Unpacking Money Lessons from Your Favorite Christmas Movies
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Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Cheers. Well...

That puts the spirit in Christmas spirit. I'm going to tell you that right now, Rachel. It's a little gag, too. I don't like it. But this is the show where two friends who have to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And let me just say, Rachel, Merry Christmas to you. Merry Christmas as well. Fa, and I cannot stress this enough, la, la, la, la, la. La, la, la, la. Well, thank you, George. So part of the Christmas spirit always is the films, right?

that we engage in every holiday season. And they actually have a lot of lessons that we can learn, not just in life and love and the Christmas season, but also our money.

Great tease. We're going to dive into that today. Expertly done. But before we go on. I know. I just don't like it. And I know what it is. Right out the gate. I know what it is. We are sipping on an upgraded eggnog. So eggnog. Yeah. Not Rachel's favorite, apparently. You either love it or you hate it, right? You seem to be a little bit Scroogish. I'm still going to drink it. Let's be honest. We don't waste a...

Someone spent a lot of time on this. And it's beautiful. And money. It's beautiful. So 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. Okay, so we should like set the Christmas vibe, the tone, if you will. Okay. Can you give us like a little Mariah tone, George? How was that? That was really good, George.

That was really good. You said it like a mom who had to be proud of her kid for doing like the worst cartwheel ever. No, it really sounded good though. Well done. You can carry a tune. Thank you. You have to do a real just back of the throat breathiness. Man, she's everything. Do you want to give it a go or? No. Okay. That's your Christmas gift to all of us is you not singing. Maybe four eggnogs in.

We might, but I'm not, not now. What was that? The 90s? Like the 90s Christmas. Sure. I saw something on Instagram. It was a video like from a home camera, like the old school home camera. Oh, yeah. Like at a local mall. Like that's all it was. It was just like a B-roll of like the mall in like 1994. And it just takes you back. Like there's just something about the 90s, you know? I think we could admit Christmas was more special back then. I really think so. Is that age or is that culture? Yeah.

I think both, but also we've just, in the digital age, you just lose something. I know. When you're just like clicking add to cart, it just shows up. There's something about going to a physical place and choosing the item and seeing the excitement as a kid. Yep. And you got, you know, tacky sweaters that were actually not tacky then. That was the style. Now they're back in trend. I can see you're wearing one. Snow days. This isn't a tacky... I just wanted to see...

If you'd go with me on that. Unbelievable. It's a great sweater. Did y'all ever have snow days up where you were? Oh, Massachusetts. In the north, sir. Yeah. In Boston, a snow day, I remember watching the morning news. But y'all would get them really? And you're waiting to see your school show up. Is that real though? Because usually up north, you don't get snow days because it's just part of the world. It'd have to be like a nor'easter, a blizzard, like something that was, you'd look outside going, we're not going to be able to shovel this in time to get the car out. Okay, wow. Yeah. And we don't, remember, they don't have a lot of garages up north.

It was a lot of just driveways. Yes. So your car is just under snow. If buses can't get to you, party's over. Done so, yeah. Yeah, we got out of school a lot here in Nashville. Yeah.

And it was great. But I did love, man, remember Fox Family, that channel? Oh, my gosh. Yeah, yeah. You just triggered something for me. I know. Core memory. Man, those were the days. But the Christmas movies would always be playing on TV. Still are. It's where I go back to my old school cable. That's where cable comes in. Comcast doesn't leave you hanging on Christmas. Wow. You can turn to AMC. You might as well have said, we TiVo all the Christmas movies. Yeah, yeah, TiVo.

That was impressive. Anyways, but Christmas movies. Do you watch the classics with the kids? Like, do they still like it or do they want to watch the modern? They want to watch the modern, but I do make them watch a couple of like just the classics. Have they ever watched a movie four by three ratio versus the 16 by nine? I'm not sure the measurements you speak of. Well, you know, like a square TV style movie versus a widescreen movie.

Aren't they all on the same screen now? Never mind. Never mind. Do they shorten the screen? Some of us didn't take a film class and it shows. Do they? Know your ratios. Okay, but my question is for real. Will there be... They expand it for TV these days. So how will you know? You wouldn't unless... You can see it and you're like, that was expanded.

Wow, George, you're so smart. It's unbelievable. But anyways, today we are going to go through some classic iconic Christmas movies and some of the famous quotes that came out of them. Because again, we can learn something from them. You're going to get a money lesson out of these or your money back. That's right. How about that? What are we kicking it off with? This is a more current classic, but it has become a classic.

Elf. Elf is the modern classic. I mean, funny. Still funny to me. What's the best quote? Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color? Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color? That's a good one. Should we answer like Ramsey show calls like that now? I would love nothing more. If we just got to ask people their favorite color instead of be like, no, tell me more about your $160,000 in credit card debt. That'd be way more fun.

Oh, you have $400,000 in debt without a mortgage? Please break that down for us. We could just say, what's your favorite color? We all could just live in a happy childhood world. I use this elf quote more than I should, but I say this. You sit on a throne of lies. You sit on a throne of lies.

That's a great one. Because Buddy tells the truth no matter what. He genuinely wants everyone to win. And I feel like you need someone like that in your corner when it comes to money. Yeah. Someone who would tell you the truth. That's right. And to know who is throwing out the lies out there in the world. Credit card companies. I thought you were pointing to me. I was like, what have I lied about? You speak truth, George. That's true. No, one of the things I try to do is that. But the industry, it's a lie. I mean, what they're dangling out in front of you for a bigger and better life is...

And taking away your peace, liars. And some of it's not even malicious. It's just the credit card company's really happy, joyful marketing about how they're going to give you financial freedom with your 2% cash back. Yeah, but they also know they're making a crap ton of money off of people. Billions while charging you 25% APR. You sit on the throne of lies. So listen to us because we'll tell you the truth. All right, next one. This is one of my favorites.

Might be, I'm going to go top, sorry. Wow. Could be in the number one slot. Okay. It's a Wonderful Life. God. George Bailey? Cry Every Year. Is it the transatlantic accent for you? Okay, I do love, we've talked about this on the show. I do love a good accent. That's part of the charm. It is, but I do, they do it in color now.

Talk to me, film school grad. Oh, is that weird? I didn't graduate. Come on now. I took a class. But yeah, they put it in color, which I honestly think I prefer the black and white. Does it sort of ruin the imagination part? I guess so. It's like too distracting. Yeah, I guess so. But man, when George Bailey at the end, I mean, it's just a really good movie. I just love it. Okay, give us a quote. Yes. Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.

That's a good one. Because I do think, especially in this like, you know, consumer part of the year, I'd say Christmas is part of that. We do get wrapped up a lot in the stuff. Just stuff. And we talk a lot about, you know, you as a whole person is so important to being a healthier version of you, right? And so money is part of that. But when we constantly feel like we're finding our value and our worth and our stuff, we

And that stuff can be taken away any moment. Yeah, it's just a scary place to be. So relationships, the stuff money can't buy, which I would include friendships in that. That's a good one. So people are priceless. And here's the thing. Don't let money, stress, or disagreements compromise relationships, especially around the holidays. It's easy to...

Get into some of those heavier conversations. I just personally avoid it. If I have friends who I know it's going to be a blow-up argument, I go, I'd rather be your friend than be right. Yeah. And I don't want to have to argue. What's the blow-up argument around Christmas? Well, just money conversation and politics and who knows what else you can get into around Christmas. Yeah. You know? Not worth it. Not worth it. But friendships are priceless. It's a beautiful thing. And just being content with the stuff you already have. Yeah, it's great. That's a powerful place to be as an adult. Yes. Yeah.

No, not, not where not to put your joy and stuff, but in relationships and people you love. And you've written a lot about this with your books. Yeah. Contentment's a big, it's a big part of life and a big lesson to learn money wise too. If you can have the discipline of contentment, you can do a lot financially. You will win with money. You can do a lot financially. Good lessons there. Okay. Next up, Christmas vacation. In my top three. I'm going to go number two. Is the, can I guess the third one?

Is it for Christmases? Oh my gosh, George. Yeah, I think it would be. She is known. Wow. What a good friend you are. I just had a feeling. You're priceless, George. I feel like she's going to go. This friendship, priceless. She's going with the comedy. Okay, but Christmas vacation.

Great one. Still hilarious. Holds up. I watched it fairly recently and I was like, oh, this was pretty edgy back then. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like I'm surprised parents let their kids watch it. Yeah. Oh man. I mean, just, it's just quote after quote after quote after quote. Would it be indecent to ask the grandparents to stay in a hotel? Oh, so great. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Are we at the airport, Clark? Grandma, Aunt Bethany. Oh, yeah. That was a funny one, too. She gets up and doesn't pray, but says the Pledge of Allegiance, and they all stand up. I know. Here's the question. Do your family and families travel a long way and pile into the same house, or do you spread out? Are you team hotel? Winston's family, no. We're all at the house.

Yeah, and it's Knoxville, so it's two and a half hours. So I wouldn't say that's a long way for some people that pile in and take a big road trip. But no, yeah. And his parents, they have like two rooms for the grandkids too. So they all have bunk beds and they like put the kids...

Put the kids away. But his sister lives in Knoxville, so they usually go home. That makes sense. If you're local. Yeah. How about you guys? Yeah, we have to travel. You know, family's in Boston and family's in Florida, so we generally stay at the house. I think it would be considered rude not to. Do y'all see both families for the holidays, a Florida and...

This year did Thanksgiving in Boston, and then we're going to drive to Florida for Christmas. Actually, Whitney and me are flying, and I'm going to be driving with the pups solo. Wait, I'm so sorry. Say this all again. Whitney and me are flying because they're queens. They don't need to be in a car for eight and a half hours. I will be driving solo with the dogs in the back, and they'll likely drive back with me. Do you not get a dog sitter? No.

Um, the dogs can hang for this trip. Okay. How long are you gonna be gone for? A full week. Okay. It's pretty serious. Down to Florida? Yeah. Man, so you're driving eight hours for the dogs.

Well, we could all fly and leave the dogs. Yeah. But I think it's just finding a dog sitter for the week of Christmas, it feels like a lot to ask. And I'm not going to board them. That's too much trauma for my dogs. You don't board your dogs? They're very sensitive emotionally. Okay. Very weak. Very weak. This is perfect. They wouldn't survive. You know what? You're a good dad. It would be like me sending my dogs to prison. They're going to come out a little different. Oh, my God.

It's just different. You got to have a dog that's emotionally strong enough to handle. To hold their own. Yeah, boarding. To hold their own. Nothing wrong with boarding. Hear me say that. My dogs just cannot handle it. It's about the weakness of my dogs. Yeah.

And I think we can all say Clark Griswold wished he had an emergency fund because a lot of things came up in that movie. He was a fly by the seat of his pants kind of guy. Yeah, I know. And he spent the Christmas bonus before he even got it. Dangerous. That's tough too, y'all. So yeah, there's a lot we could learn from old Clark Griswold. Don't count the chickens before they hatch. Clark Griswold.

Man, he announces the swimming pool and then the jelly of the month club comes in. Oh, that's right. Just terrible. But here's the thing. You can't live your life just on the edge all the time. No emergency fund, just hoping. That's too stressful of a life. And as you can see in the movie, it's a great example of what can happen on the outrageous side.

But for a lot of people, Christmas is stressful. You know what's happening every year. There's no reason not to start saving up with a sinking fund, not to have an emergency fund. So be prepared. All right, next. Great one. Home Alone. This one was near and dear to my heart. Yeah, this is a good one. So the great quote is, bless this highly nutritious microwave macaroni and cheese dinner and the people who put it on sale. Amen. I think that's a George Campbell quote right there. I actually prayed that with you right now. Oh, thank you. Yeah, I thought it was...

I wanted to be kind. So moving. Kevin McAllister, what a guy. Cheers to inexpensive meals at home. And we always wonder, what did the dad do that flies everyone to Paris and lives in this massive house?

Man, do you ever get nervous the pizza delivery guy, or no, no, no, it was the cop, that the cop who shows up isn't really a cop? Oh, I didn't think about that. Do you ever ask for like, can you ask a cop for ID? Like, I need to make sure you're a cop. Yeah, but if you got a badge, I'm like, I don't know, is that a real badge? You can fake an ID pretty easily. I don't know, I don't know, there's something to learn there. Some identity theft?

Well, here's the thing. Is there a police car that looks legitimate outside? That would help. That's a good question. All right. Dude just walks up to my door. I'm going, how'd you get here, man? Yeah. Just walking around the neighborhood. Where's the car? Patrolling. Man. Do you know the name of the gang they called themselves? As soon as you said that, it left my brain. Oh, okay. So they have one name in Home Alone 1 and then number two in New York is a difference. Sticky Bandits? Okay, that was New York. Okay. What's the first one?

No, don't tell him. You both use cheaters. Well, just tell me then. The wet bandits. Wet bandits. I don't know. Sticky was in my brain. And then sticky was New York. That was good. Wow. I didn't know they had a name change. Yeah. Good for them. I know. The sticky bandits. I guess you got to change it up so no one catches you. And that mansion, George, that they lived in, big house, sold for $1.6 million in 2012 and now is on the market. Ready for this? For $5.2 million.

Wow. That's some serious appreciation. Talk about some equity if they were owning that house, man. So if you're thinking about buying it, may we suggest a 15-year mortgage on 5.2 million? I feel like that'd be a pretty high payment. But this is a good lesson in the power of home ownership. Yeah, for sure. I mean, just buying a home, getting it paid off, having the home appreciate over time.

It's a wealth building hack. In our millionaire study, we found that people with a net worth of a million bucks or more, one third of their net worth was made up of their home equity. Yes. You know, I talked to a lady today and she had two homes. She had her primary home and then she had another home that she bought as a rental property. Well, she was like, I want to be debt free. So she's selling the rental property and the equity on it was $320,000. Wow.

She's paying off her primary home and paying off her mom's home that still owes $62,000 on it. That is incredible. Isn't that great? So anyways, yay for real estate, but it's very high right now. So if you can get in and you have a great emergency fund and no debt and a good down payment of at least 5%,

Get in there, girl. Get in the game. Get your foot in the door. Yeah. Next up on the docket, Miracle on 34th Street. Oh. Was that a classic for you? Can I, I was going to say, can I have a little confession? We'd appreciate honesty around here. Yeah, I think I've seen it once.

I know, y'all. I know. It's not one of my go-tos. I might say the same. It wasn't a movie I watched every year. No. Yeah. They had the one with like the little girl who was Matilda. That's right. That was the 1994 edition. And I think that may have been the one. I don't think I ever saw the black and white one. 1947. Wow. Where were you? Can you imagine like World War II ends and they're like, you know what we should do? We should make a nice little Christmas movie.

That's a crazy thing to do. About Santa. We need some positivity around here. All right, what's the quote there? Here's a quote. If you can't believe or if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt. Jeez. Pretty heavy for like a sweet little Christmas movie. That'll preach though. But that's a really good line. You know, sometimes faith...

And Kris Kringle needed to come together and just make the world a little better place. Yeah, what are you choosing? A life dominated by doubt or a life of belief and faith and hope? Yeah, so good. That's pretty good. I love that. I think that with money, this happens a lot. We get cynical. We're doubtful that we can ever get out of debt. We're doubtful we can ever build wealth. And what happens?

you never get out of debt. You never build wealth. Yeah. Yeah. The belief is huge. The belief in Chris Kringle and for your financial future of really believing like, okay, I'm going to believe in faith and hope and that I can do things with my life and my money and make wise decisions that can have a great outcome to help my life. So keys to a great life, believe in Santa and believe in debt freedom. That's right.

All right, but Santa isn't the only one with his personal info going around town. George. Whoa. Which is why we recommend and why you need Delete Me in your life. If they can get Santa's address of North Pole off the internet, I will be impressed. Yeah. That's a good one. So Delete Me goes in and takes all your info on all these data broker websites and

It's like your name and your address and your number and all of this, and they remove your data, which is a really big deal in our world today. I mean, seriously, we have so much of our information out there, and it can be sold, it can be traded, and they're making money off your info. And so get it out of here. Yeah, if you've ever been worried about spam and scam and these text message and phone calls, then get Delete Me, and you will sleep better at night knowing your information is not out there. And truthfully, I've gotten...

way less spam this past year after using Delete Me. It's amazing. And so go check them out. They're giving our listeners 20% off any of their plans at joindeleteme.com slash smartmoney, or you can click the link in the description.

All right, up next is a Christmas story. And the quote is, I want an official Red Ryder carbine action 200 shot range model air rifle. If I had a nickel for every time I've said that. This is not one of my favorites either. I'm going to say it. Was it because of the pro-gun agenda? What's going on here? Is that why? Young Rachel was like, I don't like this. Yeah, I don't know. It just was not a movie that like, I find it a little boring. It's a little slow for me. Yeah, you need fast paced action. But I love It's a Wonderful Life. So like...

You need either fast-paced action or transatlantic accents. Maybe that's what it is. Did you like It's a Wonderful Life? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. A Christmas story? No. I can't say it was very impactful on my life. It didn't shape who I am as a man today. Yeah, I see it on TV a lot during the Christmas season. And it's not one that I'm like, oh, I want to like DVR it. Yeah. Well, you know, it's very much about stuff.

Maybe that's why. DVR. You're one step away from TV. I was hoping you would appreciate that one, George. Tell us about your VHS rewinder while you're at it. Yeah, uh-huh. Okay, so was there a Christmas gift as a kid that you were like, this is what I want, so specific? Oh, man, there was a Nickelodeon thing. You shoot a light at a wall, and then you can draw on the wall. Ooh, that's cool. I still don't know how they do it.

But that was my favorite. I still think about it. Is it like a projector? I've searched on eBay for it to see if I can find one. Oh, funny. Yeah. Yeah, it's somehow, it's a really bright flash. Yeah. And then it kind of creates like an image on the wall and you can actually... Like with a marker and draw on your wall? I guess with like your finger. I don't remember how it worked. But yeah, you could like draw pictures just with light and eventually it would fade as the... How cool. I don't know. Wow. It was wild. The technology of Nickelodeon was... Someone will let me know in the comments what it was because they had one. Oh, yeah. Let us know. How about you?

I imagine Christmas was like crazy at the Ramsey house. No, no, not really. Nothing, no gifts. No, I mean gifts, but is that crazy? Were you like, oh my gosh, I got the XYZ? I'm trying to think. Barbie Jeep, what was the thing for you? Yeah, there was like probably all the Barbie stuff. A Tamagotchi was big.

And a boombox. I got a boombox one year, and it was a big deal because you could put your tape recorder in. With CD as well? Yeah, it had CD. CD, tape. You know what else I got? Same on the electronic wagon. It was a CD alarm clock. Oh. So you could wake up to a CD, and I had Samantha Mumba, her CD. I could have guessed it. The one song you knew for the first 20 years of your life was just Samantha. What was the name of the song? Mumba.

It's time for school. We got to get up. Are they playing guitar on a keyboard? Rachel's getting her caboodle out, putting her contacts in. Caboodle? Do y'all remember this song, anyone? What?

Why was that the voice of every singer back then? Very like Britney Spears-esque. Totally. Little Christina in there. Totally. Anyways, bring me back to 2000 when the world was peaceful and good.

Well, I hope you've graduated to better gifts, Rachel. Maybe something quality, comfortable, practical. You know what that reminds me of? Cozy Earth. Exactly. Way better than a boombox. I know. It's true. You know, Cozy Earth. They got the clothes. They got the sheets. They got the blankets. You got everything you need. PJs. I mean, cozy. Can we say? It's in the name. It's a very appropriate name for this because it is the softest stuff. It is like, it's amazing. Our sheets, it might be my favorite.

The sheets are my joggers. I'm not sure. I'm going to... That's a tough toss-up. It's a hard one. So, ladies, if you're buying for the guys, skip the nose hair trimmer. It's offensive. Just buy one outside of Christmas to tell us that we need to trim our nose hairs. Oh, gross. But instead, what did Winston get that he loves? He got a nice hoodie, didn't he? Yeah, and he paid full price for it. Does he not know we have a Smart Money happy hour discount? I think it was before all of the... Yeah, we got to get... Yeah, you...

He will use the discount. You all need to use the discount because it's a great one this time of year. So use it and enjoy your stuff. And I hope Whitney's not listening about my wife wants, she has the PJs in blue. She's craving them in brown. Oh, really? In a really cute brown color. You can get her a different color. Yep. They're giving us up to a 40% off discount. Amazing. That's a lot. So make sure when you're checking out that you use the code SMARTMONEY.

to get that discount and man, enjoy. And you're welcome. Merry Christmas. Wow. I love the confidence there. It really is. And if you get the post-purchase survey, let them know you heard about Cozy Earth on Smart Money Happy Hour. We appreciate that. All right, next up, a Christmas carol. I don't even remember this. I know. Oh, this is what- This is Mickey Mouse.

Oh. The Mickey Mouse. We're all looking at each other like. Isn't it Scrooge? Well, it's originally a Charles Dickens novel. No, I know it is. Charles Dickens. Thank you. But I'm going to my childhood. Ghost of Christmas Past. That's all you need to know. Yeah, I'm pretty sure Mickey Mouse had a version there. Listen. Okay, so the quote is, these were shadows of things that have been. They are what they are. Don't blame me.

Wow, that's real deep. Why does this, he sounds like a Gen Z-er. Well, no, he's an 1800s-er. They are what they are. Don't at me. It's like, what energy is this? It's an 1800s-er. Okay. That is. Yeah, I guess, I guess Gen Z often sounds like the ghost of Christmas past. Yeah. But I think the, I think the key here is that you don't want to take your money habits seriously.

that were in the past with you to the future. That's right. And accept some responsibility. Enough with this. Don't blame me. Like, I didn't know. You have to take responsibility for all of the money mistakes from the past. Own it and go, hey, that's fine. I'm going to get better in the future. I'm going to get out of this debt. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. That's good. Yeah. Charles will be proud of us. I think so. Yeah. Love it. All right. This is one of my three funniest Christmas movie I think of all time.

Poor Christmases. Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon. I mean, they are, it is, it is. At their best. Literally makes me laugh every year. And I still know what's coming. It holds up for an old school kind of comedy. I mean, so funny. So the quote is, I didn't know there was a $10 spending gap.

We've all been there. So listen, yeah, we're not gonna be embarrassed if this Christmas looks different for you, you know, than past Christmases. Because, you know, life is expensive these days. Inflation is just up, up, up. And it feels like, oh my gosh, it just takes a lot of money to travel. If you have a list of like 14 people you're buying for. And to buy gifts, it's a lot. So don't be embarrassed if it's, you know, a Christmas that you're on a tighter budget. But also, it's probably a little too late for this episode, but maybe for next Christmas, talk about it.

draw names, have a spending limit. And I think that's great. I think everyone appreciates that. Yeah, just communicating your boundaries, communicating the budget that you're comfortable with, the expectations, and do it as early as possible. Don't wait until the ninth hour. Just, hey, in October, November, call up the family and go, hey, what's our plans? Here's what I'm thinking. Okay, one thing from the movie that Winston and I have implemented in the year, across the year, is like a code word.

Because in the movie, if they have to leave the in-laws' house, they're like mistletoe. That's their code word to get out of there. And Winston and I come up with code words in social situations. I want to know what it is. Mostly for him. It changes. If I hear it. It changes every time. Okay. Do you remember one? It could be like Taylor Swift or it could be, you know, we'll just like throw it out before we go somewhere. What if you're accidentally— And if he like comes and holds my hand and is like, I really— You know, how was that Taylor Swift concert? I'm like, he's ready to go. We got to wrap this up.

I've never used the code word, as you can imagine. Oh, I was going to say. Well, I was like, Rachel could never have code word Taylor Swift because four seconds into the party, she'd be like, oh my gosh, did you hear the new Taylor Swift? We have to go. That's so true. That's so true. Yeah, but we've, yeah, we'll do that. Have you ever done that? Well, we have a physical version where she'll squeeze the hand. Yeah. You know. What was that? It was me...

PTSD from Whitney squeezing my hand after I've been at a party for far too long trying to escape a conversation that I cannot escape because I am a people pleaser. And here's what I do, Rachel. I will double down. I will be like,

So tell me exactly what happened in fourth grade. We talked about fifth and I'm like, I'm trying to get out of it and I'm somehow digging deeper. But you keep asking more questions. I'm asking more questions. Oh my gosh, yeah. You gotta wrap those combos up, George. I'm a terrible, I must be secretly from the Midwest. Nice. Because I cannot say goodbye. You cannot say goodbye. Just keep on going, keep on going. All right, let's end with a classic. A cartoon and a real person movie classic.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas. One of Jim Carrey's best. Yes. And Whoville, Cindy Lou Who had a great quote. I think it was her. Maybe it was the narrator.

Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more. I think that was the narrator. Did I sound like a narrator? You actually did. But it's really so true. It doesn't come from a store, George. And you talk a lot about comparison, and we mentioned contentment earlier. This feels like one of those, like, it's a hokey thing to say, but there's so much depth and truth to it. But it's so true, yes. And I feel like, honestly, the memories of Christmas that you have...

It is more of like, oh, that funny conversation about time that everyone couldn't stop laughing. Or like there's always a thing that happens. It's really not about the gifts. We talk about gifts a lot, but like that's not really what people remember, I don't think. Yeah. I feel like the memory for me when I just think Christmas as a child, I remember just wrapping gifts with my mom. Didn't matter. I don't remember what the gifts were. Oh, yeah. But I just remember helping her. Like I would get all the tape and I'd put a piece of tape on each finger and I would be ready with more tape for mom. George, what a helper. Yeah.

And I just love that. I love that. I didn't care about the gifts necessarily. But so that's a, you know, it's more about the quality time. Where Mr. and Mrs. Camel, where they winds up like, you had to wait on the stairs. Dad had to get the video camera. I mean, it felt like years before we could come downstairs. Well, we do a very camel tradition, which is everyone, cousins, aunts, uncles, Christmas Eve...

And then we open all the gifts together. Oh, okay. We're talking 35 people. There's music. It's 1 a.m. We might get to the presents eventually. Kids are hopped up on sugar. We're having a good time. So fun. So Christmas morning was less about gifts and more just taking it easy, sleeping in. Do y'all do that still if you go to Boston? Still.

I'm short. And someone dresses up as Santa and comes through the front door. I have heard this. Sombrero. It's wild. Yes. Honestly, a decent accent. Offensive to all people, but accurate. Do it. Do your accent. When I do it, it's not, I can do it. You know what I mean? Like check my 23 in me. I can pull it off. But Santa Claus is pretty, that's pretty good.

I love that you remember that. I remember you saying it. Say it. No, I won't do it now. I want to leave the audience with your version in their mind. That's what you say every year. It's what I remember. It's so much funnier hearing your version. I want that burned into the memory of Smart Money Happy Hour listeners. Oh my gosh, anyways. That's a good one. But yeah, Christmas Eve was our gift opening time.

Christmas morning was like setting it up, playing with it all. Carolers come to the door from the church. Wow, really? Moms making baklava, coffee. Oh, yeah. That was a different Christmas than mine. That sounds really idyllic. It was. Was yours like craziness on Christmas morning? Yeah, I mean, it was just like us kids getting up and we had to wait on the stairs, like

They had to get the video camera. One gift at a time? And you know what? They would set up the video camera on a tripod. Oh, that's smart. And you would just film it. Who's they? Mom and dad. Okay. And they had to get their coffee. It sounded like there was a team of filmmakers. Crew would come and set up early. All of this. They all came, you know. Get some lights. Yeah.

And, yeah, you had to wait. And it was usually just us, my aunt, my mom's twin, Sharon and Karen. Sharon and Karen. How can you forget? And Karen and Uncle Mac would come. And actually, Uncle Mac sometimes dressed up as Santa. Oh, that's fun. Yeah. So great, George. Well, listen, I think I am fully in the spirit. And you know what? I got you a little something, George. You would not believe this. I did too. What? What?

In the same gift bag. In a very similar bag, different color. Okay, shall we exchange? We also shop for the $1 bag at Target. I know. Love that for you. Okay, let's exchange gifts. Okay, here you go. Thank you so much. You could have reached a little further, but it's fine. All right, you go first. All right. You know what it is. Oh, wow. A light bulb for my toilet. Thank you, George.

One of the all-time best gifts you can give someone. I'm going to use it. I'm going to introduce this to the Cruzes, and I'm going to be just okay. And colors. Wow, what color do you choose? I prefer a light blue. It feels clean. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I hear you. Green toilet, that's weird. Red toilet, danger. Danger. Danger.

Yellow, we're letting that mellow. Caution. So I think a nice light blue, not an aggressive blue. Yeah, orange is too much like the, okay, I'm going to go purple. Purple seems a little fun. Purple is actually a safe color. Yeah, it feels right. All right, thank you, George. I so appreciate that. I hope that blesses you. Thank you. No, can I tell you though, recently ours broke.

And now in the middle of the night, it's tumultuous. I'm like figuring out. I mean, you're stumbling through it because I don't like turn lights on in the middle of the night. You know, waking up people. Do you not have like streetlights that are coming through like some level, some window? No. No? No streetlight. Everything's closed off. I don't want none of that coming in. All right. All right. What did Rachel get me? A woofy. Woof.

Oh my gosh. For your high-maintenance dogs. The thing I didn't know existed and didn't know I needed. So you clip it to any phone, you add a treat to it, so the dog looks directly at the lens for all photos. That is actually something I will be using more than I would care to admit.

Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. You're so welcome. I feel so known. And they donate a percentage of the sale to local animal shelters. They don't say what percent. They just say 8%. And I appreciate that, Wolfie, that they're honest while being vague. 0.002%. We don't know. Speaking of generosity, Rachel, it's powerful. So if you want to give a thoughtful, impactful gift, way more impactful than a Wolfie,

Here's your reminder. Ramsey is wrapping up. It's 50 days of Christmas deals right now. We've got best-selling books and products, including from my friend Rachel Cruz, up to 30% off. Just go to ramseysolutions.com. This is your last chance. Depending on when you're listening, it might be over, but go to ramseysolutions.com and check it out.

So great. All right, you guys. Well, I don't know. I think there's a lot to learn in this episode. I think the meaning of Christmas is much more. Gratitude, contentment, generosity. Yeah, there's a lot to embrace. And we hope that you are enjoying time with your family too. Maybe you guys are traveling as you're watching or listening to this to the people you love. Or maybe, you know, it's a Christmas at home this year.

And that's beautiful too. So regardless of what your plans are. This is a free show. So we appreciate your frugality this Christmas season. Not trying to add to it. All right. Before we head to Guilty as Charge, let's tell us about this eggnog drink. Did you see I...

Almost finished it. I'm impressed. Yes, this is the upgraded eggnog, and that's because it's got some cognac in it. Versus what? What do you usually spike eggnog with? Bourbon? You could do bourbon. You could do whiskey. You could do rum. Okay. Those are good ones. Cognac feels a little bit up in the air.

It is elevated. It's a little more French. It is elevated. It's got whole egg, heavy cream, maple syrup, and St. Elizabeth allspice dram, which is a spiced rum. Oh, okay. Very nice. So you're getting a mix of the spiced rum with the cognac in there. $2.72 per glass. Oh. That's actually a really good price for the ingredients involved here. Not terrible. Not terrible. So make a batch for the adults. Make a non-alcoholic batch for the kids if they're into eggnog. And check out the recipe in the show notes. All right. What's your rating? I'm going to give this one more sip.

I'm going to go 9 out of 10. Wow. I think it's a great eggnog, if you like eggnog. I know. I'm going 5 out of 10. But I could not improve on it if I was craving an eggnog. I would go, this is exactly what I'm needing. Yeah, I don't think I crave an eggnog, so that's why I'm giving it 5 out of 10. It's just not my drink. Not my drink. That's fine. But it wasn't bad. It's just not what I would order. So just know that. If you like eggnog, don't take Rachel's word for it.

All right, George, it's time for Guilty as Charged. And this is where our producer Kelly gives us a new guilty as charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. Kelly? All right. Have you ever, as an adult or as a kid, peeked at your Christmas gifts? Wow. If we admit it, are we going to get coal? It's one of those where like, do we keep this to ourselves? Honestly, I don't think I did because I don't think I knew where they were.

Like they were hidden. Under the tree? So well. See, they, yeah, see, it wouldn't, we wouldn't. Was this like Elf on the Shelf in your family? What was going on? No, we, they don't come till Christmas morning. Oh. So, yeah, so no. They weren't just like sitting under the tree all week. No, mom had. Because you'd know. Mom had as we got older and she got bougie. She had fake presents under the tree for decoration. Oh.

What a trickster. But like the real gifts came Christmas morning. So, I mean, no, I don't think I ever did. I don't think I... Did you ever try to like find out? I think I probably... Oh, I'm sure I looked. I'm sure I looked at like... Interrogation? Looked in places and closets. I'm sure I did that. That's not above me. Feels like something you would do. Yeah, not above me. You've admitted to cheating on a test once or twice. How about you? Have I peaked? No. Have I gone to great lengths to figure out box sizes and...

search those sizes online to see if it measures up? Yes. Oh, wow. I'm scared to shake things because you never know what's in it, if it's sensitive. Like, what if she got me the china I've always wanted and now I shake it and the china breaks? And it shatters and it shatters. But no, I truly feel like you should not peek. It's just way more fun versus ruining it. Well, you shouldn't, but also when you're a kid and you're curious. Yeah. You're going to want to see. Yeah.

I think I had too much childlike innocence and joy. We're so pure. Yeah, that's true. We've lost that. I bet Kelly did. Kelly seems like a peeper. Did you find him?

My sister and I used to, we would do this, you tell me one and I'll tell you one, if we knew. Oh. And then- That's called collusion. It was very, very much collusion. And then one year, she and I, we traded our big gift. Like we told each other the big gift that we were getting. And then we were both really sad about it because I knew I was getting a new bike. Oh.

Oh. And then it was like... See, it ruins it. Yeah, it ruined it. And you feel guilty. Yeah. Because now you have to fake the response. Right. So my mom thought that we were unwrapping our gifts to figure out. She didn't know we were telling each other. So she decided one year to have color schemes, no tags. And like, this is the 80s, so a lot of burgundy and hunter green. But my sister was like green and gold and I was green and silver, but she mixed it up halfway through the season. Wow. Yeah. And my sister's eight years older than I am, so I was getting like...

Like, car key rings, and I was 10. Yeah. And she was getting toys. Oh, no, y'all wrapping up. Yeah. Unwrapping the wrong gifts. It was mayhem that Christmas morning. There you go. See, memory. Memories. Yep. Memories were made by peeking. There you go. I love it. So good.

Well, you guys, it's closing time. Thank you so much for listening and watching. My heart was warmed by this episode and the cognac. I think the cognac is also warming. And if you want to keep the holiday vibes going, make sure to check out our episode on unique money traditions from around the world. And if you want to stay connected, make sure to follow us on social.

All the things. Send us a DM. Let us know what you thought. Send us a drink ideas. That's how I've been getting some of those. Send us your guilty as charged questions. We might feature them. Always fun. And yeah, we'll see you guys next Thursday on an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.