Reacting to the Most Unhinged GoFundMe Campaigns
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You've heard that it's better to give than to receive, but we might have some caveats today. We're talking about giving gone wild. Some of the wildest GoFundMe campaigns. This creator said that he's broke and trying to have a lit summer. Get Brett to yoga teacher training. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour.

Oh, 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. And before we get to Giving Gone Wild, let's talk about what we're sipping on here. It is called a Love Gun. That's fun. Yeah. Love Gun. We're going to give you the rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode. So stick around for that. This is a good one. I'll just give you a little warning. It's good. You think? That good?

I'm just saying. So far, a little bland for me. I like the name better than the taste. We'll just wait. It gets better. I can't wait. Okay, so we got to start by saying that generosity is very important to us. It's a major part of the Ramsey plan, and we believe it's the most fun you can have with money, truly. More than spending, more than saving. But it can apparently be fraught with shock and scandal.

Yes. I don't know why you're surprised by this, George, because you had donation gate at your daughter's birthday for people to fund his daughter's education, even though George has a full-time job and he is fine financially, but he's having other people fund his daughter's education. Tell us about it, George. I don't know what character you were turning into, but I wanted to see where it was going. I just feel like this is you.

I don't know. Tell us about it. Tell us about it, George. We had a whole episode around financial faux pas, and I shared the story about how I set up. It was just a fun QR code for some family and a few close friends, and I thought this will be fun. If they want to donate to her college fund on her first birthday, they're welcome to do so. It turned into people saying, I can't believe...

you're using social media to try to fund your daughter's education. Go fund yourself. And I was like, whoa, guys, that's not the intent here. I don't need your money. I just thought, hey, instead of buying my daughter crap that will send to Goodwill, why not give her something that will actually help her future?

Yeah, and you're not asking strangers. You're asking your good friends and family to fund your daughter's education. Yes, the 10 people that were invited to her birthday party. Not you guys. I'm kidding, George. But I posted about it for fun. I'm saying like this is the kind of dad I am, the nerdy dad who has a QR code. It was more of making fun of myself than it was soliciting donations. Yes, but the funny thing, ironically, is that it wasn't like a joke. You were being very for real. But you know, you're in good company because funding people's life events is now very normal.

We've normalized it. Funding people's, yes, weddings or honeymoons or vacations. Like, this is what people do. But I will say there is a funding that isn't—

is great. Like if there's a tragedy that hits, you know, that's one place the internet is wonderful because you are able to get the word out and people are able to help on a bigger scale, which is beautiful. Yeah, medical bills or, you know, house fire, things like that. Those are legitimate needs and it's a beautiful thing to get, outsource it to community of friends and family and strangers. Okay, but it has gone bad. Like there's been so many different scam stuff. Do you know one of my favorite podcasts last year? And then they turned it into a TV show. What?

Did you ever listen to it? Oh, I heard about this. I think you probably told me about it. I'm going to be real. O-M-G. What happens in Scamanda? O-M-G. This woman. Very great. It's a great name. Such a great name. Like, great title. Glad her name was Amanda. Just like Top Gun or Love Gun. What's this called? Love Gun. Love Gun. Okay. Not Top Gun. Different. Top Gun, Love Gun. Okay.

Yes, she faked cancer, George. This woman faked cancer. And I don't want to give it all away, but it first came out like her neighbor was like, oh my gosh, something's not adding up because the girl, Amanda, was like, oh, I'm getting a port done because of my brain leakage. So she's posting videos from the hospital? Yeah.

you are jumping the gun. Top gun, love gun over there. Stop that. No, listen, she first was telling this neighbor, like all this stuff, like her brain was like, had fluid in it. So she had to get a drink because of the cancer. But then she'd like go to the neighbor's house and tell her all this and then go swim.

And the neighbor was like, you just had a major procedure done. Something isn't adding up. So this neighbor was on it from the top. She's like, something's wrong. And then for years and years and years and years and years and years, this woman was telling like church family, family, friends, and would go check herself into the emergency room, y'all, and take pictures of herself with like an IV and different things. But anytime anyone was like, hey, I'll go to chemo with you. She's like, there was always an excuse. Like,

Oh, no, you can't. They won't let you in. So no one ever like legitimately saw her. But later to then, here's what's crazy. So she goes online and it becomes this massive like GoFundMe, all of a sudden people are funding her life because she can't work and she's married and all this stuff. And kids...

So sad. And so she ends up, they catch on to her because the neighbor, the first neighbor, contacts an investigator, basically a reporter, and was like, hey, I think this woman is faking cancer. Like, you can't ever say that out loud. How terrible would that be, right? And if you're wrong, that's probably the worst thing to be wrong about. Yeah, not good. You don't want to be wrong about that. But she told this reporter, and the reporter starts digging into it and realizes, yeah, it is a scam. And they end up getting the FBI involved because of wire fraud.

And when you give money, I guess, across state lines or something, there's like a federal law or whatever. So she ends up, it's more the IRS that takes her down out of everything. Oh, wow. Because she wasn't paying taxes on them? No, it was because of like the government agency of like wire fraud. Oh, wow. It turned into that. So it's a great podcast if you need to get one. She got over $100,000 in donations. And the husband's in on it.

Yeah, he's got... What about the kids? Well, his name is Corey, and we're not sure. I don't think he was officially... I can't remember if he was officially charged or not, but there's no way he couldn't have known. What about the kids? These poor, innocent kids, were they in on it? Oh, it's terrible. Were they old enough to know what was going on? Well, she had some... Yeah, she had a... Yeah, it's a big family tree, but...

It was wild, George. Anyways. Thanks for the spark notes on that. You saved me hours of my life. You're welcome. You should listen to it. That's a really good podcast. Way more entertaining than actually watching it. So it's clear that with Scamanda, people were seriously misled about what they were giving to. But I've seen some bold GoFundMes that aren't hiding a thing. Here's an example. Someone from our team had a friend who made a GoFundMe to raise money for her twin's college education. Both were going to expensive private universities. Zero dollars.

That's embarrassing. Oh, they didn't raise anything? No. Posted about it. Hey, we really need the help to send our kids to these very expensive private universities. No empathy from her friends on Facebook. Yeah, I mean, I could see. I could see. Yikes. Our team found a list of some of the wildest GoFundMe campaigns.

And we're going to start with the first one. And I'll say with the caveat before we begin this, again, the internet is a beautiful, wonderful place that, again, you get messages out about situations that are happening that you actually can give to that are legitimate. Like it is, it is not, we're not bashing this, but like every great thing, George, there's always a downside. Every rose has a thorn. And we, this is what we do on the show is talk about the downside. So you're ready for the first one.

What's the title? It's titled Booze, Drugs, Cigs. Okay. And this creator said that he's broke and trying to have a lit summer.

I think that's he stole Kid Rock lyrics. I think that's literally the song of the summer from Kid Rock. He's trying to raise money for his booze, drugs, and cigs. I love the honesty, though. You're not getting scammed on that one. There's no limits. It's not like GoFundMe is like, hey, this has to be a legitimate thing. You're really going through something. He just wanted to fund his summer.

And he was very honest about it. He didn't try to lie. I need to go to college. No, he just wanted booze, drugs, and cigs, which I don't condone any of those things for all the children watching and my mom. What I give to this, that's the question. I might just to say I was a part of history. No, not a lot, not enough to enable, but like a dollar. Just to... Enough to show up on the side that shows like George Campbell donated $1.

Would you? I think I'd scroll past it, but I appreciate the effort. You know, at least there's effort. He didn't like rob a bank or something. That's true. You could be committing actual crimes. Yeah, that's right. So that's always a silver lining with Rachel. He's not hurting anyone. Okay, here's the next one. Okay.

The campaign name, I booked the wrong plane ticket, LOL. That's what they named the GoFundMe. So a girl was having her wedding in India, but accidentally booked the wrong tickets for two of her friends and needed $1,200 to fix it. Oh, stop it. How do you book the wrong ticket? Are there that many Indias? Oh my gosh. What if she went to like Indiana instead of India? How terrible would that be? I feel like, who married her? No offense. But if you, that's a big typo.

That is bad. I wonder if the dates were wrong. Surely not the destination. Surely not.

She just said book the wrong ticket. So we're going to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe a wrong date. You know what? I may give to that. That would be so sad that you were just trying to do something good for your friends. Probably trying to help them and try to get like, oh, let's all get tickets together on the plane or something. I don't know. It's so good-hearted of her. And then she messed up a detail. And I get that. I've messed up details, George. I would have contacted the airline first, but I guess she tried that to see if they could switch the ticket. And what if it's non-refundable? Yeah, it sounds like that's the case. 1,200 bucks.

Would I give to this if I knew her? I don't think I would give to a stranger's campaign. But if I was like a friend or family, I would consider that my wedding gift. I wouldn't get, I would say, hey, I'm going to give 50 bucks, 100 bucks, but no wedding gift. Are your wedding gifts 50 bucks? I don't know what people are doing these days. Nobody invites me to weddings, to be honest. You know what? That's fair. I haven't been to a wedding in a long time. I'm only friends with people that are already married. And the people that are single, they don't want me there apparently.

Well, play matchmaker. I only get invited to weddings from strangers. Like fans of, you know, fan of Smart Money Happy Hour will send one to the office. Oh, yeah.

And I'm like, are they trying to get free product? I don't know. Oh my gosh. But I'm not going to travel to, you know, Portland to go to this wedding. You're like Inspector Gadget, really trying to figure out all these things, George. I would give 50 to 100 bucks if I knew the person. Okay, that's fair. All right. I would feel bad for a bride going through a lot. I feel bad. A lot of details, a lot of stress. Whoopsies. That's so funny. Well, $1,200 online. Whoopsies aren't just a risk when you're booking travel, George. It can happen if you fall for a scam.

And there's phishing out there, there's harassment. So much of our information that's online now.

can be used against us. People are tricking us now and they're getting good. That's why Delete Me is a service that everyone needs. That's right. Personal data isn't just about spam anymore. There's a lot of just fraud and these phishing attacks where they make you think they're a legitimate company, organization, government, whatever, and you click a link and next thing you know, you've sent them a bunch of money. And so to avoid them getting your information in the first place, Delete Me can help protect you against all of that

So they remove your personal info. They send you a report showing you here's where it was, here's where we removed it, and here's how much time we saved you, and I sleep better because of it. And they do this all year long in the background, site by site, listing by listing, with a real person doing all of this. Yeah, and then they send you the report so you know what's going on. You know the data, your data that's been removed from what website

I mean, it's just amazing. Like they are an incredible service, you guys. So we'll put a link down below for you to check out or you can go to joindelateme.com slash smartmoney and you can get 20% off the annual plan. And again, it comes out to just about $9 a month, which is amazing. So make sure to check them out. All right, you ready for the next campaign? GoFundMe, someone up there titled Big Move to L.A.,

One woman decided she's going to move to Los Angeles, but she needs $3,000 to do it. And she says, I promise I would not be asking if it wasn't absolutely necessary. In my research of the entertainment industry, I found that Los Angeles is the best location for me to be, to launch my career. You needed research for that? You probably shouldn't be in the entertainment industry if you have to Google, where is entertainment industry? How to get job in entertainment industry? Yeah.

But good for her. She says it is. I like that she promised she wouldn't be asking if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Promised. Like she doesn't have secret money laying around and she's doing this for fun. Yeah. As people tend to do. Yeah, no, this is what she absolutely needs. But just a big move to LA. Help with the move. Would you give to it? I don't think I would. Because number one, this is the person that's on American Idol who's a terrible singer, but people in her life have lied to her.

I think this is that similar person. Oh, no, you do? I don't know that they have true talent. Oh, gosh. So that's the thing. I would want to see, like, give me an audition video. Really sell it to me as to why I should invest in your career. Yeah. I'm buying a share in Rachel Cruz as the actor. Okay, are you ready for this? This is so Ramsey, but this is what I think, too. I'm like, it's $3,000. Let's get a $1,000 side hustle.

That's the thing. Let's move in three months. We can do this. Do you know what I mean? What happens when she moves to LA and doesn't have a job and then goes, I need more GoFundMes now because rent is expensive. What do you do? I know. We got to start this ball early, if you know what I mean. Yeah. I mean, I've seen La La Land. Go work at a coffee shop. Go, you know, serve tables at night. Do what you got to do for the dream. Yes, I know.

Yeah. Love that documentary. I know. I think I'm... Ryan Gosling, that guy is going places. Did you like it? I thought it was a little boring. Did I like it? It became my personality for six months. Really? See, my personality was the greatest showman. That was more realistic to you? Love the greatest showman. No, such better music. You know what I liked about La La Land? The sad ending. I thought, now that is reality of LA. Oh my gosh. Heartbreak, but silver lining, personal growth.

Come on home, or what's Hugh Jackman saying? From now on. That's such a better song to end the movie than your sad, sad movie. I thought Greatest Showman was great. I don't think you can even compare the two movies. Why? They have nothing to do with each other. They're both about the entertainment industry. They're both musicals, George. What are you talking about? That's a thin thread. It's like Pearl Harbor and Titanic, both terrible events in history. We can compare those. One was about a war. One was about a ship sinking. Yeah.

Just because they both involve ships doesn't mean they're similar movies. There's a love story. Something terrible and tragic happens. Who got painted nude in Pearl Harbor? Where was the through line there? End it there so I can end this conversation. So the key is you would not give to this poor woman who's trying to launch her big career. Sorry, no. I'm giving to the bride above if I need to give so far.

Not to LA. Sorry. I just like skin in the game. Upload the audition tape. And if I'm like, wow, she's going places. I want to support this. I can say I was there when. I was there when she was just trying to make it to LA. And look at her now. She's Adele or whoever. Katy Perry. Hey, would you go? Oh, man. All right. Next up.

Get Brett to yoga teacher training. What? My guy, Brett, asked for 650 bucks for yoga teacher training. Oh, no. What are they training them to do? To do yoga. They want to be an instructor. Have you seen the instructors? Have you seen the things they say? They're incredible. Very flexible, George. All they do is just quietly tell you about your day and tell you to breathe in peace and exhale your target return. And it's very like, woo-woo. It's not. I mean...

When's the last time you went to a yoga class? Four weeks ago. I don't go regularly. What was the instructor's name? I don't remember. I guess she wasn't a great... I remember all the names of the great teachers in my life. I like it. I like it. It's a great workout, especially the flow classes. Vinyasa. Where you're constantly, you're moving and all your warrior, but you're going... I mean, you can really... And then if you do hot yoga...

That's crazy. Where it's hot in there and you're doing it, it's great. I used to do that a lot. I don't like to sweat on purpose. If I want to do it, it's accidental. Do you not do a sauna?

I've done saunas. Okay, yeah. But that doesn't feel like sweat. That feels like there's a forced thing happening there. You know what I mean? It's like, I don't know where this condensation is coming from. What about yoga for you? Have you ever done yoga? Yeah, I did it once and it was a terrible experience. Was it? Because they never told me what, I want instruction. When you say yoga instructor, tell me what to do. All she did was suggest things. Perhaps you find your arm leaning over your head. Okay.

There's a chance you find yourself surrendering to your pelvis. I'm like, what are you? Why do they have to make it so weird? You know what I mean? Maybe your knees find a natural safe place. I'm like, tell me what to do. That's all I want. Is that too much to ask? Just like, tell me. Okay, now here's what we're going to do next, guys. I'll be honest. That's usually my instructors. Like, go to Warrior One. You know what I mean? And they like, tell you what to do. Now there's different moves I have to memorize? Yeah.

Here's the best part. I was in a dark, quiet room for an hour without being bothered. That was the best part of yoga. I thought, I could do this at home. I could lock myself in a closet with the door closed with some nice music without Amber telling me suggestions. So no, I didn't go back.

I felt nothing other than uncomfortable. Man, okay. Laying on the ground with strangers. That's not a great experience. I'm sorry about that. With some wood blocks. Yes, you're definitely not giving. Is it Gary? Greg? Who's going? Brett. Brett. Brett, the yoga instructor. Okay, he says, this is the direct quote. I am starting this campaign to help raise money for myself so that I may start my journey into yoga teacher training. You lost me at calling it a journey, Brett.

It's training. Don't call it a journey. You're not finding yourself. You're learning how to suggest poses. Oh, look at his next quote. This will provide me with the tools so I can better serve each and every person in my life. God them with positivity and light. Namaste. Would I give to this? No. And honestly, if you can't,

save up $650 to take the training. There's a part of me, I'm with you. What are you doing with your life? Yeah, I got you. He's fine. It might take a while. A hundred bucks for six months, he's got the training covered. He's on a journey, you know? He just needs the journey funded. I would just go to work before GoFundMe. You know what I mean? I would try that first. And if all else fails, if tragedy...

Befall me. I will then go to GoFundMe. Okay. But as your first effort, I would not start at GoFundMe. I would not do that. Sorry, Brett. Should we send Brett a treat to celebrate the start of his new career, though? Because you know who has some great athleisure that would be very comfortable to wear while instructing yoga? Not a yoga company that I'm thinking of. I'm thinking of Cozy Earth. They have athleisure and other products that are absolutely incredible. Okay.

We got sheets, blankets, yes, pajamas, athleisure, all of it. I mean, it is phenomenal. Their stuff is very high quality.

It's incredible. I mean, it really is. Their pajamas, some of my favorites still to this day. Incredible. I love it. And if you want a sweet discount, you can get up to 40% off if you go to this site, cozyearth.com slash smartmoney, or click the link in the description. Use promo code smartmoney at checkout. Yeah, give it. I would say get yourself some stuff. And it's a great gift. Speaking of generosity, what a tie-in. Yeah.

Full circle. We should do like a GoFundMe for like people that need Cozy Earth products, you know? Like everyone give to it. Because no, but really it is. It's incredible. I think my favorite that I've recently got is the blanket. And it's not the like really big heavy one. It's like the medium one. But it's the one that is on our couch. Currently, when we all watch, because we'll usually watch Wheel of Fortune at 6.30 at our house after dinner. Wow.

Wow. Us and the kids. And that's the blanket that is on my couch. It's the Wheel of Fortune blanket. It really is. So if you want to see how the other half lives, get the Cozy Earth blanket, turn on Wheel of Fortune, lights out by 7.30.

Amen. Hallelujah. That's the rule. So Brett, reach out if you somehow see this and you truly are that yoga instructor. Number one, I hope you've made it through the training and you are thriving. And number two, we'll send you a gift for roasting you. All right, George. So this last campaign we're going to look at, it actually worked, you know, because a lot of people are now asking for funds to go on trips to concerts. You know, they want tickets to these music festivals. Ready for this? A girl requested and received $600 to go to Burning Man.

She said, I have the opportunity to get more in touch with myself through this rich experience and will have a spiritual impact on me that I can't put into words. I view Burning Man as a way to recharge my battery and level up my abilities to help people be more aware of the impact to their emotional well-being. It's rumored that in 2025, the headliners, okay, I don't know any of these people. Can you even say these names?

I'm so scared to say this one. So these are rumored 2025 headliners at Burning Man. Diplo. Correct. Carl Cox. Sounds good. Nina Kravitz. I think it's Kravitz. Kravitz. Tycho? Tycho? Tycho. You're doing good. The rest are easy. Major Lazer. Yep. And Skrillex? I don't even know what Burning Man is. Think like if there was a club, but it was outside and there was a lot of drugs.

Isn't that the one that everyone goes to in like Arizona or something? Isn't there like a cool one? They basically create this like art exhibit and community and they burn it all down at the end. No. I think that's what happens there, correct? You can fact check me on that. But they have this big like art thing and they burn it down. There's one in Tennessee. What's like the real big music festival? Bonnaroo. Bonnaroo. There's also Coachella. Coachella, that's what I'm thinking of. But Bonnaroo is a big one in Tennessee. Can I tell you festivals make me so sad? Yeah.

You have to stand so much. So much standing. Don't like standing. I need a designated seat. No shade is the biggest issue for me. I mean, a festival sounds... I can't... I don't like it. Being out in a field, because you're usually in fields, right? Yes. Walking around. I guess that's the proper term for where these take place. Walking around. Like, no seat, no place to sit and eat. There's no tables. I think what you're thinking of is a restaurant. I think that's what you're looking for. I mean...

I don't like it. Call me old, but never have. The thing that gets me is how expensive everything is. They're charging these people out the wazoo for water bottles and a slice of pizza is $13. See, they'll do that at like a- Nickel and diming would get me. But they'll do that at like a game, like a professional game or something. Yeah. That I would go, I don't know. Well, you saw the stats. 60% of people at Coachella use buy now, pay later.

Oh, man. To finance it. Oh, man. So not helping Rachel's take— Isn't that the rich one, Coachella? Isn't it like the really like bougie one? I think it's bougier. There's more like VIP experiences. It's not like in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, that is just— So you're out. You're not going to support our fund. I like restaurants, sporting events, and spas.

That's where I would spend my money. Never invite Rachel to Bonnaroo or Burning Man or Coachella. She will not go. And also, she doesn't know any of the artists. It's a waste of your time. She's not going to— Do you know—have you heard of any of those? Yes, at least three. Yes. Diplo, Tycho, Skrillex, and I've heard of Major. So four. Okay. I don't know who Carl or Nina are, but I'm sure they're very nice people, very talented, very successful. Otherwise, they wouldn't be headlining Burning Man.

I don't get it. Would you, what festival would you actually attend and pay 600 bucks for? Who would the artist have to be? I mean, I'm not kidding me. Getting me to a field is like, I just don't. It's not my thing. What if you were carted around, you were back on a tour bus with AC? All right, if I had like a VIP experience. If I had like a glamping experience. There's waiters serving you in the shade. There's fans blowing, people are feeding you grapes. Okay.

then what would I need to go? What would be fun? Yeah, what artists would need to be there? Yeah, I would go like straight, like whatever was good in like 2003. Like put all those people on a stage. That'd be fun for me. Okay. So about 22 years in the past. Like my highlight of my high school years, that would be enjoyable. Because other than that, you know this, my playlist is literally- She wants the hits. Taylor Swift and the goodness of God. This is the only songs I listen to. All right, if you guys ever want to put on a festival and you want Rachel Cruz to be there, that's what, who needs to be there? That's right. Who does goodness of God?

Is that like a Hillsong situation? No, that's Bethel. Is it Bethel? I think it's Bethel, yeah. That's the new Hillsong. When Bethel and Taylor Swift come together, Rachel will be there. Stranger things have happened. I mean, Boney Bear and Taylor did a collab, and he's my favorite. Never mind. You don't know any of the words I just said? You don't care.

I don't do music, George. I do books on tape. For the record, I would not give. I think you're not going to be any more aware of the impact of your emotional well-being by going to a wedding. I would pay $600 for therapy for this woman.

That's at least four sessions. Yeah, that would be great. That's what she needs to do. Now, we had fun roasting them all, Rachel, but let's reiterate, we are very pro-giving, pro-generosity. It should be a regular thing you do with your time and your money, and not just when tragedy strikes or when a GoFundMe hits you right. So if you want to help a stranger by going to Burning Man and the spirit moved you to give some money, knock your socks off. Yeah, I

Yeah, I appreciate that. I'm not mad about that. No, but I think, yes, having a spirit of generosity, I think is really important. And studies show that you are a happier person when you give. Like there is something about it. And I would say too, challenge yourself not to give out of the motivation of what you're going to get, your happiness, because we know that now. But it's like, it's the decent human thing to do when you see people in need, right? When there's situations that need help, like...

Fill in the gap in life, right? That makes the world go round. Yes. And then you get the benefit of being happier. Yeah, there's a lot of scientific benefits. There's a lot of spiritual benefits. And think about the last time you gave. It felt amazing. Yes. Even more than when you receive. Yep. And if your giving becomes stale, because we have a lot of people that have been watching Ramsey stuff for decades, for, you know, 10 plus years. Some of y'all are the hardcore, yes, Ramsey people, which is great. So a lot of people...

You know, we've been talking about giving and giving 10%, and that's always been a core part of our message. So a lot of people do that. But I will say, Winston and I found that sometimes like when it's just kind of automatic—

You don't always feel the impacts, right? Like there's something about having... It's not always magical. Spontaneous moments though to put back in to like bring life back to your giving if you feel like it has gotten stale. So find some creative ways to do some stuff for people, like individuals. I always think that's fun. And you may not get like the tax write-off or whatever, but like throw all that out the window. Just like...

Let the spirit move. And it's really fun to help individuals when you know. So like the GoFundMes we joked about, right? But sometimes you will see individuals that truly do need help. And if you have the ability and the margin, that's one of the reasons you want to win with money. It's not just to keep...

Giving to yourself, it is to be a generous giver. Beautiful reminder. And the way I have made this a habit is in my every dollar budget, I have a line item for spontaneous giving. Yes. I call it like the bless up fund. You can have whatever clever name you want, but it's just a way for me to basically plan for the spontaneous so that if an opportunity arises, I don't have to go, oh gosh, I didn't budget for that. You just have it ready to go. So if you guys want to check out every dollar, we will put a link in the show notes and you can create your own line item for giving.

Yeah, that makes it really fun. Super, super fun. It's a good time. Now, on the flip side, depending on the generosity of others, it's not great to just your whole life to go, I need this to happen or else. You've got to be able to take care of your own needs and work to afford your goals and wants. That's kind of part of the roasting is just...

put some sacrifice in, work for it, make some money and don't expect everyone else to fund all of your dreams. And if you're ever genuinely in need or you're being randomly blessed, receive it graciously. I love this quote, don't block a blessing. If somebody wants to give, it's not up to you to say, no, no, no, no, I can't, don't try to humble your way out of it. Just say, thank you so much. That is so kind. That's good. Let them get the benefit. It's not all about you.

As you're receiving it. Yeah. No, that's fair. I think that's good. That's really good. Yeah. And I will say too, the internet is a beautiful place that if stuff does happen and tragedy, real tragedy does strike. Yeah.

It is a place that, yeah, you get to understand and learn about other people and their stories and their situations. And if you have the means and maybe you know someone or you're one degree separated or not, and you're like, no, this is something I want to give to. It really is a beautiful thing. And GoFundMe, it is a great website to be able to do that, right? So you see, I mean, you can go on there and there's so many different categories and situations and everything. And I mean, some of it's heartbreaking. I mean, it is. It's just...

It's horrible. But yeah, I always find with whether it's like medical events that come up, people can use that and they're able to email out those links and people are able to help because especially medical bills, it's one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in America. So to help like bridge the gap there, I think is like a really beautiful thing. And then some other spontaneous stuff, Carlos Whitaker, we were talking, he does a great job with generosity, but he even did like a GoFundMe with a,

piano player at an airport. Oh, I saw that. And he raised like 60 grand. Was it 60 grand? Was it 50 grand or something? You know, it's like spontaneous moments like that that you're able to get people involved. It's just a, it is, it's a beautiful thing. Beautiful world we live in. Yes. And here's a, one of my favorite GoFundMe success stories. Here's the campaign. Support Rockstar Pizza Drivers Dedication.

Here it is. Pizza delivery driver delivers pizza half a mile on foot in a snowstorm to an affluent neighborhood only to receive a $2 tip. This is me when I did the Instacart driving. This is exactly, this is my version of it. All the sacrifice. A police officer witnessed the whole thing. The police officer puts it on TikTok and viewers wanted to donate to him. So the officer created a GoFundMe to raise $500 in honor of this guy's work ethic. And he raised $500.

over $45,000. No. See, I like that. It gives you faith in humanity a little bit. And I like that it wasn't him that created the GoFundMe. It's something about someone else seeing a situation. I think people are more up to give to that. Yes. You know what I mean? I don't know what that is. What do you think's

behind that. Versus the driver is like, oh my gosh, I only got a $2 tip. Does anyone want to give me a GoFundMe? Like, you know what I mean? Because I feel bad for me. It's kind of that like they're not asking for it and you almost want to bless that because it's like the unexpected blessing. And the fact that someone else has the heart to create this and try to

There's something about that. I love it. That's very beautiful. Yeah. There's a guy, Jimmy Darts, who's out there and he was actually on my YouTube channel. Yes, yes. Wonderful guy. And so what he does is he'll go up to people in need. He'll kind of source stories locally and say, hey, does anyone know someone in need in this area? He'll vibe it out. He'll surprise them physically.

find them in a Walmart and go, hey, do you have a dollar for me? I'm hungry or I need a bus ticket. And they'll give him a dollar. And he goes, hey, since you were so nice to me, here's $500. And they're always taken aback. Oh, yes. But it doesn't stop there. He then shares that video on social media. It gets millions of views. And he starts a GoFundMe for each of them, raising another $50,000 to $100,000. Oh, my gosh. For each individual? For each individual. And he does this

Every single week. So here's the latest GoFundMe. I just pulled it up to see what he's up to. Okay. So let's help get Jeff off the streets. So it's a guy who's experiencing homelessness. He works at Sprouts now and he was sleeping outside. And so he ran into him. They went through this whole situation. The GoFundMe currently has almost $90,000 raised out of a $100,000 goal. Three days it's been up. Stop it.

And so that's all he does is he spotlights people in need, gets a community around them. And so that really does inspire me. And this is probably the best use of GoFundMe instead of drugs, booze, and Burning Man. I would agree. And when Jesus says, did you feed me when I was hungry?

There it is. He gets front of the line. That's right. Extra jewel on the crown in heaven. A hundred percent. Meanwhile, they're going to be like, why didn't you give to that girl who wanted to go on her journey? I'm like, oh, dang it. I didn't think this would come back to haunt me. He gave to the bride because she booked wrong tickets. Yikes. Yeah, giving to the people actually in deep need. That was fun. It does make me want to give more seeing these stories. Oh, for sure. It's beautiful. So beautiful, George. Love it. Love giving.

And love this. And Love Gun, which is the name of the drink today. So before we spill our guilty as charged question and answers, what is this? This is the Love Gun. The drink comes out to $2.84 per glass. Here's what's in it. Can you guess at all what's in it? I would say lemonade.

Okay. It does have lemon juice. Oh, right. Okay. It has light rum, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, simple syrup, St. Elizabeth allspice dram, and club soda. Man. So it's a very... No, it is nice. Kind of almost like a berry lemonade type drink. It feels like a brunch cocktail.

Yes. So I'm going to go. If I'm not in the mood for mimosa, I'll take this. I'm going 9 out of 10. Yeah. And it got better as it went down. So a mixologist, Michael, told me that the club soda was sitting on top. So it's a layered drink. So it kind of changes and gets more interesting and a little more boozy as you make your way down. Yeah, I like it. 9 out of 10. 9 out of 10 for me too. It's great. All right. Get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend if you are of age. Good disclaimer. I'm proud of that. Yeah, very good disclaimer. Remember that, kids.

All right, now it's time for Guilty as Charged. And this is where we ask each other a guilty as charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. All right, you ready, George? Yep. Have you ever passed up an opportunity to give because it was a bad pitch? Oh, gosh.

Do you have a story? Yeah. This happened recently. I was walking the dogs in my neighborhood. Okay. You know how kids will sit like on the sidewalk and like sell stuff, little table, lemonade stand. Well, this kid, a few doors down, he didn't have a table. He was in an SUV with the sunroof open and his head was poking out and he was just yelling, candy for sale.

Candy for sale. What kind of candy? I don't know. What price point? No idea. And so Whitney, my wife, is just like, come on, you have to like acknowledge him and talk to him. And I went, no, I'm not going to enable this terrible version of –

entrepreneurship that's happening right here he needs to learn a lesson this is not how you solicit customers and so i walked right past him and on the way back he was now sad and he was saying out loud in earshot of me saying nobody wants my candy or my flowers and he was still sitting in the sunroof just how old is this kid i don't know probably seven

Eight? Wow. But he was all miffed that nobody wanted his flower. I was like, have a table. Give me a price list. Show me what you're selling me. You know what I mean? Is it a Butterfinger? Is it Reese's? Are they Magnolias? What do we got here? What do we have? What's going on? Let me know what kind of product you have. Sitting in the driveway in your SUV poking out of the sunroof, that's not how you sell. You're not doing that. Yeah. Who's in the driver's seat? The mom? Dad? No, nobody. It was just a car wasn't turned on. He was just in the driveway. Okay.

Car turned off with his head out the sunroof. Oh my. Do you understand how wild of a situation that is? It's a little dangerous. I hope he can like get out of the car, you know? Oh, he's fine. He was just poking his head out the sunroof, you know, in the backseat kind of thing. So anyways, that's, I turned him down hard. I did not acknowledge him. And I didn't have time. I was walking the dogs. Didn't have time to coach him up and be like, hey man, if you got a nice little table out here, get a setup.

Lay out your items nicely. You know, aesthetic matters. Yeah. Show me the inventory. Give me a very clear price list. What's the value proposition here? Nothing, none of that. Okay, just screaming and you said, nope.

So that was, yeah, Whitney was still, I think she's still mad at me. Oh, man. For not being nice. Yeah. I don't just give kids money because of effort. You got to really put the right effort in. Mine's tough because I don't always have cash on me. Like, especially in the neighborhood, if I'm walking or something, I just have my phone and my AirPods and that's it. Like, I don't carry money. They don't take Venmo these days? Some will, and that's the smart thing. You got to do the Venmo thing. Cash app? That's my thing. If you had a big QR code, hey, scan to pay. Here's the price list. Here's what I'm raising this for. Hey, you can get your QR code template.

From yours. He should have asked you, George. Honestly, I should train him up and say, hey, man, I just did a very unsuccessful campaign for my daughter's college. You could take some notes here. Oh, my gosh. Maybe that's why. I saw myself in him. I saw my own failures and insecurities in this kid. And you said, I can't give to that. But if you see a Girl Scout, are you acknowledging? Are you buying? Girl Scouts, yeah, I'll do that. Our Boy Scouts will do, like, wreaths at Christmastime. That's cute. Yeah, I'll buy some things. I will. I used to be a little bit, like...

We've already done our giving and it's not in the budget. But if it's like a neighborhood kid that we know, I will. Yeah, I will do it. I've done it before. I got scammed with giving. That's what came to my head.

What happened? Yeah, we had someone ring our doorbell and I went and they gave me this whole pitch about like there's a food desert. I think I may have told this story like a year ago. A food desert in a part of like Nashville, like an hour away. They don't have fresh crops and they're trying to get inner city kids to create this garden. It was a beautiful idea. And I was like, you know what? I will. Like I'll give. I'll use that spontaneous land item in my every dollar budget.

And I'll give. So I fell for it. And he gave me like a packet and everything. Like it was legit. And I wrote a check and gave it to him. And I got the packet. And then Winston came home, I don't know, like an hour later. So I was telling him about it. He was like, let me see it.

And he went and looked up the website and everything. Doesn't exist. Complete scam. So once I had to call the bank and like void the check and all of this, I was like, oh my gosh, how terrible. Who's putting the kids up to this? It can't be of their own volition. Oh, it was an adult. Oh. Like a guy came, it was a guy, like a grown man. I know, complete scam. I'm so sorry. I fell for it because I thought, what a great idea. But to be fair, he found his target demo. Sweet, gullible Rachel. Yeah.

Because you know me. I'd be like, what's the website? I know, y'all. I didn't look up anything. I love to check it out. Yeah, it was not great. What's your 501c3 code here? I'm trying to think if I didn't give because of the pitch. I don't...

I'm sure, yeah. I mean, I don't give every time I'm asked. Yeah. The problem I have is if it's like a friend's kid, like I had that happen to me once that came to my door to sell me. I'm like, hey, do you want the Tumblr for selling for band camp? And I was like, all right, fine. I know. So I just bought it, never used it, immediately goodwilled it. I know. But I supported it. I wish I just had given him 20 bucks and said, I don't need the cup. I don't need the thing. Don't need to order your thing. Yeah. I think food is the best way. Girl Scout cookies, popcorn, like that's like... You can consume it and enjoy it. Yeah. Yeah.

That's good. Or re-gift it. Well, if you have a guilt-use charge question, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel. It's always helpful to get your ideas. And if you love this episode, you'll definitely love our episode on dupes, counterfeits, and scams. You don't want to miss it. We'll put a link down below.

And we're also going to talk about Winston's Craigslist trauma that happened in that scam. Scams everywhere, y'all. What is happening? Oh, and I need to solicit reviews. Speaking of generosity, would you be so kind to leave us a review wherever you're listening? We love to see them. It helps the team know what you're liking, what you don't like, so we can keep making some sweet episodes. We love you guys. You are the best. So we'll see you next Thursday on an all-new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.