’90s Status Symbols That Screamed β€œWe’re Rich!”

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Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel 41 min 2 speakers 5 chapters transcribed
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What nostalgic items are discussed as ’90s status symbols?

George Kamel 0:05
Today we're talking lava lamps, water beds, and other signs of extreme wealth in the 90s.
Rachel Cruze 0:11
A 64-pack of Crayola crayons with the sharpener built into the box.
George Kamel 0:15
Are you kidding me? The name brand Crayola with the sharpener? Lunchables. People gathered around to watch you assemble that pizza.
Rachel Cruze 0:28
Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.
George Kamel 0:30
I'm George Camel.

What drink do Rachel and George enjoy during the episode?

Rachel Cruze 0:31
And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about. Everything from pop culture, current events, and money.
George Kamel 0:46
And before we get to the 90s, let's talk about right now what we're sipping on. This is a coconut mojito mocktail.
Rachel Cruze 0:52
Yeah, it's delicious.
George Kamel 0:52
We're going to give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode. So stick around if you want to learn more.
Rachel Cruze 0:58
So George, I feel like we could probably list a hundred different things today. in life in the 90s that makes you think like, oh my gosh, that family was so rich. But now looking back, you're like, okay, it didn't even cost that much. But we thought like, oh yeah, they must be rich because of fill in the blank.
George Kamel 1:14
What's the first thing you think of?
Rachel Cruze 1:17
A fridge in the garage. If you had a refrigerator in the garage, so it was like for drinks.
George Kamel 1:23
You were doing real well. I can think of the friend. And they not only had a drink fridge in the garage, lived in a cul-de-sac. And I thought, oh my gosh, who can afford to live in a... It just ends?
Rachel Cruze 1:34
In a cul-de-sac.
George Kamel 1:35
The privacy.

How do Rachel and George assess the value of ’90s items today?

Rachel Cruze 1:35
You're there. You know what? My friend had a driveway that was a circle. You could pull in one end and it connected to the other. It wasn't a straight one. Who has the time? And she had the garage fridge.
George Kamel 1:47
That's how you know.
Rachel Cruze 1:48
I'm looking at you, Kate. That's right. Shout out to Kate. Exactly. And she had the cool tube socks in the sixth grade.
George Kamel 1:55
There was cool tube socks?
Rachel Cruze 1:56
The socks that were up, and then you just crinkled them a little bit up at the top. Oh, that was the thing.
George Kamel 2:02
Missed that trend.
Rachel Cruze 2:03
And you know what? It's kind of back.
George Kamel 2:04
Is it?
Rachel Cruze 2:04
It's a little lower for the Gen Z-ers, but they're here.
George Kamel 2:07
Oh, yeah. I don't know what's going on with Gen Z and the tube socks, but it's a lot.
Rachel Cruze 2:10
Have you done it yet? No, no, you haven't.
George Kamel 2:12
I'm still showing a little ankle.
Rachel Cruze 2:14
I see that.
George Kamel 2:15
Hey, these people are paying good money for this show.
Rachel Cruze 2:17
I haven't done it. The socks? Okay.
George Kamel 2:24
Otherwise, no need to show that off.
Rachel Cruze 2:26
Yeah, we don't need to see a sock.
George Kamel 2:28
No, I'm fine. I still wear skinny jeans, so I'm out on all the trends.
Rachel Cruze 2:31
That's good. That's good.
George Kamel 2:32
Well, we could go through the list, but we're going to put the theory to the test and play a little game. So we have a list of throwback status symbols, and our team looked up how much each of them cost today.
Rachel Cruze 2:42
Oh, good.
George Kamel 2:42
So we're going to guess the current price, reminisce a little bit, and give each one a yes or no based on if we would pay today's price to scratch that nostalgic spending itch.
Rachel Cruze 2:50
Oh, that's a fun one. Okay. I love it.
George Kamel 2:52
And you have to play along at home.
Rachel Cruze 2:54
For sure.
George Kamel 2:54
Encourage the viewers and listeners.
Rachel Cruze 2:56
And let me put a little asterisk that I think some of these items, possibly, I haven't looked at the full list, but some of these items may have been more expensive before. Back in the 90s, right? From like an inflation standpoint. And they've gotten cheaper because they... Technology. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because they're more available, if you will, right? Okay.
George Kamel 3:15
Let's start with the home category.

What were common household symbols of wealth in the ’90s?

Rachel Cruze 3:17
Oh my gosh, the trampoline. That's a big one. We got one when I was in the fourth grade. And no net. Nets didn't exist then.
George Kamel 3:24
Oh, like the net that goes around the sides? Yeah, no, we didn't have those. That did feel like ultra luxury. It was like, wow, all right, you get it.
Rachel Cruze 3:29
I don't think we knew people that had those. Those didn't come until like, I was like later high school.
George Kamel 3:33
It was like a safety thing. That was 2000s.
Rachel Cruze 3:36
Yeah, so I'm talking like straight up 96. And I sprained my arm on the trampoline. I did a flip off of the trampoline.
George Kamel 3:43
You what?
Rachel Cruze 3:43
Sprained.
George Kamel 3:44
Oh, sprained. I think you said sprang.
Rachel Cruze 3:46
Oh, man. I sprained my arm.

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