Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel
The Money Strategies That Are NOT Dave Ramsey Approved!
Thu, 06 Mar 2025
📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan. If you’re debt-free but holding onto that Disney credit card, you might be “Ramsey-ish.” In this episode, find out what that means for you and your finances. Next Steps: 🍸 Follow Smart Money Happy Hour on TikTok: @smartmoneyhappyhour 📱 Submit a Guilty As Charged question for Rachel and George! Send a DM to @rachelcruze or @georgekamel on Instagram. Be sure to type “GUILTY?” at the top of your message so we don’t miss it. 📗 Order George Kamel’s new book, Breaking Free From Broke. 📚 Get Rachel Cruze’s Kids Book Bundle. 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app! Connect With Our Sponsors: 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. 🌿 Get up to 40% off with code SMARTMONEY at Cozy Earth. Today’s Happy Hour Special: 🍹 Cranberry Fizz Mocktail Recipe: @holisticrendezvous 1 ounce cranberry juice 1/2 ounce rosemary thyme syrup Top with sparkling water Rosemary sprig (garnish) Ice (cranberry and rosemary) Instructions: Syrup: Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from heat. There should be about 3/4 cup liquid left. Strain and store in the fridge for about a week. Mocktail: Rim a lowball glass with maple syrup (or honey) and coarse sugar and fill with ice. Add all ingredients and top with fresh or frozen whole cranberries and a sprig of rosemary. Explore More From Ramsey Network: 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 💰 George Kamel 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 The EntreLeadership Podcast Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What does it mean to be Ramsey-ish?
Today, we are setting the record straight on what it means to be Ramsey-ish.
I can't get on board with the debt snowball. Highest interest rate first all the way.
Oh, what's so bad about having a credit card if I pay it off every month? I follow all the other rules.
Hey guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.
I'm George Campbell.
And this is Smart Money Happy Hour. Well, this is a 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.
We are setting the record straight on what it means to be Ramsey-ish. And I have feelings, Rachel.
All right, George, before we dive into that and judge everyone, what are we sipping on?
We are sipping on a cranberry fizz mocktail that is, it's really dolled up. Yeah. I think if you like a mocktail, this one's going to impress. So stick around until the end. We're going to give you our rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode.
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Chapter 2: Why is the debt snowball method preferred?
Love it.
But I do have a car loan.
Okay, very confusing. And I've heard that just too often as we take calls on The Ramsey Show. Yeah. And they go, okay, so I'm out of debt. And I'm like, okay, well, I have a car loan. I'm like, well, did you not think the word loan is in it? Maybe it's debt.
Yes.
So there's a lot of Ramsey-ish behavior. How do you sum up what it means to be Ramsey-ish? Or if you're old school, Dave-ish.
Yeah, it's kind of like, oh, yeah, I'm going to follow the Ramsey principles and do money the way Ramsey teaches and talks about.
but I'm gonna have like on the side my own caveats so like I'm gonna do it all but I'm still gonna you know keep a credit card or I'm gonna do it all but I'm still gonna like get some crazy mortgage to make it work for me to be able to get in a house right like I mean like you kind of do it all but they think of it like a buffet it's like I'm gonna take what I want yeah that's a good way of putting it yeah but a couple of things here and there it's like yeah we're just gonna kind of change it up if you will
And I would say Ramsey-ish would be big things, not small things. I don't know. Like, I feel like there's like small things you can do that wouldn't necessarily quote unquote be Ramsey, but it is what it is. But then there's kind of the big stuff, like debt would be one of those big ones, like that kind of thing.
We'll get into it. I'm curious to see how many of our viewers and listeners would consider themselves Ramsey-ish after listening to this episode. So tune along at home and see, oh my gosh, that's me.
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Chapter 3: Is it okay to use credit cards responsibly?
So then I was like, oh, gosh, there's a time and place for that. Baby step 3B to save up for a home down payment. And so if I could go back in time, I would have done it differently.
Okay. Yeah, yeah.
Knowing what I know now.
That's good. I love it. I love it. Well, there's a lot of different scenarios on this topic, George, that we put in that people say, well, I'm doing it, but here's my own way. And I think we should talk about each of those.
Here's my thing that makes me unique and special. Okay, let's hear it, Rachel. George, be nice. That's how it sounds in my head, personally.
Be nice.
Okay.
All right, you ready for this one? First topic. I'm so nervous. I can't get on board with the debt snowball. Highest interest rate first all the way.
Oh, so this is debt avalanche method versus what we recommend, which is the debt snowball method. When you're paying off debt. So you want to focus on the smallest balance instead of the highest interest rate.
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Chapter 4: How to manage your emergency fund while in debt?
And she said, when we cut it up, I realized, oh my gosh, we did actually use it for a little bit more. And then those things were like, oh, yeah, there's just like not this emotional attachment to your money when you're using someone else's money. She's like, we did end up spending more. Like we did. She's like, it's great.
We literally saved more the month we cut up the credit card to when we went to debit.
So here's the experiment. Don't use your credit card for 30 days and then track how much you spent between the months on a normal given month. And you'll be shocked. Because if you're thinking, I'm going to spend 12% more, that's like saying I get 12% cash back on my debit card. That's effectively what you're saving by not using a credit card.
By not doing that. Yep. It's good. All right, next. I know I need to get out of debt, but I'm scared to take my savings all the way down to $1,000. Can I just leave a little extra in my starter emergency fund?
This is a tough one.
Yeah, and this is real.
So baby step one in the Ramsey plan is save $1,000. Once you have that, anything beyond that, any savings, any non-retirement funds you can sell to get out of debt, do it. And that scares people because if they have 10 grand, we would say use 9,000 of that to attack debt, keep 1,000 in the bank. That's scary for people. And they go, Rachel, it's not enough in today's world.
And the retort is it was never enough. It wasn't enough in 1992 when Dave came up with these steps. It was just enough to cover the ankle biter emergencies causing people to fall off the wagon.
Yes. And it's really interesting when you think about it because people want to keep money in savings because they feel like, okay, there's like safety there, but yet I'm going to have all this other debt over here. And if something were to happen to your job, that savings probably won't last you very long anyways, where you're going to have three or four debts that you could have paid off.
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Chapter 5: What should I do about student loans for medical school?
I didn't know. Where have we been in society where we didn't know we could make clothing from bamboo? That's an amazing invention.
I don't know, but it's amazing. And they're giving us an amazing discount too.
Yeah, up to 40% off for our Smart Money Happy Hour listeners if you go to cozyearth.com slash smartmoney or use the promo code smartmoney at checkout. And again, this is one of those things where you go, I'm out of debt. I have the emergency fund. It's okay to buy nice things because you're doing it with cash, with intentionality.
Love it. All right, next, George. I invest about 10% through my company match, but I have about 5% going to crypto. It's fine to have a balance, right?
So here's the take. That might be controversial. People think I hate crypto. I'm not a crypto hater. There's a time and place for it. Most people are not investing 15% into retirement. Instead, they're putting everything they have into crypto because they have all this FOMO. And so if you're investing 15% into retirement and you want to use some of your fund money,
to gamble on crypto or whatever else, a single stock, and it's not a big part of your net worth or your investment portfolio, go for it.
That's right.
Just know it's more volatile.
Yeah.
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Chapter 6: How can I balance investing with debt repayment?
On the blockchain.
The blockchain and everything, yeah. So, listen, if you're going to put your hard-earned money away for savings, for me at least, I'm like, I want to know that it's going to work. And when you invest in the market, you're going to get anywhere, you know, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12% returns. And I'm tired.
In 2024, the S&P 500 returned 24%.
Yes, I know. Some of our funds, when we pulled our stuff, I was like, oh my gosh, it was a great year. Amazing year. So do that 15%. And then, yeah, if there's other things you want to do outside of that, then go and do it. Just make sure you have the money for it.
Good word. I think we settled that. That's good. Yes. Yes. I want to be a doctor, but I can't cash flow an eight-year-long medical education. Is it always bad to take out student loans and pay them off later when I know I'm going to make really good money? I know.
This is a hard one. Medical and law is tough. Law school, medical school.
Because nobody, unless you come from a lot of money, has $300,000 sitting around to cover the cost of education for a lot of these schools.
Yes.
So what do you tell someone as they call the Ramsey show and they go, Rachel, I want to go to med school, don't have 300 grand sitting around?
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Chapter 7: Is it permissible to buy nice things after paying off debt?
This is all you got to do.
And that's what it's going to be. And yeah, and it's tough. And life happens. And we hear those calls too, George, where someone's in the middle of medical school.
Or you might not graduate.
Something happens with their family. Yes. And then they have to drop out. And then they have $100,000.
They don't forgive your loans just because you didn't finish. You still have to pay back every cent.
So it's still a level of risk, even though, yes, you probably will make great money. at the end as you're starting to work and everything.
And you could stair-step it and go, all right, I'm going to become a nurse practitioner and then wait, save up, get some experience, and then go for the MD. So there's other ways to do it. There's a lot of options out there. But just saying, no, whatever, she's going to go for her grand debt and hope for the best, not a great plan.
And I have some family that's in the health field, and that's kind of how it's viewed. It's just sort of like they can't even look at the number. They just go, well, I guess... I'll just die with it. Or I'll just make amazing money, hopefully, and pay it off quick.
And just like, you know, a traditional four-year degree, every school is different. And most people don't care where you went to medical school, right? I mean, I guess if it's like, oh, I went to Harvard Medical, that's like pretty amazing, right? I mean, like, yeah, so there's certain ones that you like actually know and hear about.
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Chapter 8: How do I protect my personal data online?
And if he told you or she told you, you would be like, oh, I've never heard of that.
I'd be like, okay, that's great. Like, I don't know. It's just, it doesn't matter. So the price is going to change, too, depending on the school. So look into that, too.
It's a good word.
Love it. Oh, my turn.
Your turn. Sorry. I don't want to steal.
Sorry. Why pause investing for any reason? It is free money.
Oh, they're talking about the employer match. So we say, hey, if you're getting out of debt, pause investing, focus all of your efforts, every spare dollar you can throw at your debt. And that means bringing investing down to zero for a short time. Again, 18 to 24 months on average.
Yeah, and again, people are like, well, it's free money. But what we've realized is the faster you can get out, then you actually have the margin to go and invest 15% of your income, which is maybe step four.
3%, 4%.
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