Today Year's Old: Surprising Money Facts Everyone Should Know

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

George Kamel
Easy, easy, easy. No clink today. A lot of cocoa powder on. On this rim. You know what?

Rachel Cruze
Delish. They say milk does the body good. We'll see. We'll let you know. Well, this is the show where two friends who happen to be money experts talk about what you're talking about.

So everything from pop culture, current events, and money. And today we are really showing our age, per usual. Your millennial mom and dad coming in hot, guys. About six years late to an Internet trend. But better late than never.

So we are doing the today years old trend, which means we were today years old when we found out X, Y, and z. So we're gonna talk about that things in life. Your money, all of it today while. We sip on a espresso martini. Mocktail.

Mocktail. Don't get it twisted. Mm mm. This is just nesquik for adults, guys. You know what?

It's delicious. I wouldn't give kids espresso. I think that's a very bold move. So that is why espresso. I didn't mean that.

I thought you would hate me for that, so I just. I do. And thank you for bringing it back. Just kind of poke you a little bit. But be honest.

George Kamel
You have not said espresso since. I didn't say it before. It. I did it. What'd you say?

Rachel Cruze
Espresso. Espresso. I said it right. I've said it right and will continue to. You've never been wrong.

George Kamel
Well, hey, if you want to know what our rating is of this drink and the cost per glass, stick around till the end of the episode. And as always, the recipe is in the description and show notes. Yeah. Okay, let's just start with the obvious, George. Again, we're today years old today years old.

Rachel Cruze
That trend, it's been all over social media and, like, funny things, like people. Are throwing and actually helpful things that. I'm like, I didn't know this, genuinely. I know you guys think we just know everything, but Rachel learned about blinker fluid recently, so I think that's, you know, you're never too old to learn. Never too old.

Yeah. We may know more than the average person about boring stuff like interest rates and insurance policies. But we've got our blind spots, too. You once mispronounced AI as Al. I did.

George Kamel
And so, you know, we've all got room to grow. We all have to be. I'm learning about, you know, raising a child. A human child. That's right.

And not a furry child. So, girl dad life, that's a whole new thing for me. All new. Lots to learn, George. So, yeah, so we're gonna have some fun today, and we're gonna share things about money in life that, again, we wish we had known earlier.

Rachel Cruze
So we're gonna pay it forward to all of you, and I think it's gonna be helpful. I think this is, like, a good class. This episode is gonna teach us a lot. I've never seen you so optimistic about an episode. You're like, this is gonna be good.

I just feel it. I feel it. I feel it in my bones. I feel it in my bones. All right.

Okay, so let's start off with a little history lesson, if you will. Back in 2018, before Twitter was X known as x formally was Twitter. Continue. The I was today years old trend really took off. It's that old.

I know. And that's when people, again, some of them were like, no brainer facts. Some of them was like, wait, what? Oh, so just some examples. Calling someone a dime means you're calling them a ten.

George Kamel
I've never called someone a dime. It feels somehow not. Okay, okay. I don't even know the context for, like, yo, you're done. How about this?

Rachel Cruze
The FedEx logo has an arrow on it. That one shocked me to my core. Did you know that? Yep, yep. Crazy.

George Kamel
The fruit of the loom logo does not have a cornucopia in it. Yes. Okay, now. Oh, that's a whole conspiracy. Well, that's the conspiracy of the Mandela theory of what we believe.

Rachel Cruze
Yes. The effect that we believe something. The monopoly guy does not have. A monocle. Yeah.

George Kamel
Wow. It's Mister Peanut. What did you call it? A monocle. Wow.

What were you gonna call it? I'm sad that I missed out on what you were gonna call it. An eyeglass thing. You were going with eyeglass thing. That was final answer.

Rachel Cruze
Yeah. Like an eyeglass thing. You had the motion down. I was today, years old when I learned what. A monocle.

Monocle. Monocle. You ready for this? Yeah. A pickle.

Mm hmm. Is a pickled cucumber. I did know that. What about a. What about a raisin?

A dried up it's a grape that's. Lost all its hopes and dreams. Done. Sure. That's all it is.

George Kamel
Do people not know that raisins are. I don't know. Well, pickles. I would assume people know what a cucumber that was a cucumber. People don't know that cucumbers and pickles are the same thing.

Just one is bright. I don't think some people know what raisins and grapes are the same thing, George. Well, I'm learning, Rachel. How about the division symbol is a blank fraction with dots replacing the numbers?

Okay. That one actually is very impressive. That's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. I gotta hand it to Matt.

Literally shocked me with that one. This one will get you, Rachel. Yeah. The Taylor Swift lyric is not got along with Starbucks lovers. No, it's not.

Although it would have been a great product placement for Starbucks. Yeah, that was funny. Okay. IPhones. I did learn this recently.

Rachel Cruze
You can text the word pew. Pew to text me that. I am. I am. I've never seen this.

This is so. This is so fun. Well, let me unblock your number. I'm kidding. Tell me when you're ready.

George Kamel
All right, go.

Oh, my gosh. Is that not cray cray? I love that. Like, we could be curing cancer. And Apple's like, add lasers when people say, pew, pew.

And the guys in the marketing are like, yes.

What's up, guys? If you want to be better with money, your first step is to start budgeting with every dollar. This is the app Rachel and I both use. And trust me, it's great because it gives you everything you need to make budgeting easier, faster, and dare I say, even enjoyable. I think you can say that, George.

Rachel Cruze
I mean, it's pretty enjoyable to have more money. Right? And that's what happens when you're intentional with your spending. Guys, download every dollar for free on the App Store or Google Play today.

Let's do a. I was today years old when I learned about money. Let's go first with ketchup contributions. So not catch up the condiment. Just so you all understand, people get.

Confused when we say contributions in condiment. Ketchup. Oh, ketchup condiment. Oh, funny. Yeah, no, catch up contributions.

Catch. Catch up up. Yeah. People ages 50 or above are able to make catch up contributions to their 401K every year. And so usually there's a limit for us younger folks.

George Kamel
Whippersnappers. That's what they call us. Yeah, but as you near retirement age, you can actually boost that. And it was up to $7,500 in 2021. In the 401K, same as with an IRA, it's a lower amount.

You can contribute extra, but still a great bonus for those that are 50 and going. I have not saved enough for retirement. Yeah, absolutely. The next is the 401K name origin. I love this one.

Do you ever drop this at a dinner party for fun? It's just like, just to lose friends. Just to lose friends and hurt everyone you love. So it's just named after the section of law from where it comes from, the 401K, subsection K. Subsection K.

Rachel Cruze
And. All it says is employers can have a retirement plan. Basically, it's that simple. Oh, my gosh. When people say, be there or be square, it's not only because they're losers, it's because if someone's not there, they're not around.

George Kamel
They are square if they're not around. Wow. Again, this is why this person has no friends. That's a good one. If you say that, I will not be there because I will not attend your event.

Rachel Cruze
Did you know this? The drawer in the bottom of your stove is to keep dishes warm so when they come out of the oven, it's not to store all the pots and pans. I want to know what kind of psychopath is keeping their dishes with food in there. Keeps them warm. It's like a warming drawer.

George Kamel
This one will blow your ever loving mind. If something is made of genuine leather, it's not saying it's real leather. Genuine is the actual name of the lowest quality of leather. Ah, so that's why you see genuine leather on really crappy products. You're like, how do they afford that?

Rachel Cruze
Why can they do that? Well, it's cause it's terribly made. Oh, man. Are you ready for this? The DS and Nintendo DS stands for dual screen.

George Kamel
Wow. That one didn't change my life. I was really hoping for something big. I don't know why he was hoping for more music icons. Snoop Dogg and Brandy are first cousins.

No.

Rachel Cruze
Shut the front door. Wow. All right, any random facts, life lessons you've learned? Yeah, I have one, and I actually repost it on Instagram because it blew my mind. If you had to guess, and if you saw my Instagram, I don't follow you.

George Kamel
I'll have to follow you again. Unblock my number. Follow me again. I'm just kidding. If you had to guess in anyone's room, if you know the answer, don't play.

Rachel Cruze
It's more fun if you don't know it. All right, what year did Picasso die. Oh, just throw it out there. I mean, like, just. I'm gonna take a wild guess.

George Kamel
1972. You ruined my game. I just told you. What was the game? You know the answer.

Rachel Cruze
Don't say it. I was guessing. No, you weren't. You just cause I'm smart. Ugh.

George Kamel
All right, all right. Play again. Play again. Okay, so if you know it, don't say, well, you just ruined it. We don't know.

I don't know that that was right. Anyways, I learned that Picasso died in 1973. I was wrong. I thought he was in, like, the 15 hundreds. Really?

Rachel Cruze
Yeah. I thought he was part of the renaissance movement. Oh, really? He was with Da Vinci. No, grafficasso.

I would put them all together. Beethoven would hang out all together. Casso. Did anyone else realize that he died in the seventies? To be fair, I thought he was older.

George Kamel
I thought it was. Thank you. Like the 15 hundreds. I was going like 19 hundreds. But still, it wasn't that far back.

His work is timeless. That's why I just couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe it. That's my fun fact today. Years old, when I learned that.

Yeah, that's a good one. You wanna know a really bad one? Are you ready for this? Okay. I was texting my friend Christy Wright, and I said, oh, I would have done that if I could have, or something.

Rachel Cruze
And she wrote back, c U. I'm sorry. C o U l d. Could have. H A V E.

That's all she wrote back. And I was like, what? And she was like, you. You miss. You know you didn't say that word right.

It could have. And I was like, grammar police. And she was like, no. For real? Like, no.

And I was like, wait, what did I write? And I wrote, could have. Could om. Could omit the contraction. Genuinely was typing as a spirit lad.

And I wrote this. Went on for years. No, not yet. Just that text. But I don't know.

Have I been doing that for years? I don't know. Could have been. I was like, oh, my gosh. She was like, yeah.

So anyways, we laughed about it a lot, but I wrote could have. Wow. Yeah. But I'm glad that's a true friend. That's like, someone's like, hey, you got something in your teeth.

George Kamel
You know what I mean? I was like, grammar police? She's like, no, no, it's not even grammar. It's the actual wrong word that you're using. Anyways, I did that.

Thanks, Christy. Give us something dumb you've just learned about George. I just google things. When? I don't know.

So it feels like, you know, I don't know. There's a lot that I'm like, oh, my gosh. This blew my mind when I found out. Really? Did you know that you need to cut the stems off flowers when you.

Rachel Cruze
Add water back in? Yeah. And I saw something recently. You can put a little bit of bleach and is it baking soda or something in the water? And it keeps them fresh longer.

George Kamel
Keeps what fresh? Oh, the flowers. Another one for you. Putting a little splash of white vinegar in the laundry helps deodorize, and it's a natural deodorizer. Really very clean.

It's like crunchy. Mom's. Love it. Love it. How about a lemon?

Rachel Cruze
A lemon does a lot in the kitchen. You can actually take it, put salt on it. Oh, yeah. Clean grills off your sink. Yes.

All of that. And then you can actually put it in your dishwasher. Wash your dishes with a lemon, a half of a lemon. And it comes out and it is like, just lemony. Yep.

All the acidic stuff. Yeah. Investing, best practices. So the best way to invest, we always teach, is 15% of your income into retirement. And you can do this, you know, multiple ways.

Right. Roth Iras, 401 ks the easy way. To remember is five words. Match beats roth beats traditional. So if you have an employer match, invest up to that amount, then if you have a Roth IRA, you can max out.

George Kamel
Go there. If you fill that up, you're not at 15%, go back to the. Finish it out. Yep. So it's.

Rachel Cruze
And if you max all that out, things like the HSA is a great place. That's a good today, years old, because that one, people don't know about the health savings account. If you have a high deductible health plan, you get an HSA attached to that and that money can roll over year after year. And there's actually an investment portion that you can build up just like you would in a 401k. Yep.

George Kamel
And when you turn 65, if you haven't used it all, it kind of converts to a traditional 401k. Yep. So you don't have to just use it on healthcare, but you'll get the most benefit if you use it on healthcare because it's completely tax free. All of it. Yep.

Rachel Cruze
That's right. So that's the life hack with hsas. Health insurance benefits taken out of paycheck. So insurance is the cushion, obviously, we need when it comes to healthcare costs and all of that. The bad news, even if you're eligible for benefits at work.

Usually some of it comes out of your paycheck. So again, this is a, it's a big part. And especially people don't realize when you. See your first paycheck, sometimes you're like, oh, wow. There you go.

George Kamel
Yep. Along with Social Security and Medicare and all that stuff. Like, what are all these things taken out? That's part of it. Yep.

Rachel Cruze
So the average cost per month with a family is $509. The average cost per month if you're single is $111. That tracks. There you go. I believe it.

George Kamel
Tax write offs. This is a very interesting one. There's a lot of tax exemption opportunities, home renovations, teacher classroom supplies, charity and nonprofit contributions, childcare, certain medical expenses, adoption credit, self employed expenses. There's even a gambling loss credit. No way.

Rachel Cruze
Oh, my gosh. You can't make money. We talked about this on the Ramsey show together last time we hosted about tax write offs. Tax exemptions. Like there's all these terms, deductions versus credits.

Yes, yes. So walk through all that and the exemptions. Well, this is an interesting one. Deductions will reduce your taxable income. So it's kind of a pretty think about before you get your tax bill.

George Kamel
Deductions help bring your taxable income down. Yeah. So instead of making 70, the IR's says, really? You made 60. And a lot of those are out of the exemptions.

Yes. And then credits is kind of like a discount off your total bill at the end. Yep. So you get your tax bill and then it's like, oh, I have the child tax credit. I can lower that down, down, down.

So it's kind of a before and after deductions are kind of the pre. And then credits are sort of the post. That's right. But the write offs come out of your income. Yeah.

And most people can only do this if they're itemizing. And for most people, it makes sense to go standard deduction. So a lot of these won't apply. Don't get your feelings hurt. The standard deduction can be a great way to go.

So just, you gotta do the math. And a tax pro can help with that. How about this one, George? Did you know that pennies cost more to manufacture than what they're worth? That feels insane.

I did not know that. It feels right, though. Right? It would take more than just a penny to make a penny. Then why make them?

What are we doing with all these pennies? Governments. Well, here's the status. They're looking at you. It costs 2.1 cents to make a penny.

Rachel Cruze
There you go. The first universal credit card was made in 1950. So individual companies made their own version starting in the 1920s. But the Diners Club created the first single card eligible for multiple establishments. American Express sold shortly in 1958.

And now they still are living, living large. All American Express. 36% interest rates on some. Oh, my gosh. That's insane.

George Kamel
I share the story of how the credit card was made in my book, breaking free from broke in the credit card chapter. Cause I think it's interesting to go, like, how did we go from a cardboard card for a guy who didn't have his wallet at a diner to now the insanity of a titanium card? And you wanna use it to flex and all the interest rates are insane. And now we're over a trillion dollars in credit card debt as a nation. Yep.

It's out of control. All right. The last one, George, warms our hearts. It's for the youth of America. You could use some heartwarming.

Rachel Cruze
I know. Personal finance courses in high school is now required in 23 states. Almost half of America is requiring seniors before they graduate to take a personal finance course. And I feel like that's what us millennials always wanted, you know? Can I give you a fun fact?

Yeah. Our writer, Savannah, who helped write this episode, took a 2009 version of the Ramsey personal finance curriculum called foundations and personal finance. She was a high school sophomore, and it taught her how to budget, and it helped her buy her first home at 24 on a teacher's salary. It's too much like the full circle can't have. We're so full circle.

Well done. That's wonderful. So if you are in high school, badger your parents and the board of education, whoever's involved the district. Get the district involved and get foundations and personal finance in your school. And I love talking to students and teachers who are part of this.

George Kamel
It's great. Ramseyeducation.com. Fun plug for them there. And if you aren't in school, check out financial peace University. It's kind of the adult version of what we teach.

Yeah, it's not too late to go learn some things, y'all. That's really the TLDR here. That's right. Well, George, as we kind of wrap this up, what do you. What do you feel like we've learned in this happy hour?

More than I wanted to, in a sense. You know, is the knowledge just seeping out? Like, you just know so much now. I think I thought there would be more, like, life changing facts. And instead it's like, if this was a trivia night at a local bar, I'd be like, oh, okay.

You can use lemons to Picasso clean your sinks. 1973. Don't forget. That is a good one. Don't forget it.

That's a really good one. Not with Da Vinci, but, yeah. The big one is you don't get a pass just cause you didn't learn it in school. Like, you need to learn it now. Yes, yes.

It's not this fatal. Like, well, I never learned in school, so I'm gonna continue to rack up debt. Go learn. Go read one of our books or go through financial peace university, watch the Ramsey show, and get educated on this. We need to get educated on non money things.

We have a lot of work to do, clearly. Yeah. But especially with your money, as you're learning, have the discernment to say, okay, how long has this person been teaching about this? The plan that they're throwing out there, has it worked for people? Has it not?

Rachel Cruze
Right. You kind of do have to sift through a lot of information these days because there's so much. There's so much information out there, especially when it comes to money. So be wise for the wrong stuff. Yeah, be wise with it.

Common sense. Remember that. Always common sense. Yep. And the baby steps are the.

George Kamel
Are the clear, proven path. If you want to win with money, that's as far as you need to go. It's get out of debt, invest for the future, have an emergency fund, save. Yeah. Simple common sense.

Rachel Cruze
You're doing better than most, most Americans, truly. So we're cheering for you guys, lifelong learners out there.

Well, hey, you guys, I know investing can be really confusing, and there's so much information out there, and have you ever wondered, how much should I invest? And where is my 401K set up in a way that's going to be able to achieve my retirement dream? Well, if those questions are out there, you are not alone. And having a solid investment plan that you're confident in will help you make the right decisions. That's why I want to tell you about a two night virtual event that's coming up.

It's called Dave Ramsey's investing essentials. On May 21 and 22nd, Dave will unpack everything that you need to know when it comes to investing and retirement. From 401 ks and mutual funds to real estate. You can even watch it anywhere you are, even submit questions for Dave to answer live. You guys, investing is one of the most powerful tools for wealth building, so you need to be doing this.

If you are debt free and have three to six months of expenses, saved. And you need to buy your ticket today. It's $249, so buy it today@ramsaysolutions.com. Investwithconfidence.

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, Skylar gives us a new guilties charge question every week. And if we are guilty, we take a sip. Skylar, have you guys ever realized you've been mispronouncing a word your entire life? Oh, my gosh.

Could have. Yeah. I've already told you mine. I feel like Rachel, you might have a few. I have.

I have one. Respectable. Okay, I gotta remember it. Okay, what's the. It's not okay.

Spontaneous spontaneity. Yep. You know what I said? Spontaneity. Spontaneity.

George Kamel
Spontaneity. I like that spon. And what is it? What's the right way to say it? Spontaneity.

Rachel Cruze
Spontaneity. Spontaneity. That's what I would say. I would say spontaneity. Now I'm confused, but what's the right.

Way of saying it? Okay, spontaneity is the right way. I would say spontaneity. Spontaneous spontaneity. I would say spontaneity.

Font noodles. That's different. Yeah. I mispronounced it. I know.

I mispronounced it. Wow. I have one that I was really embarrassed by. Okay. Expressed as, you know, sometimes I'll get, you know, kind of cracked hands and I'll put some hand salve on.

George Kamel
I didn't know it was pronounced salve. I was saying salve. And I was very disappointed in myself that the l was silent and no one told me for years. I mean, that feels very bougie, though. I would have just said lotioned.

I was reading the front of the keels hand salve. I can't. George, go and be. You need a little spontaneity in your life. Spontaneity in your life.

Spontaneity. Spontaneity. Yeah. I mean, I'm just being honest. I didn't know salve is salve.

And why is the l silent? Like, why even put the l there? Yeah, silly.

Other than that, I, were you ever in spelling, baby? No, I was in deca debate club, though. Wow. Probably. Honestly, a more useful skill with the.

Rachel Cruze
Advent of spell check and voice text. Now the worst is when you voice text or no, you try to spell on Google. That's what I'll do sometimes. And it doesn't even come up as. Like, we have no clue what you're looking for.

George Kamel
Oh, no. Then I voiced. I say spontaneity, you know, and it knows, hopefully. Well, I was in the spelling bee third grade. I'll never forget it.

Our team screwed up on the word mozzarella. We did not know it had two z's, and we lost the spelling bee. And now you'll never forget. It haunts me. Never forget it.

It haunts me to this day. Yeah. So not a mispronunciation, but a misspelling. That cost me spelling is probably cost. Me a scholarship in college.

I don't know. You don't know how that affected my life. Yeah. The insecurity that just plagued you, and you thought, I don't know, I could. Have been, like, spelling bee champ at this point, but instead, I gave up on spelling bees forever.

Rachel Cruze
Yeah, those. Those kids are pretty. How about you, Skylar? I feel like you never mispronounce a word misperfection over here. No, I do a lot.

I'm also not a great speller, but mischievous. Mischievous? Oh, mischievous is what you were saying. Instead of mischievous, I've been saying mischievous my whole entire life. Wow, that's a good one.

George Kamel
Thank you for your honesty. All right. I think Rachel just learned something. Is that a southern thing? You'd be like, you're so mischievous.

Rachel Cruze
Mischievous. Yeah.

All right. Wow. Here we go. Okay. All right, George, minutes on that.

George Kamel
You're a lot closer. Yeah. I liked it for a mocktail. It was an espresso martini mocktail. I'm going eight out of ten.

Eight out of ten. Yeah. Let me take another sip before I. It is pretty sweet, but the coffee part is good. Yeah, I'm gonna.

I'm gonna give it a. I'll give it a six out of ten. Wow. Okay. It tastes like Nesquik, but you added coffee, and so, like, it's good in a sense that if I was a child, I'd be like, ooh, me want honeycomb.

But as an adult, I feel like I just want something a little more complex and a little less chocolate milk. Yeah. But, yeah, it's fair. It's very good. It's fair.

It's good. But I would not order this. I try to also avoid. It's heavier on the dairy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But if you don't like drinks, you'll enjoy this as a mocktail. If you were ever seven and, like, chocolate milk. No. If you're out with friends and you don't drink and all your friends get espresso martinis, ask for a martini I would do an espresso martini mocktail. That's fair.

Rachel Cruze
And join the group. Yep. And I think you'll enjoy it. And if you want to know what's in it, I'll tell you. It's got cold brew concentrate.

George Kamel
You can always use espresso for a more classic taste. It's probably gonna be a little more bitter than the cold brew, but it'll punch. Be a little more punchy. It's got heavy whipping cream, simple syrup, which I think is the sweetness that you're tasting. Vanilla extract, a little salt, cocoa powder for the rim, and whole beans of coffee to garnish.

Rachel Cruze
That was a lot of work. I think you need to say thank you. Thank you, Taylor. Well, I witnessed her making it back there, and I took a video. Oh.

George Kamel
And it was a lot going on. Impressive. Very impressive. So the cost breakdown is $2.15 per glass. You will impress your guests with this one.

Rachel Cruze
Yeah. Very fun. Don't drink it after 04:00. Yep. And the recipe will be in the show notes.

And George is closing time. You guys, thanks so much for listening and watching this episode. If you loved it, make sure to leave a review. Let us know what you love. Cause we read them.

Appreciate you guys. We do love them. And make sure to subscribe and share with your friends and your family. And we'll see you next Thursday on an all new episode of Smart Money Happy hour.

George Kamel
And we'll see you next Thursday on an all new episode of Smart Money Happy hour.

Rachel Cruze
And we'll see you next Thursday on an all new episode of Smart Money Happy hour.

Today Year's Old: Surprising Money Facts Everyone Should Know

Primary Topic

Episode Summary

Main Takeaways

Episode Chapters

1: Introduction

2: Financial Revelations

3: Practical Financial Advice

Actionable Advice

About This Episode

People

Companies

Books

Guest Name(s):

Content Warnings:

Transcript