Roasting the Latest Financial and Social Fads (Here to Stay?)

The trend pendulum never stops swinging. Today we're unpacking financial and lifestyle fads that we've seen before and we'll probably see again in another 10 years. So that was an investment I did, but I got a deal. It was like a Black Friday. Like get one Aerie. That always worries me. Like I found a coupon though. I know, I know. Whoa, them fighting words. That's a good one. Are they trying to get me in hot water? I can't believe you're putting that poison in your body. hey guys i'm richel cruz i'm george camel and this is smart money happy hour oh that was delicious silky oh my gosh well this is the show where two friends who have any money experts talk about what you're talking about so everything from pop culture current events and money. And let us start by talking about the cocktail we're sipping on. This is a cold brew cocktail. Yes. Giving espresso martini vibes. It's giving like a masculine espresso martini. I like it. We'll stick around till the end of the episode. We're going to give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass. So, George, apparently adults are trading Pokemon cards again. Have you heard the fad? Oh, have I ever? It is happening. The card trading is bad. I don't know what happened i know you know what honestly go back to crypto guys they somehow felt better when it was a little bit more masculine yeah pokemon i mean i used to like do pokemon when i was a child is it pokemon or pokemon i think the technical definitional merriam webster's pronunciation is pokemon pokemon what if i go game on what if i do the theme song in my head da da da pokemon pokemon i used to do the game boy i think pokemon okay just like that yeah i can't do it any better i'm nailing the theme song right now oh my gosh but i used to have the cards i'd play with my friend but we actually played pokemon it wasn't like a collectible thing yeah because they had like powers right that like you could kill one and you get this point or like the little white and red ball i love hearing you explain that was And then I had the Game Boy games. I had the red and the blue. Yes. I think I had red. My friends may have had the blue. Yes. Okay. And then it became video games. So there was like that Pokemon Snapshot game where you find – Pokemon Go. Pokemon Go. Now that became a big thing. It really has staying power. It has. So I'm laughing at the adults, but maybe it's been around longer and continued on longer than I think. Yeah, I don't think it ever died. It just became a hotter commodity where people were buying and selling for more and more money. But like a lot of money. Now people like line up outside of Best Buy. You're like, what is this? It's not even Black Friday. They're lining up for the latest drop of the Pokemon cards, hoping they're going to strike it rich. But the pendulum of fads, it swings. It's like what was popular comes back sometimes. Low rise jeans. Oh, yeah. I was in the Christina Aguilera days. And apparently, according to, well, they're saying it. But you know who I saw recently that had very low rise pants? Who's bringing it back? And I thought, what are you doing, girl? pull your pants up is that frankie girl from um mormon wives who was the bachelorette but then they canceled it yeah yeah and i don't watch mormon i wouldn't say mormon housewives i have housewives the secret lives of mormon wives thank you mormon wives i don't watch that show um but i do watch dancing with the stars when whitney was on so i knew whitney through dancing with the stars and then this whole bachelorette you know stuff which that happened like i don't know a month or two ago anyways she had low rise pants on in one of the videos on instagram and i thought what are you doing what are you doing stop that i wonder if that's a sign don't bring it back you think it's a sign that someone's unwell if they're wearing low-rise jeans and if you're a mother it's yes why why do we need that we don't need them are these are high-rise jeans that you're wearing currently always okay i always have my old lady jeans on yeah you really adopted the trend as soon as gen z told you you're like i'm on it girls you got rid of all of your skinny jeans and And a wide leg. Yeah. Love a wide leg. So no low rise, no skinny. Correct. Wide and high. Wide and high, George. Got it. I can remember that. So we want that for sure. And then on the masculine side, MMA has become really big. It's coming back. Mixed martial arts. I know what it stands for. That's all I know. Oh, I thought. I was thinking of the wrestling. What's the letters that are wrestlers? Are you talking about like the WWE? That's what I was thinking of. Oh, I read MM backwards. I feel like wrestling is now known that it's theater. And people still like it for that. But MMA is like real fighting. Oh, it's the guy that had the Pokemon card around his neck. Logan Paul. Yes. $16 million Pokemon card that he sold. Look, we're connecting all the dots here. I think he did MMA. I know he also boxed. Or is that his brother? They get mixed together as just one toxic human. So I don't ever remember them. So MMA is just, are they punching? I think there's, are they kicking too? There's punching and kicking, I think. because it's mixed martial arts mix the mix part i think is karate with a boxer sure i mean i'll let you pass because i barely know what's the thing that people do this is what i would learn in that world i wouldn't i wouldn't do kickball kickboxing actually it's a great workout not karate what's the thing that people do jiu-jitsu yeah brazilian jiu-jitsu now that well wow why the brazilian why that's i feel like they invented it i don't know i just heard I hear it as like BJJ, like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Maybe it's a type of Jiu-Jitsu that's very popular. I don't know. Jiu-Jitsu. I just like the name of it, and I hear that's the route to go. I could do that because that one's good because I can learn self-defense that way. That's it. If you're like in a street fight, you can like take someone down with their arm. Yes. Or something. Yeah. Because I like that I don't look like a guy that could take you in a fight. Yeah. But if I knew Jiu-Jitsu, they'd be like, we didn't know, man. We didn't know. But you went for the knees. You just like twirled me over his legs and flipped me on my back, and I was done. oh my gosh chokehold how fun would that be how fun would that be that would be super fun as a superpower just to know i could take that i could do it i'd be walking the streets just going yeah i could take that guy i could take that guy yeah you wouldn't worry wouldn't worry about anything um pickleball i could take that guy pickleball is a fun one yeah and it's pickleball is like an like someone's always trying to talk you into joining their pickleball like rec league you You know what I mean? It's a very like, oh, you should come out and play with us sometime. I'm not buying what you're selling, bro. George, we were on a pickleball team together. We were. What a team. You know what? We were an underrated team. All the personalities. We went out for like a half day team building thing. You want to tell them whose idea this retreat was? Not mine. It was Ken Coleman's idea. Oh, yeah, Ken. He's like, we should play pickleball together. The semi-amateur player he is. It was actually pretty fun. But they paired us up together. Yeah. Which at one point I was like, why would y'all put two people together that don't ever play? Well, to be fair, we are – now, you're athletic. You're strong. You're brave. Thank you. But we are some of the least athletic as far as the personalities go. Yeah. You have John Maloney, Jade Warshaw. And Ken, who plays pickleball. And Ken, who's really good at pickleball. Yeah, yeah. We're at the bottom of the list. I can appreciate that. You know what I mean? If this was kickball, I'd be last on the team to be picked. Everything is fair. Everything is fair. We know our strengths. Yeah. We know the value we bring to life. But we got pretty good by the end. I think we did pretty great. We did. Anyways, but pendulum, I think if it goes down, it'll be back in 10 years. So just get ready. So you think pickleball will die out? Mm-hmm. Really? I feel like old people can keep it alive longer than we want them to. No, because if the game where you hit the ball on the wall and you boop, boop, boop, boop, what's that game? Racquetball? Indoor. Yeah. Yeah. If that didn't come, you know, I mean, racquetball's the same thing. Yeah, I don't see a lot of racquetball these days. I do think tennis is coming back because of pickleball. But it's coming back, but racquetball will come back too. Mark my words. Mark my words. Mark my words. I believe you. Thank you. You know what else has come back? Trucker hats. Not on my bingo card. Yes. Oh, my gosh. I got to show you. A lot of the hit girlies on our team wear trucker hats. Yes. And my wife now has a collection of trucker hats. Okay. I'm going to get your wife on a Winston made hats, y'all. And they have like cute little sayings on them. Yes. This is my hat. I got to show you. I sent it to him because I was wearing it. And I was like, babe, I'm totally supporting you. Is it Southern Gentleman? Yeah, it's a Southern Gentleman hat. I need one of those. Oh, wow. Good one, huh? It's a really cool hat, and it's a different look for you. What does that mean, George Camel? I don't know if it's your face that you're making. It may be. But you're not selling it. What? Yeah, I'm going to be honest. Good night, George. There's another me in a hat. That one's better. That one's better. Oh, gosh. I'm sorry. Do you want me to be an honest friend? I'm glad we're not married because when I said that to my husband, he was like, yeah, babe, you're so hot. Unbelievable. You're wearing his podcast. George is like, eh, I don't know. You're wearing his podcast merch. That's every man's dream is for his wife to care about his podcast. That's what he's excited about. But front porch philosopher, Southern Gentleman, and it's a red trucker hat. I love it. Oh, I like that. I do like that podcast. Good guys over there. Oh, my gosh. Anyways, didn't mean to jump on that bandwagon. But I wore a lot of trucker hats when I was a skateboard punk in Boston. That was like real big. We all had trucker hats. Oh, really? Yeah. And we'd have our hair flipping out of the sides. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. A hundred percent. You know. A hundred percent. The early 2000s skater hair. Man. I would think of like a baseball. People wore those baseball. Oh, yeah. Like in their hat. And then they'd take the hat off and it looks like a bull was on their head. Not a good look. That's why you leave the hat on. Yes. But those have really come back for the ladies. I don't know. Van Dutch is a popular brand for trucker hats for some reason. Yep. I like to go a little bit more local, you know? Shop local. Shop local. With your husband's podcast. Really sold them on the merch there. That was fun. Well, trends move a lot quicker now. You know, as soon as they come, they're gone by the time I find out about it. It's true. That's why I don't jump on them. They are quick. I'll miss the boat. Is it the internet, you think? Social media? Because back in the day, you had like your best friend and your hairdresser. Well, now it's like someone can make a TikTok that goes viral that then becomes a trend. But then by the time it reaches the zeitgeist of millennials and Gen X, it's kind of like, oh, it's not really cool anymore. It's been done. It's been done. A lot of the sayings are like that. So I try not to jump on the slang. Yes, the slang. Now, your son, I've heard, is hip to the slang. Oh my gosh, Charles says it all the time. What's his current – I'm cooking. That's what he'll say. I'm cooking. Like he'll shoot basketball in the driveway or something and he makes it like, I'm cooking. Literally. Apostrophe. Cooking. Funniest thing. No, he's not cooking. Well, I said cooking at one point and someone shunned me. It may have been in this room. I don't know. So if he's doing good at his sport in the moment, he's like, oh, mom, I'm cooking. I'm cooking. That's adorable. So funny in kindergarten. I'm like, where did you hear this? Kindergarten. That's great. Oh, God bless. And speaking of TikTok, Rachel, this is taking the world by storm in the sweets world. And that is Dubai chocolate. Have you heard of Dubai chocolate? Maybe. I don't know. It's a style of chocolate. It's got pistachio. It's got some some wheat in there is a little crunch and I want you to try it. I brought you some. Oh my gosh. I'm so on trend. This is probably $100 worth of Dubai chocolate. Wait, are you serious? No, it's not. But it is it is expensive. Like anytime you see it, you're like, oh, you buy it. Target almost anywhere Like if you go to Costco and peruse the chocolate aisle there probably no less than four or five products that are labeled as Dubai style Okay and the Dubai style is the pistachios It's pistachio mixed with the wheat. It's called katafe. In Arabic, it's kanafe. Katafe. Yeah. Sure. Which is like a wheat, it's like flour, sugar. I always forget you speak Arabic. Starch. Katafe. Isn't that weird? I'm teaching my daughter. Still crazy. Because my parents got her a little Arabic book. Give us a sentence. I mean, that is just the craziest. It's really fun. So I'm teaching Mia little words. Like, beteekh is watermelon. Oh, yes. So I'm trying to get her to say the h. So I'm like, but? And she's like, but? Teeekh. She's like, teeekh. It's so cute. So good. So good. Oh, wow. Look at the packaging is gorgeous. All right. Is that the only thing in that box where you just pulled out? Is there another one in there? This is it. I mean, it's a big old boy. Let me see how it's a... Big old boy. How do I? I have Roy D. Mercer. Has anyone ever listened to Roy D. Mercer? Oh, wow. This little canna. Get a load of this. Oh, my gosh. All right. Take a big old bite. Okay, and if you knew me, you would know sweets are not my thing. Yeah. If this was a tortilla chip... You're salty. I would be excited. You're a salty person. I am. I'm not a big chocolate fan. I mean, chocolate's fine. But okay. Oh, I don't think she's a pistachio girly either. But let it cook. It's cooking. The face is... We're going south now. I'm going to say... You've offended all of Dubai. this is their their national pastime and also this was made in new jersey so i apologize distributed it's really rich not for you okay well this is this is why some trends they don't hit okay does all is that what it looks like every or is that the style it's the style i don't think they all look like that they all come in a chocolate bar like a Starbucks now has a Dubai latte. So everyone's got it. I'm going to toss this over to you. The team can enjoy this. Yeah, just cut off what I ate. Rachel doesn't have the palate for this quite yet. We'll get you there. Just a little too. You know what? We can auction it off for charity and say, this is the Dubai chocolate bar Rachel took a bite of. Yeah. So Rachel, overall take on the Dubai chocolate fad. Yeah or no? If it was thinner, I could get on board. But, yeah. It's an A for you. Yeah. All right. That's fine. How about you? Well, you didn't have it, but. I like the style of it because I'm a big pistachio fan. Mm-hmm. That's big in the Middle East especially. Pistachio is a very common food. Yes. Very nut. Yes. Nut to have in desserts. Okay. All right. Moving on. Next fad, stock market panic. Classic. That's a fun fad. Always. You know, there's always one. You know, especially during a presidency, you're going to get something, right? This one was some tariffs. Oh, yeah. Made the stock market dip. Iran, the war, dip. Barrel of gas goes to 116. You're like, that's going to cause the markets to get shaky. You see it, and people panic. They freak out, and then sometimes the fad is like, okay, just get out of the market. Everything's going to collapse. The world is ending, and just everyone take your money out. And it's like, no, no, no, no. Stay in. Ride it out. It's going to dip. It's going to come back. Everything's going to be fine over the long haul. But, man, people love a panic. They love to freak out. They love to see the little red down arrow on the news going, oh my gosh, the Dow is down. We don't like that. But here's my life hack. Only look at your investment account when the market's up. I'm a glass half full kind of guy. Look at you, all positive. What's the point of looking at what's down? Yeah, yeah, 100%. I lost thousands of dollars on paper. Well, don't pull the money out. And keep buying. It's on sale. Yes. If that mutual fund was trading at $100, now it's at $85, it's 15% off. 100%. Congratulations. And it's going to be back to record highs within a year or two or three, as it always does. Before you know it. All right. So I'm not a fan of that fad. Yeah, me neither. Let's don't panic. Let's ride it out, y'all. Ride the roller coaster. It's going to be fine. We promise. And you're not taking all your money out, even if you're in retirement. You're not doing it all at once. Yeah, yeah. It's just a little bit. Try to avoid dipping into your retirement accounts as much as you can, and it's good to have some cash reserves if you're in that phase of life so that you're not selling when it's down. All right. Next up, George, health and wellness. Oh, man. You got your canola oil, your cold plunges. Oh, yeah. Your saunas. I thought we were anti-canola. No seed oils. We're anti-seed oils these days. Yeah, everyone loves a canola oil, right? No, canola bad. Oh, sorry, bad. What am I talking about? Canola is – you might as well just – Clog those pipes. What is a canola? Can I ask that? It's like a vegetable oil. Okay. I think they just relabeled it. I don't know. Someone's going to come at me in the comments. Because we have vegetable oil that we use. Not good. With like mixes. Like if you do like a cake mix or something, you have to have like a half a cup of vegetable oil. It would be preferable by the health and wellness world if you would use a cleaner oil. That's stupid. Avocado perhaps. Gross. Gross? You're going to have the coconut oil. No, definitely not coconut oil. You taste it. I cooked coconut oil for a bit. You taste it. Well, cook it with something sweet, and it's not that overpowering. It adds a nice flavor. I just think, you know. Olive oil. Again, that olive oil has some flavor to it. This is grim. This is grim. But I think we're all going to be in the ground at some point, George. So might as well crack open that bucket of Crisco. Might as well be tan and feel good. You know? Wow. Be in the sun. have a sippy sippy of have a sippy sippy and be in the sun just rachel is your enjoy your life you're like a d influencer for the health and wellness okay and i you know and and i eat broccoli and brussels sprouts like whatever like we do it it's fine but like also people i just i think it stresses i think the stress that people take on who are obsessed with this world yeah i I think does more harm than good. I believe that. I think you can just sleep great. Because then you meet a grandma who's like 98 and she lives off of Diet Dr. Peppers. She's smoking with a martini and you're like, oh my gosh. Dr. Pepper for breakfast. 100%. And she's thriving. She's rocking. Rocking it. Yeah. So there you go. People are going to be mad at me. Some of these other ones you have fallen for though. Cold plunges. Asana perhaps. Okay, I do love Asana. That is one of my favorites. You gave up the cold plunge. Yeah, I gave up the cold plunge. I read that it's actually not good for women. It actually ages you. wow reverse effect you're looking for yep and so there's not enough um science behind it you know who else told me our good friend arthur brooks oh that's right the science is conflicting on cold plunges and i thought i like you i like you arthur conflicting science of what you're looking for yeah you want i want i want a hundred percent like this is the best thing for you sauna and everything you read about a sauna good the data is out there i'm gonna detox my vegetable oil out of my system and let that canola oil through the skin be gone wow that's life balance oh my gosh yes that's life balance right there do a little sauna and enjoy your life so my overall take with health and wellness is you're very healthy y'all are very crunchy well i just go like i think the mediterranean diet is sort of like try it and true yes eat whole foods get your fruits and veggies in a good complex carb you're gonna be fine i don't do a lot of liquid calories either you know so i think that helps but i wouldn't say i'm a picture of health but my blood work came back spectacular wonderful after doing nothing for years except kind of trying not to eat terribly yeah mine came back great too i did like a women's panel oh yeah blood test and it was like 25 things a plus pretty uh pretty average down the center and i just thought all right i'll keep doing what i've been doing that's all you need just a little like a little something here a little something there but worked out get your steps in eat some chicken and broccoli you'll be good oh that's not that's like the every health bro that's all they do is they meal prep just no flavor chicken broccoli i didn't say no flavor get you some greek seasoning it just reminded me of that that's all they eat and you just shuddered like i just can't stand when it's like just get your protein in it's just at all costs just eat the most depressing meal oh yeah get your protein in it just life is too short add some hummus hummus hummus does that come from a seed no chickpeas chickpeas garbanzo beans if you want to get okay so more of a bean than a seed yeah learning a lot it's a bean dip basically think about it that way oh yes so winston's doing the keto diet he can't have beans so that mean he can't have hummus no legumes what yeah I'm sorry. I didn't know it was going to freeze your brain with the word legume. I don't know what a lagoon is. What's a lagoon? It's the bean family. Oh, yeah. Sounds like a 90s insult. You lagoon. You lagoon. You lagoon. Laguma Beach. There we go. That's a spinoff. Oh, God bless. Starring beans. Wow. Oh, man. Well, while you're looking up all your recipes for your chicken and broccoli, right? No recipe needed. Just don't fill out a ton of forms because if you do, you're going to need to delete me. Because every form you fill out online is what it feels like, that these companies sell your data, data brokers then collect that data, package it, and then sell it off to other companies. So gross. Yeah. So then you get spam texts and calls and weird emails, and they know your address, your kids' names, like all of it. It's really scary. And there's more out there than you think. And you can even try searching this for yourself, and you'll be shocked at how much is just out there. And I didn't put that – how do they know my past address and my family's info? And that's why I love Delete Me. They'll scour these data broker sites, hundreds of them, remove your info, send you a report on a silver platter showing you what they've done, how much time they've saved you. All right there. And it's a team of actual people going in. Real privacy experts behind the scenes. And removing your data. And they go back and they relook because it's so easy for that stuff to get duplicated. So go to jointheliteme.com slash smart money, and it's up to 20% off annual plans. It comes out to around $9 a month. That's a deal. Well worth it. I've saved like 160 hours, they told me. I have time. It would have taken me to go do all that. So good. Well worth it. We'll drop a link in the description as well. All right. Next up is the gold rush. Oh, it's back. There's like gold bros out there. You know those like Pokemon bros and crypto bros? There is precious metal bros. And they love it. Yep. They love to be like, you guys are wrong. Yes. I got gold. I got gold. Relax, you little leprechauns. I got gold. Where the gold at? Yeah, well, March. If you know, you know. Yes, if you know, you know. Oh, my gosh. Okay well as of March of 2026 gold was sitting at a value more than per ounce more than a 60 increase from just a year prior So it has gone up And there usually a correlation with gold in the market that you see when fear goes up because the market going down sorry fear goes up gold goes up yes correlations thumbs up thumbs down yeah but both up but with that both are not if you're listening on podcasts you're just very confused as to what's happening rachel just getting her directions all confused. Yes, but when people get spooked, they go out and buy a bunch of gold thinking it's going to save them and it's going to be a hedge against the stock market collapsing. Yes, but I don't buy anything based on fear. Like it's just a fear based commodity. It's usually kind of peddled in the fear mongering space of everybody go buy gold and silver right now because in the apocalypse, that's where we're all going to be bartering. It's not worth it. And yes, on paper, you could say, well, it's up 60% compared to the stock market, but it will eventually go back down. And what are you going to do? Just hoard a bunch of gold? Yeah. Well, I don't think it's even 60 percent from the stock market, is it? I think it was just from the prior – from the prior year. Yeah, value of what it was. But they're going, you can't get that in the stock market, 60 percent up. You know what I mean? Yeah, and then it's going to go back down. So trade instability often follows the geopolitical instability. So U.S. threatens Greenland. Gold is going to go up. European countries send military support there. Gold goes up. Trump threatens tariffs on eight countries. So all of this affects the prices of precious metals, but I personally don't own any. If you want to do it for fun and make it a small part of your net worth, like less than 5%, go for it. But I would not trade investing in the stock market to go buy a bunch of gold. No, not at all. So as far as fads go, I'm out on precious metals. Yeah, not for an investment. I mean, you own a lot of fake precious metals from Amazon. You're wearing it right now. I do. Lots of fake. Lots of fake gold. That's all you need. Yeah, all fake. It would be scary. But who cares? Maybe I can trade this little bracelet for some bread if the world collapses. I'm like, please. I think they can tell it's fake pretty quickly. Give me all this discolored. What do you mean? What do you mean? No, it's real. I promise. It's real. It's real. Give me some bread. Give the lady some bread. We won't be doing that. Okay, how about here's a fad, not money related. The no contact boundary setting. Oh, this is a good one. There's kind of a new thing relationally that people are like, my parents, my family, we don't agree. We don't see life the same and they're just toxic and I just have to get them out of my life. And they're like shutting off their family like on the reg. I think this started during COVID. That's my hot take. Yes. Is that's when things got extra heated. Because you're like, we got a social distance. No, we don't. You need a mask. No, you don't. Did you get the vaccine? Did you not? Then you're not coming for Christmas. And your politics are wrong. And so all of that caused a lot of no contact boundary setting or LC, low contact. Give you a new acronym there. Low contact. Yeah, low contact is like I'm going to try to avoid contacting. But it's not like a you can't reach me. I blocked your number. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's different. I know. But I think – I don't agree with my relatives and family on everything. And I just try to – like why go to that conversation when you see them? Out of all the things you could talk about. Yeah, talk about anything in life. Yes. That's your own poison right there. Unless they're like super passionate about it and that's what they're going to talk about. Well, the problem is they bring it up. Then you have to take the high road and go, hey, we're not going to do this. And I just imagine some crazy girl at Easter lunch talking about the newest conspiracy she read about. Is that you? But I don't know. I'm guessing your family shuts that down. I don't think they're entertained by it anymore. Because you are the crazy one in the family. They think I'm crazy. They're all very logical people. Yeah. Like Daniel. That's why you got to kind of stir it up a little, George. Denise never wants to stir anything up. Yeah, you got to stir a little something up. That's the Dave Ramsey in the DNA. Just say, we didn't walk on the moon in 1969. And then they're, blah, blah, blah. but without Rachel at the dinner table would it even be fun fun no and they wouldn't know all the stuff man is Selena Gomez really her we don't know we don't know listen where do you we can go I know I know I wouldn't even know where to search on the internet no it's on Instagram I get into an I get into a conspiracy reel and then the algorithm goes oh we know the type says oh this is what she likes and then it starts feeding me more and here's the thing George I've I've realized out myself I can be convinced kind of easily. I have like my core convictions about life and like what I do believe. Would you say it's like you're gullible? But I have other things that I'm like someone really could. Or you're just open-minded. They could really talk me into one way or the other. If they're persuasive. 100%. Okay, so a logical persuasive. But they have some evidence about something. I'm like, all right, I can get on board with that. I can get on board with that. Wow. And now you've become that person. I'm convincing other people. It's contagious. I know. You're welcome. Because once you've been convinced, you're like, everyone needs to know about this. Yes, that's what I'm saying. You can just fall off the earth, guys. That's what I'm saying. You're like, they could just talk about something else, and they could, but also. But that's what's on your mind constantly. If they're very passionate about something, you're like, listen, I want you all to know. Antarctica ain't what it seems. What's going on in Antarctica? Oh, we don't have time, George. You got tea on that? All right. But if I was on Antarctica, I'd want to be warm and cozy, and I would hope my cozy earth blanket was with me. Take it with you. That's for sure. Pack that, bad boy. Pack that. Yeah, that's like a freaking Eskimo suit. You just wrap yourself in the warmth of wonderfulness, and you're good to go. Because Cozy Earth products, they keep you warm, and even in the summer. Keep you cool. Keep you cool. Because they use this viscose from bamboo material. Yes, and it allows it to breathe if it needs to. It traps the heat if it needs to. It's crazy. I don't know how they do it. I don't either. The sheets, the joggers, the athleisure, the sleep sets, all of it. If I'm cold, I swear it keeps me warm. But then if I wear it like walking the kids to school in the morning and I'm like, oh, it's kind of hot out here. It's cool. I don't know. Science. If you still believe in that, Rachel, I think that's how they do it. But it's great. Everything there. If you want to upgrade your life, you want a little taste of luxury meets affordability, they got a 10-year warranty on their bedding, 100-night sleep trial. It's all incredible. And you can get up to 20% off at CozyEarth.com slash smart money and use code smart money at checkout. And if you get the post-purchase survey, which I think you will, be sure to let Cozy Earth know that Smart Money Happy Hour sent you. All right. Next up, George, everything is bettable. Oh, that's exhausting. Man. Why? Why can't we just enjoy things and not have to put money on it? So during March Madness, I was reading like an article about a game, the Tennessee game against Michigan, which was very important. Guessing didn't go well by the look on your face. Very unfortunate. Terrible, actually. I could have guessed that, though. No, but sometimes there's the upsets. You know, UConn and Duke. Not with Tennessee. Tennessee, Michigan, even I know. Well, that's what I'm saying. March Madness, there's always the upsets. Like, this could have been an upset. Okay. And they were a really good team, George. They actually played very well. Why am I defending them? They lost really bad. Anyways, but there was an entire article, and it was like section after section. And I started reading, and I was like, oh, this is interesting. and then halfway through I was like, I can't, about all the betting. Have you bet on this, you know, whatever spread here and then this and then how you know here and then the Vegas odds are here. I mean it was so much info about it. I thought, oh, my gosh, people are reading this. Like this is like they're sucked in. Oh, yeah. It's crazy. So, yeah. Well, when there's money on it, you're glued to it. And so they love it as far as advertising goes because they know you're going to watch the game if you start betting on it. So Polymarket, Kalshi, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, all of these companies are cashing in by making you think you could win. It's just the lottery but kind of socialize with your hobbies and things you love, which is sports. But now it's like is Trump going to burp today and you can – there's a $200 million pool of yes or no. Like it's crazy. Yes. You can bet on anything in life. It's insane. Yes. Let's say focus people. Who's going to get married on love is blind? You can bet on that. So it's gotten out of control. and I think it, sadly, this is real talk, it's going to lead to addictive behaviors, gambling in other areas, and people are going to lose big money. It's going to hurt relationships. That's not a guess on my part. That's just what's happening and what will continue to happen. Well, and the trend is showing that. Like data is coming out. Yes, like the rate of people who gamble, the amount of money they are, the frequency at which they're gambling, it's just continuing to increase. And because it's apps, they'll lure you back in saying, hey, have a free bet on us. Well, that's the hard thing, too. If you lose money, you're like, okay, crap. How do I make that back? You're like, well, maybe I'll just bet a little bit more and try to win it back. I'll double down. It's going to be different this time. It's a spiral. It's an absolute spiral. Aye, aye, aye. All right. Next up is, oh, cosmetic procedures. Dun, dun, dun. So there's, I guess, the fads. People are actually removing filler, though. That's a fad happening. Oh. Is that like getting rid of a tattoo? People, I guess so. You get the filler or you take it out? Get the filler and the lip filler, cheek, all of that. and a lot of celebs are apparently removing those. Man, all the treatments, laser care, all of it. What do you think I should get done? You don't have hooded lids because I can see your eyelid right now, so you're good. Maybe a chin implant? Oh, you could have a little bit. I could use a better jawline. We can all agree on that. Go a little bit further out. Yeah, George, sure. I don't have a lot of neck. Can I extend my neck too? I guess. Is that a thing? Go up with the neck? That would be a sad procedure. The one that's really sad is the height surgery. Height? Yeah. They literally break your legs and then add to it. No. Yeah. No. It's a thing. No way. It's a real thing. Don't do it, George. I never said I was. Don't do it. But if there was a way to do it without having to break both of my legs. Terrible. I would consider it. You know the one that's kind of going out that people were all in? What's that? Veneers. Oh. People were getting those just like perfect veneers. Yeah, and everyone can tell? Yes, and people are going back to more natural-looking teeth. Wow. Do people accuse you of having veneers? I don't know. I don't know. Check the comment section. What are they saying? No. But I do think it's become more normalized. Did you know that? Really? Never had braces. That's impressive. Did anyone in your family have braces? My mom didn't, and I want to say dad didn't either. Denise and Daniel did, though, but I did not. I know. You are highly favored. I'm not crazy. That's good. Well, these smaller procedures now, they feel more affordable. and people are putting it around payment plans and so they go i could afford that it used to just be for celebrities and athletes right you are right rich people now it's like well i could afford 500 yeah the med spa down the street's doing this and this and we can do it yeah and you can afford one if not two three four five six and do it over time yes and so these are popping up i've noticed these sort of they're not like hospitals they're not surgical centers they're just little offices yeah a little med spa yeah 100 casual you're going to target let's stop by of the old med spa okay you know one thing i did uh the ladies will appreciate this and it was worth the investment time and money laser hair removal oh y'all game changer legs armpit all of it it's it is fantastic how many times you have to do it you have to go eight times six that's how they get you it's a it's a it is a consistent thing but but then it works forever my gosh yes so that was an investment I did, but I got a deal. It was like a black Friday, like get one area. That always worries me. Like I found a group on though. I know, but it was at a local like plastic surgery center that was doing it. So I trusted him. I figure it's not that expensive for them. I think a lot of these are high margin procedures. I think so too. That why they can do some like yeah big discounts Yeah Would you ever do that for like your neck or something You know what I do hate shaving the neck to keep that clean talks about that i would consider that because never in my life am i gonna be like man i just wish i had more hair on my neck gosh i miss those days you're not gonna miss it you're not gonna miss it okay so the fad i'm gonna go like i'm okay with this fad to an extent yeah right the beauty treatments i think it's easy to go overboard because once you get a little it's kind of like tattoos where you get two and you're like well why not get a sleeve why not get another one and then all of a sudden unlike tattoos it's a slippery slope you look like you got stung by bees yeah so keep your keep your face ladies oh you know where i love to keep my money is a safe place george and barry wins credit union spot on that's my safe place for sure yes and it's a safe place because not only the people behind it that are actually running it they are amazing people but the system at which you're putting your money And it is a place that wants you to win with your money and to have any level of a banking institution to be for you with your money. That's amazing. That's rare. Because usually they're trying to make so much money off of you through debt and fees and all of this. Yes. But Fairwinds came in and like, hey, we want to like be pro the Ramsey plan. And so we love them for it. This is true. Their CEO watched my YouTube video on travel hacks. And I said, hey, don't make sure you're not getting charged international fees. and he looked into it and he said, hey, are we doing that? And they said, yeah. And he said, let's get rid of international fees on our Fairwinds debit card. And they did it from watching my video. And so they truly want the best experience for their fans. They have a great high yield savings account. One of the top questions we get, where should I store my money so it can make some money? And you can have up to 10 different savings accounts in there for all the different savings goals in your life. So check it out with their smart bundle, no fee checking, high yield savings, and the Ramsey branded Dead as Normal Be Weird debit card. Go to fairwinds.org slash Ramsey or click the link in the description. Okay, George. Wow. What do we think about these fads? It's exhausting. I feel like a lot of them are negative, you know? Yeah. Something's like really popular. I mean, besides pickleball, but like if something's really popular right now, there's a little bit of me that's like a little bit. Well, if I had to sum it up, like what's behind each one, right? Yeah. If we go back through, you kind of realize you got Dubai chocolate. That one I feel like is a harmless one. All right. A food fad. I'm fine with that. Sure. But then stock market panic. Yeah. That's not good. People are going to lose a lot of money. Health and wellness. There's a lot of toxic negativity of like, if you don't do it my way. I mean, I posted just a bag of these like Girl Scout, like granola cookies. Yeah. And just granola that kind of mimics the flavor of their coconut caramel cookie. And people were like, I can't believe you're putting that poison in your body. I'm like, I'm not a health influencer. Totally like this is not my job. This lady straight up said that to me. And I was like, people need to relax a little bit. Yes. I'm not hurting myself. I'm not the problem. Yeah. Okay. If you've seen me in real life, I'm doing okay. You're doing great. I'm not thriving. Rhonda, calm down. Rhonda. I'm not going to be on my 600-pound life anytime soon. Yes. So don't at me, Debbie. So health and wellness, there's some toxicity there. There's some vanity there. But overall – I think motivated in a good way though, trying to keep us healthy. People want to look better, feel better. And live longer, not be as sick. And then you've got Pokemon and Gold Rush. That feels a little bit get-rich-quick. Yep. Fear-based. There's a lot of hype around that. No contact boundary setting, I feel like, is a good mode of gone too far. Yes, that's true. You're trying to do a healthy thing in an unhealthy way. Yes. And then everything's bettable. Again, get rich quick, gambling, addiction, a lot of that happening there. So overall, not great. Not great. State of America, we'll see. Give it a C- right now. Oh, man. But if you do have questions about your money in specific situation, whether it is about the gold rush or sports betting, whatever your question is, you can go to Ask Ramsey. And this is actually pretty amazing because it's an AI tool that we have now that you can put in your specific question and it will give you an answer just like you call the Ramsey show. I do love that. Yeah, so check it out. No fads here. And that's what I love about Ramsey that I think we don't talk about enough is the principles and the values have stayed the same. Consistent. You go back and – It's not a fad. It is what it is. Find a video of Dave Ramsey from 1995 and you're like, he's saying the exact same things he says now. He believes it and he's stuck with it. I think that's actually such a pro in today's world. Yes. Where everything's constantly changing and evolving. You've got to keep up. Just follow the plan. Live on less than you make. Stay out of debt. Build wealth for the future. Don't fall for the traps and the hype and the trends. You're going to be okay. Love it. Okay, before we spill the tea in our Guilty as Charged segment, George, tell us what we're sipping on. What's in it? We're sipping on a cold brew cocktail that is made up of vodka, simple syrup, coffee liqueur, cold brew, heavy cream, and caramel sauce. Okay. Or caramel sauce if you're Rachel. I'm a caramel, not a caramel. I'm from Boston. Caramel. What's your ranking? I like it. 9.5? Whoa. That's higher than I thought you would. Like I would have that if someone was like, hey. Would you choose it over an espresso martini? That's exactly what I was just thinking. I know. An espresso feels more lighter. This is heavier. The heavy cream kind of sits on the top. Yes. I think that's probably what's messing with you. It just feels, I don't know. The viscosity is a little thicker than an espresso martini. Yeah, because it's a cold brew versus just an espresso shot. Yeah. You know what I mean? So it's kind of like a black coffee versus an Americano. Yeah, because the ingredients are very similar to an espresso martini. Yes, yes. But it's just kind of packaged differently. I'm going to go, I'll go 7.5 out of 10. Okay. I like a stronger coffee feel. And this one's more like a vodka latte, if you will. That's what we should have called it. The vodka latte. But it's good. It's so good. I'm not really a fan of vodka drinks in general. But this one, I think it makes sense to have the vodka just kind of be a clean, let the other flavors shine through. Yep. And it comes out to $2.49 if you want to make it at home. Not too bad. That's cheaper than anything you'll get at Starbucks. And it has alcohol in it. Pretty crazy. There you go, kids. I really sold you on that one. Cheaper on all fronts. Cheaper than a Frappuccino. So get the recipe in the show notes. Give it a try this weekend if you're of age. If not, just make a latte. Make a latte. Honestly, kids shouldn't be drinking caffeine. Make a cold brew. No, not the kids. You're drinking chocolate milk. Yeah. I think you should be at least, what, 16, 17 where you're drinking coffee? I think you should be that age to drink anything from Starbucks because it's all sugar bombs. Sugar bombs. Like what these kids are drinking. It's 50, 60 grams of sugar. Those pink drinks. speaking of toxic health and wellness that's the i'll stand on that it's crazy i'll stand on that you get a venti whatever it's just pump after pump after pump in there there was a uh i saw an instagram reel of a dunkin donuts yeah and the sugar it's like it shows you how much sugar is actually in there i was like oh my gosh yeah that that's okay you know what i'll take my canola oil which I don't really use, but vegetable oil, with my water. I drink water. Literally. I don't drink. I really don't drink. Let her live. I don't drink. I don't drink. I mean, I will drink coffee. I have never seen you have a soda. I really don't drink soda. Do you have a Diet Coke every now and then or something? Yeah, sure. Yeah. Okay. But like, I don't crave it. That's not my thing. Yeah. So like when you said you don't drink your calories. But to be fair, I've never seen you drink water either. What? I do. I drink water. but also to be fair I only have a drink with you where we're having a cocktail that's true it's usually something there I don't know what you do in the privacy of your own home yeah but I don't drink all those sugary drinks I don't do Starbucks I don't do any of that that's true so you know what give me a half a cup of vegetable oil and a brownie mix gosh sue me okay just justify myself never seen someone just like throw canola my mother is going to be listening to this and like Rachel oh Sharon Ramsey would definitely be like Rachel she's like you need activated charcoal if your stomach hurts. And I'm like, I'll just take Advil. Terrible. Am I going to be okay? I'm going to be okay. You shouldn't be. If you're asking me, you will not be okay. I'm not a doctor. Oh my gosh. I lift weights. That helps. Right? Yeah, I could say that. Factually. Okay, now it's time for Guilty as Charged. And this is where we ask each other our Guilty as Charged question every week. And if we're guilty we take a sip all right george the question is this came actually from instagram from lorena have you ever heard an argument on the ramsey show or online that made you second guess a baby step whoa them fighting words that's a good one are they trying to get me in hot water i know it's okay dave will be okay an argument that made me second guess it to where it was like should we update this step is that kind of thing i guess i just yeah second guess a baby step okay how about you got one i have one coming to mind yes okay i think it's i think the the baby step one thousand dollar emergency fund i understand why we do that because you need money in a short amount of time and like 40 of americans can't cover a thousand dollar emergency in cash so like to get a thousand dollars for a lot of people is like a big life changing in general and you want to do it quick in order to start paying off debt so there's a balance but i could see if you got small kids you have one income earner in the house all of that that feels very in state like it doesn't like the instability feels big to just have a thousand dollars um so i could and then someone loses a job you're like oh my god like i get how that feels very uncomfortable yeah so that one i could see someone being like that's not enough and i wouldn't teach it differently because i think the pros of doing it that way are greater um as you're getting out of debt, but I get it. I get it. That's a good one. If I, I mean, I'm trying to think of the arguments I've seen on the show with like debt avalanche versus snowball and have more than six months. Would you be the pause retirement while getting out of debt? That would be a good one. I understand people's hesitation when they're getting like an employer match, for example, and we say, Hey, go down to 0% investing to put all of the focus towards that payoff as fast as possible. And they go, why would I give up my 4% match? So as I'm like a math nerd, I get that. And so I connect with – I empathize with them. Totally. Going like why would I give up 100% return for 4%? Right. Like you'll get out of debt a little slower, but you'll get this return and you guys talk about compound growth and starting early. So that one is a harder one for me because I get it, but I also know it's so much more than math. Totally. And I realize that now on the other side of all this. The people that struggle the most with the baby steps are the ones that are so focused on the mathematics. Yes. And on what happens on paper. Every little thing, yes. And I forgot how much is emotional and behavioral about money. So that would be the one I understand. Yeah. That was a good call. Get it. Well, there you go, y'all. Look at us going rogue. Well, if you have a guilty as charged question, make sure to DM us at Rachel Cruiser at George Camel because we see them. We use them and we thank you. You are seen and you are loved. Yes. Well, if you enjoyed this episode, then you are going to love our episode ranking the worst financial habits and admitting our guilt. So we will link that for you. and make sure to subscribe to the channel so you don't miss an all-new episode of Smart Money Happy Hour.