Savvy or Sketchy: Reacting to Crazy Cost-of-Living Hacks
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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. Yours looks more full than mine, but that is delicious. Only one way to explain that, Rachel. We will take that.

Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. Everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And Rachel, you've heard this Michelle Obama quote, when they go low, we go. We go high. There it is. But are you familiar with the lesser known saying, when cost of living goes high, we go even lower. That's one I just made up. Go low.

As low as we can to survive the world today, George. We're going to unpack that little haiku together today, but let's talk about what we're sipping on. Yeah, we are sipping on a tequila Manhattan. Two of your favorite things. I know. I enjoy a clean tequila these days. That could be for another episode.

But it's when you find a clean tequila without preservatives. None of the celebrity tequilas. They're full of preservatives. Oh, wow. Clean tequilas. It's like you're about to launch your own celebrity tequila on the show. And that's why I created. And that's why I created Middle Wilson. I don't know. Was that your best name for a tequila? Yeah. I was trying to come up with it on the spot. I mean, Cruz already has like a Mexican vibe. Oh, I could use my name. You could have just went. Yeah, I could. That's right.

No, all right. Don't invite me to the marketing meeting. I was trying to go like location. Okay. No, but I was reading or listening to a health expert on a podcast and he said if you're going to drink a clean tequila, clean is the key here, is the healthiest for it because of the agave plant and the way your body- It's the healthiest poison you could imbibe. That's right. For your body to, yes, like as it goes through everything, I don't know, because it's an agave plant or a bolden, are you ready for this? A bolden Italian red-

Wine. That's the second best. I love that when you listen to health experts, you become one. You fooled me. I basically got a degree. That's impressive. So anyways, that's it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. But American wines, they said no go. They just add a bunch of grass to it. Yeah, they said it's not good. Don't get mad at me, Napa. It's the American way. You know? Okay. So anyways, we're sipping on a...

I would think a clean tequila. We're going to just go for that. Sure. You can think that. Manhattan. And we love a Manhattan. It's great. It's very good. And wait till the end. We're going to give you our rating, reveal the cost per glass. And as always, the recipe is in the show notes. And this is one we might recommend making. Yeah. Pretty good so far. Well, Rachel, today's topic is it's giving the same energy as I can't even.

I know. You know, remember when that phrase became an overnight staple in millennial vocabulary? And then Gen Z was like, that's choogy. And by the way, don't say choogy anymore. It's not cool. I can't even. See, I can't even feel, doesn't feel millennial. Millennial to me was like the valley girl, like, oh my gosh, as if, like clueless. Oh. Like that world, the dumb blonde. That's elder millennial. That was like my high school, like.

That was the lingo there, you know? Yeah. But anyways, whether I can't even or like, oh my gosh, Valley Girl, it is, we are all exhausted with the world today and the cost of living, George. The cost, it's out of control. It feels out of control, people. I can't walk out of the house without spending a hundred bucks. Like prove it.

Like prove to me I'm wrong. If you leave, party's over. So I just don't leave anymore. Okay, so we're going to talk about some ridiculous trends of people saving money during the world today because again, it is so expensive. But yeah, I'm curious, George, you got any crazies, any skeletons in your closet? When it comes to how I've survived the cost of living increases, how I save money. I do have one recent that I feel like is not impressive. Most people are unwilling to do it.

But you can go do it today. Okay. So you know I'm a frugal guy. I want to see Twisters. I don't want to pay this $15 plus $4 convenience fee that they now charge to see these movies. So I'm a AAA member. So I went, they got movie tickets on the AAA website. So I bought the tickets at a discount from the AAA website for like eight or nine bucks and you scan them. Then I realized, well, if I enter the code on the AMC app, it's still going to charge me a convenience fee of three bucks.

And so I went, screw that. I'm going to go to the movie theater the day before and get my tickets in person to avoid the convenience fee. So I double hacked. I was like, I'm not paying full price for the ticket and I'm not paying the convenience fee. Okay. And that's how I saw Twisters for $9. Can I tell you this? Rachel saw Twisters for $12.

You ready for this? Okay. You go to a matinee. Yes. You got to get a sitter, the whole thing, right? Go to a matinee, 25% off. Yep. And then you become an AMC member. The Stubbs member. The Stubbs member, and your fee's waived. It's only waived if you buy four or more, though, unless you're paying for the premium subscription.

Rachel paid a fee. Shoot, am I paying a subscription? I hope not. They have different levels. Okay. But the first one is just a free... My convenience fee was waived when I... Good for you. Apple paid. That's legit. That's me Apple paying for my ticket.

Anyways, that's the latest thing I did for frugality's sake. That's so great. Let's go to labor and statistics, shall we? That is so great. The Consumer Price Index rose. You know what that energy was? I love that for you, energy. That was like, could not care less, but glad you took the time to share. Thank you, George, for sharing. Now tell us about the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Rachel. That sounds fascinating. It rose. It rose.

3.1% in 2024. The Consumer Price Index, you say, the CPI, if you will. Yeah, so this is less growth than the 5.6% year over year from 2022 to 2023. Yeah.

And 6% from 2021 to 2022, but it's still an increase. Okay. So what we're seeing is, you know, the prices have cooled, but that doesn't mean things are cheaper. And they're building on each other. So it's basically a 15% increase overall in the last four years. Because they're compounded. You're adding these up over time. I mean, it's just, it keeps going up. If something was $1, now it's $1.03. And the next year it's $1.08. You're adding all these up. That's right. So something that was, let's say your grocery budget in 2020 was $500. Okay.

Well, in 2024, it needs to be $5.75. It depends on where you shop. We've talked about this in other episodes, but there's a lot of things you can do to save on groceries. Let's look at some more state-specific data. Yeah, this is good because people are moving. We actually have a new team member here on this team that came from California. And it's like, yeah, there is going to be a significant price difference from LA to Nashville, right? Have you been to Air One, which is like...

Whole Foods on steroids in California? No. Like fancy schmancy. I just heard about this. There's some hilarious TikTokers that are like, I'm going to make a PB&J. And they buy all this stuff from Air One. It's like a $400 peanut butter and jelly. And their smoothies are like $25 to $30. Yes. Oh my gosh. I went to one just to see.

Is it beautiful, though? Oh, they're just gospel gorgeous. Yeah, it's unbelievable. Absolutely. Absolutely. But no, I bought like one thing. That's a Lisa Harper. Isn't Lisa Harper? If you know, you know. Harper fans, rise up. Oh, my gosh. Lisa, we love you. Oh, my gosh. Deep cuts. So good. So good.

Anyways, things do be expensive and Forbes published an article unpacking recent data around cost of living. So let's test our knowledge in some of these stats. Which state in the U.S. has the highest cost of living, Rachel? If you just guess, 50 states. California. No, Hawaii. I'm going to say Hawaii. Okay.

You are correct. The average annual expenditure, $55,491. Man, okay. And this is largely due to high housing prices. It's a popular vacation destination. It's a lot of tourism. High income and tourism taxes. High cost to import goods to a remote island location. So they're having to bring in a lot of stuff, which makes your grocery prices go up. Oh, that's fair. When you think about that. Yep.

So that's a tough one. Would you ever move to Hawaii, George? It feels just inconvenient. It feels crazy to say I would never, but it's not on my list because it is so far to get to and with family and all that, I wouldn't want to be that far away from family. And truthfully, I'm not really a beach guy. I don't know if you can tell from my complexion. Haven't been there much. Don't know much about it. You just blend in well. Yeah. Camouflage. If you hide me in the sand, you'll never find me. You'll never find me.

Never find a choice. Where would you move if you had to move to any other state in the world? Cost of living is not a factor. Oh, wow. That's a different kind of question. No, like I'm going Manhattan. Wow. You could handle the seasons? Upper East Side. Yeah, I'm going Manhattan. The rats, the smells, everything? If I wasn't married to Winston, I would go to Manhattan. Okay. If I genuinely had to move somewhere else, I think I may go Phoenix. I like Phoenix a lot.

A phoenix. Okay, I could see you as a phoenix. I thought, you know, I contemplated Texas for a while. Dallas, too big. Houston, too hot. You know, San Antonio, I go through all the, I'm like, Austin, too cool. Can't do Texas. Austin's real hot as well. Okay, so you're a Goldilocks.

You're talking Manhattan. Not who, yeah. But Phoenix is hot. Maybe a Carolinas. One of the Carolinas. Oh. Sound good too. How about you, George? This is a weird one, but Whitney, my wife, went to Arkansas, University of Arkansas. You're going to go to Arkansas? I'm going to Fayetteville. It's a hidden gem. It is a hidden gem. It's a hidden gem.

That was not on my bingo card. Ask people who live there. That was not on my bingo card. I know. Fayetteville, Arkansas. I want to get out of the hustle and the bustle. I don't need to be in the big city. You know, just give me a good coffee shop and I just want to chill. I don't want to be in traffic ever. Emo George is going to, okay. You know? I would literally would have not won that contest. I think I'd get burnt out in a big city. Oh my gosh. And I think in too small of a town, I would go crazy. Is Fayetteville rather small? It's got a vibe.

Have you been? When was the last time you went to Fayetteville? September 2020. Okay. Does that not count? Does that not count as a time I've been to Fayetteville? Why is that funny? This is very specific. I don't know. Well, I remember because we went to pick up our French Bulldog Olive from Paris, Texas. So we flew into Fayetteville, got a rental car, drove to Paris, Texas. Oh, wow. Yeah. Got the dog, went back to Fayetteville, and then flew out. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. That's great. All right, Rach. Okay. Back to expenditures.

Which state has the lowest cost of living in the U.S.? Kentucky. Incorrect. Think further south. Okay. Think Forrest Gump. Alabama.

Mississippi. Now we're talking. Okay. Notice I didn't go blindside. Felt a little, you know, too easy. I wanted to saw a deeper cut. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, I got you with Forrest Gump. Okay. Because I could watch that as a child at the Ramseys. Couldn't. Isn't there nudity in language? Shall I remind America or the world? Fern gully, no. Rugrats, no. Forrest Gump, sure. Angelica, that was a character flaw.

You know, Jenny, like she was going through, it was a season for her. All right. Average annual expenditure in Mississippi, Rachel, $32,336 versus Hawaii, which was 55 grand. Oh, wow. Big difference in annual expenditure. Okay. All right. Which state has the highest amount of disposable income? This is extra money to spend on non-essentials. So who's got the most margin? You would never guess this one. I'm going Oklahoma. Couldn't be further. Well, I don't know that you couldn't be further. Washington.

Okay. Which is, that's up there. Yeah. Average of $30,893 in disposable cash to spend. They got money in Washington. And I wonder if it's like, because you look at the whole state, which is, I guess, is some states, but Seattle, right, is your main. Yep. And then everything else, like you look at a Spokane, all that. I mean, it's very like- You get the West Coast income without the West Coast cost of living. That's right. Okay. I can go there. I can see it. I can go there. State with the lowest disposable income. California. California.

Close. You guessed it right the second time last time. Kentucky. Who had the highest cost of living? Cal... New...

Hawaii. Hawaii. Hawaii. Hawaii, okay. So highest cost of living. I didn't know the same answer could be on this quiz. This is very tricky. Yeah. So the highest cost of living and they also have the lowest disposable income. Okay, that's fair. So that tracks. That makes sense. Mathematically, it makes sense. That makes sense. So residents have the least amount of extra money to spend at just $9,550 per year on average. There we go. Okay.

So there's a lot of factors that go into cost of living, Rachel. And a lot of people, like we mentioned earlier, they're basing this off emotion and feelings and, ah, it feels like it's out of control. But the budget helps you look at reality and things you can control and the actual facts. And it actually helps you because you go, oh, it's...

It's not as bad as it seems. We make good money. We're just not really paying attention to it. And that's why I love budgeting. And we have a really great app called EveryDollar that Rachel and I both use. You can check it out for free at everydollar.com slash smart money and get started. Yeah, and I think the pro, honestly, of that, though, is having your numbers visual because that brings the facts actually, like, to reality where you're like, okay, I'm seeing it. I know how I can control it. And it is powerful in that way. So, yeah, EveryDollar, we love it.

We love it, you guys. Go check it out. So great. We'll drop a link in the description as well. Make it easy on you. Yep. All right, George. So this world today, cost of living is high. So people are doing these hacks to kind of get around it, if you will. Hacks is a nice word. They're insane things they're doing. Some of them. These are bizarre. Some of them, yes. So let's go through some of them. And I want to know if you would do it or not. Airbnb is a permanent residence.

So according to statista.com, the average nightly Airbnb in San Francisco is $392 a night, which means you'd pay $12,000 a month. So that wouldn't work. But in New York City, again, the nightly rate is $156 a night. So that's $4,600 a month. So technically that could be less rent that you're paying.

Via an Airbnb. That's still a lot. I feel like I could do better with 4,600 bucks in New York City. I mean, it's a lot. I don't know how much rent is in New York. And like what area is this? Is it a room in someone's condo? Is it the whole place yourself? There's a lot of factors here. But the idea that people just Airbnb instead of renting or buying. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, I guess in certain cities it could make sense, but I feel like there's too many. I would want to have a little more, you know, like I'm going to live here for six months and this is what it's going to be. With Airbnb, they could just... That's what I was going to say. Almost going through a third party is scary to me, like an Airbnb or a Vrbo, V-R-B-O, whole thing, versus going to the actual person that owns the unit, right? Like if I had their contact...

And you could bypass the third party. So it's like renting it at that point. This is one I could see doing if it made financial sense. Yeah. I could see that. Now, there's also been stories of people living in all-inclusive resorts for months at a time because it's cheaper to rent in certain cities. This one I can actually get behind.

Wow. Yeah. It feels like a lot though. More than the cruise ship one, you know, which is a whole nother thing of like living on a cruise ship to save money. All-inclusive resort, different. I feel like it's a little more, you have your agency. Yes. I mean, for a year, it'd be kind of fun just to say I'm living here. I wonder if I'd have to have like friends or like, you know, a spouse there versus just solo. Yeah.

Solo would be hard. We're built for community. Yeah. There we go. We need people. I love that. Here's one in the Dominican, charged $3,100 a month. Another one in Mexico, charged just over $4,000, which depending on your city, could be comparable to rent, utilities, food. But to your point though, $4,000 is a lot. That's a lot. That is a lot. That's a lot. I could do better than most cities. Yeah, and I would put that in a property, right? Like start building equity at that point. Build something for yourself. Yep. Okay. How about house or dog sitting in Europe? Okay.

We actually knew someone that did this. That's right. Yes, they dog-sitted all through Europe. Like literally went on, I guess, an app or a website. Yeah, there's different sites you can use for this. Yeah. So it's a little different than couch surfing where you're, you know, just sort of crashing on someone's couch. You're doing some work for people. But you could actually get paid in this case to dog-sit or house-sit. And live there for free, right? And live there for free.

Because people are like, hey, I need a trustworthy person. And especially if the person isn't there and they're like, hey, we are traveling for a month or whatever and you can be here for, you know, 20 days. Which feels very European. I feel like all Europeans are just traveling. They just go all the time. They just get on the tube. They work like two months a year, 10 months off. It is so true. And even then they take a nap during the day. Siesta.

I could go for that. They got something right. They got something right. Wow. So that's a different one. I could get behind that. I would want to, here's the thing. I don't want to be in Europe being like, I'm stuck in this house. Now, if you're house sitting and dog sitting, you can get out for hours at a time, I imagine. Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. So this one feels better to me. Yeah, that's good. How about rent a storage cube to use as your office?

like a windowless prison as my office. I don't think I'd be very productive. I know. I think that's a thing though because it's cheaper than renting an actual office somewhere. Yeah. I feel like the newer version of this that millennials and Gen Z are gravitating towards is co-working spaces.

Now that I can get behind. So it's like a good vibe. There's good coffee. You pay a certain fee and you kind of, you have a spot. And if you want your own spot or your own office, you pay a little more. Yes. So I like that. Or even the girl that does my hair, she will share her space with another girl for two days a week. She's on three day. That's smart. Yeah, yeah. So that kind of situation, I'm like, oh, that's brilliant. Yeah. So nice, right? They're not paying for a full, you know, property or room or whatever it is.

That you're not using for certain days. Yeah. And you're splitting the bills. But at that point, I would just work from home and try to create a private space. Would you though? You would? Yeah.

Well, I'm saying instead of renting a storage cube. Well, yeah. I would just go like, I'm going to renovate this closet to be an office at that point. Yeah, right. That could be sketchy. All right. Next up on the list. There's a lot of sketchy stuff going on these days, George, especially when it comes to our data and our information. I keep hearing about more and more data breaches and social security numbers are out there. We actually had a call on the Ramsey Show about this, about social security numbers being stolen off the internet. That's true.

That's a legitimate fear. Yeah, but data brokers are everywhere. When you put in your information...

There are other people that are there to snatch it up. Your info is being, if something's ever free, it's usually being sold. They're making money on us. Exactly. So there's a service called Delete Me, and they're a sponsor of today's episode, and they scour the internet for your personal info. They remove it from the web. They send you a report that shows you what they did, where your info was, now that it's removed, how many hours they've saved you. I'm currently at 44. Not to brag. Well done. When I scroll through that report, though, all the websites that had my information, I was like, oh my gosh.

Gosh. And like your home address. It's kind of creepy. Yeah. Don't love that. So Delete Me takes care of that for you. And they're a huge, huge time saver. And that helps me sleep better at night. So you can literally buy back your time with this service. And they're giving all of our listeners 20% off any of the Delete Me plans. All you need to do is go to joindeleteme.com slash smartmoney, or you can click the link in the show notes. Love it. This is one that I am all for. Wear all your clothes on the plane to avoid checking a bag.

I am a carry-on savant. I could carry on. But this is saying wear all of your outfits at once. Well, to avoid it. So like if you had a big jacket that would take up room in your suitcase, like just wear the jacket. Like, you know, you can layer up the big stuff. I mean, I literally could pack, I bet for 12 days on a carry-on. Okay, what about just small backpack? Could you do it? No. You need at least a carry-on. I would need a carry-on. Sure. I mean, just toiletries and clothing and a pair of shoes alone. Yeah.

Unless it was a quick, like I've done a day trip where it's kind of like you're in, you're out, maybe one overnight. I can do a backpack for that. All right, fancy traveler. What can I say? One day on an airplane and then back home. Yeah, most situations I would need a carry-on, but I can go far in the carry-on. Where are you, George? Shall I remind you when we would travel for live events with our team? Would check a bag for a overnight? I brought my pillow from home. I have a distrust of...

It's not a dirt thing. It's a comfort thing. All the hotel pillows now are like pancakes that just flatten. You have to use four pillows just to have your neck. So I just bring my own. Do you have a memory foam pillow? It's not memory foam. It's one of the Casper ones. It has a pillow within a pillow is their strategy. Okay, fair. There you go. Next hack, retired couple books, 51 back-to-back weeks on a cruise ship. Oh, we talked about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I don't know if I can do it. I would do an all-inclusive resort over a cruise ship. How about you? Yes, agreed. Okay. I just don't like being stuck on a cruise ship for a year straight. That's too long. Yeah. How about Wi-Fi, George? Stealing neighbor's Wi-Fi. Oh, gosh. How would this even work? I think I would do that on accident. Like, I feel like my phone is set up for Wi-Fi and you just, like, live your life and then you look up and you're like, oh, I'm going to use Wi-Fi. But they're private. You have to know the password.

Not all. Is your Wi-Fi just open? No, because I'm married to Winston. Thank you. If it was Rachel, it may be open. God bless Winston. Oh my goodness. So the idea here is like you pretend your Wi-Fi is down one day, you befriend the neighbor, ask them to borrow theirs, you can do your work, then you hope they never change the password.

I personally would not do this. I would just pay for internet and suck it up. Yeah. And this is like, you'd have to live in like pretty tight, you know, condos, apartments where you're close enough to where the signal would still reach well. Yeah. And we talk about the four walls, food, shelter, utilities, transportation, and utilities these days. I mean, I have like, in my head, that includes internet and includes cell phone. Like there are things, I guess you- It's become a base, like a universal- I guess you definitely don't need to like survive in the world today, but you kind of do. I mean, there is a point that like,

If you're working, you probably need access to internet. Email. You know what I mean? Like those kind of things that I would wrap that in your four walls. 100%. Like that's what you, your baseline. I would never tell someone, hey, cut the internet to save some money. No, right, exactly. I would tell them to reshop it and make sure you're getting the best rate for as much speed as you need, which I'm sure you know all about the internet speeds these days. Yeah, all the 11 kgs.

Yep, it's 11 kilograms is how much internet is required. I'm guessing because I know Winston well enough. You guys got gigabit. I don't know. I'm sorry. I don't know. Just for fun. I bet he'll text back. I know it is. I know he's got fiber. Well, what do I ask him? How fast is our internet speed? Like what are we paying for? Okay, I'm going to keep it right here. We'll see. All right, last one.

This is one that I don't think either of us would do, but people will share electrical outlets in common spaces. Meaning if you're in an apartment or condo, the hallway outlet, you'll plug in, I guess, everything from your toaster to your hairdryer, but you use the buildings, right? Electrical outlets versus your own to save on electricity. If you are blow drying your hair in the hallway, I will pay for your electricity. No.

I will be your financial coach. I know people are doing it though. And if I was the landlord, I'd be blocking those plugs. I know. I'd have like a lockbox on them because that's weird. Yeah. I wouldn't do that. I mean, unless I was in a real terrible situation, but I feel like. So here's the deal, George. Here's the takeaways for me. And again, this is after, when I think about it, honestly talking to people constantly on the Ramsey show and I get DMs from people, all of it.

I think there are like hacks you can do in life that are fine, but I also think that they can be so inconvenient and not worth the money, right? Blow drying your hair in the hallway while they're possibly making a $700 car payment a month, right? Like you can make significant changes in your life. You're not going to hack your way to financial stability. Oh, we got an answer. I said a thousand, a gigabit. Fiber. $1,200. $1,200.

G-P-G-B-P-S. What does that mean? Or, I'm sorry, M-B-P-S. Yes. What is that? I said 1,000. He's at 1,200. Oh, wow. He's always trying to one-up me. First, it was the Merv with the air filter. I got Merv 16, bro. And now it's... Is that a lot? It's very fast. We do have, like, Disney+. That's what's doing it. And, like, multiple accounts on TVs. Like, we do have, like, a lot of internet. Sure. No, that's great. That's great.

That's exactly what I thought. Was it too much? Am I too bougie? No, you didn't even... Is that a bougie thing? I don't know what that means. No, you thought it was kilograms. I don't think anyone thinks you're bougie when it comes to internet. I think they think you're the opposite. My big takeaways. Number one, I have a lot of empathy for people who feel like the cost of living, inflation, the economy, it's all out of control and something needs to be done.

That's number one. So hear me say that. Number two, I do think there's way more in our control than there is out of our control. Yes. When you look at debt, your lifestyle, your income, these are all things you can control to some degree. Whereas inflation, economy, the price of whatever the thing is,

I don't have control of that. I have control of whether I buy it or not in some ways. Some things we have to buy that are expensive, like rent or housing. But you can get creative. You can stick to a budget. You can get out of debt, have an emergency fund, build wealth for the future, regardless of what's happening. Yeah, and I think too, George, part of like adulting, if you will, is, and I've learned this over the years, where I'm like, okay, you have to adjust with the times.

And I think that we have like a human nature to stick to what we've always done. Well, I've always shopped at this store. I've always bought this. But we've always had this, you know, X, Y, and Z. And when times change, you have to be able to say, and we've done this in our household, we're going to have to change and pivot to this. And so I think part of being an adult and a level of maturity is just saying, yeah, we can't live how we've lived.

right? I mean, when prices go up, there is going to be a natural pool. If you don't have the margin in your budget to say, okay, something else has to give, right? It is math. Or we can't afford to live here anymore. That's a reality for a lot of people. Totally. Which again is so sad. Like that's a bit, it's a big deal when you're uprooting your family. I mean, these are not light decisions, but at the end of the day, you're like, okay, what's going to give me peace, right? And some of those decisions have to be made and it is really difficult, but yeah,

But again, looking at the big things you can change, and I think debt is a big one. I think car payments. I think when you're, I was talking to a girl today on the Ramsey show, and she had, I think it was like $8,700. It was $8,700 on Klarma, which is the buy now, pay later. Yeah. And she just kept racking it up. And I was like, oh my gosh. So again, there are things that you can just make a line and say, I'm not doing that.

And then you have to make other choices, right? Which gives you other options. And that's what you have to do in times like this because it is really difficult. So don't rely on debt. Take debt off the table. Use your own money. Figure out if you can afford to live the place you're choosing to live. And we had that call on the Ramsey Show yesterday. She was making 70 grand living near San Francisco. And I was like, you might need to either make...

more money and a different career or a better job in that field, or you need to move further out. Yep, that's right. So you have options, but they're not always fun. But if you're blow drying your hair in the condo hallway. I'll pay for your electricity. Just comment and George will send you his debit card information. I, okay. Rachel is more likely to do that.

Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And we are so excited to tell you that we got something new going on, George. That's right. We have a very special episode that's all about you, the listener. So here's the deal. We're going to give you our two cents. It's kind of an ask Rachel and George. And here's what we want to know from you. Give us your money situations, your money fails, anything you want our opinions or advice on. Yeah. And so you do that by submitting a voicemail. So you're going to call 877-306-1050.

1-5-1-7. Leave us a voicemail about your situation. And if you do that, just know you are giving our team permission to use your voicemail and your first name on the show. And if it goes well, maybe we'll do it again. So make sure you leave a voicemail. Again, the number is 877-306-1517.

All right, we're almost to the end of the episode and we close out every episode with Guilty as Charged. And that's where our producer, Lindsay, gives us a new Guilty as Charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. So, Lindsay. What do you got? What boy or girl math are you guilty of doing that works for you?

Oh, so that actually worked. Not like you tried to justify it. No, that it actually worked. Oh, I'm guilty. I can think of one recently, Rachel. Wow. Okay, go. Five years ago. I know. Before I grow up. Let me take you back to 2019. We bought a concrete dining table, like a four-foot round concrete dining table from Overstock.

with four black little leather chairs. And they were like, hey, do you want to buy a warranty? It was 50 bucks for five years that covered. And I was like, well, I've never had a concrete dining table. I don't know if this thing's going to stain. Sure. So I bought the $50 warranty for five years. And lo and behold, ever since having a baby, there's more stains in the house. And this table finally had a stain I could not get out. I don't know what it is, but it's kind of a round stain. Are you like four years and eight months into this? We are four years and 10 months into the warranty. Okay.

And I file a claim and I go, hey, I can't get the stain out. This thing should cover stains. They send a guy to my house. He shows up and I kid you not, he goes, oh, it's concrete? I said, yeah, I put that in the... He's like, oh, I can't do anything to concrete. I'm just gonna have to mark this as I could not repair. I said, what happens now? He says, well, they're gonna contact you and give you a choice. They're gonna either write you a check...

and pretend this never happened, or they'll give you a credit and take away your table and you can go rebuy something with that credit. Oh my gosh, George. And so they wrote me a check for $340. No way, no. And I get to keep the table. That was their policy. So this is my boy math. I made money by buying the warranty. I spent 50, I got back 340. 100%.

I rest my case, Your Honor. Wow. Wow. That's some George-level conniving. That is conniving. I don't think you can beat that, but can you even come close? No, mine would be on my 30th birthday, I went to Vegas with two of my girlfriends, and I had an envelope with cash in it for gambling. And I said, this is the amount of money. Just a little bit of fun money. And when this envelope is empty, I'm done. But I'm going to have fun. And then I brought, true story, I genuinely brought another envelope and put my winnings

in the other one, right? So I kept this like balance going throughout the trip. And I made money in Vegas. I came out with more money. I can't remember how much I had to gamble. Let's just say, I genuinely can't remember. Let's say it was $400. Okay. And I came out with like $650. I came out with more money combined than I came in. And the night I had at the craps table was one that I will never forget. Wow. Wow.

I was on a hot streak is what they call it in Vegas. And at the craps table, if I'm not wrong, it's like a community. Everyone's cheering you on. It was my... The adrenaline rush. It was everything I would hope for in life. For everyone to experience. People were cheering. I was getting high fives with guys with lanyards from like a technology conference. Yeah.

We were making, I was making everyone money. It was amazing. Because everyone wins when you win. That's how craps work. That's how craps work. So they love you when you, and I was on a hot streak. So you walked away 250 up from when you walked in there. Yeah, I made money on Vegas. I don't know if that's girl math, but that is Rachel's proudest moment. No, that's girl math. And had a great time. But you spent a lot of money to go to Vegas. So that's factored in there. But there was a gambling money. It was separate. Got it. So not the trip itself.

You know, I paid for a dinner with my winnings. Oh, good. Like a nice dinner. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're like, hey, I'm going to treat myself. I did. I treated everyone. My friend. Not the craps. Oh, I was like, wow. Generosity. Yeah, just me and my two friends. And I was like, I'll pay for tonight's dinner because I made so much. That's incredible. I know. Anyways, that's the only thing I can think of. That's what came to my head four years ago or whatever your... That's a great story. Number was. I'm glad you had a win. All right. Looks like I'm...

Yeah, you did great with this drink. You did really good. You had a strong start before we even started and you beat me.

It was great. This is a tequila Manhattan. I'm going to give this drink, I think it's a 10 out of 10 drink. I would order this at a restaurant. I would too. 10 out of 10. Congratulations to mixologist Michael, because you know he's going to text us later and be like, what'd you think of the drink? He will. Cost breakdown per glass, $3.19. So not the cheapest drink we've had, but I think one of the top tier drink. The ingredients are anejo, anejo, anejo, anejo.

A Nejo tequila, which is an aged tequila versus like a Blanco, which is clear. That's why it's got this color. It's got sweet vermouth.

And it's got mole bitters, which is fun. Oh, very nice. That's it. It comes out to a glass. Three ingredients. $3.19. You would pay probably, I'm going to guess, four to five times that at a restaurant. I'd say $18. So you can make this at home for four times less. You're welcome. Get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend or whenever you'd like. Yep, so great. And if you guys enjoyed this episode, make sure to leave a review. And our episode on girl math is...

It's coming up. So make sure to check that out if you haven't already. And yeah, subscribe, you guys. Share this show with your friends and your family. And we will see you next Thursday on an all-new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.