Extreme Makeover: Personal Finance Edition

George Camel
What's up, guys? This episode is brought to you by our favorite budgeting app, everydollar. Rachel and I love everydollar because it is the easiest way to take control of your money, build the right habits, and make progress on your goals. You can download it for free on the app store or Google Play today.

Rachel Cruz
Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz. I'm George Camel, and this is smart money happy hour.

George Camel
And that'll put some hair on your chest. Oh, my gosh. Wow. This does look like a tree, though. I don't think I can drink it with the tree.

It's nature, Rachel. Get used to it. I mean, oh, my gosh. 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.

Rachel Cruz
And today, George, we have a very. Special episode of live Rachel from Nashville, Tennessee, and total money makeover week.

George Camel
Wow. The drama of the lights. I know. So this is always exciting because with the live audience, we get to talk to you guys, interact. You guys get to be part of the episode.

Rachel Cruz
And those of you watching or listening at a later date, join in as well. Cause it's always fun, always a good time. Always good. And, George, you know, we always love a good theme. Love a theme always for these episodes.

And so today, we're gonna kind of go on that transformation theme, and we're gonna kind of channel our Stacy and Clinton. Does that name ring a bell at all? Is that bill? A little. What not to wear.

Do you remember that show, what not to wear on TLC? Any fans of what not to wear back in the day? Oh, yeah. Wow. That was a high pitched scream.

Most of the ladies. But those transformation shows like what not to wear, I mean, they were fantastic. And then we went through, like, an era of transformation shows, makeover shows, George? Well, it's partially why they called the book total money makeover during that time. That was the hot thing, was everyone wanted a makeover for their house, for their life, for their clothes, to money, of course.

George Camel
So your finances deserve their dramatic before and after moment. And we love to be nostalgic. So we thought this is the perfect combo for today's event. Yep. So that's what we'll be chatting about.

Rachel Cruz
But first, we are sipping on a what? A strawberry basil martini with a very fresh strawberry picked from the garden. I didn't even know this is how strawberries came. I didn't know they had this many leaves. Oh, I was lied to.

Oh, look at that. Michael's so fancy. He got a basil leaf, and he made a hole in the straw. Wow. I really thought, I don't know enough about strawberries.

George Camel
It's a lot of tree. They come on trees, man. We're going to reveal our rating and reveal the cost per glass at the end of the episode, the recipes in the show notes. If any of you want to try this at home, just don't spill it. Mm hmm.

Rachel Cruz
I think it's spring. It's okay, you know? Yeah, it's okay. It's good. Feels real earthy.

Yep. So this weekend here in Nashville, while with our audience that we have here, this event, again, is all about transformation and specifically with your money. Like, we're focusing on that a lot this weekend. And again, everyone loves that good transformation story. We love seeing the before and then you see the after, and it's just beautiful.

Like, the after is what we're all going for, you know? And back in the day, it was. It was all these shows that we saw, so what not to wear. That was a big one. This was one of my favorites.

Okay. So this was, if you're unaware, it was on TLC. I wasn't watching this. I was busy just being a man. You know what I mean?

George Camel
Doing man stuff. You were skateboarding. That's true. I was at the skate park. You were at the skate park, which.

Is mainly, in hindsight.

Rachel Cruz
Takes a lot of courage, George. You have a lot of courage. It's an extreme sport. No, but it was Stacey London and Clinton Kelly. And they would have this intervention with somebody, and the average person out there with their friends or their family, nominate this person, and they call them, like, the fashion felon.

And so what they would do, though, is go and get them a whole new wardrobe, usually around, like, $5,000. And of course, you see the before and after pictures, right. And with that show specifically, they made them clean out their closet. So if they had to adopt the whole process of this, but you would see them in those, like, baggy, terrible clothes that didn't fit, and it was just like, oh, my gosh. And then they look great.

Right? It's amazing. It's amazing what good clothes will do for you. So that was what not to wear. That was a good.

That was a good transformation show. Yeah. Another one was extreme makeover home edition. Sure. A lot of you watch that one get teary eyed every time.

George Camel
Move that bus. Move that bus. Love when they move the bus. Best part of the show. So Ty Pennington and a team of experts would completely overhaul homes interior exterior, the landscaping, all within seven days.

It was insane how they did this so quickly. And they send the family away for a week. They got teams working around the clock, and they do the big reveal. Okay, do we have any. Do we have anybody that does construction or home build in the audience?

Rachel Cruz
I've always wanted to know this. Is it possible to do that in seven days? I knew it. I knew it. It's a conspiracy.

George Camel
My life is alive. I knew it. What are they doing? Then they're lying to us. Is it faked?

It's all fake. Okay. I. Way to ruin tv for me. I thought everything was real.

Lindsay
Yes. I always wondered that. Cause it was, like, the footing, the foundation. I'm like, there's a lot that goes into the structure of a home, and from the ground up in seven days, like, I just didn't believe it. What a truth teller.

Rachel Cruz
Thank you. Thank you for that. Oh, gosh. Best part of my night. Next one.

George Camel
The biggest loser. Oh, this was. That one was emotional, because I. For some reason, I feel like weight is such an emotional thing. Like, your self worth is tied in it.

There's a lot of shame. Yeah. So to transform your body is one of the most inspiring things possible. Yeah. So that was Julian Michaels and Bob Harper.

Rachel Cruz
And again, they coached these contestants, and this one was over a longer period of time, but they would. There was a cash. Ideally not a week. Yeah. No, no.

It was over 30 weeks. Right. Yeah. Seven and a half months. Yep.

But the cash went to the person that had the highest percentage of weight that they lost from starting weight. Right. So it was up to $250,000. They would win. So there was, like, a money part of angle there.

George Camel
Yeah, yeah. Which was big. That was a good one. Yeah. But then there's also trading spaces.

Rachel Cruz
Wife swap. Watch that one. What was the trading spaces one that. Was trading the homes. Right.

George Camel
And then the white. That's right. You would design each other's home. Like, you would get a room in the house, and they would swap and have to design. But wife swap.

They're just another mom that you have a new mom for. Those were the best. Wait, that was the kid who's like, bacon is good for me. And he was like, that was the. That was the best episode.

He was so angry. She threw away all of his bacon. Yes. Cause you get, like, a mom that the kid did whatever they want, and then you had, like, the really strict mom. Yeah, I remember his tagline.

Cause I used this on my wife. He goes, you think you're the queen? And we're the sorry people, and I always say that to her. Is that the nanny? Are you thinking of the nanny?

Rachel Cruz
Super nanny? I don't know. I just remember this little kid, and he was hilarious. Like, this kid. Give him an oscar for this performance.

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. So again, these were fun to watch. Really fun shows. Great shows.

Great entertainment. And they had some depth to them. Yeah, I would say so you get to know the people in the process. But one thing with, like, the total money makeover, when you think about that, you think about the baby steps and transforming your money. There's some things that are, we have in common, I feel like, with these shows, 100%.

Yeah. A lot of the same principles apply. And so we're going to kind of unpack some of the lessons to be learned from these transformation shows as it relates to. You. All's money.

You all's money. That's what we say in the south. I'm from Boston, and we say, guys, which just makes it easier. You guys. Hey, guys.

I say, guys, am I northern? You're northern now. Oh, my God. Congratulations. I must be okay.

So one of the great lessons, I think, of these shows is that you need a guide. Right. The expert, in a sense, that is part of this. Right. So whether it's the fashion, whether it's the home designer, there's somebody that knows what they're doing.

And they've done this for a long period of time, usually, except for the builders, who are liars. We just learned that. But these people, they are really good at their craft. They know what they're doing, and they've seen social proof of what they are teaching said person. Yes.

That it works. Right. That they know what they're doing. And so there is something, too, about this idea of following a plan that, you know, works. Right.

And having that person, which I think is really helpful, it can be a. Trainer, a coach, a mentor, a financial expert. This can look different for a lot of people. But every great movie, there's a guide. Right?

George Camel
Like Yoda and Skywalker. Yeah, yeah. There's somebody there that's helping. And again, the. Yeah, I think about what not to wear.

Rachel Cruz
Stacy and Clinton, that was a guide. You got Jillian and Bob. You got George and Rachel. That'll do some helpful. Good enough for government work.

George Camel
That's what I say. But a lot of these shows, though, it required the contestants. The guide required the contestants to go all in. You gotta commit. Yeah.

Rachel Cruz
So, like, you had to throw out your closet everything that you had, because if you gave them money, they would go buy the same clothes that they normally would buy. Right. Or same with decorating the house. They would just go and just do what they know. But they required them just, you know, take everything out and say, nope, we're starting new reset.

Which is big. Yes. That's part of transformation. So if you want to glow up, you got to learn something new. You got to have the right people in your corner.

George Camel
And they had these experts guiding them, teaching them to adapt new habits. And financial literacy is a big part of that. A lot of people, they're well meaning. They just didn't learn about money growing up. And so to have a guide like Dave Ramsey or some of these personalities that we've got now is so helpful.

Cause they just go, oh, I learned something new. I can't do something dumb again. I know too much to stay the same. Yep. Which is important.

Rachel Cruz
And again, there are some rules that are important. So I'm gonna go back to what not to wear. Cause I loved that show. So Stacey would always talk about, you don't wear horizontal stripes. Oh, I didn't know that.

You look like an inmate or it just makes you look whiter than you are. So it was. She had that rule. She. Again, the way clothes fit, that was her.

So she just had these strict rules Stacy did about the clothes. And there's some rules and some patterns to follow. And again, they know what they're doing. So the moral of the story is, follow the guide. They know.

George Camel
Just trust them. You gotta trust. It's like a little bit of a trust fall here. Even following the baby steps, you're like, really? Smallest, balance.

Largest. And you're like, just trust us. It works, bro. It works. Yeah.

I love that. Which is what's fun about this weekend, about all day tomorrow, what we'll be doing here, talking to you guys about money. Someone's gonna leave with a new wardrobe, Rachel, I just feel it. What are we up for? Some of these people could use it.

Rachel Cruz
Yeah. Okay. Have you. I'm kidding. Oh, my gosh.

George Camel
Some of these people already transformed because they have new Ramsay merch, which is just crushing it with the new Ramsey merch. Yeah, there is. Look at that. Yeah. That's so fun.

Rachel Cruz
Okay. Have you had. What are things in your life, George, that you're like, oh, yeah. I needed a guide. I needed somebody, like, an expertise in an area.

George Camel
I'll tell you about a guide fail that I had. I once enlisted the help of a personal trainer, which, as you can tell, I'm doing okay. Doing okay? No, I'm kidding. My first personal training session, I passed out straight up in the gym.

They pushed me too hard. Come on, man. Three more. Next thing I know, I open my eyes, they're feeding me sprite and crackers. I'm like, bro, you lost all the color in your face.

It was crazy. George and I never went back. Haven't worked out since, if I'm gonna be honest. So, yeah, I've tried. I've moved on to other types of guide therapy.

That's a great one. Where you, you could use a guide. So therapy and counseling, that's been a game changer. That's good. That's good.

How about you? So sad, George. Thank you for having pity on my body. Many do. That is.

Rachel Cruz
Were they making you do cardio? What were you doing? Um, I think it was the burpees that got me, like, the constant just motion. Yeah. You know, pushing me past my limit.

George Camel
Like, I love that they're pushing you, but there's, there's a limit. There's a limit. How about you? That was a guide fail. I blame the guide.

Rachel Cruz
I blame that trainer. I agree. The guide should know. Should know the audience. Yeah.

George Camel
How about you? Yes. So for the last, yeah, six months, we. I've been working out. So I did have a.

Rachel Cruz
Yes, I do have a trainer I know lifting weights. I don't do. Yeah, I don't run or anything like that, but, yeah, lifting weights. And it's good to have somebody that they know what they're doing. Seriously.

And she'll, like, correct your form. Like, I don't know. It's been very important. I don't know. That's amazing.

I really loved it. Way to go. Sticking with it. Yeah. Thanks.

George Camel
Unlike that. Talk to me in a month. We'll see. That's good. Well, when it comes to money transformation, you got an incredible group of guides this weekend from all the Ramsey personalities and Dave, who have lived what you're living through.

You know, we've been there. We've done that. We know how hard it is to pay off debt or save that emergency fund or begin investing the right way or paying off the house. And so we're here to help. But I want to remind you guys, you're the ones that have the power to change your life by learning something new and applying it.

It's funny. A lot of people come up to us, you know, at the radio show, and they'll be like, you guys changed my life. And we literally laugh because we're like, we literally did nothing. You changed your life. We remind them that they did the hard work.

We simply showed them that it was possible. Yes, that's right. For sure. And the great thing about that, too, is that there's social proof in this plan, specifically with money, of people doing it. Right.

Rachel Cruz
Like, we see it every day, people winning. And so having confidence in that plan, I think, is key. Right. Confidence in the guide. Sure.

But more importantly, the knowledge, and then even more importantly, are the people that take the knowledge and actually apply it to their life. So, yeah, so I think it's great. So, and again, going all in. So let's go. Let's talk about going all in with your money.

Because there is a level of the baby steps where people kind of are like, well, I'll kind of. I'll kind of do it. I'm curious how many. Make some noise if you've heard the term Ramsay ish. Yeah.

George Camel
Make some noise if you consider yourself Ramsay ish. Thank you for your honesty. We love. That's what I'm talking about. Yeah.

A lot of people are like, I like Dave when it comes to getting out of that, but, you know, they all sound like that to me. I don't know why they're all king of the hill for some reason, man. Dang it, Bobby. But there is a beauty to just going, I'm selling the car. Like, that's when we know that people are ready for life change, when they're willing to sacrifice deeply where it hurts.

Rachel Cruz
Yes. It's the full commitment. The absolute full commitment. So, again, we are here to help, which is why we want to pause and talk about the people. Tell everyone about delete me.

George Camel
That's right. They're one of the sponsors of today's episode. And sometimes the most impactful transformations, it starts by removing things less, is more like cutting those little extras from the budget. That's a big part of this. And you know Coco Chanel.

Rachel, you're a big fan of Coco Chanel. Am I? I don't know. I feel like I barely know what Coco is, let alone Chanel. Yeah, well, she said, apparently quotes that to be perfectly dressed, you should look in the mirror and remove at least one accessory before you leave the house.

Interesting. I think you got a lot going on here. Cocoa. It does look better. Okay.

I think it was too much. Thank you. And sometimes you need to remove a lot of things, like the cookies that all of these online data brokers use to track you on the Internet and get you into fraud and scams. Those aren't the delicious cookies available for the attendees here today. Those are the ones that are bad news bears.

They track your activity online, they gather your personal data. And what I love about delete me is that they scour the Internet to remove all of your info from data broker websites. And they've already saved me 33 hours. They've removed me from 137 different websites. Heebie jeebie stuff.

They got my address, my phone number, my family's info. Creepy. That's what's weird about the Internet these days. And I'm an accept all cookies gal. Oh my gosh, Rachel.

Rachel Cruz
I know. And I'm such a, you gotta go. To customized cookies and then you have to reject the cookies or accept only necessary cookies clicks. Accept all. When you go to web science.

George Camel
You guys are the problem. Okay. Not a lot, though. Who doesn't? Who says?

Who's with team George? Yeah. Okay. Decline the cookies. Okay.

Anyways, this has been a huge help and it gives me peace of mind. They send me an easy to read report every single, every two months outlining what they did over the last two months. And I love it. And what's really cool is that they've given all of you in the audience today, all of our listeners, 20% off their annual plans by going to joindeleteme.com smartmoney. Or you can click the link in the description.

Rachel Cruz
Yep. And again, it's crazy where your info is, right all over the Internet. You have no clue, but delete me helps with that. It's very, very easy. Help protect yourself.

That's right. Exactly. All right. Lesson two when it comes to these transformational shows slash your money, is that you need a proven method. And we've kind of talked about this.

George Camel
Already, but why would you do something that doesn't work? That's a waste of time. That is true. Yeah. So being able to say, oh, yeah, we know exactly this formula that works.

Rachel Cruz
So again, whether it was extreme home makeover, whether it was fashion, whether it was parenting with a little wife swap. Action, yeah, that one is a weird one, but okay, well, you know, when you think about a renovation, there's the discovery phase, the design phase, the demo phase, and that's kind of where you're destroying to kind of reset the drywall phase and it continues on and on. So you've got to follow a process. You can't just go willy nilly. You don't do the foundation while doing the drywall while putting in furniture.

George Camel
It doesn't work like that. But sadly, most people do that with their money. They call into the Ramsey show, and they're like, well, we're trying to pay off some debt, but we're also investing, but we're also trying to save. And we also have a vacation coming up, and we're going, guys, you gotta do one thing at a time here. Yes.

And that's a big part of our proven plan. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. So, like, the first three baby steps, you do one at a time. And then once you get past that, you can do a couple things at once.

Rachel Cruz
Whether it's saving for retirement, kids, college. Cause you built a foundation. That's right. Yep. But again, it's that methodical way of doing something.

And that's really where you see change too, which I think is important. Like, when you actually say, I'm gonna do one step, and when you see change with that one step, that keeps you motivated to keep going. Yes. And when I started this Ramsay plan back in 2013, I was kind of like that prideful, stubborn guy, which is like most guys, where you think, like, well, I know what I'm doing. Just try.

George Camel
I got this. And you can't just swallow your pride and go, all right, I'm gonna try it this way. Yeah. And it's hard to submit yourself to that someone else's process, but that someone else. Now we have social proof.

10 million people have done this. And it works every time. You work it. Yeah. How many of you guys are on the baby steps?

Rachel Cruz
I'm just curious. Make some noise. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. All right.

Okay. So they're doing this. They're doing this. So the order matters. Just like in a home renovation show.

That's right. It's a good one. That's so great. All right, lesson three. You need focus, intensity.

George Camel
Ooh, that's a good one. Yeah. You gotta be focused in the process. You can't just be like, I hope it happens. Like, we'll see.

Rachel Cruz
But when you really are in this major transformation, that happens. Some of them are fast. Right? We watch this extreme home makeover a week. They claim it now, but no, but, yeah, that happens quickly.

And again, when you're watching, I guess, the biggest loser, it was over a season. So you did. You followed them for a while, which was great. But some of these, it's in one episode, some of these shows, and you just see this change. Like, what do you think?

George Camel
That kind of cold turkey change feels like the first few days for these contestants, that's probably the hardest phase. So hard is the initial phase. And for most people, that's baby step. One and two and getting on the budget, that's like, ugh, this is the worst. Yeah.

Rachel Cruz
And that's why we say baby step one, the $1000 emergency fund. That's the easiest step. But it's also the hardest step. And we talk about that because it is the easiest step. It's a $1,000, right.

And it's like, okay, you can sell some stuff. You can work extra. Like, you can get that. But it is the hardest step because it requires change, and change is uncomfortable. It's not fun.

No, it's not fun. Any of you just enjoy change. You're just like, I just love it. One lady. Thank you, ma'am.

George Camel
Right in the front, it was like an amen. That's beautiful. Well, most of us, it's hard. It's hard to put down our bad old habits and pick up the new ones. That's a very difficult thing.

And paying off your consumer debt, it's a major part of the proven method here of baby step one and two. And time is of the essence. While most other transformation shows take time, we're going, you gotta have that gazelle intensity. Get rid of this debt fast, because sacrifice is hard. Let's at least make it take as little time as possible.

Rachel Cruz
Yes. The deeper you sacrifice, the quicker, the quicker you get out, which is so key. And again, it can be discouraging, too, because I think we do live in that kind of just instant world where you watch a TikTok video and you're like, oh, you see the before and after, it is so fast. Where with money, let's be honest, it's your life. If you do it the right way, it's your lifetime.

Right. It is a continual process of good habits. And for some people, even the process of getting out of debt. Right. Could take.

For some people it's nine months. Some people it's four years. Right. And so it does. It takes time.

It takes. There's no shortcuts there, which is hard with money. There's so many traps and shortcuts with these companies marketing to you. Hey, we'll give you freedom. Here's a heLoc, here's debt consolidation.

George Camel
Here's debt settlement. It's basically the ozempic of the financial world. It's like, here's a short, quick fix. Instead of changing your habits, just take this pill. Yeah.

That's kind of our financial culture we live in. We want the easy fix. Yeah. Which is understandable. But again, you have to be committed to the process for the long term to really see that?

Rachel Cruz
Transformation. All right, lesson four. George, you ready? You need community and unity. You know, you can't spell community without unity.

George Camel
I was gonna say calm, but yeah, okay, that's good. No, that's a good one. But there was something about, like, extreme home makeover. Like, there was something about, like, their neighborhood comes out. Like, there's something about having people rallying.

Other people in your corner. Nobody wins alone. Yeah. What a terrible. What a terrible way to live life.

It's lonely at the top. That's what they say. We don't know. I've never been at the top, but if anyone's been there, let me know. I got a lot of friends down here at the bottom, but that's true.

Imagine these extreme home makeover shows, and only one of the family members agreed to let the house be changed. Oh, that would be a funny show, actually. And it's a disaster. But here's the thing. What if one was like, no, you can't.

Rachel Cruz
You can't mess this up. Yeah, move that bus. No, no, give the bus there. Don't touch it. That's what people do with their money.

George Camel
They call into the show and they're like, hey, I'm doing the baby steps. Like, are you married? They're like, yeah. What does your spouse think? Oh, he's not on board.

Like, what are you. How are you gonna do this by yourself? It's hard. It's hard. How many married couples do we have here this weekend?

Oh, how many single people? Just hoping. Just looking for. Looking for a debt free mate. Wow.

Rachel Cruz
Should we, like. I know. It's time. It's time. A lot of good looking folks out here.

George Camel
It might be time. Good. We should create. We should do a speed dating event at one of these. I just want to film it and watch for my own entertainment.

Rachel Cruz
We. We should create. That could be the next reality show. That's good. We should create an app that's dangerous.

George Camel
I've already tried that. It was called these events. It was based on our elp. It was called endorsed Love providers, where thoroughbreds find thoroughbreds. Oh, my God.

Fine. It's a bad idea. I get it in hindsight. I know that now, but I dropped a lot of money into that. Oh, my gosh.

Anyways, that's big. Getting your spouse on board is really one of the hardest things. You have to have the unity. And if you're single, you especially need community in your life. And that's why the power of financial peace University is incredible because you get in a space with a bunch of other people who are on the same journey, and you realize you're not alone.

It's not as bad as I thought. There's people cheering you on. There's people holding you accountable, and that makes all the difference. Yeah, for sure. That and just.

Rachel Cruz
And just, I think being somewhat vocal, some people are private about their money journey, which is fine. But there is something about, like, oh, yeah, we had some people in our corner, because we'll ask that on debt free screams sometimes. Like, okay, who was cheering you on? Who made fun of you? Right.

George Camel
And rarely were they like, no, it's just me. And buy my lonesome. Just doing my best. Yeah, yeah. Having people in your corner, I think, is really key.

Even the Facebook group that we have, the Ramsay baby steps community, is so encouraging. Cause they post a little win in there, and people are cheering them on. I know. You know, like, they ran the first mile of a marathon. It's beautiful.

Rachel Cruz
I love it, love it, love it. Okay, so, George, what's some of your favorite before and afters? Let's go to the show, the Ramsay show. Oh, this is a good one. Yes.

So we have the debt free screams. That's kind of our makeover transformation. Yeah, I would say so. Stories that we capture celebrating people that have kind of hit that milestone. Cause that's a big one.

So, yeah. What would be your favorite. Your favorite story, George? It's like asking what my favorite child is. It's Mia.

George Camel
It's my only child right now. That's the joke. Anyways, my favorite debt free scream has to be Amir and Connie. They were in our old Ramsey building, and they paid off $986,000 in debt. Almost a million bucks.

Rachel Cruz
Oh, my gosh. It was amazing. In a decade. And they paid off their mortgage and everything. And I connected because Amir was an immigrant from the middle east.

George Camel
Like, my parents. My parents are from Egypt and Syria. His kids were there, Nassim and Navid. They were first generation Americans about my age, just like me and my brother. So I instantly was like, I'm connecting with this story already.

This is beautiful. They went through FPU, completely changed their approach to money. They taught their kids the principles, the same principles. They coordinated 13 financial peace university classes after that. So they were fully on board.

So ten years in, they pay it off. $986,000. They're standing on the debt free stage, and Dave goes, all right, let's hear it. Count it down. Let's hear a debt free scream.

They go, well, Dave, hold on. Before we do the scream, our kids are here, and because we want them to be a part of this, we want to let them know that their mortgages are paid off. They paid off the kids mortgages. They paid off their kids mortgages as a surprise. And, y'all, there was not a dry eye in the house.

Dave's in tears. We're all in tears. We're all hugging each other, hugging strangers. And it was such a special moment. I just remember thinking, that's who I want to be when I grow up.

Rachel Cruz
Yes. That's the legacy I want to leave. That's transformation. That's amazing. It's changing your family tree.

That's amazing. Yes. And so I included that story in my book, breaking free from broke. I open up the generosity chapter, sharing their story, because of how much it impacted me, and they were kind enough to let me use it. And I think about that story often of, like, legacy, changing your family tree.

George Camel
It starts with your own family. Yes. Okay. That's, like. That's extreme, too.

So that's a good one. That's an extreme story. A million bucks in debt to paying off their kids mortgages. So that's mine. How about you top it?

Can you top that? It's a competition. You win. No, I'm just kidding. No, this happened just a few weeks ago.

Rachel Cruz
I didn't go all the way back in the archives. I just went to, like, a few weeks ago when I was thinking about this, because I think the most impressive to me, the families always get me. Right. They have the little kids. We had some.

We had two families on, on Wednesday when I was on the show, and the kids are there screaming, too. I mean, it's just so sweet. It's just great. But I will say, I think it's when there's a single person and they've just done it, you know, by themselves, hopefully with some community and people cheering them on. But, I mean, like, there's.

There's a determination there that. It's like, there's just something there about that for me, that I think is just huge. So recently, there was a lady, Sam. She was on the show, and she was $163,000 in debt, multiple degrees. It was mostly all student loans, and she was a public researcher, and she.

It was actually pretty funny. She was dating a guy, and he mentioned the Ramsey showed to her, and he told her, like, yeah, I really don't want to marry you with debt. It's basically what he told me. Oh, my gosh. Which, just as a side note, we don't encourage that.

If you want to get married? You can have debt and get married. But. And she. She took it as kind of rejection.

Cause she was like, there's no way. Truly, in her belief, she told us this, that there's no way she would ever pay off her student loans. $163,000. She was like, that's just impossible. It'll just be this thing that's always in my life.

That's right. And so she said, one day I woke up and just realized, I want to do this. I can do this. And the intensity that she did. Took on extra jobs.

Took on extra work. She actually moved to. Yeah, outside the city. To a cheaper area. To a cheaper area.

Standard of living. I mean, everything, you guys. I'm like, she went all out, and it was over two years. Over two years. And she paid it all off completely debt free.

And you're sitting there listening to her, and I'm like, oh, my gosh. Like, that's just incredible to me. It really is. I'm like, it's so impressive. So, so impressive.

And the weekends that she, you know, paid off the last bit of her student loan. He proposed. Wow. Good timing. I know.

George Camel
He really meant it. I know. I was like, dude, we kind of gave him a hard time. Cause he was actually there for the debt free screen. This guy must be really good looking.

Rachel Cruz
I know. She stuck around and was like, all right. Willing to do it. So hardcore. We're like, dude, are you okay?

George Camel
I would have dropped him like a bad habit. Let me tell you right now. That's a cool story, though. I think there was just something about her. I just loved it.

Rachel Cruz
I just love, you know. Yeah. Just the intensity of it, I think, is really important. Yeah. How many of you in the room are single and you're working the plan?

George Camel
Make some noise. Yes. We see you. You are not forgotten. Not forgotten.

Rachel Cruz
George, you've had a fun transformation story. I wanted you to tell this mostly because of the visuals that everyone in this room and on YouTube will be able to see. Thank you. Yes. Many of you know my story.

George Camel
Back in 2013, when I started at Ramsey, I was an intern. I was 40 grand in debt. This is literally me. I had just moved to Nashville. Go watch on YouTube just to see how sad this guy was.

Rachel Cruz
I mean, just the cardigan. The funniest part is that's me smiling. I'm wearing a disposable single use h and M cardigan. That's brown. I look like I'm trying to blend in with the forest.

I mean, it's like your version of camouflage. Yes. And so this was 40 grand in debt. I had 36 grand in student loans, $4,000 in credit card debt, and I got this job at Ramsey. I didn't know much about the place, and I went through financial peace University for the first time ever, decided to give the baby steps a real shot.

George Camel
I was like, if I'm gonna work here, I should probably, like, believe in this stuff. And so let's see. Let's see. See if it works. So I did it, and 18 months later, I paid off that 40 grand in debt after a bunch of side hustles.

I was single at the time, and I just busted it working as much as I could. Side hustles, you name it. Ubering, lyfting. I was doing marketing consulting, building websites, music gigs, everything. And so I met my wife, Whitney, at Ramsey Solutions a few years later, and I was already debt free.

She wasn't as better looking than me, smarter than me, better with money. So she was already debt free by the time I met her. And I would have never said, well, good thing you're debt free. Cause I wouldn't have dated you. Good thing.

So I convinced her to marry me. Not hard for me. It was very difficult. And we started setting these financial goals together. And so we decided we were like, what if?

On our early thirties, we could have a paid for house? And so we put an aggressive down payment down on a reasonable townhome south of town, 20 minutes away. And we paid off that home in 26 months and did our debt free scream on the Ramsey show. It's amazing. Amazing.

There's the after photo. There they are.

So there it is. And to celebrate, I finally upgraded my car because Dave was making fun of me for my car at that. It had a bumper hanging off. It was embarrassing, this beater car. So I went from the beater car to the Dave car, which now he hates because it's a used Tesla.

Not a fan. But truly, in a decade, my wife and I went from broke to now net worth millionaires a decade later just by following this plan. Nothing else, nothing fancy. And so I just want to yell from the rooftops, it's possible for anyone out there to transform, no matter where you're starting. So good, George.

Rachel Cruz
I love it. I love it. Yep, yep. And I think that's it. I'm like, you know, there is something about saying it's up to you, like, every day, choosing, hey, what habits am I going to form?

What decisions am I going to make? And it is this sense of, like, personal ownership that you take on. And when you do that, things change in your life. They really do. It sounds kind of cheesy, but it's just the truth.

It really is. I think that's why the debt free screams are so empowering. Because when people do their debt free scream, it's like, for the first time in their life, they happen to their own life instead of life happening to them. They realize they had more agency than they ever thought possible. And once they figure that out, they go, what else can't I do?

George Camel
I can go fix my health now. I can go get a better marriage because they have the tools and the belief that it's possible for them. That, to me, is the best part of the debt free screen, when people say, yeah, and by the way, a byproduct was, I lost 30 pounds on this debt free journey, and our marriage is better. That, to me, is what it's all about. Money was a symptom of something deeper.

And now they've. They're really starting to solve the bigger issues of their life. And to me, that's everything. Yeah. And when you actually have wins, it encourages you to continue to do that right, to continue to embrace change and embrace the hard and the uncomfortable, because you get a great result in your life, which is awesome.

Rachel Cruz
So beautiful, which is awesome. And I know many of you have the stories out there. I wish we could just hang out all day and hear them because we would all just be in tears and hugging by the end of it. But I know they're out there. They're everywhere.

George Camel
And I love just hearing bits and pieces. Even as I've been here, I've been hearing the stories. That's right. Yeah. So very inspiring.

Rachel Cruz
Yep. Can't wait to hear all of you guys soon enough, right? We hear it on social media. We hear it in the comments and even on social media, and they come. Back next year, and they go, dude, we paid off the house.

George Camel
I'm like, oh, my gosh. It's amazing. So great.

Rachel Cruz
All right, George. It's almost the end of the episode, and we close out every episode with guilty as charged. And this is where our producer, Lindsay, gives us a new guilty as charged question every week. And if we are guilty, we have to take a sip and live here in person. We have her producer, Lindsay.

George Camel
Lindsay.

I regret putting Lindsay on camera and on the mic because everyone loves her so much that I'm like, well, I'm just chop liver. Just Rachel and Lindsey now. They're the best. Rachel. Lindsay's the best.

It's such an honor to have you. How are you doing? Thank you. I'm doing good. What is our guiltiest charge question today, Lindsey?

Lindsay
All right. Have you ever started a new habit in hopes for a big transformation and then totally gave up on it? So this is transformation fails. Yes. Don't love that, but.

Rachel Cruz
Okay, we'll go there. Guilty. What's yours? Yeah, guilty. All right.

George Camel
Sipping. I've shared this story before, but I wanted. I'm not a runner. We talked about. I'm lifting weights now, which is huge.

Rachel Cruz
Great for me. I mean, it's just a big deal. I'm not a runner. Hate running. Always hated running.

Like, just not my thing. Always not my thing. And I had friends that were runners, right? And they were like, oh, my gosh, you should do this or this race and all this. I was like, I don't want to.

I don't want to. Well, one day I wake up, and I decide I could be a runner. Like, I could do this. And I decided, I was like, I'm going to train for a half marathon.

So what does Rachel do? Rachel went down to the local fleet feet store. I don't know if you all have that fleet feet. I don't know if that's, like, a local thing or if it's everywhere. It's like a runner's store, right?

You walk in, it's all the runners. All the runners are there, and all the running shoes and these brands that you've never heard of, because there are specific running brand running shoes. Like, it's like this, like, very nice store, and they look at the arches of your feet, and, I mean, it's. It's, like, intense. And I'm like, I'm a runner, right?

I decided that morning I was a runner. So I was like, I gotta go get the running shoes. I don't know why I remember I bought socks. I bought, like, really nice running socks. Cause I was like, specialty socks.

I can't have my cotton, like, hangs. Are they ergonomic? Are they moisture? Wicked. Probably.

George Camel
So they get you. Sounds right. So I bought nice socks. I bought new shoes, and I was like, I'm gonna. Yeah, I bought, you know, a few new outfits for my running.

Rachel Cruz
New thing that I'm doing, training for my marathon. I got it. I remember I got an app. I downloaded a schedule. I told everybody I was doing this.

George Camel
It's what runners do. They always talk about it. I'm like, oh, you're running the half marathon? Oh, my God. They're one step below vegans.

How much they talk about. Yes. About what? They are exhausting. Oh, my gosh.

Rachel Cruz
So I was like, yeah, this is gonna be great. So the first, like, we. I don't know, the first, like, three days, you do, like, a half mile, right? They set. You step up in your training, and then some days you go backwards in it, right?

So I'm a solid four days in, and I was like, oh, my God, I'm a runner. Like, this is great. And then I had my first long run. They call it. How long?

George Camel
How long? It was a mile and a half. Okay. And I went to this park, and I. And it was a two.

Rachel Cruz
The way the trail was one big loop was 1 mile. So I was like, okay, I gotta run this twice. I got halfway through the first loop, and I was like, oh, my God. I think I have asthma. You have, like, adult onset asthma?

Lindsay
I did. I was like, oh, my God, I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. And then I just kept.

Rachel Cruz
I was like, oh, my God. So I stopped and I had to walk for a bit, and I was like, I hate my life. Like, I hate this so much. I hate this so much. And I started coming around, and I was still walking, and I was like, yeah, this just.

And I saw my car, and I just had this voice in my head. I think it was the Holy Spirit.

And it just said, like, running is so stupid. Like this. This is so stupid. Why would you do something stupid, Rachel? You're, like, a wise person.

George Camel
You know, you gotta love the Holy Spirit.

Rachel Cruz
So I saw my car and I quit. I got in my car and I left, and I never went back. Cause, you know, I think smart people quit doing stupid stuff all the time. That's what I taught myself. Wow.

George Camel
Well, to be fair, Rachel, the Bible says only the wicked flee when no one is chasing them, and that's runners. Like, no one's coming after. Why are you running, bro? I don't know. I don't know.

Here's what I always think. Here's my deep, dark thought. I think, what are they running from? Yeah. What is going on?

Who hurt them? Yeah. That's why I walk everywhere. I know. So I can't.

Rachel Cruz
And then I see bumper stickers with, like, the mileage P, and I'm like. Oh, my favorite is the zero zero. If you're that person, I love you. Yes, I know. The 0.0 sticker is my ultimate speaker.

That was mine. I tried to be a marathon runner, and it just didn't work. Wow. And I say marathon half marathon runner. Generous.

Hey, what about you, George? I mean, I've succeeded everything I've ever tried, so I don't really know. Oh, my God. I didn't answer that. I think that when I really tried, I was like, I'm going to be a reader.

George Camel
I had my news resolutions. I had the seven areas of goals. And reading was a big one for. Because my wife was angry because I kept all these books. And she's like, you gotta get rid of these books.

Like, no, I'm gonna read these books. That's some points. So I made a list. I was like, I'm gonna read 26 books. It's one book every two weeks.

Not that hard. I mapped out the Google Doc. I was like, here's how many pages I'm gonna read every single day, George. It's like my marathon shooter. I felt so good.

The planning part was exhilarating. I know. So I cracked open the book and I'm like, all right, I'm a reader. I'm a reader. And then after halfway through the first chapter, I was like, I don't think I'm a reader.

I feel like, is there a video version of. Is, like a movie version I can watch? So I'm gonna get back into it one day. Yeah. Yeah.

Rachel Cruz
I believe in you. I believe in you. It's good. Thank you, Linds. Do you have any?

Lindsay
Well, mine's probably that I'm an enneagram seven. For any of you guys who know. The Enneagram, you love fun. You hate fun. I do.

And I try way too many things. I'm the person that's like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna be a painter. And then I look at my painting and say, no, I'm not. And then I, like, try cake decorating. And you make clay earrings for a while.

Yeah, I just try it all, and then I'll try to keep doing. But most of the things I try, and then I just say, oh, you're not good. Quit. And then I'm gonna lose interest as. Soon as it becomes.

I do. Not that fun. So no big transformations for me. That's okay. That's all right.

George Camel
Well, that was fun. I had a good time. I think we're both very guilty. Are any of you guilty? I'm sure.

Has anyone succeeded at all their life goals? Cause I feel like you should be up here. I see one guy right here. You're ripped, dude. You look happy and ripped.

All right. That's what it's all about. It's like half the bag. Probably rich too, you know, it's great. Okay, so you guys make sure to dm us when it comes to guilty is charged, because we love your questions.

Rachel Cruz
Our listeners and viewers, they always give us some great ideas. So look us up on social media. And maybe leave a comment with your big transformation fail. That would be. That would give me joy.

Yes. Just called Schrodinger fraud. I heard. You know that schroding fraud, when you take pleasure in other people's pain and failure. Oh, my gosh.

George Camel
I feel. I realize. I feel like America. That's what I'm all about. That's my thing.

Rachel Cruz
Oh, my gosh. Okay, well, Lindsey, thank you so much. Thanks for the question. Everyone has a rounded up. Thank you.

Thank you. She's the best.

George Camel
That was fun. All right, George, who finished her drink first? I think I'm a little further than you. Yeah. I mean, it was.

Rachel Cruz
It was fine. What was in it? Or. No, we gotta rate the drink first. This was a strawberry basil martini.

George Camel
I'm gonna give it a six and a half out of ten. Yeah. Oh, I don't know. I mean, if I'm gonna. I'm gonna be honest.

Rachel Cruz
Cause I always rate the drinks. If I would order it at a restaurant and I wouldn't order it. I'm gonna go five out of ten. Okay. That's fair.

Y'all didn't miss out. You didn't miss out. I wouldn't do it. Well, it was just a little too, like.

George Camel
That's it. I think that's the rating. If I could give it one. It's like a. It really wasn't bad, though.

I enjoyed it. Okay. What's in it? Can't turn down free. The cost breakdown comes out to $2.34 per glass.

It's got gin, strawberry, simple syrup, basil leaves, lemon juice, and egg white, which adds a beautiful kind of creaminess. Lafontaine. It's the egg white. I blame the egg. Don't blame the egg.

Did nothing to you. I blame the egg. The weird aftertaste you feel. Yeah, that's not the egg. It's not the egg.

I'm just saying. Strawberry. What is that? Maybe could be the basil. Well, hey, if you want to try it, if you want to risk it for the biscuit, go get the recipe in the show notes and try it this weekend.

Rachel Cruz
So fun. All right, it's closing time, so if you guys enjoyed this episode, if you watched or listened, make sure to leave a review. It helps us out a lot. Share the episode with your friends and your family. You know, spread the love, all your friends.

George Camel
And can we just say, this has been an amazing crowd. Give it up for yourselves, Nashville. So fun.

Rachel Cruz
So fun. The best. Yeah. It's time to take this on the road. I know we should.

George Camel
Boise would kill.

Rachel Cruz
But all of you listening and watching that are not here. You're missing out on a really fun weekend. We got. We got some. We got some fun stuff.

And it's gonna be great. It's really gonna be great. So again, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an all new episode next Thursday of smart money happy hour.

Extreme Makeover: Personal Finance Edition

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Episode Summary

Main Takeaways

Episode Chapters

1: Introduction and Setting the Stage

2: Drawing Parallels with Makeover Shows

3: Importance of Financial Literacy

4: Detailed Financial Advice

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