We’re Here to Judge Your Guilty Pleasures (With Love)
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In today's show, we're talking about guilty pleasure purchases that are keeping you broke. I think it'll eat away at my soul too much. Does it? I'd rather bring my own. I know. I did that for a long time. I think it's going to be one of these things that Rachel, like, I get the itch for like three weeks before and I just impulsively go, we're going to do it. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour.

All right, 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 before we get to the content, we got to talk about what we're sipping on, Rachel. Today, it's the King's Shilling. Oh, a shilling. And I do love this. Is that like a type of money? I think shilling is an old-timey, like a medieval situation. Yes, a shilling. Two shillings, please. It's giving ever after feels. Like a braille vest. A little Drew Barrymore.

Yes. You know what I just watched finally? The Princess Bride. Oh, finally. Just wanted to throw that in there. A little tidbit for the listeners. A little medieval there. What did you think? I thought it was better than it deserved.

It held up. It was good. I enjoyed it. I haven't seen that in years. I haven't seen the Princess Bride in years. That's what it reminded me of. It's good. I like it. I like Ever After. I'm going Drew Barrymore. If you want to know our rating. Who would love a pebble in their shoe? I've never seen this. You haven't? It's my favorite quote. Is that a Drew quote? No, it's the stepmother who says it to her. She's like, will you ever love me? It's like, who would love a pebble in her shoe?

Terrible. And weirdly the best accent I've heard from you on this show. Thanks. All right. Here we go. Well, hey, if you want to know our rating, we're going to reveal that and the cost per drink at the end of the episode. So stick around for more on the King's Shilling. Yes. All right. This episode.

Reminds me of a top favorite we've done, George. What's that? Was the little treats episode. Like the little treat vibe, you know. But this one, you know, we're going to go a little bit more serious, if you will. Because a little treat's a little bit like, eh, not a big deal. Just a small impulsive purchase. Seemingly harmless. Yeah, because there's like little treats, guilty pleasures. They're kind of different. Yeah, and then you can even stair-step into like, is this a vice? Or even deeper, an addiction. Yeah.

What would you say? What's the definitions? What would you... The guilty pleasure is it's like fun. It's a little embarrassing. Not really hurting anyone. Not cramping your budget. The fact you love Britney Spears is a little guilty pleasure. Why did that have to come up? She follows me on Twitter. Do I need to remind you? And I did check. I forgot. She still follows me. I forgot. Don't know why, but Britney, if you're out there... Did you ever say free Britney to her, ever? I DM'd her and asked her to be on the show. Ghosted. Ghosted.

So sad. Hurtful. And then you've got a vice. A vice feels like it is morally... It's a little darker. Unacceptable. It's sort of like a more shameful thing societally. It's very darker than like a guilty pleasure. A vice, like, eh, it's probably going to be hurt a little bit.

Hurt someone, hurt you, we don't know. And then an addiction is more like this is out of your control, seemingly. Yes, it's the yes. That feels like... I need this, I can't live without this. Yes, not good. Yes. We'll get into some of that as well. There's a few on this list. Let me go a little light though. Let's make it fun. We're going to keep it lighthearted for you, Rachel. Okay, good. That's what I like. This is the last thing we need. We got a lot going on in America today. It's the last bastion of hope. There's a lot happening. So we're going to keep this fun. What a party. What are some of your guilty pleasure purchases?

Some standing vices, if you will. Guilty pleasures. I'm going to go manicure. Does that work? Yeah. I like getting my nails done. And pedicure. Like every three weeks. Every three weeks is your schedule. And I went sparkle this time. I always ask my girls what to get, and they'll be like, get blue or get... They'll always give me a nail color. And I went sparkle this time. Do you ever like Charles Pick? No. He didn't really care. All right. Yeah. He did say he likes my nails, though. That's sweet. Sweet. Monterell sticks from Sonic. Oh, yeah.

So specific. With a Diet Cherry Limeade if I'm feeling like real crazy. So someone's going to order something for Rachel at Sonic. Do you have a Diet Cherry Limeade and mozzarella sticks? You win. Hey, Winston, are you watching, bud? Take notes. Okay, I do like my water in bottles.

Microplastics, I know. Recycling, I know. Environment, I know. Why don't you switch to glass bottles? I love a water bottle by my bed. Have you ever drank water from glass? And in my car. And in my purse. I have water bottles everywhere. Everywhere? Half drinking? Yes. Half drinking, yes. Yeah, water bottles, that would be... And if you go like so... Like if it's like a Fiji...

Even better. Oh my God. I'm so rich. I feel so rich. Can I tell you, this is embarrassing but fun. I keep a pack of Fiji's in my garage. Okay. Only for when we have special guests.

So we're not allowed to drink. When should I ever come over for dinner? Yes, I would have some Fiji's in the fridge ready to go. Or if we have guests that stay over, family included, Fiji's. You know, that's actually a great host. That's like a... Thank you. I commend that. I like that. I don't know why. It just feels like it elevates the experience. Oh, yeah.

Oh. Sometimes a Pellegrino. A Fiji water is... A little Pellegrino in the fridge? Okay, see, I'll pop a Pellegrino or a Topo with no big deal. But Fiji feels like a different level. Yeah. Okay, what's yours? What's your guilty pleasures? Mine, definitely expensive coffee would be, you know, more like at a coffee shop. Mm-hmm.

or an expensive cocktail. Like, I'm a sucker for the... Oh, I am too. Like, hey, this bourbon was fat washed with this other thing and we then smoke it with the old-fashioned... I'm like, all right, I'm a sucker. Okay, the Ramsey Cruise, George. Yes. Did you get the smoked old-fashioned on the Ramsey Cruise? There was a Oaxacan old-fashioned made with mezcal. Yes. And they would light the orange peel on fire. It would add a little bit of smoke. And so, yes. It was a whole presentation. I love a presentation. And a sweet couple on the cruise bought Winston and I...

How nice. Because it was their favorite drink of the cruise. That's what I think about is like the smoke. It's a really cool presentation though, which is fun. Yeah. Another one that I feel like is not talked about enough is a YouTube premium subscription. So I don't have to ever watch an ad. No way you have that. I would rather have that than any streaming service. Wait, what? Because I watch a lot of YouTube. Like the shows, they upload clips. This show.

Do you watch this show a lot, George? I wouldn't say a lot, but sometimes if there's a funny moment, someone's like, hey, you guys did a thing. I don't even remember. Do you know what I used to do? I wouldn't even buy music subscriptions. I just got Spotify in the last year. Like I didn't buy music. So I would go on YouTube and look up the...

song I wanted to hear and play it through my car. That's embarrassing. You are the youngest living boomer. I know. That's what I would do. It's a very boomer thing to do. That's what I would do. Do you also pull up your Pandora? Man, I had Pandora for a long time. What happened to Pandora? No one's like anthrax. What happened to it? No one's talking about it. Because where do you get your music? Spotify? Spotify. Okay, I do that too. And I buy the subscription. I'm so bougie.

And drink my Fiji water. I'm really proud of you. That's fun. We all have our vices. I think mine are more innocent, you know, nothing that would shock anybody. Yeah. Yeah, that's fair. But I like what I like. It's good. Water bottles included. Okay. All right. Well, we went to the socials and polled some of you all out there on your guilty pleasures. And we got some...

You know, we got some that ran the gamut, if you will. Yeah. Some of you chose transparency over dignity, and I applaud that. So we're going to read each one, and we're going to rate it as innocent or guilty, I guess, with these paddles. So this is guilty. Okay.

Okay, so we're saying like not good. You got to quit that or totally fine. Green is like this one is acceptable. Okay. In Rachel and Georgia's eyes. All right, I can't wait. You ready? All right, here we go. What's the first one? McDonald's Diet Coke runs. So $1.89 for a large fountain drink at Mickey D's. And if you did that one per day, $689 per year going to the Diet Coke. All right. And can I tell you,

I have a few friends. This is theirs. And they swear by McDonald's over every other...

Fast food. It is a specific. But they have the best Diet Coke. And I actually passed one of my friends because in our area, in Cool Springs, Shelotsky's and McDonald's share an intersection. So I was in the Shelotsky's drive-thru. And you could see your friend in the McDonald's drive-thru? Well, I was leaving it, and then she's coming in. I knew exactly what she was doing. I texted her. I was like, I see you getting your Mickey D's. She gets it every day? Diet Coke. It's her thing, yes. So we actually know someone who does this. Yes. Was this her response, I wonder? I don't think she listens to the show.

So no. Well, hurtful. What kind of friend are you? I think it's real. But anyways, I'm going to give this one a shocking green. I'm going innocent too. It's acceptable. People love it. It's innocent. It's great. You could do worse is all I'm saying. For sure. Now, do you like Diet Coke? Yes, I do. I'm not a big soda person, but if I were to drink a soda, it's Diet Coke. What is the, what? Oh, my guilty pleasure one though. You ready for this? When I get Firehouse subs, only Firehouse. I don't know why. A Diet Dr. Pepper. I knew it.

I know. Feeling crazy. The old DDP. Do you like, do you do soda? I don't drink it a lot, but when I do, a Diet Dr. Pepper hits. It's really good. But what is the chokehold that Diet Coke has on women? I don't know, because regular Coke, now that I go back to regular Coke, it is too sweet for me. I taste it and it's too rich. You prefer the aspartame. Yes. That's class.

I like the fake sweet over the real one. But no, it is very, it's almost syrupy how sweet regular Coke is. Yes, and if you haven't had it in a long time and you have it, you really do, you can taste the difference. Now, Mexican Coke glass bottle, change your family tree. I would do that. The Mexican Coke from the glass bottle, it's got to be Mexican Coke. Yeah. It tastes different. I stand by that. I don't know if they leave the cocaine in there from the olden days. I don't know. Oh my gosh. I don't know if we can hear that, but kids, they used to do it. So look it up. Is that true though, or is that an urban legend? No.

I'm choosing to believe it's true. All right. I'll go. All right, next. Are you ready for this one? All right. Boy, oh boy, I am a sucker for watches. So $7,000 to a large price, not this person specifically, but one of the nicer Rolexes, $270,000.

Man. You had a watch? Oh, well, hi, Mr. Rolex. Oh, my gosh. We've shared my story. I'm not a watch guy. Oh, my gosh. I own my Apple watch and I own this watch, which was, again, inherited from my relatives. Which actually is cool. I applaud that. But no, would you spend that level of money on, let's say, jewelry? Because it may not be a watch for you. See, I don't even know how much stuff costs. I mean, genuinely, I don't know.

The only thing I could see being like, oh, God, that's a lot of money. Like diamond earrings or bracelet. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. It would be where I'm like, okay, that could be worth it. It's like a nice pair of real diamond earrings. A tennis bracelet. I don't know why they call it tennis, but I imagine no one wears it while playing tennis. Okay, I can, but I have one from Amazon. That looks great. So I think I would have a hard time buying a real one right now. It's about looks for you over the actual quality name brand. Yes, what does that say about me? I think it says you really don't – you want to look rich. You don't need to like –

Make people believe it. There is something I have thought about recently. My girls passing down jewelry to them. There's something that my mom, like she's talked about this. Sharon will talk about when she dies, what we're all getting. She like tells us that. Often? Yeah.

Not often, but enough that we're like, okay, mom. We get it. She's like, but when I die, don't sell my jewelry. She always says that. You all get like... Keep it. Don't like pawn it off. Yeah, there is something about having an heirloom passed down to your girls that I'm like, that would be great. So like, I don't know. You're changing my mind on this. I think I'm going to lean green on this one, if done responsibly with cash. Yeah, yeah. And you're not trying to impress anyone. You do it because you love it. I agree. I agree. Okay. All right.

Specialty dog food was the next one that was submitted. Oh, wow. This person that submitted this pays $75 a month to feed their Pomeranian. Oh, my gosh. I imagine that Pomeranian is about the size of a, I don't know, like a gerbil? A little gerbil.

Now, as a person who pays... I don't even know what we pay for dog food. Let me look it up. I know exactly how much we pay. And if you don't have every dollar, you should get it. It's the best budgeting app out there. Yeah, I'm going to say this one's acceptable as well. How much do you pay for dog food? Mine is about $65 per bag. Good night, George. And that gets us by for maybe close...

To a few weeks. Okay. I get two bags delivered every month. I know that. Two bags every, well, for the two dogs. So it's 130 bucks. There's two dogs. So 65 bucks per dog. Let's call it that. This one is $83. Okay. But I think it's every other month. So 40 bucks for one dog. That's reasonable. Is that fine? Yeah, we have to get to like the hypoallergenic food for the dogs because French bulldogs are born broken, as you know. So I don't know this person's life. I'm going to give this one a green light. It's time, Rachel. Okay.

You froze. Can I go here? Oh, you're in the middle on this one. I'm in the middle. You're judging the dog owners. A little bit. There's a part of me that I'm like, all right, just get him like a, go to PetSmart. Get a bag of dog food, you know? But don't you think that the quality of the food affects the health of the dog?

I mean, are we splitting hairs here? Literally, I don't think so. Dog hairs? No, I think it's fine. Fine. Whatever. All right. I convinced her. All right. Next. Ready? Zen. This person spends $250 to $300 a month.

Wow. Okay, so these, for those that don't know, because I had to learn, these are the little nicotine pouches. Yes. And they... So there's no tobacco in them. It's just pure nicotine. Yeah, there's like a brand called On, Alp. I don't know the other brands. There's a couple of them. Maybe anyone in the room knows. Like little pouches. Little pouches that give you a little buzz. And I think they're like five bucks a tin. Yeah, so we've talked to people that use these on a regular basis. Yeah.

I know you're shocked it's not George and myself. We do not use Zen. Above the influence, baby. Your boy went to D.A.R.E. We did. Past the flying colors. We went through D.A.R.E. But they're cheap. So I'm like, yeah, they're like five bucks. So most people spend like 20 bucks. So the fact this person. 250 bucks a month. To $300. That means they are. That's like a 10 a day? A 10 a day, which is like. Wait, a 10 a day, five times 30. It's 150 bucks.

Oh my gosh, they're going through two a day? That can't make sense. I don't believe those numbers. That's hard. This feels crazy. It feels crazy, I know. Now, maybe if they're getting the higher milligrams, but I think at that point, you'd have a heart attack. I'm gonna do this. For $250 for Zen, okay? I'm not mad at Zen users, but I do like...

Try $50 a month, right? Yeah. 200 to 350, that means you have a lot of nicotine and I don't know if that's good for you. Yeah, I'm not a scientist. I don't know the research on this, like pure nicotine versus other things. They say it's much better. They say it's a lot better. Yes, the health people say. Is it better to avoid it altogether? Probably. Probably like this for our livers. Yeah, much better to avoid it.

Sometimes you just gotta live, though. You know, you gotta enjoy life. Sure. You know why? I think that's the tagline for Zen. I know. Sometimes you just gotta live. Whatever gets you through the day. I know, yeah. So did you put your rate? What'd you say? I said no. I don't get it. I know. I don't get this one. I agree. You know what I...

What I do get, though? What? Removing your information online. Now, that is a vice I can get behind. I will get behind that vice. Because, man, when you get that email from Delete Me, George, are you just like a little bit like, oh, man, it's kind of your guilty pleasure? It gives me a buzz. I know. Zen or Delete Me reports. Which one gives, George?

No one thought we could make the connection, but Rachel Cruz did it. Always will. She's a savant. So here's what Delete Me does. They go in, they find and remove your info from all these data broker sites across the internet, thousands of them, and they send you a report showing you exactly where they removed your info, how much time they saved you, and I sleep better for it. I'm at 66 hours. Wow, 86.5.

Good for you. Not to brag, but I'm just further ahead. You are. You started earlier than me. But it really is an incredible service to take control of your online privacy, to avoid all these phishing scams and spam emails you're getting out there. They'll help prevent all of that. Yeah, and they do what they say. They're going to delete you from the internet. Delete me. Please delete me. Yeah. And they go in and they do it.

And we got a discount for our Smart Money Happy Hour fans out there. Yeah. Go to joindelete.me.com slash smartmoney and you'll get 20% off their annual plans or click the link in the description. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Easy. All right. Eating out during my lunch break at work. $15 for a work lunch, $300 per month. This is a tough one for me. I know. Can I say this? I'm going to go red. Even though I'm an eating out person, I love eating out.

But I think lunch, maybe this is a personal preference. Lunch is one that you can swing. I mean, maybe like once a week or something. But every day. But you know, some salt and vinegar. This is what I had tonight. Salt and vinegar chips. Your S&Vs? Carrots and ranch and a pimento cheese sandwich. A little pimento cheese sandwich? I love a pimento cheese sandwich. Some salt and vinnies? That's a good day. Yeah. And it's, you know, when you break it down, it is so much...

to eat at home or bring your lunch. It really is. Now, every now and then, I'm all about like going out for sure. Like you don't want that every day. I get that. But every day, George, to go out to eat, it's a lot. It's expensive. That's very expensive. Figure it out, brown bag it. Especially if you are- $300 a month is a lot. That is a lot. And here's the thing. If you are debt-free with an emergency fund, you're investing, you're in what we would call baby steps four plus. Yeah. If you want to eat out once in a while and it's in the budget, that's fine. That's fine.

But I still think it's a bad habit to do every single day. I agree. That's why I'm with you. I'm with you. To go eat out somewhere. Which this says a lot about me because, again, I'm the eating out friend. I know. And I want to go halfway because— I'm the eating out friend. But I do think, like, it's excessive. We have a cafeteria at Ramsey that is subsidized. So our meals cost like $5. Yeah. So generally I will eat at the office in the cafeteria. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's not $15 a day. That's the thing. I know. And it's in the budget. So I generally spend $100. I mean, in that food—

Go to Panera. You're paying an arm and a leg. It's insane. I mean, seriously, how much things are costing these days? Even fast food. It's wild. I know. Not fun. Not fun. You guys have really done Rachel Cruiser. Cigarettes. $11 a pack. I can't. I don't understand. I mean, I get that it's addictive, and so people have a hard time getting off of this one, but you're not getting a pass from old Georgie boy. Yeah.

He went through D.A.R.E. I went through D.A.R.E. Now, as I drink this, I don't think this is D.A.R.E. approved. Yeah. But cigarettes is a tough one because I imagine people have been addicted to cigarettes for a long time. This one falls under the addiction category. Okay, that's fair. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So if you're going to get off of it— I mean, if you're like randomly, you know, once a year, have a cigarette, I don't know, or something, right? Sure, that's different. That's not a vice. That's not an addiction. That's right. But I still think as a habit—

Not great. I agree. Switch to Zinn. I can't believe I'm saying that, but at least it's better than whatever toxins they're putting in that. I think that's fair. All right, next is thrifting. You tell yourself, hey, I'm going to just kind of scratch that creative itch in a sustainable, budget-friendly way. But then you go and you run out of room for all those 1970s baskets and ceramic faces. Yeah.

Yeah. Thrifting is tough. Well, thrifting because it makes you feel like you're doing the right thing by not buying brand new. You're reducing, reusing, recycling. And so this one, I'm going to give it a pass if done as a hobby. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm going to look at this like a hobbyist. You're not hurting anyone. They want to decorate their home. Or yourself. Wear thrifted clothing, you know? Yeah, because some people it's a fun thing. We went to the fairgrounds for Dinosaur World.

which ended up being a disaster last year. And you went again? Oh, God, coming up on a year. I think it was last summer when we went. What's going on at the fairgrounds for Dinosaur World? That was one of the biggest scams I've ever been a part of, and it was not good. What did you think was going to happen at Dinosaur World at the fairgrounds? It was so bad, George. You'll never go again? At one point, there was a grown man, a grown man dressed up as a dinosaur,

Like in a human-sized costume? Yes, but you could see his legs. And then he had a trainer next to him dressed up in like a safari outfit giving the dinosaur commands. Like sit? Yes! And the dinosaur's name was Diego. He's like, who's ready for Diego? And everyone was like, we are! And Diego comes out and he's like, Diego, sit! And the dinosaur

He said, Diego, turn around. And he's just following orders from his trainer. For about three minutes. And they're like, say bye to Diego. And the dinosaur leaves. That was the show. Did you get your money back?

This is like Fyre Fest for children. I'm not kidding. And I felt like I needed to give a community service to tell people, don't do this. Like stand at the door and say, I wouldn't do it, guys. Okay, the reason I'm telling you all of it is I don't know how I got off on Diego the dinosaur. But at the fairgrounds, there was a split. Are you going to Dinosaur World? Or are you going to the antique show?

The thrifting. Should have gone to the antique show. I think I should have. Much better use of time. Yeah. And money. Dinosaur world. No. Big thumbs down. Thrifting, sure. Yeah. Now, I think there are people who are obsessed, who spend too much money, and they can justify it by saying, well, it's thrifted. It's not retail price. I'm doing a good thing. So those people, if it is an addiction, stop. That easy, guys. I solved it. Yeah.

All right. Next up, this one hits home for me. This one was submitted. Pints of Jenny's ice cream. Is that a guilty pleasure? Is it a vice? Guilty pleasure. I'm okay with it, but that's not mine at all. I am not a... You're not an ice cream person? Mm-mm. Yeah. Actually, I think ice cream... I got hated on for this because I said things I was dropping in like 2022 or something. I gave a list a few years ago of like things not to buy in 2022. And I said like expensive ice cream. What? Because I think it's kind of stupid. What?

So maybe I should go. Maybe my heart's going to turn to my thing. L take from Rachel. Finally, I'm the good guy for once. I'm the hero telling you, buy good ice cream. Life is too short to eat whatever. But it's so, I mean, you go out for. Tasteless ice cream is out there. It's not tasteless. Go get purity.

Rachel, have some class. Borrow some if you need to. Listen, give me a Keurig cup of coffee and purity ice cream and I'm good to go. If Keurig made ice cream, you would be the target demo. 100%. So it tastes like ice cream. It's cold and it has milk. It's fine. It's fine. It's disgusting. Okay. And I know this for a fact. Your parents, Dave and Sharon Ramsey, love Jenny's ice cream. They do. And that's why I know they're good quality people. Okay.

And if I bring home a pint of Jenny's ice cream, I'm a hero in my house. Okay. Yeah, I know. A little gooey butter cake. I don't know what you're talking about. Just one of the all-time best flavors. All right, we'll get there. But this one, I'm giving a pass for. You ready? Concerts. Once in a lifetime experience. Who cares if it's $600 for the nosebleeds?

I got to go on the road. I'm going green. This one's not that innocent. Really? Yeah. And I'm not even a music person. Well, think about it. You go to one concert a month and they're nice, decent tickets. A hundred bucks, let's say, for the whole experience. Yeah. Maybe 150 because you got to go get dinner and you got to get an outfit and other girls do it. I'm no dummy. Do you know what brings you joy is experiences, George? What?

I know, and I love a good concert. Go live and enjoy. But I'm saying spending $150 once a month, twice a month for these experiences, I just feel like is not helping anyone's budget. Okay, so I don't have enough music people in life that I love to do something twice a month in the music arena. Mine's like once every...

Yeah, you went to Taylor Swift twice. Yeah, that's the last concert I've been to in a long time. But you made up for it because it cost a pretty penny. It did cost a pretty penny, but we did it. And it was so fun. It was so great. And can I tell you, most of the shows I go to are free or very cheap. Really? I'll leave you the hack. This is too local, but there's a site called DoMoreStuff.com.

and they work with local cities. And so Nashville has one. It's seven bucks a month. And they send you tickets to things happening. You get a pair of tickets. Hey, but are people good if it's free like that? I mean, probably in Nashville, yeah. Some of them, yeah. I will admit a lot of them are like, I don't know who these people are playing in a hotel on a Tuesday. Oh, hey, do you want to know a concert I really want to go to? Yes. And it's going to cost more than $600. Are you going? No, but I think it's going to be one of these things that Rachel, like, I get the itch for like three weeks before and I just- Impulsively go, we're going. We'll get into it.

All right, where? Who? The Backstreet Boys at the Sphere in Vegas. Worth it. Is it a thousand bucks? My heart says it's a thousand bucks. I don't even know. But do you know, I was invited to an NSYNC concert by Kelly Jones in the fourth grade and I couldn't go. What were you so busy doing as a fourth grader? To a family reunion. But I love my family. The Sweet Reedys were on the cruise ship. You know, we're still close to this day. You could have missed that year. I do love my family. I do love my family. But y'all, I... So now you have this...

I would ship on your shoulder. I never went to a boy. I never went to a boy band concert. And that was like in the prime of like, I was in the perfect age group to do it as a kid. Never did. And they are coming back, George. Well, I think this is your new vice. Impulsively spending a thousand bucks on sphere tickets. I might. I hope it's good. And you know what? I'm not, I'm not mad about it.

You heard it here first. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience I push. That's what I push back against. Well, this is true because Backstreet Boys are like in their 40. Like they're going to be done. Was it once-in-a-lifetime? And are they in their prime? Or is this going to be like karaoke? Jury's out. I know. I thought about that. I did see them dance the other day. How was that? I've seen some clips. You know. I was like, good for them. You know what? When your first thought is good for them.

It's not a good sign. It did make me feel old because producer Kelly over here is going to probably get mad that I'm going to use this example. So Kelly's at an age group where New Kids on the Block was the thing. Yeah. It was. New Kids on the Block was the thing. I was too young for New Kids on the Block. I was right on the edge, like a little bit, but not really. And they all would talk about New Kids on the Block. Marky Mark. And I remember thinking like 10 years ago, you know, a few people at the office, they were all talking about them.

And I would look and be like, man, they just look old. Like, I don't know. And now, Kelly, we've switched. And now I'm your age when I was like questioning you. And now the Backstreet Boys are that to me. And I'm like, oh, shoot. You know, man. Wow. Deep thoughts with Rachel Cruz. It's a new segment on Smart Money Happy Hour that nobody asked for. Okay. So I'll spend $1,000 for the Backstreet Boys and I'll also spend $1,000 on CozyEarth.com.

There we go. Now that's a quality purchase. That's the gift that keeps on giving. And can I tell you, I got some new stuff from them. Obsessed. You enjoying it? Are you ready? This is totally- What are the items? This is an old person purchase, but it was worth every penny because it's my jam. Do they sell adult diapers? A nightgown. Oh, there we go. Y'all-

A short sleeve nightgown all day. Nightgown. It's a one piece situation? Yes. Is it like silky? Fantastic. Yes. Oh, it's so comfortable. Do you need a little hat to go with it? I should. A little cap? I should. A little candle you hold throughout the house as you walk through? Now that we're entering the summer months, it's perfect. Like honestly, so that and then I got a pair of like capri, like not joggers because they are...

Uh, they're not fitted at the bottom. I don't know, whatever they are. Fantastic. A ribbed short sleeve shirt. Loved it. I mean, seriously, all my new stuff I've gotten from them for summer. It's incredible. I love it. And a lot of people ask, Rachel, where'd you get that? Well, this stuff you're wearing at home, so they don't see it here. But if you want to know where she got it, it's Cozy Earth. So great. I just got my mom a pair of a short sleeve PJ set. Got Whitney a pair of a long sleeve PJ set. They're in heaven.

Silky heaven. So go check it out. They're giving our listeners up to 40% off when you use the promo code smartmoney or go to cozyearth.com slash smartmoney. You can also click the link in the description below and you can be bougie on a budget. Yeah, because their bed sheets are like one of our favorites, right? Yours too. And we had sick kids last week and they come in the bed a lot and they're just like all in there. And I had to wash those Cozy Earth sheets like...

Two or three times. Oh, boy. And you know what? And they came out so, so perfect. Like, they were great. But I was like, I do not want...

I like wanted to protect Cozy Earth. Get off my bed. I did. I was like, I want to protect Cozy Earth from germs. I feel like protective over this. Put like a cheap sheet down over it so the kids don't get the nice one dirty. Yeah. It's kind of how you feel. That's how you know. It was so nice. So great. So great. All right. Next up, we've got sports betting slash gambling. So this one was submitted. The quote is, I have a friend whose husband wasted his entire trust fund on sports betting and a Vegas trip with the boys without telling her.

That's like three strikes. That's terrible. I'm going to go completely red on this because this is like the number one growing addiction right now. Especially among men. In America, yes, is sports betting. So not worth it, y'all. I see zero upside. I'm just like, if you want to enjoy a game, enjoy the game. That's fine with your friends. But don't put money on it and add stress to it. Well, I've always said this too. I'm like, if I'm going to gamble, I'm like, I want to be part of the experience. Like craps, right? Like...

If I go to Vegas and see the Backstreet Boys, I probably will play a game of craps. But if I'm going to lose money, which is just discretionary, right? Like, it's fine. But if I'm going to do it, I want to be part of it. I want to be part of doing it. But watching men on the TV playing sports that you can't control at all. Or women. Fair. You can bet on the WNBA. You can. And people do it.

People are watching games that are happening at 3 a.m. Yes. Across the world just because they put money on it. So it's only helping the people broadcasting these events and the sports teams, but it's not helping your personal finances. No, not at all. Red flag for me. Next up, this is you, Rachel. This is all you. This is the ladies. Are you ready? Hair and nail appointments.

Yeah. I feel like you should cover this one because I'm scared to get roasted by the ladies. I know. Well, highlights and a haircut in Nashville can cost anywhere from $200 to $500. A gel manicure and pedicure, $100 to $200. So. That adds up, especially if you're doing this. Now, haircuts, highlights are not monthly. No, I do mine every eight weeks. Okay. But as the grays come in, George, I may have to start up it. I don't know. I don't know. As I get older.

You fooled me. No, thanks. Just, it was recent. Recent little chop, if you will. And then how often do you get a mani-pedi? Every three weeks. Three weeks. Okay. I'm going to call that about 15 to 20 a year. I know. And it's $72 for my nails. That sounds about right. Okay. Yeah. But I do dip. Ladies, can you vouch for this? And that's with tip. That's with tip and everything. Like I'm...

But hey, I mean, 60 bucks in your field of work. It makes sense. You're on camera a lot. You're doing media. You're traveling. You're doing events for the average lady. Is it still three weeks? It's so funny. I don't even think about that at all. I think it's still three weeks. It's more me as a woman, not a camera woman, just a woman. Well, I just thought I get my haircut every two weeks. If I wasn't on camera all the time, I'd probably go a little shaggier. It's so funny. I don't think about that at all.

You don't think about others at all? No shock there. No, I don't think about like my, yeah, I don't think about my upkeep because of my job. It's more for Rachel. It's more for me. Self-care. Yeah. It's in the self-care category. 100%. Not the business expense category. I'm gonna go here. Yeah, this one I'm halfway on. I think there's a limit to me. And I think some ladies, it's like their time to get away. But I do think it is busting the budget for some of y'all.

Yeah, you gotta be smart about it. Sure. There's things you can do at home. I know it's not the same to get the Amazon kit. I know. And don't give yourself a haircut. Yes, yes, yes, yes. We can tell. We know. Get the flow bee out. Okay, next. I can't believe this one came up. I have not heard of someone doing this since college. A hookah.

So this person spends $465 a month at hookah bars. That's not okay. Y'all, I mean, genuinely, I didn't know that's a thing. Is it a thing still, hookah? People are doing hookah still? Okay, we don't know. Oh, okay, everyone's like, oh, we don't know. Well, I used to work at a hookah bar slash restaurant in Mobile, Alabama. No, you didn't. And guess the only people I got to work with was the hookah people.

Not see people eating, sitting down. Oh, you did the hookah bar. And I remember I got tipped. Can I even ask, what is a hookah? It's just a way to smoke. Is it tobacco? It's tobacco. It is, okay. And they have coals, and so the tobacco gets lit with the coals. Yeah, I've seen it. And it uses water to produce a vapor. Okay, okay. And then it's got a little long stem pipe that comes out of it. And so it's a very social thing. You pass it around, and you have a nice time. It's very light. It's not like, don't think like...

or pipe tobacco even. It's much lighter than that. And they have like fruit flavors. Yeah. Do you think it's gone down since COVID? Because you got to share. I would imagine. Yeah. And here's the other thing, like the hookah bars that I've seen are not always in like the best parts of town. So it's not helping the hookah industry. Okay. If you will.

But, you know, it's still of my people being a Middle Eastern guy. A lot of people growing up would do hookah. But I have not seen it done in recent history. Maybe it's because I'm a Southern guy now. But, you know, I still think $500 a month on any bar experience. That feels like a lot. And, you know, I'm getting a red flag because I got tipped in pennies once after I served these guys with their hookah for a few hours.

Did you like refill the hookah? You have to bring like new coals and things like that and make sure they have their drinks and whatever else they want.

But it was very upsetting. I'll never forget it. And then pennies, like in a little plastic bag? Nope, just pennies on the table outside. And I was like, this was my tip. And I just scraped the pennies off. And I went, I don't think I'm cut out to be a server. And I think I did a decent job. I don't think I upset them. Sure, sure. It was just very upsetting. That is very sad. Last one. Movie theater popcorn and airport snacks.

I've gotten guiltier as I've gotten older on this one. You'll do the movie theater popcorn. Yeah, and the snacks. I think it'll eat away at my soul too much on airport snacks. I'd rather bring my own. I know. I did that for a long time. And then you grew up. I grew up. Then you went, just put it in the budget. I did. It's the principle for me. It's like I know how much this exact thing costs somewhere else, but because I'm in this environment, they're charging me four times more. Yeah, but for a Coke slushie,

in a bag of popcorn while you're watching a movie. It's different. It's just good. I don't know. It's good. I'm going green. Going green. Good for you. Okay, so out of this episode, George, you know, I think most importantly, check your heart. Make sure all of this is not coming from like a bad place, right? That it's like every now and then it's harmless and it's fine. If it's in the budget and you have the money and it's like you're choosing to spend it,

That's your vice. That's your thing. I like that. And I think a lot of this comes down to accountability. Having good people in your life who will speak truth and say, hey, listen, I've been noticing, Rachel, you've been spending a lot of time on this. If I had a friend that was like, listen, Rachel,

In this case, it would be your husband. That popcorn at the movies, I'm really worried about you. But if it was a daily habit. Yeah, I'm going to go with the $500 Zen guy. I hope you have people in your life. We'll start there. Like, are you okay? Let's start there. Are you okay? Start with the hookah guy and we'll work our way down to Rachel's nail care. That's fair. But I do think having a spouse helps.

Sometimes it's frustrating because you go, you spend this much on nails and you spend this much on power tools or whatever the thing is. We all have our things. Right, right. And that's okay. Yes, yes. But there's a season for it and it's when you actually have the money and it's not hurting your ability to get out of debt or build that emergency fund or build wealth. Yeah, that's right. And so right now it might be a no. Eventually it might be a yes if it's not going to harm your life. Yeah, for sure. And budgeting for it. That's why we love EveryDollar. I mentioned it earlier. But honestly, it really is. It is...

It's a great thing to go back to, to know, okay, am I in line with the plan that I had set up before the month begins? And so it is great. So we'll put a link down below so you guys can check it out. Yeah, every dollar has freed me as the frugal guy who doesn't want to spend. If I have the line item there, I feel so much better about spending because I planned for it. It's there. It wasn't impulsive. It's great. It's great.

All right, before we spill the tea in our guilty as charged segment, let's talk about the drink, George. Wow, you nailed that one. I liked it. That was a good one. Surprisingly, it's called the King's Shilling. Here's the cost breakdown. $3.54 per drink. And here's what's in it. It's got bourbon.

aged rum, coffee liqueur, pineapple syrup, Angostura bitters, and an orange twist, which you can see is carefully adorned on this little stainless steel pick here. I'm going 9 out of 10. Yeah, this is a 9 out of 10 for me. I would order this at a restaurant. I think I would too. That's what I was thinking. Knowing now what it tastes like. Uh-huh.

It's fun. It is complex, George, and you appreciate a complex cocktail. There's a lot going on. It's not too sweet. It's not too boozy. It's just got a nice balance to it. So I highly recommend making it if you're of age. The recipe is in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend. All right, George. Now it's time for Guilty as Charged. And this is where we ask each other a new guilty as charged question every week. And for guilty, we take a sip.

All right, here it is, Rachel. Have you ever cut back on a guilty pleasure spending tendency and then circled back later? I feel like I went through a season of trying not to buy things on Amazon because I was so quick to buy stuff. And I'm back. You're back. Full throttle. Did you come back even stronger? About the same. I know. Wow. I'd say that's mine. How about you?

You know, I think for me, it's probably the coffee drinks. I had a season where I was like making coffee at home, drinking the free coffee at work. And lately it's been like they have a new drink at Starbucks that I'm really enjoying. Oh, what is it? Can I share with the group? I would love it. We all are dying to know. They have a cinnamon oat milk cortado.

It sounds like an instrument. And it's a small. So it's a very small beverage. Cortado. Cortado sounds like an instrument? Yeah, like a flute. It's a very small item, but that's kind of my new little vice. It's a weekend treat. How much is it? It's $4.95. Okay, five bucks. Brown sugar oat milk cortado. Okay, why is it new? Is the cortado new? They just invent it? They didn't invent the cortado, but I don't know if it was on the menu.

No, I'm mad at that, George. Good for you. If I go to Backstreet Boys in Vegas, I'll get one. Wow, you'll spring the extra five bucks to make me happy. I'll go with you. I think we should make it a girls' trip. Me, Winston, your girls. How funny. No, my girls don't know Backstreet Boys. They will now. They will now. They'll go, Mommy, those guys can't dance very good. And I'll say, oh, no. You'll say, focus on the environment. What if one of them listens to Smart Money Happy Hour? You think? Who knows? Who knows?

Joey, reach out. No, that's NSYNC. Oh, my bad. They all blend together.

Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. All right. Well, if you guys have a guilty as charged question, make sure to DM us on Instagram because that's where we are probably the most, I would say. Yeah. Yeah. That's where I hang out. Or TikTok. You like TikTok. I don't go to messages there. It's too scary. A lot of spam over there. So scary. Stay in Instagram world. Good to know. And make sure to subscribe to this channel. Like it. You know, like it.

Let us know in the comments what you think. Yeah, and check out that Little Treats episode. That's right. We'll link that one too. And it's coming up next. Click it there, Little Treats, and we'll see you guys next Thursday on an all-new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.