discover what that is. Versus like, wow, Hollister, like, we got you.
21:52 George Kamel? Those were the days.
21:53 Rachel Cruze? We got you.
21:54 George Kamel? Sometimes I walked into Hollister just to get refreshed and go, hey, they'll deodorize me. If I walk in here.
21:59 Rachel Cruze? Get a little buzz and then go out. It's good, though. It's good.
22:03 George Kamel? I will say, this one's for the ladies. Lot of overdone makeup out there. Where I'm like, I don't even know what your real face looks like, homegirl.
22:12 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
22:12 George Kamel? Like, we need to tone it down.
22:13 Rachel Cruze? It would be interesting. Again, no judgment. I just, I don't want to be judgy. I don't want to be judgy, but there are people that you're like, okay, if you took out all your, if I saw your real hair, your real face, no spray tan, real complexion, like, let's like, strip it all away. How do you feel, right? And if you can feel comfortable in your skin.
22:31 George Kamel? Yes.
22:32 Rachel Cruze? That's great. Like, I'm like, you know what I mean? Like, I don't know. That's what I want for people, for women.
22:38 George Kamel? That's what Rachel wants for women.
22:41 Rachel Cruze? And then if you're like, yeah, I want longer hair this season, I'm going to get, that's great. Like, again, none of these things are in of themselves wrong. But it's portraying yourself as maybe trying to look.
22:52 George Kamel? Just like yourself first, and then let's build from there.
22:55 Rachel Cruze? That's great.
22:55 George Kamel? Be a healthy person.
22:56 Rachel Cruze? That's what we're asking.
22:57 George Kamel? The right motives and then add on and do it with cash. And if you want to know the right way to do this, it's with a budget. And that's how you know you're not living beyond your means. You're not doing it for the flex. You save up, pay cash for things that are reasonable. And I use EveryDollar to do that. Rachel uses EveryDollar as well. And it's a free app. You can go download in the App Store or go to everydollar.com/smartmoney and get started today. And that will give you the confidence.
23:20 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, and one of my, I think a great filter, I always say it, but it's so true. If nobody sees it, do you still want it?
23:26 George Kamel? Ooh.
23:27 Rachel Cruze? Do you know what I mean?
23:29 George Kamel? Have you ever said no to something because like you've asked yourself that and you went, I guess I was doing it for the wrong reason?
23:34 Rachel Cruze? Yeah, yeah, sure. Well, mine's, mine, mine over the years has gotten less actually about people.
23:40 George Kamel? As you've gotten healthier.
23:40 Rachel Cruze? That was a strong like late twenties, Rachel, you know?
23:43 George Kamel? Yeah.
23:43 Rachel Cruze? Now it's more like it just is exciting and feels good and I'm like, yeah, I don't, I, you know, I probably don't need that dopamine hit. Like I'll just move on.
23:52 George Kamel? Just move on.
23:52 Rachel Cruze? Just move on.
23:53 George Kamel? So here's my, my final takeaway.
23:55 Rachel Cruze? Okay.
23:55 George Kamel? Not caring what other people think is a superpower in today's world.
23:59 Rachel Cruze? Yes.
24:00 George Kamel? The people who are going to build wealth, be their healthiest selves, accomplish what they want to accomplish. They don't care about other people's opinions and therefore they don't need to strive for that with their purchases.
24:09 Rachel Cruze? Cause you end up spending so much money living that life.
24:12 George Kamel? It's exhausting.
24:13 Rachel Cruze? So much money to keep up.
24:14 George Kamel? You gotta wake up and go, this is so exhausting to keep up this facade.
24:19 Rachel Cruze? Yes. I mean, I, I think it would be hard. It would be very hard. And I think it is too. Let me say this. There's another little thing. It's who you're around to. Your friends and your people, that shapes so much of your life and the way you view things and the expectation and, I mean, all of it, seriously.
24:38 George Kamel? You're like a chameleon. You sort of become those people you hang around.
24:41 Rachel Cruze? Very much so. And, and start to value what they value. I mean, like, yeah, I mean, it's.
24:46 George Kamel? And so if they're toxic and vain, you will become toxic and vain.
24:49 Rachel Cruze? I am.
24:50 George Kamel? It's like a survival thing as humans we do.
24:51 Rachel Cruze? Yes, I was, we were at a.
24:53 George Kamel? Change your friend group.
24:54 Rachel Cruze? We were at a store with some friends on this last trip we were on and the guy asked one of the salespeople just out of fun, like, what's the most expensive, like, purchase someone's made? Like, what's the thing that like someone like walked out and you were like, dang? And the guy said, I think it was like a hundred and twenty-nine thousand dollar bag. Uh, it was a six-figure bag and they bought it. It was like a seasonal whatever leather, whatever, what, I don't even know. I don't even know. And afterwards I was like, oh my gosh, number one, you have to have god awful amounts of money just to like. Spend on that.
25:26 George Kamel? Was that a flip? Do they even ask the price with those?
25:28 Rachel Cruze? I don't know. And then number two made me think like, in order for you to like genuinely want that bag, you number one have to know what that bag even is. And I'm sure that level of people.
25:40 George Kamel? I personally didn't know that hundred thousand dollar bags existed.
25:43 Rachel Cruze? Apparently. You know, but, but apparently you, they will, they know some level of it, which means the people around them or the information they get, you know, what, what the conversations are probably around that level of living. Does that make sense?
25:58 George Kamel? Yeah.
25:58 Rachel Cruze? So then naturally you, it's going to shape the way you think about life and all of it. So.
26:03 George Kamel? That's a good, that's a good word. I hope my wife never finds out that hundred thousand dollar bag exists.
26:07 Rachel Cruze? Is that not crazy though? I mean, crazy, crazy. But all that to say, have good people in your life and they can have extensions. Like that's, it's fine. But just know that like, yeah, the people you're around and what they value over time will start to shape your worldview and what you value.
26:25 George Kamel? Yes. And if you are going into debt for any purchase.
26:28 Rachel Cruze? Yes.
26:28 George Kamel? Please don't.
26:28 Rachel Cruze? Get it out of there.
26:29 George Kamel? Like, don't live beyond your means. Don't use it as a flex and then make payments on it. That's a really sad way to live your life when you could be free, making your own decisions, owning your own life. And, uh, you know, follow the baby steps. Get out of debt, get an emergency fund, be investing for the future and then budget for the things that you want because you want them and for no other reason.
26:48 Rachel Cruze? Absolutely. Amen, hallelujah.
26:50 George Kamel? We did it.
26:50 Rachel Cruze? So before we spill the tea on our guilty as charged part of the episode, uh, give us the details on the drink, the Japanese slipper.
26:57 George Kamel? Yeah, let's reveal our ratings as well. So this was the Japanese slipper. I'm going to give this, I'm going to give it a 10 out of 10.
27:03 Rachel Cruze? Wow, George, that's very generous.
27:05 George Kamel? I like sour candy and it tastes just like sour green candy. It's the only way I know how to explain it.
27:11 Rachel Cruze? Yeah. I may go nine out of 10.
27:13 George Kamel? And it looks nuclear.
27:18 George Kamel? This is a very nuclear green color, which is really fun.
27:21 Rachel Cruze? Yes.
27:21 George Kamel? Here's what's in it, in case you're curious. Cost breakdown is a dollar eighty-two cents per glass, so very affordable.
27:27 Rachel Cruze? Yep.
27:27 George Kamel? It's got Midori, which explains the green color.
27:29 Rachel Cruze? Yep.
27:30 George Kamel? It's kind of a sour liqueur. Lemon juice and triple sec.
27:34 Rachel Cruze? Ah.
27:34 George Kamel? So it's just a very sour with a little bit sweet.
27:37 Rachel Cruze? It's really good. Yeah, I like it.
27:38 George Kamel? Citrusy, delicious. The recipe's in the show notes if you want to give it a try this weekend.
27:44 Rachel Cruze? All right. Now it's time for
27:47 George Kamel? Guilty as charged.
27:48 Rachel Cruze? And this is where our producer Kelly gives the new guilty search question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. Kelly?
27:54 Speaker 02 All right. Have you ever made a purchase that made you feel like you had made it?
27:59 George Kamel? Oh.
28:01 Rachel Cruze? Yes.
28:03 George Kamel? Can you tell us what it is or no?
28:05 Rachel Cruze? I'll take my sip first. Yeah, I bought a pair of shoes.
28:09 George Kamel? A pair of shoes?
28:10 Rachel Cruze? Um, after, yep. Um, gosh, this was probably seven, eight years ago. That were designer, because I'd never owned a pair of designer shoes. And I was like, I'm gonna buy a pair of red bottoms. Because like, why not, right? And, uh, yeah, saved up, bottom. And I've worn them like four times.
28:31 George Kamel? Why is that? Are they too fancy? Are they uncomfortable? Are they all of the above?
28:35 Rachel Cruze? Not comfortable.
28:37 George Kamel? I'd be afraid to like destroy it.
28:38 Rachel Cruze? A fraction of the price.
28:39 George Kamel? Using them. It's kind of like really fancy sneakers.
28:42 Rachel Cruze? But see, this is the thing. This was my ill motivation. This was, again, early twenties Rachel, or late twenties Rachel. It's a, they're a very obvious, like shoe. Like people, like
28:53 George Kamel? People go, oh, that's the shoe.
28:56 Rachel Cruze? Terrible. And I also had extensions once.
28:59 George Kamel? Oh, no. This is confessional.
29:04 Rachel Cruze? I know.
29:04 George Kamel? I'm guessing they weren't great.
29:06 Rachel Cruze? What's it called when you're like, oh, no? And then you spill the tea about yourself, but you're like masking it for other people?
29:11 George Kamel? Mine are lame because they're not to impress anyone, only to impress my Because here's my thing. The thing that makes me think I made it is what I see like wealthy people have in their house or whatever. And I go, if I have that, I will now consider myself wealthy. So here's what it was.
29:24 Rachel Cruze? Two sets of sheets.
29:25 George Kamel? We moved into our new house. Two sets of sheets is number one. Sixty-four pack of Crayola with the sharpener built in, that's another. Then third
29:34 Rachel Cruze? Is this as a kid?
29:35 George Kamel? This is now and as a kid.
29:37 Rachel Cruze? Okay.
29:39 George Kamel? Epoxy garage floors.
29:41 Rachel Cruze? Oh, yes.
29:42 George Kamel? So we got that done. We moved into the new house. I was like, this is my splurge. I'm gonna get epoxy garage floors. And I was like, this is the 1%.
29:49 Rachel Cruze? Yeah.
29:49 George Kamel? Most people's garage floors, just concrete, oil stains. Not me.
29:54 Rachel Cruze? Not George.
29:54 George Kamel? I've got little bespectacled, beautiful floors.
29:58 Rachel Cruze? It's great.
29:58 George Kamel? That I, you know, swiffer wet jet to keep clean.
30:01 Rachel Cruze? No.
30:02 George Kamel? I don't know how else to do it.
30:03 Rachel Cruze? It's good, though.
30:04 George Kamel? But it's great. Every time I walk into my garage, I'm like, I might work out in here one day. It's that nice. The workout bench is there. It has been sitting idle. It's ready for me.
30:13 Rachel Cruze? There you go.
30:13 George Kamel? The throne awakes.
30:14 Rachel Cruze? It's calling your name.
30:15 George Kamel? So that's the thing I thought when we got that done. I was like, we have made it.
30:19 Rachel Cruze? It felt like you made it.
30:19 George Kamel? Yeah, because it's a luxury purchase. It's something nobody needs.
30:22 Rachel Cruze? It's, yeah, not a necessity.
30:24 George Kamel? Generally just aesthetic.
30:26 Rachel Cruze? 100%.
30:26 George Kamel? Although I will say, Whitney's car was just draining oil out, just dripping oil, and it was so easy to clean.
30:32 Rachel Cruze? Oh, that's good. It didn't stain.
30:33 George Kamel? Versus a normal garage floor, it would have just stained forever.
30:35 Rachel Cruze? For sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Good for you, George.
30:38 George Kamel? So yeah, we're both guilty.
30:39 Rachel Cruze? I'll come wear my shoes on the garage floor and we can just feel like we've made it.
30:42 George Kamel? I have not posted a pic of my garage. I don't think anyone cares, but...
30:45 Rachel Cruze? I did not post a pic of my shoes.
30:47 George Kamel? I think now it's time. We should both be vulnerable. Post pics.
30:51 Rachel Cruze? Oh, man. So good. So good. Well, both guilty. It happens.
30:56 George Kamel? You are too, America.
30:58 Rachel Cruze? We all have it, right?
30:59 George Kamel? You know what? Let us know in the comments on this guilty as charged.
31:02 Rachel Cruze? That's good.
31:03 George Kamel? What your thing is. When you bought something, you thought, I've made it.
31:05 Rachel Cruze? You thought, I've made it.
31:05 George Kamel? I'm curious to know.
31:06 Rachel Cruze? I, I've really arrived.
31:08 George Kamel? And stay connected. Do you know we're on TikTok now? We have a Smart Money Happy Hour TikTok account.
31:13 Rachel Cruze? Okay.
31:13 George Kamel? So if you're on there, the proud, the few, go check it out. Go hit the follow button on TikTok.
31:18 Rachel Cruze? I had two young girls at the airport in the security line say, oh, my gosh, we follow you on TikTok. And I thought, wow, never heard that yet. And there they were. So...
31:30 George Kamel? That's how you know you've made it, Rachel.
31:32 Rachel Cruze? Maybe so. Maybe so.
31:33 George Kamel? Well, hey, if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review. And for more consumerism traps to avoid, be sure to check out our episode on ridiculous things people spend money on. That's up next.
31:42 Rachel Cruze? Yep. And make sure to subscribe, you guys, because we launch a new episode every Thursday. So we'll see you then on Smart Money Happy Hour.
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