Reviewing 2025: The Good, the Bad and the Unhinged!

Merry Christmas, everyone. And our gift to you, a 2025 recap you don't want to miss. We were united. We have been divided in so many ways, but this united everyone. It was like one of those elective surgery gone wrong. Wow. Was Winston nervous when you grabbed that out of his hand? Was he like, what's about to happen? He was like, oh, man, here she goes. But he didn't stop me. Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel. And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Cheers, George. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. What a fun drink. Oh, man. The visual, you gotta go watch this on YouTube or Spotify. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. and today we're sipping on a you're a mean one i mean is that a great you're a grinch themed drink yeah that's a song you could actually sing it's like a talking just it's just like go as low as you can what's the lowest oh no no we're not doing this you're not tricking me into this i almost i almost fell for it you're a mean one that's got to be there you know what i mean that's good all well stick around we're going to give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode. So fun. It has been quite the year. 2025. Can you believe it's coming to an end? It's been the longest decade of a year. I'm about to sound like an old woman, but do you feel like the years just go fast the older you get? Where you're like, man. You know when you were a kid and it was like 2003 and you're like, it's going to be 2026 one day. And you're like, no, it's not. And now it is. And now it is. Here we are. We are approaching. But the great thing is it is Christmas. So Merry Christmas, everyone. We are towards the end of the year, But I think it's always important to look back and reflect on where you've been. We're not always good at that, George. You and I. That's true. We're forward thinkers. Futuristic. We look ahead. Sometimes let's just pause and recap 2025 because what a year it's been. And we're going to focus on the fun stuff. Like I know a lot of not fun stuff also happened. That is true. But we're going to keep it light on Christmas. Yeah. So we're going to cover some viral pop culture milestones to financial news to just memorable moments on this show. because it's been a ride, both in this studio and out there. So we're excited to cover it all. George, what was the most memorable thing that happened to you in 2025? This one goes without saying, the introduction of baby Henry into the world. Yes, you had a baby this year. Very exciting. So fun. So a lot of change. We moved. It's just like everything feels new, and I'm figuring it out all over again. Yes. Yeah, that's a big year. A lot happening. And it all happened in a short period of time in the year. We packed it all in. Yeah, good for you. But I feel like we're making good strides. We're in the best spot we've been in a long time. Yes, that's so good. How about you? What was the highlight? Gosh. I don't know. Isn't it funny? Work has just been great. I feel like it's kind of like we're doing this. I've enjoyed work. But the kids are transitioning fast. Oh, you've got like middle schoolers now? Well, she's almost in middle school. But no, it's – yeah, like Charles went from like preschool to kindergarten, my last one. and I cried George at the end of preschool I didn't cry at the start of kindergarten but the end of preschool I think I'm realizing I get sad when chapters in yeah openers don't bother me I'm like bring on the newness it's fun to me but when things like close you're like oh my gosh so yeah I feel like it's changing in our house like the kids and stuff so that well you showed me like Amelia's school photo and I was like that is a grown woman I know it's wild so old I just remember her being this big and like on stage at a live event you know just a peanut. Wow. That'll be you soon with Mia. Oh gosh. That's going to make me cry. Don't do that. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. But no, but, but the year in total though, it's been a great year. I give 2025, uh, I give it an A, maybe an A minus, but I think it's great for your, your personal life. Yeah. What about you? That's awesome. Yeah. I mean, I could complain, but I won't. So I'm also going to go A minus just cause I'm exhausted. You know, I hear you. I hear you. All right. So we're going to recap the best of 2025 in three categories today. Pop culture, money news, and favorite moments on this show. So be sure to stick around for all of that. You don't want to miss it. Yeah, alright. Man, cultural highlights. Pop cultural highlights. Number one, George, 6'7". I still don't get it. Why do you have to say it like that? That's what my kids say. Charles goes, Mom, what's 6 plus 7? And I'm like, 13. He's like, no, it's 6'7". He goes around and does this. I know. It's what they do. And I don't get it, but I learned they want to be a part of something big and they feel like they're cool and i'm like go man if you want to be part of i don't think it's bad right i really did you know you got other numbers in this it's like you got other numbers in the 60s that we always laughed at but no one's asking about those 68's next you know oh boy they're coming for it climbing the charts they're climbing there we got sick yeah is it just because it's like something that no other generation will understand that makes it cool it's like a secret language i don't even know where it originated from Do we even know, like, was it a score? Was it a player's number? Like, song? Maybe a song? Okay. Okay, we got a song. One of the best clips that came up on Instagram, not TikTok, Instagram, and it was an in-and-out place, and it was all these teenagers in a corner, and the guy came, and he's like, order number? Six, six. I'm like, oh! You know, they're all like, and then he goes, order number six, seven, and they all just lose it. I'm like, this is so funny. But I'll take it. it's one of my favorite ones of the terms that have been created by the generation yeah z so i'm i'm happy with it it's annoying but harmless you know so just don't get too riled up about it parents just move on and the sooner you move on the sooner they'll move on they only like it because it bothers you and you don't understand it yeah uh all right let's go back to february in the Super Bowl. Oh, yeah. Kendrick Lamar. Yeah, I played the Super Bowl. I had to like, like, go to a Wikipedia page to understand the backstory and the beef. I agree. I had to do the same thing. It's with Drake, right? Yes. Yeah. Okay. Making sure I got right. Yes. So that was, that was fun, though. I liked being in the know after I Google. I was hoping that you would start wearing the like flare pants that Kendrick wore. I know. Like he'd bring bring it back for the ladies you would think man oh my gosh that was the best part yeah that's so legendary that was a wild one how about this one katy perry in space just taking up space katy we love you all female crew shouting at the top of their lungs during this 11 minute mission okay so this is what really got people riled up yeah go she said in her post-mission interview katy perry i just feel really connected to love and then she was kissing the like ground but like had a little mat down like a towel like She wasn't actually kissing the dirt. Oh, really? Right? I think she had like a thing on the ground. I kind of missed that. That's funny. That's how I remember it at least. And then everybody hated Katy Perry for like a good month. I know. Poor thing. Well, they would compare her concert to Taylor Swift's concert. They were like showing like, I think because she kind of had like some quirky costumes and like different things. But they would show like Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter. And they were using the clip I saw. They were using the Saturday night. I'm Jan. I can't sing. I got to sing. but that i'm janice um you know that that with the sisters and it's like and i'm poor katie got picked on i feel like for like a few months there well i guess it was like everyone was going through a tough time and then it was like rich people go to space and we're all like oh hush nobody cares and then there was a conspiracy did they actually even go i know and like the door shouldn't open both ways yeah when they landed back the way the door yes yes The door was a big thing. It was a lot. I'm like, let the girl go to space. All right. Who cares? Live your life, people. Go, Katie, go. Speaking of music. Oh, my gosh. This brought us together as a country. Are you ready for this? It really did. We were united. We were united. We have been divided in so many ways, but this united everyone. It was the Coldplay CEO scandal caught in an affair at a Coldplay concert. art man that thing took off bigger than and i mean i feel terrible for their family like i mean it is really sad it's one of those like what are the odds yes that's so wild but also don't go to a public concert right like i kind of feel like that was the consensus it was like i think everyone agreed on that too like how do you do not think like someone might see me i'm the ceo of a fairly public company that's a pretty no no i hadn't heard of the company but no one's heard the company until they did it. But then they did a brilliant job where they got Gwyneth Paltrow to do a commercial for them who was Chris Martin's ex-wife. Oh yeah, the Coldplay ex-wife. It was too good. But anyways, for a moment, we all united and it felt good. I think that's the best of the internet. That's a best case scenario. Except for the two families. We're really sorry. Also sorry for the destroyed lives of everyone involved. Alright, next up. But Haley Bieber sold Road Beauty to Elf Cosmetics. For a billion dollars. She became a billionaire. What am I doing wrong? Should I start a makeup company? Man, they're all doing it, though. And they're making some— Why not me? Making a lot of money. Good for Haley. Wow. But that's like overnight billionaire. Obviously, she worked hard to build this company. That's not easy. Yeah. But isn't Selena Gomez— Selena Gomez. Selena Gomez. she's part of like rare beauty right makeup line and then um you got kylie jenner all her stuff kardashians the jenners they've got their whole business lined up yeah but oh haley good for her that's pretty wild billion dollars i always wonder how that works but you get a billion in the account that's my question is like do you is it in stock like what's that look like yeah i wonder if she actually got that net or if that was like what it sold for but there's other people that had to 100%. Yeah, what was like, I want to know what hit the Bieber's account. Yeah. That'd be fun to know. That'd make me nervous to have that much sitting in an account. Like, that'd be a bad day to have some fraud happen on your bank account. Well, sure. But hopefully that changes. You would hope. But it's good fraud protection. All right, this next one felt very personal to you. I think you should share the news. Oh, yeah. Taylor Swift got engaged. Oh, my gosh. It affected a lot of people in a way that it should not have, including Rachel. Listen. I think we've all been on the journey with her. You know what I mean? It feels like we all went through the breakup. We have since she was in high school. Like, I mean, and the fact that she married a football player, like, you belong with me, was like a, I know, I'm telling you. I mean, since the beginning, we were all there. Like, I knew people that went to Hendersonville High School with her, like, her, like, year that she came to Nashville and was in high school. Like, I'm telling you, we're like one degree of separation. Wow. I hope you get invited to the wedding. I would love to be made of honor, Taylor. I feel like. It feels like a stretch. Yeah. And people hate on her. They're mad about her new album. Some of them are mad. And I just don't think we need to be mad. I just think you can choose to listen or you can choose not. But we're not going to judge people that do. Oh, wow. Because it is so good. Well, I like this story. It's so good, y'all. Opalite. I mean, my gosh. I played it for Caroline. We were dancing in the car the other day. Oh, that's fun. Because it's clean version of that one. One of the few clean songs on the album. But it's really fun. So I'm really proud of them. And I don't. And I think the wedding, they were really kind to like send out pictures of the engagement. But I really, for their sake, let the wedding be private. And I think they probably will be. I think they going to probably like maybe release one photo But I think just do it in your own location She didn need like People Magazine to like give an exclusive Like she doesn need the money you know So I think just keep it down I have a bold idea. Here's my thing. I think they should do pay-per-view live stream and the money goes to charity. Wow. Is that not a brilliant idea? Because you could make millions and millions of dollars for charity. Where did pay-per-view go? They still do it, I think. Oh, really? Don't they like UFC bros that still pay-per-view? Like they still figured it out. During all the political campaign stuff, that's what I said that they should do. You get a good debate with two people. People would pay to watch it and then donate all the charity. Or pay down the government debt or something. That'd be cool. That's a little foreshadowing for later in the episode. I love it. All right. Next up, Wicked Part 2 for all the Wicked fans out there. Oh my gosh, look at our drink too. It is kind of Wicked themed. Oh yes. And Amelia was Alphaba for Halloween and her cousin was Glinda. Oh, the photos were so cute. Were pretty. Thank you. You showed me some of those. I know. It was great. Well, Wicked Part 1 came to theaters at the end of 2024, and as of this release date, Part 2 is out now. It's very exciting. I know. We love it. We love. Are you a movie person during Christmas? Like, do you guys like to watch movies? Oh, yes. Yes. Do they have to be Christmas themed, or are we open to other genres? I'm open to other genres if I'm going. The Housemaid is actually releasing December 19th. It's already released. I thought you were talking about like the housemate at your house. I was like, oh, does she not have a name? The housemate at the cruise residence. No. No. So I'll go to the theater and watch a movie that's not Christmas related, if that makes sense. Yes. But at home, we're going Christmas movies. Do the kids get to choose or do you force one upon them? No, they can choose. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If they're watching with us. Yeah. Fun. Totally. What about you? You know, I feel like there's never – it's always too chaotic. And now with little ones, it's hard with a newborn to sit and watch two hours and watch a movie is a big luxury. Yeah, 100%. Maybe someone in the background. Yeah, that's what I like. At the very least, Charlie Brown playing on the speakers. Charlie Brown Christmas is my favorite album. Yes. White Christmas is a good background movie. Maybe not a sit down and watch like It's a Wonderful Life, but. Okay. Some shade thrown at White Christmas. It could be in the background. Needlessly. Love it. You know who's actually wicked, though? internet scammers. Yeah. Shame on them. That's why you need Delete Me. We don't want them in the background of your digital life. Especially Christmas. I mean, think about all the boxes you fill out during Christmas online. All the information you've just given over. Your information's been out so long, you guys, for weeks. All that promos that you've signed up for for Christmas. The discount wheel, the email sign up to get 10% off. The data's out there. But Delete Me comes in and actually helps remove your data. Because all of those, yeah, everything you signed up for, you're putting your data out there. Which we've all done it. No judgment. Yes, but we want it off. And so that's what Delete.me is there for. This is crazy. Over 20 billion records have been leaked in recent years, which means scam texts, phishing emails, it all just keeps adding up. So Delete.me does all the work for you. They'll send you a report of all the information they removed from hundreds of data broker sites, and it gives me great peace of mind. And it's super affordable, especially when you use our link. You can go to joindeliteme.com slash smart money or use the link in the description to get 20% off their annual plans. So be sure to check it out. All right, let's shift from pop culture to the money highlights. This is more my lane. Yes. Man, recent S&P 500 returns. George, it was incredible. We've seen all-time highs across the – like everything is up. Yes. Like gold is up and the Bitcoin is up and the stock market's up. It's doing well right now. I'm shocked. It's a roller coaster, but we're going to enjoy the click, click, click to the top. Yeah. You know, when you're like on a roller coaster. I understood the click. I like that. We don't want to go down and our stomachs go up, and that's not a fun feeling, but we will take the ride up. Well, it feels like if you go – like how was this year economically? Everyone's going to go, whoa, it was a wild ride. It was really hard. But then you see the economy as far as the stock market goes. Yes, yes. We're doing really well. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so your 401Ks are looking great, your Roth IRAs. If you have money in index funds or something, you're getting great returns. It's been a good year. You actually have to be invested to see that return. So when people go, Rachel, where are you getting 10 percent? I'm like, dude, just invest in a boring index fund or mutual fund and you would have seen 20 percent. That's right. Now, it's going to depend year over year. But the last few years have been really solid for the investors out there. Yes, it's been great. And interest rates that have been high, we have felt that over the past few years, they are slowly lowering little by little. Yep, yep. Not as fast as anyone would like to see. I know. But they're trying to not mess too much with the economy. It's a delicate balance, and so they've been trying their best to bring down the rates as they can. It's better than what it was, especially for people that want to buy a home, for instance. It's a great time to buy, right? I mean it is lowering, but it's better than it was. So get in the game if you are looking to be a homeowner. It's funny, though. I do feel like people's freak out about the interest rates has now normalized. The emotion around it is a little bit more stable. where I feel like before, because we were at what, 2%, 3% like before? Yeah. You can get a rate sub 3% on a mortgage and people were scooping them up. It's wild. And so when it did shoot up, it did have this like big emotion. Everyone's like freaking out. And now I kind of feel like everything's settled. It's become more normalized as it does. And so people are more comfortable, I think, doing something like buying a home. Well, the problem is home prices aren't going to shoot down. So even if interest rates tick down a little bit, it doesn't affect the payment as much. Yes. You could save $100, $200, $300 on a monthly payment, which helps, but you're also not going to see home prices dip down $100,000 all of a sudden. Right. You're not going to see a crash. And so now is still a good time to get a house, though, because there's less competition. You're not getting nine over-asking offers all cash. No, you can actually negotiate. Yeah. You can take your time, get the inspection and appraisal done. Yes. And so now could be a great time. More of a buyer's market than a seller's market right now, so get in if you can. Let's go negative. If you want to, the global debt hit a record high, George. Ready? $338 trillion by the end of Q2 of 2025. That's wild. The U.S. is responsible for about 11% of that, which we owe around $37.9 trillion. We need a pay-per-view thing happening here. I agree. I'm just glad the U.S. has finally taken some responsibility. We took 11%. I'm guessing we hold the most out of it. I don't know out of all the countries. It just feels like we should be number one. I think we owe a lot to China. I wonder how much China's debt is. I don't know. Oh, yeah. We're definitely top three. Can it be Googled? Is someone Googling? Yeah, I got Google. I got better than Google. I don't want you to have to do it. I got chat GPT. Do you do the voice activation like I do or no? No. Your girl. It freaks you out? Ask your girl. This is good. She's super friendly. Let's see if she's helpful. Your girl would like this. Hey. Hello? Hey, George. Nice to have you here. Let me know what's on your mind or what you're working on today, and we'll dive right in. Hey, the global debt is at $338 trillion. Which countries hold the most of that debt? Can you rank them for me? Absolutely. I can give you a bit of a ranking. So right now, the countries that typically hold the largest shares of global debt are the United States, China, and Japan. The US is usually at the top of the list with a very large portion of that global debt, followed by China and Japan. And then you've got countries in the Eurozone like France and Italy that also hold significant chunks. So that's kind of how it stacks up. Thank you. That's all for now. Goodbye. You're welcome, George. Glad I could help. And anytime you need more info, just give me a shout. She is. I don't like her. I don't like her. I don't like her. Wow. As a friend to Whitney, I don't like it. I don't like that. freaks me out. Thank you for that. Weird. No. That's a friend to Whitney. I don't think Whitney's threatened by her, if that's what you mean. But thank you for that. Very helpful. I think, George, that was such a great, insightful question. Actually, I'll rank them. Is that what you want me to do, George? Rank them for you? That was the best question anyone's ever asked me in my entire life. Okay, well, U.S., China. We were right. U.S. and China. There you go. Japan. Wow, doing some big things. Big things. Big debts. Yeah, that's scary. And here's the thing. It's such an unfathomable number when you think about trillions. You go to the National Debt Clock website. You're just like, this is – there's nothing we can do. So I try to just go, what can I do for my family? What can I control? I can control my family not being in debt. I'll do that. I can't control the people in office other than voting. But then again, there's a lot of empty promises made. And very few presidents in history have actually even closed the gap on the deficit, let alone lowered it. It is what it is a little bit. So, yeah, always worry about what you can control, I think, is the name of the game here. All right, next is the buzzworthy big, beautiful bill. I wish I could do a Trump. One big, beautiful bill. Yeah, good job. We got the tariffs. That was a topic of conversation. Yeah, I don't know. Have we landed on tariffs? I feel like nobody agrees. I don't even know where. I don't know where we're at. I'll be honest, y'all. Well, here's the facts. I'm still just shopping on Amazon. Yeah. Trump's tariffs have increased consumer costs for a lot of Americans, an estimated $1,300 increase to household costs in 2025. Yep. And factors out to about $108 more each month. The next great one I thought was no tax on tips. Yeah. So tax deduction on tips generated income up to $25,000. And yeah, you can just take your tips home, which I love. But it expires. For a short time. Yeah, it expires in 2028. And yeah, the hope is that employers won't lower salaries. They go, well, you're not paying tax on tips now. We don't need to pay you as much. That's right. Yeah, yeah. So we don't want that to happen. But I don't like that. Like when you're tipping, I'm like, yeah, the person that's helping me, I want them to take it home. I think that's fair. I'm not against it, especially for service workers. Like it's a tough time to be in any kind of service-based business, any kind of hospitality-focused role. it's exhausting. And so, you know, if it helps them out a bit, happy to do that. That is great. Yep. Well, one thing that's helped me out a lot when it comes to my money is Fairwinds Credit Union. I love them, George. So we set up a smart checking and savings bundle, Winston and I did. Number one, it was so easy to do the setup, honestly. I mean, you have to know some of your numbers and if you're going to connect some bank accounts, get your routing number and a couple of things. But it was all done. I mean, I think I did it on my phone, honestly. I may have my laptop too, but it was quick. It was simple. And now I use my Fairwinds debit card all the time. If I'm going to be pulling out a debit card, that's the one I use. And it's Ramsey co-branded now. It says, debt is normal, be weird. And it's blue. And I love it. I think it's so great. And they're just wonderful people because they line up with Ramsey values. And so we do really believe during, especially during the holiday season where we are, you want memories. This is what you want. You want peace of mind. and to have an institution behind you that's actually for you and not just trying to get your money with debt payments and interest and all of that. They're wonderful. So they're cheering you on the Ramsey way and Fairwinds is where it's at. So check it out because their high yield savings and getting a checking account with no fees altogether is the bundle with the Ramsey debit card and we love it. A lot of people ask us, Rachel, hey, what's a good bank you recommend? what a good high savings account And now we can easily just say go to Fairwinds fairwinds slash Ramsey open that smart bundle and you have some peace of mind knowing that your bank isn trying to screw you over We drop a link in the description as well All right George should we be selfish for a second and do a little 2025 smart money happy hour highlights They're watching this show, so I would hope they want to know what are the best moments from this show. Yeah, what happened this year on this show? That was amazing. Well, we really opened it up to guests, which we hadn't really done in the past. We sort of experimented. We had, you know, Sharon Ramsey, Dave Ramsey. We kept it in the family. and this year we had our spouses on yes Whitney and Winston they were uh that was a that was a very high viewed episode yeah were you nervous in that episode not as nervous as I was with my girls when my girls were on oh that's right that okay that's a close second you're when your daughters were on that was one of my favorite you give a kid a hot mic and you're just like all right we'll uh we'll see what happens who's gonna pay for the car have you talked about that Maybe like half of me and then like half of like my parents or like my husband or my parents. If you get married in that point. So the husband buys the car. So at 16, you have a husband who pays for the car. Probably. I don't know. The dynamic was just so perfect. So Caroline is you. Yes. And so she was made – when we were done, correct me if I'm wrong, she was like, are we done? Like can we do more? I don't want to leave. Yeah, she wanted to keep going. Yeah, we even got a text after the shoot because we recorded another episode right after them. And it was like a call and a text from Winston. And he was like, sorry, Caroline was begging to come back in to even like watch. So, yeah. You got to go watch that episode. It was just gold. And then our friend. Well, the spouses, though. Sorry. I cut our spouses off. No, I was not nervous in that one. That was a fun one. I loved it. Yes. Winnie and Winston just show the better halves of us, George. Let's be honest. I know. And Winston stole the show. He just has that like just dry wit charm. Everyone was commenting on his boots. Just some boots with mud on them. Some mud on the boots. We just appreciate that. It was so wonderful. No, but Whitney was fantastic. No, that was a fun one. It was fun to have the spouses on. Yeah, we need to do that again. Yep. Oh, we had our friend Dr. John Deloney on. Do this in slow-mo. Do it. Yes. That was, I would say, our most unhinged episode. That recording, you guys, went like— Two hours? Almost an hour and a half. I mean, it was a long show to get through everything because the rabbit trails that him and George went on. I'm going to blame both of you. I wasn't trying to. I'm going to blame both of you. But then he kept stopping to roast me for 20 minutes. I know, I know. And I had to defend my honor, and so you were refereeing that one. Yeah, yeah. But that was one of our highest feud episodes of the year. Yeah, that was a great one. And it was a lot of fun. What they ended up airing was fun. And it was close. What legally was allowed. And it actually was close to an hour of what they aired. And everyone was like, thank you for smart money, happy hour, it being an hour. We're like, we hear you. We hear you. Do they not know how happy hour works? Like, you don't have to stay the whole time for you to say, like, I went to a happy hour. You didn't have to say for an exact hour. It's just a pop in, have a cocktail, chat, laugh, and leave. Yeah, true happy hour is like two or three hours long. Like that's the window of happy hour at like a restaurant. And you get to pop in and out. Yes. Yeah. You're not forced to stay an hour. So get out of here, comment section. All right. I appreciate y'all want more of us. We had some outside guests, Matt and Abby from the Unplanned Podcast. Oh, that was so great. They were so sweet. They were wonderful. A charming couple. Yes. He pulls me aside. Abby, come here. He's like, I saw something on Google. and he's like and then he like shows his phone to me and it said like this crazy number for like matt and abby networks i was like papa i'm very grateful for where we're at i was like that's not even close like that is like literally not even close and we had a comedian a legendary comedian angela johnson reyes uh joined us i started from the ground up as an extra i was an extra on the show friends no you weren't girl yes no you weren't girl yes stop it wait yeah yes she was funny mad tv fame bonkwi and we had just i was so fun getting to know her and her story because i didn't know a lot of the backstory no not at all yep and she's a she's a national native now she's she lives here she's local um so yeah that was really fun she was great i hope we have some more great guests on anybody that you're wanting to have on this year whether they're close to you or you don't know them uh i just want taylor and travis on yeah taylor and travis would be fantastic okay we'll mark that down yeah that would be nice a little reese witherspoon would be great dolly harton would be top of the list uh nate bergatsu would be great he's a national guy you want to come on by um i think we could get reese i think we're like one degree away wait for her to be promoting something and we throw in like george clooney for the heck of it sure i don't know that'd be fun liam neeson i would love a like a hollywood a real well you know you interviewed mcconaughey matthew mcconaughey yes he's a guy who's willing to hang? Yeah. Real guests. Not that those people aren't real, but for real. Anyone that's of interest that you're like, yeah, that would actually be a great guest. That's in the range for George and I to be able to actually get on this show. I think we can get anyone. If our producers are good at their job, they'll make it happen. I'm kidding. Good night, George. Moving on from the guests. We had some great episodes without any guests. Just us two. We're enough. We are enough. All right. Fourth of July was a wild one. We thought like, all right, we're going to learn some things about America. But I learned a whole lot. We did a trivia. Yes, that was fun. Test our American knowledge. We were not great. No, we were not great. No. Which president's face was on that hundred thousand dollar bill? That's a much harder question. Okay. Let's go Coolidge because it just feels cool. Well, it might feel cool, but it's wrong. Oh, man. We were humbled and inspired by the red white and blue my favorite part we did a little role play of uncle sam calling the ramsey show oh hey sam welcome to the show how can we help today and he's like well i'm spending more than i make uh how much debt do you have uh 37 trillion dadgummit sam what have you been spending all your money on this is insane sam what's your income yeah it was a lot not enough not enough Why do I sound like Bill Clinton? I know. Just channeling the politicians. That was a fun one. So be sure to go back and watch that one if you love America. Yeah, that was great. The Paint and Sip. Oh, my goodness. Surprise and delight on my end. I thought I am horrible at art. I mean, that is not my forte. And you're actually artistic in life. I didn't think— Well, so we thought. I mean, I assumed if you're like— You made it sound like you were going to bomb, and mine would be pretty good. Like a musician, I feel like you naturally are good at drawing or something. I don't know. I feel like it's all that same side of the brain. And yes, and when we turned those pictures around, George, was I offended? Let's show them. I don't know. You tell us. All right. Everyone watching at home, Rachel's going to hold it up next to her face. Are you not entertained? One, two, three. A spitting image. there i look at my nose that's all i'm gonna say the nose that george painted on me looks it was like one of those elective surgery gone wrong you know what i mean it was one of those this is why we don't do cosmetic this is why we uh yeah you just gotta age gracefully and apparently with my tanning bed and that nose i did not i apologize for the and mine was actually like relatively yours was like a take it wasn't like a realistic portrait i hear you and i should have done the face not as round yeah it was like if i was a lego man yeah that's right yeah i should have gone more oval i could have done a couple of things different but i was getting i was nervous that episode i didn't like it i didn't like dual tasking because i to be fair we had to do a lot we had all the brushes we had our drink we had the paper we had the yeah we had to do a lot at once and I think that hurt my ability to draw an accurate picture of you. Yeah, it's probably true. But that was a fun one. One of my favorite moments was during a Cozy Earth ad where you were wearing the blanket all of a sudden. Rachel, you know, people are always commenting, where'd you get your outfit? Link it, don't gatekeep. And what do you tell them? I mean, there's a lot of places to buy some comfy things in life, but my favorite place in the outfit I'm wearing today is from Cozy Earth. And the people in the comment section were loving this moment for you. Yeah. Well, that blanket is something else. I mean, Cozy Earth, the products they put out, they're pretty unbelievable. I mean, that blanket, the weight of it, number one, incredible. But the softness, I mean, that is Christmas. That is Christmas in a blanket. It's just wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. It brings joy. I love it. And I'll be in my Cozy Earth PJs with that cuddle blanket and just enjoying life because the quality of their products is just top notch. And it doesn't stop there. They've got the menswear, the PJs, The bedding, the sheets, the blankets, the clogs. The socks. Decked out. Winston had his Cozy Earth socks on, but he had Earth Cozy on his feet. Oh, I do that too. And my girls were like, Dad, that's not the right way. I might as well say cozy cozy sometimes. I'll mix them up. Oh, no. Throw them off the scent of the trail. I love it. But the sheets, I think, are the thing I use the most because of how much I'm sleeping. Yeah. So the viscose fabric keeps you warm, but also cool and breathable, holds up after multiple washes. Incredible. So check this out. We get the best discount of the holiday season. Go to CozyEarth.com slash smart money and use code smart money for up to 20% off. I'm telling you, whether it's Christmas or not, this is worth the gift. Okay. So this year also, George, on the podcast, we had some drinks that we rated great and some not so great. Yeah, let's hit the top three cocktails. Okay. Top three cocktails that we rated 10 out of 10. You ready? No notes. The Kentucky Colonel. Yep. The banana old-fashioned. That was surprising. I know. Even saying the words feels funny to me. And then the tart cherry margarita. I would have all three again right now. All right. Do our bottom three mocktails, George. Oh, yeah. We've had some rough mocktails this year. No. Some of them were so great, y'all. The team did a really good job. Well, they're getting cold in their stocking for these. This one was a Christmas slush mocktail. I gave it a three out of ten. You gave it a four out of ten, which I thought was generous. It wasn't really any, it wasn't really slush. It was just mush. It was cold mush. Yeah. With very little flavor. I know. It tried though. It was trying. Okay. This one was wild. I appreciate the effort because all of these things I love separately, but come together the way the team did it was disgusting. It was a citrus cardamom coffee spritzer. Love the idea of this. I mean, that's just a lot of words. I gave it a negative 10 out of 10. Which is the lowest rating I've ever given anything in my life. Oh, man. I didn't know you could do that. It was that gross. Here's my rating. Negative 10 out of 10. Okay, I don't give it that. I give it a 2. I wouldn't give that to my worst enemy. Yeah, well. All right, lastly, we had a sparkling strawberry coconut mocktail. Sounds nice in theory. You gave it a 3 out of 10. I was generous and gave it a 5 out of 10. Yeah, so I didn't like it as much as you. But coconut's not my favorite. Only on a coconut cake. I think if you make it sparkling, it helps anything. It helps just mask a little bit of whatever's going on. Just whatever's happening. A little bubbly really helps. Oh, my gosh. All right, George. Well, the takeaways of this Christmas episode. It's just been a full year. And I feel like it just goes to show that, number one, you can do a lot in a year. I mean, there's a lot that happens. A lot that happens that's out of our control. There's a lot that happens personally for people. but also I don know it just kind of this feeling I do love the new year the fact that it coming up here in like what two weeks And it like you just get to start over There is something about the refreshing of the calendar and you like it is a new year and we can do this So it always energizing to me This is always a fun thing for me to look back and then look forward and be like, okay, we get to start again. I like that. Yeah, I think if it was a good year, you kind of reflect back with a lot of gratitude. And even if it was a hard year, you go, all right, I got another at-bat. Grateful to be alive, grateful for another year. And there is something weird that like January 1st feels like, all right, game on. It's a new thing. The old one's gone. It's not coming back. We got to stop looking at the past. And so I think for everyone, be good to take some stock and grieve the things that you thought were going to happen or things that went wrong or the bad things. And then also be grateful for all the amazing things that you accomplished. And I do like that is you'd be shocked at how much you can make progress within a year and then how much progress you can make the next year, especially with your financial goals. And so I want to encourage everyone. We always do like a big, fun January live stream to kick it off. So we'll drop a link in the description of this episode. You can sign up for free to watch that live stream. And then also, if you feel like, man, I didn't make as much progress with my money, I need a better tool to help me. Be sure to check out EveryDollar. It's our budgeting app. And the all new version is so much more than a budgeting app. It's so great. We coach you. Yeah, it's your overall financial picture of everything. And there's so much, yes, with the coaching element and resources attached to it. So it is fantastic. Make sure to check it out. We'll drop links to all of that in the description. Enjoy. All right, George, before we get to Guilty as Charged, that segment, who's almost finished first? I think I'm a little lower than you. Yeah, you beat me. Yeah. This was a You're a Mean One, which is a Grinch-themed drink. I mean, I'm going 8 out of 10. Yeah, I'm going 7 out of 10. It was actually really – like I have nothing terrible to say. it just wasn't like whoa it wasn't super punchy yes it's pretty light drink yeah i didn't go 10 out of 10 because i probably wouldn't order it i wouldn't pay for it at a restaurant but you know what i thought if you showed up to a party and someone was like here's our car i would be like that and i would drink it and i'm like i'll get another one and then festive rachel comes up do you trust the punch bowl at a party uh no i do trust the container where you do the little thing like this and it comes out oh yeah but like a open aired punch bowl like yeah i think we're done like mad at it but like but a pre-made in a container that does this yeah i'm okay with that yeah and those are pretty cheap now you know we went to a restaurant recently side note and apparently it was more of like a wine restaurant but they had cocktails but all all of their cocktails were batched so you couldn't um like specify like you couldn't get like a vodka this or this you you had to get the gin is that kind of yeah i got trust issues with batched cocktails at restaurants okay me too george i kind of said that i felt a little snobby i mean you better be charging me half if you're batching it okay i'm saying because it can't be as good right it can be if they did it right but like the more volume the harder it is to get the ratios right okay More just sits in there. Yeah, okay. I'm glad my Spidey senses were on. You've got to do it fresh. Because that's how it felt. That's what I'm paying for here. Yeah. All right. So your mean one has Midori Melon Liqueur, which is what causes that really bright green color. It's got white rum, lemon-lime soda, and a maraschino cherry. And it comes out to $2.14 per glass. So if you're of age, get the recipe in the show notes and give it a try. Maybe even on Christmas Day if you have the ingredients lying around. Yeah, we're there. But that would be a very specific ingredient to have today. Maybe. I feel like people have this kind of – now, Midori is the only – I've never seen a lime green drink before, I don't think, so. I mean, you got to be into Midori to have Midori. I don't have Midori lime green. And is Midori lime green? Yes. All right. That's the melon liqueur that causes this color. I hear you. But it's fun. I feel like this is something that you would get like a college bar, Midori sour. You know what I mean? That kind of drink. Yeah, sure. Because it's just Midori and sour mix, and it tastes like candy at that point. Yeah, and it's great. Yeah, sweet and good. All right. All right, George. Now it's time for Guilty as Charged. And this is where we ask each other a guilty as charged question every week. And if we're guilty, we take a sip. George, have you ever gone slightly overkill with generosity? Wow. This is a little bit of a flip because normally we're like. It feels like a flex to be like, I tip too much. Have you done that? Did you fat finger a tip on an iPad? What happened? I did. And I feel bad. Yeah, I do feel like a bad person when I tell this story. I feel like you're too good of a person. Just know this. Yeah, we were out to dinner with some friends. And it was a nicer restaurant. And the wait staff was great. It was awesome. And I like the bill came and I said, give it to me, Winston. And I grabbed his hand and I tipped. Wow. Was Winston nervous when you grabbed that out of his hand? Was he like, what's about to happen? Oh, for sure. He was like, oh, man, here she goes. But he didn't stop me. God bless. I don't want to know what Winston would have tipped. Probably a very reasonable, generous amount. Somewhere that wasn't in the over 100% range. Yeah. So you slapped the card on there? Yes. No, no, it was after we paid, and then you tip it after. So you and Winston covered the bill, which is very nice all day. I went big. The biggest tip by a lot that I've ever given. Do you know the percentage that you tipped? Because a normal tip would be... Oh, that's a great question. Oh, shoot. And then I don't want to feel like MAI. I'm such a gamer. No, we're already impressed. Hear me say we are done being impressed. I don't know. A good tip would be 20% is solid, right? How do you think... 25% is really nice. How do I figure out the... Okay, divide the number you tipped into the total of the bill. And I'm guessing the total of the bill, by the way. That's fine. I'm just trying to get a ballpark. It says five. That's not. The math isn't right. Okay. You want to do the math? No, say it again. So take the number you tipped. Okay, I did that. So if it was like a $50 tip or a $100 bill. So 50 divided by 100. Got it. What's he giving you? Oh, my God. Did I not tip that a lot? She tipped 5%. Let me check it on mine. Now I'm very – I'm scared. Okay, I'm going to show you. I'm going to be very vulnerable right now. No, it's fine. I'm going to show you. This is what I – this is it. No, so 50 divided by 100, 0.5. Yeah, okay. So here's the math. Do you see right here? Okay, so what was that? That's 20%. no way no way did you no way no way hold on stop yeah it 20 that's the math oh no okay you did the opposite well i don't know what i'm saying oh my gosh no okay that changes everything okay i know george i told you i okay no the math you can't even do that math then it's simply too much okay oh my god do you see what i did i was an error i mean it's not bad it's fine it was it's fine no we're talking okay i just tipped a lot i misunderstood because i've never seen someone do something oh my gosh you tipped like 500 i did a lot is what i'm saying i tipped this person a lot of money yeah there's like the 100 the like 100 tip challenge but i will say you really up that like in our in our budgets this year this calendar year 2025 is something we added an extra giving line and we had not used it and so i think i was like oh my gosh they were all so great just use the give it the whole giving line for this this later wow and so i did so again it's fine it was technically in my every dollar budget you tipped you tipped 500 you might be the first person in history to do that knowingly i tipped a lot but i don't like it's like my kids are eating like you know i didn't like put my family in jeopardy you didn't like mortgage the house to make no no no it just was a lot of it was a lot of money that i don't know so anyways i would what That's the question. Yeah. Have you gone slightly overkill with generosity? I did. I did. I wouldn't say slightly. I would say you murdered it. With that specific situation. Like generosity was like, girl, easy. Like we weren't, that is outrageous generosity to a T. That's why I think I'm fine with it. You are Dave Ramsey's daughter. Because I, and it was in the budget. Isn't that funny? Like genuinely, like for our month, we just hadn't given it that month. That's impressive. That actually inspires me. Anytime I'm like, you know what? 25%. That was an outstanding waiter. Rachel did 500%. Goodness gracious. I've got to start waiting tables. But I spiritualized it. I was like, I believe that that was supposed to happen. I'm sure. I would have said the same thing if I was that waiter. Thank you, Jesus. I know. And he was great. You know what? No one's ever gone to jail for over-tipping or being too good of a person. So you should win a Nobel Peace Prize. I will say, weirdly, it was one of the most, and not against the waiter by any means, it was one time that I did think like, okay, that was, it's not that it's irresponsible. Do you know what I'm saying? Is this a weird, funny tension where you're like, it's not irresponsible. Like, why am I feeling bad about this? Yes, but I was like, man, that was, it was too. But you're nothing wrong with what you did. No, but it was so rash in the moment. Like, it was so spontaneous that I do wish, like, if we had gone in and Winston's like, hey or like when we talked about it like hey going in tonight we're gonna like give the rest of our giving for the month to this waiter like if we like had pre-play you know i'm saying like you think through it but when it's so spontaneous and rachel's like in her like i'll do another one uh it's fine wow i don't think any story can top that i was gonna share a story about how i tried to give someone ten dollars and they wouldn't take it and i thought I'm a pretty good person. Yeah, this guy was outside of my house. It was a construction worker working in the house next door. He sees me breaking down these giant furniture boxes. And he walks over and he's like, I'll take, I'll take. And I was like, no, no, no, it's fine. And he helped me take all these boxes over to a dumpster and dump them for me. Oh, my gosh. So that I didn't have to sit there breaking it all down, taking it to the dump. So nice. Yes. So kind. So I ran over. I was like, let me get my water and, you know, $10 just for something. Yeah. And he like stepped away like I was – he was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I felt – I was just like I need to do something for him. Yeah, sure. Yeah. For his kindness. Yes, and giving you a service. So the fact that he wouldn't even take it was like extra kind. You know what I mean? It was almost like, oh, my gosh. Like what a sweet person. Man, it should have been me. It should have been you. I would have given a lot more than $10. She would have had some zeros on that. I'm just kidding. I'm kidding. All right. I'm going to go wait tables at whatever restaurant the cruises are going to as a side hustle. That's never happened. I know. Oh, my gosh. That's beautiful. Okay. That was fun. That was so great. Yeah, and if you guys have a great guilty as charged question, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruz and at George Camel. We love getting them. I've given us some great ones. And if you enjoyed this episode and you have some family time that you're enjoying as well, make sure to check out our episode, Spilling the Financial Tea with Our Better Haves. We talked about it. It's the one with the spouses. So we're going to leave a link for that. Make sure to check it out. and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.