Our Ultimate Guide to Budget-Friendly Travel
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Today, we're talking about the latest travel hacks and also owning up to our travel tendencies. I know two people that have lost their TSA. I heard a flight attendant say this, never drink coffee or tea on planes. It's been proven through the travel industry that the cheapest times to book on travel is. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour.

Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. All right, George. Well, as we're talking about traveling, what are we going to sip on? We're sipping on a Seabreeze, which feels appropriate. Oh, yeah. Seabreeze. You know, that was a song. Was it? Back in my day. I think that was like when I was like in college. Back in your day? Like we're talking 2000s? I mean, I think I had it on a legit burnt CD. Wow. That's what we're going. If you know about a burnt CD, you know. Kazaa Days. Kazaa Days. Seabreeze. Look it up. Look it up.

Ooh, I just got that warm, like, nostalgia feeling. I feel nostalgic thinking about a burnt CD with handwritten songs on it. Yes, y'all. It is. Gen Z will never know. It's a good song. You listened to that album. You burnt a CD. Where did he go? Is he still making music? Okay, well, anyways. Here we go. Hey, stick around until the end. We're going to give you our rating for this drink and reveal the cost per glass. That's right. So here's the latest in travel hacks. Oh, I can't wait. This one is a game changer.

I saw an ad for this service called Trusted House Sitters, and immediately I felt like I was Kate Winslet, little Cameron Diaz, the holiday. The exchange homes. I rewatched that this Christmas. She's got a bob, like me. Cameron. Oh, I didn't think about that. I mean, wow. You are... I felt good. The Cameron Diaz of Ramsey. So flubbed and everything. Who am I? Do I get to be one of the guys? You know what just came to my mind was Gru from... Gru? Yeah.

I was expecting like, yeah, I could see you as a Hugh Grant type. I don't know why. Gru? It just came to my head. I don't know. You're like Gru meets Groot. Just kind of a... I don't know. All right. I'll give you that. Thank you for that. You're welcome. I take it all back, Rachel.

Well, apparently people with pets who travel for weeks at a time, they're matched with trusted sitters who come to live in your house and care for your pets for an extended period of time. So you can do this. I have a friend who does this. Okay. They'll go to Europe and stay for free and, you know, watch someone's pet while they're there. Okay. What would be more of a scary situation? You going into a stranger's home and watching their dog or having a stranger come stay at your house and watch your dogs? I trust myself more than a stranger.

That's fair. Call me egotistical. That's fair. So I'd rather be in someone's house. Yeah, yeah. Because it's probably a better way to make money than to actually use the service. Like to have a stranger come in. Yeah. I don't know. But I would trust a stranger who loves dogs more than a family member who does not like dogs.

I would rather a stranger who loves dogs. You know what? That's fair. We had a great dog sitter when we had the puppies. Sorry, everyone that gets mad at us because we had puppies. But we had the puppies. And we had to go on fall break. And those puppies, y'all, were like two weeks old. And we got... There was a recommendation from our vet. There was a tech vet. And she was so sweet, young in her 20s. And when she pulled up, she had all these dog bumper stickers on her car. That's how you know. That's who I want watching my dog. Seriously. And she was...

Fantastic. And we didn't really know her, but we did have a rec from someone we knew. Yeah, and they're a vet tech, so they've got some experience. She knows what she's doing. They know how to deal with puppies. It was fantastic. Love that. So I would do this. I like this deal. Yeah, it's pretty good. As long as they're vetted. I want some reviews. I want a service that's backing this, maybe some insurance. That'd be nice. Yes, I think so. That's good. Well, George, you and I, I'd say we're opposites in life in some things. That's fair. We have some similarities as friends, but our travel...

Fortes, if you will. We're different travelers, I think. Yeah. I'm living more, I guess, nomadically. But you also are simpler in a lot of ways. Yeah. You're looking for... Simpler minded, some would say. You are so terrible.

You're looking for coupons. You're going discounted. Yes. Like you are wiggling your way through to save every little dime and penny. Well, I just feel like especially post-COVID, travel is meant to screw you over. Travel is meant to just squeeze every dollar. The enemy isn't travel.

But I feel like everything, like hotels more expensive, flights more expensive, rental cars more expensive. Y'all. You can't travel for less than a thousand bucks these days. No, you can't. And it is pretty, it does make my stomach hurt because we've been looking for an upcoming week

with the kids and stuff. And when you're looking for like a spring break or a summer, probably a prime time. Put a fork in me. I'm done. To travel, y'all. To travel. And not even going anywhere crazy. But it was like going up from like 800 to 1,000 a person round trip. And we were like, mm-mm, mm-mm. I mean...

Is that not crazy? That's insane. Wild. Thank you. You're coming to my side. I have a gauge. I have a gauge. Okay. But also I think it's part of enjoying life. And if you're looking for shortcuts in every little decision, it kind of takes the fun out. Wow. So that's what I think about you, George. I get it. You're more of a free spirit traveler. You don't want to think about it. You just want to have a great experience. I am constantly in a state of anxiety while traveling. Yeah.

And I'm always just looking out. Always, you know, someone's going to steal a dollar from me. I don't know. Okay, let's go through some of our travel traits. You ready? Carry-on or checked bag? Left to my own devices, I'm going checked. I just don't want to have to worry about shoving it all in there. I don't know. I had a four and a half ounce toiletry. Going to jail now. It's too stressful.

Winston did get his hair product removed at TSA from Montana two weekends ago. And I bet it was a pretty nice hair product. And he was pretty, yeah, he wasn't very happy about it. He's got a little CVS now. It's like a gel. Yeah. So it wasn't even liquid. What is this motion? You know how you pull it up? It's like. Yeah. All right. Do you know the brand he's using?

I think it starts with an I, Imperial, IMP. I don't know. It was on Amazon for me. All right. Go instant. Yeah, I am carry on all day, every day, even with the kids.

When's the last time you had a check bag? Like a week trip, you're not taking a check bag? You know what? Well, okay, so I say all of that. Yeah, because most of our trips, we don't go weeks. That's another one of my hacks. I'd rather go for a short amount of time and go real nice and go for four nights than stretch it out for a week and all that. That makes sense. But we did go for a week, and I think I did check one, yeah, big bag. But we usually travel for four nights, and if that's the case, carry-ons all day. And you know the secret carry-on trick, y'all, that is...

Chef's kiss. Well, don't gatekeep. Okay, going back. Just listen to some Seabreeze and then pull out your Vera Bradley duffel because those things will fit so much in there and they are cloth. It counts as a carrier? Yes. It is a dream to travel with and it's a throwback. It's like vintage these days. Yeah, and there's a bonus. Nobody's going to steal it. Nobody wants to be seen with that. You're like looking with that thing and they're like, I need that Vera Bradley.

I'm so glad. Is that trend over? Are we done with there, Bradley? I don't want to offend anyone. Oh, we got some no's. I don't know. Oh, it's going. It is back. And those are the same people calling the Cybertruck ugly? I'm sorry. Can we trust your taste? Okay, TSA pre-check? All day long. All day. Because I'm all about efficiency. So this is one. It's my favorite. 80 bucks for like five years? Are you kidding me? All day. Now, here's the thing.

If too many people use it, the TSA Pre line becomes longer than the normal line. That is true. But to not have to take off my shoes and laptops and deal with the riffraff. It's a dream. Because it's never a first-time traveler going through TSA Pre. They know what they're doing. Yes. It's like, these are my people. I know two people that have lost their TSA because of situations on accident. John Deloney is one of them, y'all. What? He doesn't have it for a year. It got revoked? And Savannah, who helps us with this show, revoked. Oh.

Okay, I need to know what it would take to get my TSA pre-reviewed. I think for John, I think he left a hunting knife in his bag. Oh, that makes sense. And I want to say Savannah had her dad's bag, or borrowed it from her dad and had it in her bag and forgot about it. Yep. So if you have a weapon, you could lose it, which would be so heartbreaking to lose TSA pre-check. Okay, do you do clear?

You see the clear people? I've never done clear. I think clear is a ripoff, personally. Go into, because I keep seeing them around. I'm always like, hey, you clear people. If I was traveling for work a lot, I would find clear to be helpful. But as often as I travel, it's not worth it. It's much more expensive than TSA pre. I want to say like $100 to $200 a year. Oh, okay. In a lot of cases. And you get to skip to the front of the TSA pre line.

Yeah, which usually... Which is fine, you know. I guess in a real busy airport, that'd be helpful. You know what scared me early on with it? Now TSA like takes your video. But Clear, you'd have to like, they did an eye scan. You know, I mean, conspiracies. I was just a little nervous. I don't want someone having my retina. Can I be honest? The Clear people always felt a little pushy. It felt like an Apple store. It's like, well, there's five of you. You don't need to be hassling me about Clear. I see more of that. I'm saying,

at Target yesterday and there was someone outside the electronics trying to get me to switch my cell phone carrier at Target. She was like, ma'am, ma'am. And I was like, I don't know. It's a work phone. I didn't know they could do that at Target. Yes. And I lied to her and then she said, do you pay for internet? And I was like, no.

She was like, you don't have internet? I just kept walking. I wish you said, my husband makes all the decisions in the house. Just kept going. Just play trad wife all the way. All the way. I love that. I don't know what's going on. We're both TSA pre. Yeah, TSA pre all the way. No clear, but TSA pre. Yes. Plane drinks. You drink it on the plane, George? I will say if it's free.

So I used to have the Southwest coupons. This really bothered me. Did they take those away? They took them away. And here's what happened. I had like nine left. And either they didn't ask for them or they expired, whatever. I tried to use them and they went, we don't do those anymore. I was like, okay, salty Southwest. Oh, no. So I can't, they're done. And now I'm not paying 10 or 12 bucks a drink. I don't think it's worth it unless it's free. Okay. Or unless I'm really desperate, which in which case I'm like, maybe you shouldn't if you're desperate for it. You know what I mean?

Well, plain drinking is some of my favorite drinking. And I'm like, no one's bothering you? I never pay for internet either, so I got no, you can do free texting, so I will try my texting. What do you mean no one's bothering you? My children, I love my children. I don't know, but they're not like, mom, mom, dad, mom, mom. Like, they've got their stuff, I've got mine, and you're just in this peaceful tube in the air with a cocktail, and it's just great. It really is. I love flying. I do. I respect that. You ever do anything else than a vodka soda? Yeah.

I'll do a Champs champagne. All right. Yeah. A little sparkling wine on Delta. Yeah, that's fine. I guess in a special occasion I would. If it was like an anniversary trip or something, you know. I don't know. I'm not saying I wouldn't. You know what's funny too?

You could walk through an airport at 6.50 in the morning and there are people at the bar just- It's a dark time. Drinking a beer. I mean, not even like a Bloody Mary or a mimosa. They're like beer in it. Yeah, I don't know what it is about a beer that early. It feels different. I don't know. It's just funny to me that airports, there's like no time. You know, just whatever. It's maritime law. So no, I do pay for it. Winston will not. He refuses. He thinks it's a ripoff. Thank you, Winston. He will not. He's like, no. But he's like, drinks are a ripoff anywhere you go. So actually on a plane, it's cheaper-

That's true. On a Southwest flight. That is true, yeah. There we go. Yeah, okay, what's the most expensive airline for drinks? I have it right here. What would you guess? If I'm going to guess? Which is so opposite than what you would ever think. I feel like Delta, maybe?

I feel like Delta would get you. You won't guess this. Guess two more real quick for fun. Frontier. No. Am I close? Is it a budget airline? Yeah. Spirit. No, it can't be Spirit. It is Spirit Airlines, y'all. It has the most expensive drinks on average, $10.61. What? The cheapest is Southwest. Look what you get on Maxi.

on mad at southwest there's six dollars and 67 cents who did this spirit airlines and allegiance no because the budget airlines they charge you for everything and they upcharge you that's how they make their money to be fair if i was on a spirit flight i would have to drink like you're like this could be the last on a spirit flight i get why they're like people are gonna pay whatever trust me oh my gosh well that's true isn't that crazy bless okay do you buy anything at the airport

Try to avoid it, but if I'm with my wife, things will be purchased. What does she buy? What does Whitney like? Like, I'm the guy who's like, I'm not buying a $9 water at the airport. I'll bring the empty one. I'll fill it at the little filter station. But that's the one thing I will buy is a bottle of water. Me too, George. Other than that, if I really need a meal, I'll do it. I'll try to find something affordable. Maybe Whitney and I will split it. But I

But I just feel like it's like you could spend $90 just waiting for your plane to arrive. Totally. Yeah. I'm the same way. I will always have a bottle of water. I have this like weird fear that you get like stuck on a plane on the taxiway and

And they can't serve you or do anything. Oh, yeah. And you're like, oh, my gosh. I don't know why water feels like my escape. That's a real fear. It's like my water is my... I will pay for good coffee in an airport because I have a distrust of airplane coffee. I've heard things. I have, too. The water filter. Don't want to start any theories. It is so sad. I've heard a flight attendant say this. Never drink coffee or tea on planes. And that's from a flight attendant. I know. Because they never change the water filters. Mm-hmm.

So the water coming out is like... This is how scurvy comes back. I'm telling you. I don't have any proof. I don't know what it takes to even get it. Okay, that's funny because I will not pay for good coffee at airports because you know what happens to me? I get eight sips in and then I got all my carry-ons. I don't have any hands. Got my Vera Bradley. And I'm like, I don't know what else to do with it. And I end up throwing it away. Wow. So I don't get... Yeah. Yeah, I do bring a little baggie with different snacks.

Do you? I do have a snack bag at all times in my bag. Not because of Mia, but because of you. No, Mia has her own. Okay. But yeah, yeah, yeah. We don't do the same snacks yet. I think eventually we'll have a crossover, which will be really special for us. But I'm not really into like yogurt melts. You know what I mean? It's not my thing as an adult. Yeah, I want a little dark chocolate, something a little refined. Okay, all right. A little something salty.

I got it. You know, I always have a big bar in my bag. I do have, this is my travel must-haves. Neck pillow. Eye mask. It's an inflatable neck pillow, so it's easy to travel with. I love inflating on a plane because no one's going to bother you. They see that guy, they're like, don't even start a conversation with him. George, do you really use a neck pillow? Yeah. On every flight? I wouldn't say every.

Okay. Yeah. I've never used a neck pillow in my life. You should have used one with a neck pillow. Never used one in my life. You're just going to stand there holding your own head up? Like an insane person? Okay, and then an eye mask. Eye mask. Got my AirPods Pro. We're not talking about like an international flight here. We're talking like Nashville to Dallas. I don't say I always use it, but I always carry it. Okay. Eye mask, neck pillow, the noise-canceling headphones. I use the AirPods Pro. That's a big one. And portable charger. Okay.

Which I've used when we used to travel for work and we had a group of us. I would always get loaned by... George, do you have your charger? I know, I did. George, can I have your charger? I'm the Boy Scout. You are a Boy Scout of traveling, though. I really am. You do carry a lot of things. Yeah. It's very helpful. Okay, but one thing that I never travel without, though, is Cozy Earth joggers. Oh, that's your go-to for airport travel. I carry them now. Yes.

Whether I'm wearing them or I pack them for the hotel, it's what I always do because Cozy Earth has like literally the best products. Winston just wore their hoodie the other day. It looks great. I think I saw that on Insta story. I was like, he's an influencer. Maybe so. I should have linked it. I know, but no, for real, Cozy Earth's quality products, they're amazing. Their clothes are like, I'm on a high of the clothes right now. They're just good quality. Soft, that bamboo, so like the pajamas and everything, they're so soft. I have a robe too. I mean, it's literally, it's amazing.

Wear that on the plane. See if you get any looks. It's with the eye mask and the pillow. Their sheets are amazing. Their blankets. I mean... Wish I could take that on the plane. What if we did? But I'd have to burn it after because of all the plane germs. Yeah, that's true. I have an issue with that. If it touches anything, it's over. So I keep that at home. Keep the blanket at home. But yes, Cozy Earth has amazing quality products.

It is truly, if you're living your best life, you want the bougie experience, get it. And we can make it bougie frugal because you can use promo code SMARTMONEY at checkout and get up to 40% off. So go check it out. Go to CozyEarth.com slash SMARTMONEY and use the promo code. Okay, so since a lot of people loved our past travel episodes, we have an updated list, though. If you're traveling on a budget, right?

what are some good hacks, some good things to implement to make your vacation worth it? That don't involve trying to get enough credit card points. My least favorite hack. That's right, boo. Just spend 50 grand in three months and you'll get a million points. You can use that to redeem it. Stop. Just stop. You're exhausting. Because here's the one part of life. If you're going to have points and stuff, not credit cards, but just in general, travel is great. Marriott Bonvoy. I have a Bonvoy account.

Southwest, like we get free. Rapper awards. Yeah, we get a lot of free tickets and stuff for the kids and things. I don't know. It's just there are some great programs out there without debt. So take advantage of them. Do your frequent flyer miles. Even if you don't fly that much, just have an account with these airlines because it is. It adds up. It adds up.

Okay, let's do it. All right, first and foremost, you love this one, Costco Travel. There's also Travel Arrow Extension and Skyscanner. Yes. Tell us, George. Okay, so Skyscanner basically aggregates from all of the travel websites in existence. So it's kind of your one-stop shop.

And you can search like an entire month and just go, give me the cheapest flight for the month and it will pull all the different airlines, the best prices. And so I like, that's a good go-to to kind of start your research. Okay. Can I tell you where I research? Yeah. And then give me the no-no. Expedia.

Okay, that's fine. There's, you know, you could do worse. Okay. I wouldn't book through them personally. No, no, I don't book through them, but just research. That's what I use. But you like this one better. Well, Skyscanner will include Expedia. It will also include a thousand others. Oh, okay. So it's just sort of like, I want to know I'm getting the best possible deal. So that's a good one. I do love Costco travel. I've done...

honeymoon and an anniversary trip through Costco travel. Had a great experience. They include a bunch of bonuses and goodies and credit for the resort and, you know, gift card to Costco, all kinds of stuff. And I like their travel agents. They're very nice. And I say, hey, here's my budget. Tell me like out of these three locations, give me the best resorts. And they'll go boom, boom, boom. Save me hours of time researching. Yeah, yeah, that's true. So they know all the things. And then Travel Arrow is an extension that I use that...

But basically, we'll see through the Priceline deals because with Priceline Express, you get a good deal, but you don't know what hotel you're booking. Yes, it's like a gamble. And so Travel Arrow is a little extension that lets you see through that to go, hey, it's the Kempton Eventi. Yeah. I truly don't know how it's legal, but they're still around. Yeah. They're doing it. They're still doing it.

Take advantage while we can, right? Yeah, and I've used this multiple times. I've helped John Deloney save hundreds. That's what I heard. Booking a hotel for him and his family. And so this is a go-to when I want a great hotel at a reasonable price because I know it's a five-star in midtown Manhattan. Yep. Great. And then I can use Travel Arrow. It'll show me, oh, it's the Kempton Aventi. Great. That has great reviews, and I'm saving big money. Even when I pulled up to the front desk, they were like...

How did you get this rate? I was like, I'll never tell. Watch Smart Money Happy Hour. Maybe you'll know. All right, tell us about eDreams. Okay, eDreams popped up because of a wonderful team member that made this drink today, Eboo. And so Skyscanner pointed her to eDreams. I personally have never used eDreams. Use at your own risk. Sounds sketchy, probably is sketchy, but she claims it worked great and saved her a lot of money. And what does it do? Scan for hotels?

It's just a sort of a discount airline searcher thing. Airline hotels, okay. I don't know how they do it, but they're undercutting all of the competition somehow. It's amazing. So again, you might have a terrible experience. Don't at me with that. Don't blame us. It's a risk you're willing to take. How about strategic trip timing? This one's simple. This is up my alley. I think this is very true. I always do this. I'll go a day before and after and see what the flight times are. Sometimes you can't help it. You got to fly in on this day.

you're not going to have great luck. But if you can sort of look around and go, all right, I'm going to fly early in the morning. I'm going to fly late at night. I'm going to fly on a Thursday instead of a Friday. You can save a lot of money. Going off season to popular destinations. Saturday to Sunday is very different for airlines. Like you will save money if you just go on a Sunday than a Saturday. It's crazy. So yeah, that's why I do like Southwest Airlines.

I guess a lot of them do it, but you can change it so quick, the days. Yes. And price compare. But you're right too, the high season is real. Like we are looking at some hotels. If you want to go to spring break, you're not going to get a deal. We're looking at hotels for spring break and I was like, there's no way these are the prices. And then for fun, I went to October and...

Half the price. Half the price. And I'm like, man. You can't change the school schedule. Seasonality is real, and they take advantage of it. Could have homeschooled. Could have solved all of this, Rachel. Could have been a world schooling. Have you heard of this? What? You just travel with your kids around the world, and it takes the place of school. Sounds awesome. Yeah. Way more cultured. Way more socialized. They probably know seven languages by the time they graduate. For sure. Are they learning? Like, for real? Yeah.

They're learning things. You know what? Not learning the Pythagorean theorem, but who cares? All more power to you. All more power to you. Think about it. Okay, but also really knowing, because I think, you know, it's been proven through the travel industry that the cheapest times two book...

on travel is Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Saturdays. So to book on those days and to use fair comparison websites, again, you can shave off $30, $40, $50 from your total, which is amazing. That's a good one. And a lot of these sites, if you're having to input a lot of personal info, especially the ones that you don't know all that well, it can be scary. We're just putting our info out into the world. I will pop that in with confidence because I use Delete Me.

And Delete Me is amazing because it goes through all these websites that have your information out there. Because again, when we put our names and our addresses and our work and like all this stuff out into the internets, people get that information unbeknownst to us. And then they sell it to data brokers and data brokers end up selling that information to other companies. And our information, they're making money off of us people. And we get spammed, scammed, all of it. So get our information off the internet where we don't want it and delete.

Again, Delete Me helps us do that. And it's fantastic, you guys. It's a great service. You can get plans as low as $9 a month. And it is a subscription worth having in today's world. Yeah, super affordable. Go to joindeleteeme.com slash smartmoney and you'll get 20% off. I just got my parents on this. They're stoked on it. I love it. So great. Now I don't have to worry about them getting scammed. Stay safe out there. Get your loved ones on this. Okay, next is one of my favorites, rebooking flights. This is like a game for me. Oh, yes.

And I will go through. Again, I say Southwest because that's usually what we fly. 99% of the time we're flying Southwest. And if you see the rate goes down, you can go back and rebook it and they credit your account. So then when you go to fly again, you got like 120 bucks sitting right there in the account that you get to use for the next flight. And you don't even have to cancel. You can just go to like reschedule it and it'll recheck it. And if it's lower, it'll show you, hey, you're going to get negative 70 bucks back as a credit. Yes.

And if you have a bunch of people traveling, this can be hundreds and hundreds of dollars. It adds up so much. And we use that all the time. I mean, I will. I'll go through like, if we book something, I'll re-look at it probably three times every week until the trip. Just check it every week. I do. I'm like, it's kind of fun. Or if they drop a sale, they're like, oh, they just dropped a sale. Maybe it's my flight's on sale. Yep. It's so great. So re-booking flights will save you some money. That's a good one. All right. How about this one? So we get a lot of flack.

Because we say, hey, you don't need a credit card. And they go, Rachel, what about renting a car? First of all, every major rental car company has a debit card policy. Yes, we use Hertz and Enterprise, y'all. You can do it. So there's plenty of ways to do this. But there's also an alternative called Turo. Have you heard of Turo? I have heard of Turo. So you can actually rent Rachel's car because she posted her car on Turo for rent.

and they handle all of the pieces, the insurance, all of that. Yeah, it's like an Airbnb for your car. Now, I've never used it. I wonder, is it cheaper? Do you know price comparison? A lot of the times it's cheaper. Than a rental car. Depending on the type, you know, you can get like crazy luxury cars and depending on the timing in the city, but a lot of the times it's cheaper than all the fees that these rental car companies take on. Yeah, that's awesome. And you can easily use a debit card to rent a car with no issue. There you go. Easy enough. Again, none of these are sponsored. A lot of people think, well, she mentioned an app.

No affiliation. No. Use at your own risk, but we're saying this is one to check out. It's an option for you. Okay, how about going?

Oh, yes. This is formerly known as Scott's Cheap Flights. They changed their name to Going. You can find deals 40% to 90% off normal prices with great itineraries, great airlines. And so the free version, they'll send you like US-based airfare. Sometimes it's like a mistake deal and it's like, hey, get this while it's good. Oh, funny. Do you remember when the gas pumps, there was like one gas pump that like... It's like two cents or something crazy. Two cents and everyone was like lining up. Yeah.

Is that kind of what it is? Like where the airline messes up? Yeah, it's mistake fares. And then they'll just send you the best deals on the internet. And you let them know, hey, here's my home airport. Here's the places I want to go. And they'll send you notifications to you based on what you said you wanted. Yeah. And with the premium, you can, you know, they'll have international deals. And so if you're a big traveler, this is a must have. Maybe worth it for sure. Okay, how about Schwab? Okay, this one I found because a lot of people said...

I can't believe you're using a debit card when you travel. You're getting dinged with all these fees. My credit card doesn't... And so I found Charles Schwab. If you have their investor checking account, which is free to open, and you fund it with any amount of money, they'll send you a debit card that has no international fees. That's right. They'll refund all ATM fees. You can use...

your card anywhere you go without foreign transaction fees. And so this is one that I have in case of international travel. And it doubles as a safeguard because you can transfer whatever amount you want for that trip.

to that account so that's not your checking account. Yeah. If there was fraud, your checking account isn't exposed, just that one account. I like it. It's like an extra safety net when it comes to your money. So that's just my retort to anyone who says you can't do it. You do. Hacks on hacks on hacks. I know. Mine's just be loyal to one. Just be loyal in your rack of points. Just Southwest and Marriott. You know, just stick with what you know and just rack up those points. Do you ever have friends who brag about the lounges because they have the whatever credit card? Yeah, I went in a lounge. Oh,

With a friend? Did anyone recognize you and was like, how'd you get in here? No. But our friends we traveled with, y'all, 100%, they had some... And they have like a guest pass that can take you in. They had two guest passes. And then, yeah, they even asked like, are you allowed to come in here? And I was like, yes, I'm allowed to come in here. And we went in with them. I've only done it once though. And you know what?

I'm not saying this because we're Ramsey people, for real though. It was fine. It was. It was fine. The bar at the airport's low. So anything above that is a wow, this is nice. Again, fine. Like not like it changed my life that they were like the most gracious, wonderful people. It was very crowded. Yeah.

Yeah, you could get a drink, but then like you had to kind of like, I don't know, figure out up at the bar because they had some that were like on tap, some not. We tried to order food. I don't know. It was like, it was just a little crazy. It was not as, it was great, right? Because you get free stuff in that sense. But it didn't feel like room service level. No. Everything at my bed can call. Not our experience. Okay. But yeah, I think I have a big bucket list item, George. What's that? I keep seeing now because of my algorithm probably on Instagram. True.

travel an international, like, big suite on the airplane. Oh, like the little apartments. And then, this is what made me think, the little apartments. And then, the lounge is there. They have, like, masseuses. Have you seen this? Especially in other countries, like Dubai and stuff. Like, the lounge is there for the first time. It looks like a five-star hotel.

So that's your new... That would be amazing. I'm guessing that's, you know, is that five to ten grand a ticket? I don't know. I didn't look it up. It's gotta be. I'm just dreaming. A girl can dream, George. A girl can dream. But I feel like you'd be going to Dubai just for the plane experience. I might. And then I might come home. That's how much I love a plane experience. Just go get a massage. I know. But wouldn't that be so... I don't know. Do you not just... Doesn't that just stuff make you feel so good inside?

Yeah. Bougie travel like that? I want to experience it. But again, I'm not willing to pay $5,000 for a massage in a tube. I know. You know what I mean? Mediocre food. I'm good. Ooh, or the bars in the plane. I have a bar at home with a full-size bathroom. Okay. So humblebrag.

Humble brag. Oh, can I give you one last one? Okay, go. This one pops up a lot, but if you're a Southwest traveler, I often find they have gift cards on sale at Costco or Sam's Club for a $500 gift card for $430. Okay, so you're saving... 70 bucks. 70 bucks. So, hey, if you know you're going to travel, go ahead and get the gift card. Why not? Pay cash, put it in the budget, and then you have the money. So good.

So travel is one of these things, I feel like it could be a double-edged sword because I feel like sometimes if you're in a season of sacrifice and you're not able to travel how you want, when you want, all the things, like it could be hard because you're seeing people posting travel and you're like, especially if you love to travel, you're like, man, that's like a sacrifice for making.

in this season of our life, because we're trying to get out of debt, you know, we're trying to save up, we're trying to be wise about it. Like, ugh. So it can be hard, that whole comparison game when you see other people travel, right? And then on the other end, the positive thing about it, and we talk about this, Arthur Brooks talks about this, but having experiences with people you love is a way to bring joy. So a way to make your money actually cause joy in your life is experiences. And that can look a lot of different ways, but I do think experiencing things outside your norm

with people you love, it is. It's very exciting. And that could be, again, you know, driving an hour and hiking and going camping, like doing something, that or like a big fun trip with friends or family. But I do think this is a place that I personally value. For you, it's a better use of money than just another thing. Than just buying another purse or something. Like seriously, I would rather, which Winston and I are so opposite because like we were just talking about this trip and we're looking at how expensive everything is. And he's like, okay, we could take this total.

And like redo the playroom furniture upstairs. Like we can take it and like do stuff with it. Something more practical. More practical versus like four or five days. Good man. You know, somewhere. But I don't know. There's just something about experiencing life that I don't know. It's the YOLO part of you. I put value in personally. Not everyone does, but that is a place I enjoy. Is it more for the kids at this point or is it really for you? No, it's for me. Okay. I love it. I appreciate your honesty.

Having them with us is fun too. Yeah. But I just love it. That's some of the best memories you have as a kid is traveling. Yeah, like we went to Denver randomly. We randomly just picked Denver. And they still talk about it. Like we did this like dinosaur hike. I don't know. It was just like the most random little trip and our kids still like talk about it. So, I don't know. I think it's fun. Dinosaur hike. I think it's fun in life. But in order to do it, yes, um,

Being in control of your money, knowing where your money is at, how to plan for it. Budgeting is one of the best ways to do that. Every dollar helps us. We always have like a travel line item, especially if we're like leading up to it. And the hard thing about travel and the budget is you have to usually put down a deposit, right?

for the hotel. There's some expenses. If you're buying airline tickets, you're buying them like right then, not right later on. You can't wait till the last minute. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So be budgeting that, but that allows you to be in control. And then it is kind of nice because once the trip actually comes, then you are probably paying for the food, like things in the present.

but you can plan for it and every dollar helps you do that. So make sure to check it out. You can create your free budget. We'll put a link down below, but it's a great way to make travel have a level of peace because you have planned for it. Yes. And that's the most beautiful part. Don't go into debt for those people. We are saving up bank cash. I'm watching you.

I don't have access to your every dollar budget, but just know I'm judging you for using credit. Yeah, and it's easy with every dollar because you set up a sinking fund line item for travel and you can add $500 every month so that 12 months later you have six grand to spend on this vacation. So it's not a big surprise. It's not impulsive. Everything's done with intentionality. Yep, I love it. That's the key. Okay, so let's talk about the Seabreeze before we get to Guilty as Charged. Okay, let me give it another second opinion here. Okay.

I'm going to be honest. It's not doing much for me. Okay, I'm going to say my number and you say yours. All right. One, two, three, four. Four out of ten. Four? Four. George! I've never been so proud to give a low rating. I know, y'all. I just don't. It's just not working. It's not the bartender's fault. No, no, no. It just tastes, you know what? It's a little elementary for me. The effort was an A+.

You need a little complexity. Yeah. Because what's in it? Here's what's in the Seabreeze. Vodka, sweetened cranberry juice, and fresh pink grapefruit juice. I think the tartness of the cranberry, the bitterness of the grapefruit, it needs something to sweeten it up. And the vodka really doesn't have a taste. And the vodka is tasteless here. So the drink comes out to $2.40 if you want to make it at home.

Be my guest. I'm not going to stop you. It's a free country. Just know this is a four out of ten. So don't DM me saying this drink was terrible. Oh, my God. But it's an easy one. You probably have these ingredients at home. Yeah. Give it a try. It's true. All right. Now it's time for Guilty as Charged. And this is where our producer Kelly gives us a new guilty as charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. Was there a time that you tried to be frugal and it backfired?

Oh, gosh. Oh, that's a good one. Rachel's never tried to be frugal, so I don't know that she's going to. Let me think. Let me think. Okay, I will say this. I think the ones that have backfired the most is because you can save money, but when we travel with the kids, we would take a late flight or early flight. If you take a 6 a.m. flight, y'all, you have to leave your house or at least here where we are in Nashville. 345? 4? 4?

By the time to get there, they're a disaster. Or we've done a late night flight. We did, I don't know why we did this, like at 8 p.m. or something. By the time we did a two-hour flight, landed, we had to drive an hour. It was like midnight when we got there. And the whole next day was ruined because they were exhausted. I don't know. So I'd say the hacking of like with kids. Adults, we can handle it. Like we can suck it up, figure it out. But the family experience, early morning or late night flights,

Everyone's miserable. Yeah, it's the hack that backfired. Okay, I can think of a very particular time because I think my wife is still mad at me for this one. Oh my gosh, I can't wait. We went to New York City, saw the Thanksgiving Day Parade, whole bit, freezing cold. And I decide, I'm not spending another $50 on an Uber to get... We can take the subway and the bus line or whatever that's free to get to the... It'll be an adventure. Yeah.

So this is post Thanksgiving meal. We paid a lot of money for this gluten-free meal. This is my bougie frugal is we paid a lot of money for the gluten-free meal. We were full after three bites and we have 19 pounds of food. And I went, I paid good money for this. I'm lugging it back to Nashville. Yeah.

So I'm lugging this, all of our stuff and this food on ice from the hotel, hoping it stays good, through subways and buses. Oh my gosh, George. And Whitney is just like, why are we doing this? And this is not a joke and it's kind of disgusting, but at some point we wheeled our luggage through a puddle of blood.

And I think there was someone nearby coughing what I imagine was some sort of disease. I don't know. So I Lysoled the wheels when we got home. But that was the last time I think I'm allowed to take the subway with my wife.

I think she was done after that. She was like, do you see why we should have Ubered? George. I mean, we're talking lugging luggage up, you know, flights of stairs through a subway. Oh. Not the vibe. With food on ice because you're so frugal that you have to bring your food home to Nashville. For $50. I don't know. It was probably even more. $50. $5,000? We'll talk about it.

$50, George. But you know, five bucks versus 50 after an expensive trip. But you're on baby step seven. That's my thing, George. What are you doing? I need to do better. I should have done it for Whitney. I really should have. For Whitney, for your soul, for you. So my lesson, I learned my lesson.

When I'm with my wife, we Uber. When I'm by myself, you have a little, you have a time of your life, little guy. Do what you want to do. You know what I mean? But when you're with your wife, like give her a great experience. Don't make her regret all of this. Don't leave a sour taste in her mouth. That's fair. But I did eat that food for like four days straight. Went all the way back to Nashville. Oh my gosh, George. Well. Frugality can backfire. Y'all, happy travels. Happy travels. Hope you enjoyed this. And make sure to leave a review. And for more financial hot takes,

that people love to hate, catch our Airbnb episode. You can click here or the link in the description if you are listening on podcasts. And make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all-new episode next Thursday of Smart Money Happy Hour.