Save a Dime or Save Your Time: How Far Is Too Far?
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What's up, guys? This episode is brought to you by our favorite budgeting app, EveryDollar. Rachel and I love EveryDollar because it is the easiest way to take control of your money, build the right habits, and make progress on your goals. You can download it for free on the App Store or Google Play today. Hey, guys. I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Cheers. Wow. Fall-a-loo-ya. That is good. Fall in a cup.

Is that not a TJ Maxx candle at checkout, Rachel? That is. I mean, if Bed Bath & Beyond was still around, they'd be selling that in the store. Let's be honest. We could make good money just bottling this stuff. That mocktail. Fabulous. All right. We'll tell you more about it later.

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. And today we are asking the question, how far is too far when it comes to your money and saving a buck? We respect the hustle to save a buck, Rachel. Yeah, and there are decisions to be made in our daily lives that, well...

The question is, is it too much? Is the juice worth the squeeze? You heard that line? I have heard that line. I don't like it. I like to say it because it's uncomfortable.

Or dime versus time, you know? Oh, that's a fun way to say it. Yeah, yeah. So we're going to talk about that. It's basically called your opportunity cost if you're an econ 101. All right, nerd. That's what they talk about. So figuring out what's worth it. But what are we sipping on? When you go calculate your joy over there. Well, we're chatting about this, George. Yeah, we are sipping on a...

Caramel apple pie mocktail. Can I just say that on the paper, it says caramel, not caramel. It says just C-A-R-M-E-L, caramel, which that's different. I spelled that. Is it incorrect?

Well, Caramel has two A's. C-A-R-A. Well, then maybe I should go back to school. Caramel's just real Southern. You know, I'm going to be honest, Lindsay. I don't see a typo. Thank you, Rachel. I don't. I don't see a typo. I don't see a typo. Okay, so in a last, you know, recent episode, we did the whole would you rather. This, we're going to go back to another fun game, a little truth or dare. Oh, did you ever play that growing up? Did I ever play truth or dare? I feel like every kid played truth or dare.

No, no. No, we played it for sure. We played Truth or Dare? For sure. I wasn't invited to environments or scenarios in which this game would happen. Can I just say that? Like, I was in the Arabic Baptist youth group. All right? I wasn't going to parties where cool people were there. I was in a gymnasium of a church.

You know what? I just had a flash here. We literally would pray through the New Year. Do you know the movie She's All That? Yes. Where she walks down the stairs in the red dress and Freddie Prinze Jr. is like down there. I like have this like vision of George like getting a makeover. And they're like, he's ready. That's me. That is me. I am Freddie Prinze Jr. in a lot of ways. All right, Rachel, since I never got to play as a child, let's play this right now, truth or dare. Okay, go.

You have to say what you would choose. You want truth or dare? Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, I'm going truth. Have you ever added something extra to the cart just to get free shipping? Oh. You didn't hit the limit. Truth. Yes. You don't say truth. Okay. Now I'm wondering if you've ever played. Truth. Yes, I have. I have. Okay. I've added a t-shirt.

A tank top. A single tank. Just throw in a $9 item and get the free shipping. Yes, I have. Good for you. Yeah, have you? Yeah, I for sure have. But it's usually like a small item and it usually involves hair care. I'm going to be honest. I'll get a trial size grooming gel. Truth or dare for you, George? Truth, because I don't want to get up or have to do anything. Okay, so have you ever driven further than you had to to a gas station to get a lower price on gas? Yes.

A hundred percent. I'll use an app like Upside or Gas Buddy. Oh, yeah. I'll be like, oh, they're ripping us off. I'm not going to... How far will you go? I will not go far off the beaten path. If I'm going to lose more than five or so minutes, I'm going to stick to whatever's new. Okay, that's fair. But five minutes of my time is worth it to save upwards of 10, 20 bucks. That's fair. Yeah, because I think there is this high-level view when you're living with money that when you are frugal, you're naturally going to save more. But there again...

It can be a fine line. Because on one side, it's like, oh, yeah, wealthy people became wealthy because they made smart decisions. They didn't spend money on stupid stuff. They were investing. They were saving. They were buying things like reasonably priced, right? But then it can go too far, you know, the frugal mentality. There's a limit. We've all seen extreme cheapskates. Yes, yes. So you can get to this point where you're like, okay, I'm going out of my way so much that I'm losing time, valuable time, which is obviously a resource we all want more of.

just to save a dime, right? Or just to save a dollar or 10. Dime versus time. So the question is, yeah, what is worth it and what is not? And I think with me being probably the more frugal one, you know, a little more resourceful trying to find a deal, you being more trying to buy back your time, I think it's going to be an interesting conversation. And I would love for the listeners and viewers to vote along with us. Yeah. Are these things worth it? So let us know in the comment section. Which I would say again, this is one reason why I love the budget is because it does allow you

to kind of give those guardrails naturally. Like, okay, do I have the margin to spend a little bit more for the convenience?

Or do I really need to figure out a deal and make it work, right? That's a great point. If you want the convenience, just budget for it and then you don't feel guilty afterwards. And the best tool to do that is EveryDollar. And you can check it out for free. Just go to everydollar.com slash smart money or click the link in the description. So good. All right. So yeah, let's play the little game. Let's have some fun. Save a dime or save your time. So we're going to go through some money-saving tricks.

Hacks, tips out there. I'm going to share our hot takes on whether it's worth the time and effort that goes into it. We might have different takes. All right. I'm going to go first. Sail hopping at multiple grocery stores each week. Is that a waste of time? And a waste of gas? Or is it worth it long term? Okay. So sail hopping in multiple grocery stores. It's like I'm going to go to...

Aldi and Costco and Kroger. I'm going to say up to a two-store limit for me. Okay. I'll go to two stores. What are those two stores for you? Those are Costco. Where can we find Rachel? Costco. Okay. And then I am bougie, y'all. I do love Publix. Okay, that's fair. So I'll go there. Yeah. Every now and then I'll hit a Kroger.

Kroger has some good stuff. If I need some staples and it's closer, I will go there. But Costco and Publix, I will hop between those two depending on what the item is of where I can buy it. That's legit. I am more sale conscious. Like if you look at my, if I did an Instacart, for example, everything in my cart will be on sale. Really? I will only shop what's on sale. So it's a strategy I use. Really? If I can, within reason, if there's something that's like, I need this exact item. Milk?

Exactly. But then again, there's always a different milk on sale. I'm not super choosy. So you go off of the food item because I go off of the meal. So I'll think through like, okay, I can make a salad and chicken on top for me and Winston, the kids kind of mac and cheese and the chicken and,

So what's the cheapest within that genre? Does that make sense? Yeah. And I go based on what's on sale. So I'll go, okay, what is it? So you have a meal plan based on what's on sale? Yeah, I go, what's a protein on sale? What's a carb that's affordable on sale? What's a veggie that's on sale? And I'll just go, all right, that works.

It's like this week we did... I think I like more control over my destiny than you do. Wow. I like the variety of going, ooh, let the sale choose my meal plan. That's even easier. Yeah, but you get asparagus and you're like, I gotta make an asparagus casserole. We did a broccolini this week. That was our vegetable of choice. Okay. Because it was on sale. Whitney shopped at Trader Joe's this week. And that's just what she chose. She likes Brussels sprouts and broccolini. You know, I wish I was a Trader Joe's gal.

We'll get you there. Well, it's been like a, it's a one-off for me. But I wish it was one of those like, oh, I shop at Trader Joe's. Well, not everything is, like it can be more expensive for certain items. Okay. But it's a great, like the portions are right for a small family. Yep. And then we go to Costco for the bigger things or Sam's Club. So-

All right. So yeah, sail hopping, in a sense, I would be more likely to do that than you. Yeah, I would say that's true. All right, next step, researching promo codes for online purchases. I'm 100%. I'm the promo code king. This is you. Rachel will text me being like, hey, do you got a, I'll take one if you got one, but she's not going to do the research.

When's the last time you used one? Unless it's within my app. Like I have the Papa John's app. I have the Chick-fil-A app. Like I have some food apps. And within the app, if it's there, the promotion's there, obviously I use it. Papa John's, huh? Yeah.

We're still doing the Papa John's thing. I love Papa John's. And I'm a Marcos guy. I love Papa John's. The crust at Papa is so good. It is so good. Now, I'm gluten-free, so I haven't tried a gluten-free at Papa John's. Don't even know if they have it. I don't know. But Marcos has a real good gluten-free. We like our toppings. We know what we like. Yes. What's your pizza? Pepperonis and banana peppers. Okay.

Okay. It's my favorite. Can someone explain the difference between pepperoncinis and banana peppers? Okay, pepperoncinis are spicier. Oh. And they're not as available. So Papa John's, this is why I like them, they give you the pepperoncini, the full pepper in the box. So you...

And then heart with your pizza pizza. You get both. Is that what you do? Oh, yeah. I got my pepperoncini in one hand and then I got my pizza pizza. And then you take a bite of the pizza? Yeah, and then you put hot red pepper flakes on top of your pizza too. She gets it. Fantastic. Red pepper flakes are a game changer. All day. All day. That or the Jets Eugene. If you have Jets, go to the Eugene. It's sausage, banana pepper, red onion. Oh.

Oh. Fabulous. That sounds great. Whitney loves one at Marco's. It's a white sauce, not a red sauce. Okay, you lost me there. With grilled chicken and green peppers. Yeah. I can't do the white sauce pizza. Give it a shot. I have. I do extra red sauce, sausage, and pepperoni. Old world. Have you had the old world? The little cuppies? Oh, the little guys. The little guys. Yeah. Good one. Game changer. A little spicier, a little crispier. You know what I don't like? A stuffed crust.

Don't eat it. Not for me. Don't eat it. Crust is already like, let's tone down the crust. You're overestimating how much we want to eat bread. And then they give you that garlic sauce, which you're supposed to dip in, but I poured over my pizza. Oh, that's a good one too. It's so good. It's all so good. I'm hungry. Wow, I wish we did that. We are hungry. But yes. Do you know what's always worth it though? What? Promo code or not, but a promo is still great, is your online safety. Way to transition. And when you have a program that's helping you in life, a service-

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Can I tell you, when it comes to promo codes, they are not sponsors, but I love Honey and Slip Deals, and sometimes they tell me not to find those promo codes. I just did this with Marco's this week. My go-to promo code to save 30% did not work. So I had to settle for a 25% instead of a 30%.

Dad moment. It hurt. Can I be honest? It hurt a little bit. I'm sure. Did it ruin your night? Or did you bounce back, George? I wouldn't call it a night ruiner. Because I still think pizza is an affordable option to feed your family. Resilience. Yeah. Good for you. I was resilient. Good for you. Okay, how about this? Paying debt off over the course of several years. Okay.

Oh, is this worth it? Dime versus time? Yeah, where it's like, okay, I'm not going to like sacrifice my lifestyle. I'm going to just pay for it. Several is the operating word. I would go, if it's going to take like, I want to make the pain a shorter time frame. So two years, two and a half years, now we're talking. If it's going to be three, four, five years,

We got to really find out a way to get some extra income or cut our expenses. Yes, for sure. So yeah, I would say it's always worth the time because you're getting money back, right? The amount of money you're paying, not only in payments, but the interest on top of that. It is so worth just to buckle down like you're saying and saying, I'm going to just...

cut everything, get extra income and do it in a short amount of time. And I paid off 40 grand in 18 months. Our friend and fellow personality, Jade Warshaw, her and her husband, it took them seven and a half years because they had almost half a million in debt. And so regardless of how long it takes, be intense about it and knock it out. It's always worth it to free up your income for the rest of your life. So good. All right, next, George, finding cheap parking far away.

and walking instead of paying $15 for the garage or valet fee. I am that guy who... You're a walker? Well, I will do excessive research before. And there's an app called Spot Hero. There's other parking apps out there. So I can pre-book a parking spot in a garage and I know exactly how much it's going to cost. Oh, wow. So it'll show you on a map how close to... How do you pre-park it? Because what if someone pulls in and just parks in your spot? Yeah.

Well, it's a parking garage. And so you're prepaying for a spot. So I don't know how that works. Oh, a spot, not like a specific. Not in a specific spot. Gotcha, I hear you. And so I'll know, hey, if I'm going to the show downtown Nashville, I can pay $10 for the library parking garage. I gotcha. Versus paying $25 for the one right next to the venue when I could have driven or walked an extra five minutes. Yeah, how far are you walking? Let's talk blocks here. Let's go big city. I am a...

10 minute is about the max walk. If it's a 15 minute walk for parking, I try to find something closer. Yeah. Or street parking. But I will always look for street parking first. That's free, which is more rare in Nashville because they've just taken over with trying to get you to pay for parking. Yeah, it's not a lot here. But I'm a big fan of just taking a little bit of extra time. Yeah, I would go to a 10 minute walk. You would? Yeah. What about valet if it's offered?

Airport, I'm going valet. It's my bougie trait. That's your toxic trait. I love a valet parking with airport because you got your suitcases, you got everything else. It's worth it to me. But yeah, we, yeah, I'd say we would walk. But then if you circle the block like five times, then I'm like, just pay. Like there's a point I give up. I'm not going to circle for a half hour, but if I can circle for 10 minutes, I would do that to save 20 bucks. Yeah, for sure. And it's healthy to walk after a meal.

Oh, I didn't think about that. It's a big deal. I know. So after a big meal, you're like, oh, let's go walk the city for a little bit. And weather dependent as well. That is true, for sure. But if it's free valet, I'm open to that. But what I hate is like locally, there's a place in Franklin that does this, which is not like a big city parking situation. And the valet will move your car like three feet. I'm like, I can go park. Oh, yeah. It's not a big city park. It's a normal like suburban parking lot. I'll go park myself. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. Because then you got to tip the valet. Yeah.

Always tip your valet. Yes. Who doesn't tip their valet? But if I can avoid it and park myself, I'll tip myself instead. Do it all day. How about this one? Going to pick up an order instead of paying for delivery service to bring it to you. Now, this is a no-brainer if you're getting out of debt. Don't pay for delivery services. Do it yourself. But I tend to err on the side of going to pick it up myself if it makes sense.

So that's me 90% of the time. 90% of the time, you might go for the delivery service. You know, we don't do like an Uber Eats though. Like I don't do a... Yeah. I don't do, I mean, groceries I will deliver at times, but food delivery services, I don't do except for pizza. That's fair. So like if we're going to go out, we usually go out. We don't usually get it to go. Yeah. I don't know. I,

I have probably DoorDashed or Uber Eats, like I can count on one hand how many times I've done that in my life because it hurts my soul to see how much of a ripoff it can be when you're adding up. Number one, they're charging more for everything on that menu. Then number two, there's a delivery fee. Then number three, you're adding tip on top of all of that. Yes. So a $10 meal could end up costing you 20 or more when you add up all of it. So it just...

For me, if it's pizza and it's a big group of people and I can't leave the house or don't want to, I'll get it delivered. Totally. I will always deliver pizza. Will you always pick up pizza too? Oh, I will attempt to pick it up because it's less than 15 minutes one way. I'm such like a 90s kid. I feel like delivering pizza is like the... It's a real treat. I'll tell you that. It's a real San Francisco treat when I can just get the pizza delivered. But something about me feels good when I got to be the delivery driver and save my family that, you know, five or eight bucks on delivery fee plus tip.

You know, heroes don't all wear capes. Thank you. Well done, George. Well done. They wear corduroy denim jackets, in case you're wondering what a hero looks like. Oh, okay. How about those buying things in bulk when there's a major sale?

This is the Middle Eastern in me. I love a bulk purchase. Give me a bulk purchase. I'm doing the price per ounce. I'm doing the calculation on my phone. I'm going, let's buy it in bulk. Yeah. Caveat, I need to check the expiration date. If it's something that will expire within a week. If it's a perishable item, I'm more cautious. Yes, agreed. But soap, Dove soap at Costco, give me 80 boxes. Absolutely. 80 boxes of Dove soap? I'm exaggerating. Probably 20 though. Big old thing. And you're like, that will last me forever. Wow. So great. I love bulk.

I do. Yeah, it does because then I don't have to go shopping as quickly. You're not going every week to get this thing and you're saving money along the way. So, you know, Costco, Sam's Club, it can be a good deal, but I also, I try to only buy things that are on sale at Costco. Another toxic trade of mine or Sam's Club. If I can get it on sale, I feel even better. Even more bang for the buck. Yeah. And you can return it at any time, no questions asked, which I did. We know that. The other week with a full-on grill.

You returned a grill? I returned a grill. Why? I don't know if it was user error or the grill just wasn't great. But we used it at my daughter's first birthday party and it almost ruined the party. No, did it fire? That was the second time I used it. There was a grill fire, which didn't know it was a thing.

George, I don't know. Are you like a grill master though? My question would be user error. No, but it's a, what's it called? The Easy Bake Oven? It's the Traeger. It was like a Traeger Junior from Costco. And you plug it in, you set the temp. It's supposed to be like no frills. What happened with the birthday? The birthday, we could not, I couldn't get the thing started.

I couldn't even get it to like go to turn on, essentially. I hit the power button. I was going to say, is there an on button? There is, but then there's like, it has four buttons and they're not labeled. And you're just hoping and guessing like which ones you have to hold together to get the thing ignited and get the pellets going. Did you ask anyone for help? I made the mistake of calling customer service. And it was some dude following a script and...

He had an accent. He clearly had not grilled before because he just kept going through his script. He was like, do you have an account online? I was like, no, tell me how to get the grill on. It was very frustrating. I eventually got the grill on. Then my dad was handling the grill. The pellets were not feeding in and the grill went down in temp. So I was like, I give up. I'm going to Costco and returning it. I'm glad you did. But then they took it back.

They took it back. Dang. I wouldn't say happily. They were a little bit like, what's going on with the grill? It's a few years old. And I went, it hasn't worked for me. Yeah, just not working. Yeah. And their policy is, other than electronics, appliances, jewelry, at any time you're not satisfied, bring it back. Full refund. There you go. Good for you. There's my take. All right. Driving to your vacation instead of flying because of the high cost of flights. Ooh.

This depends on the destination, of course. What is the most you'd be willing to drive? Call me bougie. Call me bougie. I'm a flyer. No more road trips for the cruise family. Y'all, I, we could go. What's the distance you're like, okay, this is a flight worthy destination versus a drivable. Like Atlanta is what, three and a half hours? Yeah, I'd say five hours. Five hours or less, you're willing to drive. I'll drive it, yep.

Five hours or more, we're fine. To be fair, is Winston driving most of the time? Oh, 100%. I'm the passenger princess. You're a passenger princess. Or what do they call it? Oh, yeah. I've got my phone. I'm not even aware. You're not at all helpful. Because my kids now, we only give them tablets on road trips or on flights.

So they're like on drugs every time we like travel. They're like, they don't get on drugs. Oh, yeah. Wow. So I don't do anything now. What are they watching? It's great. They play games. A snake game that you got to eat stuff. That's their big thing. That feels like a good thing. They love games. I know. They love games. And one's a...

Color in per box thing, Amelia does. So the reason they want to travel is not for the destination. That's what we're learning, yes, that they just want their tablets. What if it was a vacation where you just drove around and let them play on an iPad? They'd be none the wiser. They would be fine. They would think, wow, what a great trip that was. I know. So yeah, but I'll just say five hours or more, we're flying. I'm going to say if I can save like $100 per hour. So if the flights are more than $100 for every hour I save...

then I'm probably going to drive. Okay. Within limits. Yeah, what's your limit? What's your hour limit? Now with a baby, I realize my wife is very like, we're not going to drive in a car for eight hours, you know? Yeah. So we're still at that stage. So we've been flying mostly to Florida and to Boston. That's where our families are. Sure, sure. Which are pretty easy flights. My key is it's got to be a nonstop. I don't do connecting flights. I agree. If I can help it. At reasonable times, I will not fly before 9 a.m. These are my limits. What?

Because the earlier the flight, the more chaotic the airport is with more people and more stress and less sleep. I think I would challenge you on that. Go ahead. Challenge me. You get an 8 a.m. flight. You got to show up at 6.30 at the latest. What?

We got a lot of luggage because of the baby stuff. No. So you got to wait in line for the baby. Oh, you're still checking. We got the baby gear. We carry on. If it's just me solo, who cares? But with the baby now when we're traveling with family. I know, I forgot about those days. All right. You know what? So 8 o'clock, you board at 7.30. Then we're there at 6.50.

No. Because sometimes those lines at 650 are out the door. They're not with TSA PreCheck. Or then you just look at a sad little family and say, we're late for our flight. It's not PreCheck, Rachel. Can we get you? It's the bag drop that's the issue. Can we pass you? And we experience this. Can we pass you? We're late for our flight. Is that what you say? Oh my God, this is crazy.

his poor family. No, I've never had to, but worst case scenario, I 100% would. I'd say, I'm so sorry. But Nashville, we walk right up every time we fly to TSA. America, let me know in the comments if Rachel asks you, of course you're going to say, oh, absolutely. If I ask you, you're like, the line's back there, bucko. Yeah.

You're going to wait like the rest of us. Get back there. Get back there. Oh, George. It's a lot of stress. It is. But if I can save $100 per hour, I'd rather fly if I can. I'll say that. That's fair. Flying's gotten more expensive. And to Florida, that trip was like, it can be an eight and a half hour drive to see the family in Boston. I wouldn't even dare. See, I would skimp on food.

And be like, we're not going to eat out nice. Like, we'll just get whatever, like, to go. We'll get easy food. Yeah. To save money to pay for flights. Like, I would find ways to, like, find a rabbit. Even for the holidays, we looked, and I was like, I'm not paying $1,300 for flights. It was the cheapest to get to. Yeah, that's hard. During the holidays, they upped the prices. And I was like, forget it. They can come see us if they want. Yeah. So, George, I think the point of all of this, though—

Because you got to have boundaries in life. We can't all just get what we want all the time. You have to prioritize and know what is worth your time because your time is, in essence...

You want to be able to have, I mean, to me, the life quality of saying, gosh, I have the spare time, it gets worth it in a certain season, right? Yes. So that's why I think getting out of debt, getting yourself some margin, all of that, to be able to do some of the conveniences like we talked about this episode. Because we're not mad at the conveniences. Because you're buying back your time, yeah. And I think that there's a point in that that is great. And that's where the whole like, does money make you happy idea comes in.

I think that it can provide conveniences, right? In this kind of way. That's beautifully said. And I'll add to that, your priorities will always dictate your boundaries. Beautifully said. Tweet that. No one tweets, but you can into the abyss.

Hey guys, it's Rachel Cruz. And George Camel. And George, I am so excited. That you just can't hide it. That's right, I can't hide it. Because I've got to tell our listeners about our money and marriage getaway on Valentine's Day. That's right, the fall getaway, they're already sold out. Yes, so quickly. So we actually added more dates so more of you guys can get away with your spouse to Nashville. So you'll join me and Dr. John Deloney for a long weekend focused on strengthening your marriage

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All right, well, it's almost the end of the episode, George, and we close out every episode with... Guilty as charged. And this is where our producer, Lindsay's last guilty as charged. So let's like go down memory lane for a hot second. So George and I had this idea of this podcast. This harebrained idea. And this was years ago. This was probably, this was before... No, it was before that. Because I remember doing...

a board thing talking about it. Me bringing up the idea in 2020 during COVID. I think you may have done that, but I don't think you told George until later. I didn't know. Yeah. Okay. I'm sorry. Okay. Wow. Talking about me behind my back. We'll just say 2020, 2021, we had this idea of a podcast or I had this idea. I think you're

part of it. No, no, credit to you. But I was like, gosh, it would be a great podcast to like have a cocktail and talk about what people are talking about in the world and relate it to money. Like this could be a fun, because the Ramsey show, you get some sad, like heavy calls. Like this could be a lighter, more fun that people could introduce their friends to. So if you haven't already, share the show, right? And like all of it. And true story, I was talking to Dave and I was like, George and I could have this all this. And he said, would Lindsay be the producer? Lindsay needs to be on the show.

And I said, yeah. I didn't know that. I didn't know that either. You're just going to drop that on us now. Now I'm getting emotional. And I'm already emotional. From the very beginning, the brainchild of this was us three. Was like the triad. And y'all, I am so sad to say, it's so happy that this, though, is Lindsay's last show. For good reason. We were so excited for her. Yes. She's having a baby boy. Not George. You're a baby boy too, George. George.

This is hard. You've been an amazing producer. You have fought long and hard to just make this show reality and then to make it what it is today. Do I see your eyes glazing? I'm getting a little, I don't know. Maybe I think your hormones are contagious. I know you're 36 and a half weeks. I might be like a week. I don't know.

Early stages. Early stages. I know. It's a big deal. It's a lot. It is. It's a lot. And we are going to miss you a lot. And the work that went in on the front end of this podcast that Lindsay headed up. That you guys will never know. The amount of stuff that she had to do to prove this out. It was so much work. And you believed in it.

I know. And we love you so much. And before this, y'all, Lindsay and I worked together. How long has it been? Oh, I mean, I've been here almost 10 years. I mean, we've worked together for almost 10 years. The Rachel Cruze Show is what it is today because of Lindsay. Yeah, back when it was a vlog. Oh, yeah. I mean, the whole thing. 23-year-old me. Yes, with Diana. Yeah. Remember? Yes. We were like all the way back. 23 and me before it was a thing. Look at that. Oh, my gosh. But we are thinking of you, praying for you. Thank you. And baby boy.

that everything goes so smoothly. We are so excited. Answer prayer. Can we update the listeners and viewers when the time is right? Picture and stuff. Yeah, go for it. Because here's the thing. The YouTube comments are already flying. What? No, no, no.

No, they don't care that much about me. They're going to miss you. Yes. You have big shoes to fill, but we have some shoes that are going to be filled, which we're very excited about. The shoe's getting bigger, I feel like. It's a big shoe. Fun. We're increasing the shoe size. The shoes that are getting filled. They're Texas-sized shoes. Can I say that? That is true.

We got a legendary producer to step in. We do. That works with crazier shows than us. So we feel very confident. But we love you, Linz. We love you. We do. We'll miss you. Oh my gosh. Leave a comment and let us know how much you love producer Lindsay. Give a hands heart emoji. We need a Sara Bareilles montage, like arms of an angel with all of your best...

All of your best moments. Actually, you both can sing. Y'all should sing. Rachel, that is a great idea. No, no, no. Not on the spot. Oh, no, I'm not singing. No, why not? She's an amazing singer. Lindsay's an amazing singer. No chance. But part of it has to be when the clip with Rachel talking about Miley and she was trying to reenact Miley. Is that a fridge? No.

Miley and the dog will be burned into my brain forever. Not for good reason. So please go watch that episode if you can. I think it was the one that came out the first week of this year. I lost my mind. All right, we're back. Have you ever impulsively bought something you didn't budget for? And what was it? Yeah, I mean, I've got some.

I did. I'm not scared. Okay. I'm not ashamed. Mine's for my children, so I feel good about it. Okay. What a great mom. Basketball. Our middle child is going to do basketball. We've never done basketball as a family. And it came up literally in like a group chat. And I asked her, would you want to play basketball this winter with all your friends that are doing soccer? She's like, yes. And I said, sure. But it was $215 to sign up. That was not in the budget. So rearranged some of the stuff, added a line item.

Put it in the budget, but it was not originally for it. So it didn't derail anything, but it was just like, all right, we got to figure this out. No, we had to do some adjustments. Yeah. Little things here and there. Little tweaks, if you will. Yeah. But...

Does that count? Yeah. I would say so. Mine was a lot pricier, but I don't regret it. But it was definitely like a non-George splurge. Who was it? So Whitney's grandpa passed a while back. Okay. Not super recently. But then grandma, going through all the stuff, said, hey, he's got this old Rolex watch. Would you want it?

And I was like, absolutely. Are you a Rolex king? Here's the thing. So they said, here's the deal. You can't sell it, but if you're going to wear it and you're going to enjoy it, we want to give it to you for free.

And I was like, oh my gosh, what an honor. So it needed some fixing up. So I take it to the jeweler, to the like whatever. They send it off to Rolex for an estimate. And it was over $1,000 to get the watch repaired. Oh, wow. Which, you know, hurts my soul. Sure. How much was it worth? I had a Series 3 Apple watch that I bought. How much was the Rolex worth? Do you know? I don't. I'm guessing. I think from what I can tell, I need to get it appraised. But I think it's probably a $5,000, $6,000 watch. Okay.

So in my mind, I went, okay, would I pay $1,000 to get a new-to-me Rolex watch? Absolutely. But that wasn't in the budget. This was sprung on me. But I needed to get the repair done in order to use it. So we had been saving for a new house, and so we used some of the new house savings and went, all right, I'm going to make that up in the long run over the next year, and I will get this repair done.

For the heirloom jewelry and, you know. Do you like it? Is it cool? I'm picking it. They just texted me today and said the watch is ready. Come pick it up. But when you saw it, though, is it like the size you like? Oh, it's beautiful. Yes. And he was a smaller fellow like me. And so I think it's going to be, I get to carry the legacy of my wife's grandpa, which is cool. Wow.

So I'm excited. But again, when people see me, they're going to be like, oh, okay, Mr. Rolex. I'm like, no, no, no, no. Like, trust me, I'm not this guy, but it's a beautiful watch. All day. So I'll wear it with no shame. I love that, George. So can't wait. You'll see it on a future episode of Smart Money Happy. Maybe you can come to Caroline's game wearing the Rolex and we can say no budget. You know me, Rachel. I am the last guy to do like, I'm not trying to flex. I'm kidding.

I'm kidding. You know what I mean? I know. But do I want to show up to a Little League soccer game wearing Rolex for fun? Sure. Me and Winston broing down, talking about the big game, coaching them up, yelling things at them. Absolutely. All day, every day. So that is my, yeah, was not in the budget. Oh my gosh. Was impulsive. We made it work. I think it was worth it. I love it. That was a good one. So good. Okay.

All right. Who finished their drink first, George? I think it was you. I know. It was you. It is a very sticky drink, but I do— Caramel is my favorite accoutrement. Topping. Okay. It's Winston's. Like, if it was ice cream, forget the hot fudge. I'm sick of hot fudge within three bites. Yeah, that's what Winston says. Caramel's his, too. I think this is a guy thing because my husband is the same way. It's so weird. And I don't like caramel. I don't either. Like a milky way? Eh-eh. Love a Snickers, but the caramel part— What about a Payday? No. A Twix? Nope. Nope.

Give me a Snickers. I'm betwixt by your hot take on that. But I like hot fudge. I would do hot fudge. Gross. Basic. Wow. Unbelievable. There we go. What would you rate the drink, first of all? Oh, I'm going 9 out of 10. It's a little sweet. Okay. That's why it's 9 out of 10 out of 10. Like, the sweetness level is just like a tad much. But it's so good. I think as the ice watered it down, it tempered the sweetness. I'm going to go 10 out of 10. I...

The only way I could improve on this mocktail, and call me bougie, if you add a little bit of Spindrift's apple, Bivica Crisp apple flavor. Oh, okay. Spindrift's has a little bit of the bubbles in there. Yeah, you get a little bubble. That would have really taken this up one notch. Okay. But still a 10 out of 10 mocktail for me. It tastes like an apple pie. Like, it's great. It is great. Very good. So the cost breakdown, $1.38 per glass. Not bad for a 10 out of 10 mocktail. And here's the ingredients. Apple cider,

Caramel syrup, not caramel. Caramel syrup. Don't know if you can find that in the store.

Cinnamon, apples. You got the fresh apple slice in there. Rosemary, again, fresh rosemary. Game changer. And brown sugar. So it's a brown sugar caramel rim. Delicious. That really adds to it. I would personally add sparkling water if you want to take it to an 11. I think that would have just really been the apple on top instead of the cherry in this case. Wow. There you go. So get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend. Your kids can enjoy this one too. And fallelujah to all of us. Fallelujah.

Well, it is closing time. So if you guys enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave a review, subscribe, be part of the community, share it with your friends and your family. And if you've not checked out the episode with Sharon Ramsey, which was our most popular, one of our most popular episodes. One of my favorites of all time. Make sure to do that next. And we'll see you next Thursday on an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.