We got married older and didn't need the typical newlywed items. So we skipped a registry and asked for cash. Part of the fun was everyone contributed to 2 jars, one for the bride, one the groom. We secretly tallied up the totals and whomever got the most money in their jar took the cake to the face. It was hilarious and fun (and I took a slice of cake to the face). The photos from this are easily some of my favorites from the wedding.
I am a German citizen and this is so true about using cash. Credit cards ain’t popular here nor is getting credit loans from banks. We all about saving and paying cash. This has taught me so much discipline when it comes to my finances, how blessed I am living in Germany and following Dave Ramsey’s plan😍
It's exactly same here where I live. I don't know anybody who has a credit card here in Czech Republic. When I found Dave Ramsey, I basically started on baby step 4.
The same in Slovakia, but unfortunately it's becoming more popular to have credit cards because the banks push it to you a lot, as well as car leasings and buy now pay later or in payments is available everywhere and it amazes me how people making minimal wage which is 550€ here think they can easily afford 900€ TV because its just 44€/month for forever 😂
To be fair, although I haven’t been to Germany for about 8 years, there are a lot of places, where they won’t take credit cards, especially restaurants and small shops. I was told by a colleague that this was mostly because of the fees charged by the card companies to the trader (these being typically higher than for debit cards or handling cash at the bank). In the EU, I believe, it is not permitted to pass this fee onto the consumer. I remember in the early days of credit cards, that many shops and petrol stations charged an extra surcharge for using a credit card.
The us is too blasé about putting houses as collateral for loans. Im also concerned with how many people are only using credit cards because its very common for card machines to be down where i live because the Internet is such crap. I work in pizza delivery and once i had to go home early because the online ordering was down and the call in delivery orders were non-existent.
I've been living in naples, IT for the last 2 yrs. They have something called cafe sospesa (suspended coffee). Coffee is sacred in naples. A person buys 2 cups of ☕️ at a shop and only drinks one, leaving the other cup for someone who comes in and can't afford it.
8:03 Thanks you for discussing the Sou-Sou. It is practiced to this day in Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹. Each person gets the total amount saved, called Hand, at different times. Eg. 4 persons contributing $100 per month, 1 person get $400 every 4 months. So it’s a form of savings and loan in one. You can plan your expenses around the time you get the hand or just spend lavishly when you get it. The first person to get the hand, essentially gets a loan of $300. The last person doesn’t really benefit because it’s the same as saving $100 per month and then spending it. But it is a form of community savings, because each member keeps the others accountable and people learn together to save and finance each other’s plans. Honesty is a must.
@@arh1234 in the sense that you depend on others to pay each time so you are taking a risk ...i guess, but it isn't a pyramid scheme because you get exactly what you put in...like a 0% interest loan or savings (depending on when you receive your hand), if it begins with 8 members, it ends with 8 members, no further recruitment needed...it is NOT an investment but rather a tool used to help low income persons. Like all scenarios that involve money, it should include persons that are trusted
I don’t get the point of it. Why not just say it on your own? Now, if everybody was putting in, and it was invested, then it would make sense. That way everybody gets a portion of the investments and the more people that put money in the better the investment as a whole will do.
@@richeyrich2203 not everyone has the discipline to save, this is a form of accountability. And also when you earn small amounts it's difficult to justify investing the amounts AND there's a huge percentage of Africa that don't have bank accounts.
There's something special about wedding money. I was so touched and surprised by people's generosity to us when we got married, I never forgot all of my gifts and money.
The second one on group contribution is called “chama” in East Africa, and it works well, especially if you have a project you are working on. For example, a monthly $1,000 contribution for a group of 12 people gives the person whose number is up $12,000.
I have always given cash at weddings. Newlyweds, especially young ones, need cash more than they need stuff, and they are better off prioritizing stuff they do need on their own.
To be fair, Scholastic Book Fair is sometimes a large part of the school library budget. As a retired school librarian, I remember becoming a bit of a mercenary at the fair to get books for our library. I also worked hard to find sponsors for kids who couldn’t afford them. It was a win win for all.
As you began talking about the dollar dance, I was like, "we did that at every wedding growing up!" I come from a Polish family and live in Michigan! 😂
I heard of a pizza place somewhere that had a similar policy to Turkey’s bread thing. People could pay $1 or 2 to get an extra slice, which would be put as a piece of paper on the wall. A homeless person could come in, take a piece of paper off the wall, and turn it in for a free slice of pizza. Likely this was a place that already sold pizza by the slice.
I want Domino's to do something like this, we have the mix and match, but oftentimes people dont realize they could give one of the pizzas to someone they know that needs food, its only happened once where a customer ordered delivery and gave a neighbor the other pizza.
Merry go round / cash rounds are common in Uganda🇺🇬. People and sometimes businesses get together and pool lots of money, contributions can be as low as 1$ and can be as high as 5000$ depending on the group. So if 12 people contribute 5000$ each every month, a member receives 60,000$. These are helpful for people running businesses or saving for something major.
In Ethiopia: We do the group saving as well. You pretty much get your money back and it is a force saving. I'm in the states and still do it with other Ethiopians.
That west African money pool - My mother and all the stay at home ladies used to do it from the "fund" they saved using savings from the grocery budget, or anywhere. The pool will supply all the money that is pooled in to the person who needs it. Its a loan 0% interest. That is called community living. People help people opposite what US traditionals are.
Talking about the Greeks not giving any empty wallet or purse reminded me of auctions in our area. Auctioneers always put a coin or two in banks before they sell them.
Same here in England - I was told by my elderly neighbour to never give an empty coin purse, handbag or money box because it's bad luck. Money attracts money, so they say
Jamaican do this too. We all put in a certain amount every week and everyone get 1 draw of the same amount you put in. It’s a way to save money if you suck at saving.
I love your show. I've subbed to all your different channels. I've subbed to Dave Ramsey channels, George Kamels channels, and Rachel Cruzes channels. I LOVE all the content that ALL the different channels offer. Thank you all for being so AWESOME, and HELPFUL!!!
Giving cash as a gift for birthdays, anniversaries and weddings is very common custom in Russia and Armenia and all post-Soviet countries. Very useful because on the first night newlyweds really enjoy counting all the cash money they got as gifts for their wedding, very satisfying
The six or seven year old listening pulled on my heart strings a little bit because I started listening to Dave Ramsey in 1992 when my dad will listen to Rush Limbaugh❤ honestly brings back some really good memories
I’ve gone the opposite direction to Rachel. I also was never allowed to buy books at the book fare or bookclub because we didn’t have a lot of money growing up. So now I find myself buying my kids something at every bookclub release and book fare. I have brought the struggle to other areas though, so I get it. But I love how we’re both reactionary to the book fare thing, but went different directions with it lol. Also, the sixpence thing was huge here in Australia too. Until we moved to the decimal system and the new coins weren’t made of food-safe metals. But typically families would have coins that they set aside purely for the purpose of the Christmas pudding thing, and they’d boil them to sterilise them before baking with them. So it was all clean fun, George lol. The choking hazard was a thing though… 😅
It is really interesting that Rachel talked about the book fair because my daughter had hers today and we always used to send her money and this year my wife didn’t want to and wasn’t on board with the decision but then she asked my daughter to bring me one thing that she bought at the book fair and she didn’t have any lol. 😅
I grew up in a French Canadian community in southern Maine. When I was growing up it was customary for people to have a prenuptial dance at a hall or club. The intent was for people to buy tickets to get in and then people would pay to dance with the intended bride and groom to help them raise money for their wedding, honeymoon or house hold items. People stopped doing them in the 90's.
For weddings I prefer to give cash over registry items. That way the couple can choose how to prioritize their purchases. Yes, they said they wanted that "thing" but if they have no plates, or skillets- they may want those more.
On the MLM question - my sister-in-law had a great rule. She would only go to a sales-type party if she had gone to the person's house for something else. If she was randomly handed an invite for something and she didn't know the person well enough to be invited to their home prior to the sales party - she would decline. Good to have a rule in mind in advance.
Middle eastern Catholic. The wedding is payed by the man’s side of the family. And the people that attend the wedding usually give a moneygift, that at the very least pays for their seat. It’s not uncommon for people to make a profit off of their event. We did on our wedding. Now you do keep a list of who gave you what and then when it’s time for their wedding/event you can gift them back the money plus usually a little extra. Like they gave you $100, give them $110
The bread on the hook, I feel, would be more similar to community pantries than drive thru pay it forward. Fun show, lots of interesting things, some I’ve heard, some are new to me. Good job people, good job.
George, my daughter's father's side of the family is Middle Eastern, and between the family, food and smart approaches to money, I love the culture! Thank you for sharing your history.
We had a money dance at our wedding. My maid of honor held a top hat that our venue provided and stood in between us while we had two lines (girls for him and guys for me) of friends and family to dance with us. Some of our favorite pictures are with our family members dancing with us. Not sure if it’s just a southern LA thing, but pretty much every wedding I’ve been to has had a money dance. The money is typically used for the honeymoon.
The ‘Susu’ is also in East Africa. Here we call it Chama. Everyone contributes monthly and everyone receives the same amount. Basically you receive all the money you contributes in a whole rotation.
Most if not all communities in Uganda have what we call "Bataka" Groups which are established to help a community member when they lose a person. Each group is comprised of families from the same village and they agree to bring certain things like food, chairs, money and others to use when a family has lost a member and these are to use during the funeral. It is like a harambe for Kenyans.
Iowan here too! I've participated in many a dollar dance... it's not the main gift, just spending cash for honeymoon. I thought it was a common thing too!
We call it susu 'partner' in Jamaica. So say there are 10 persons in it. Each person would put $1,000/ month and each month 1 person would get the sum off all the Money ($10,000). It would go on for 10 months which is when the last person would get there draw or hand.
The book fair thing is upsetting to me. As a former elementary school librarian with limited budget to furnish the library, I depended on the book fair money to furnish the library. Yes, the books are overpriced, but, to me, it is a philanthropic thing. There are lots of other things you could do to make your kids feel the struggle. Money for random expensive snacks….beach airbrushed shirts…..video games,etc. just my opinion
When I was married, we were about to move to another state in a small car. We asked for no gifts. We got 3 or 4, and cash. The lamp we used for over a decade until it finally broke. The glasses all broke within a couple years. The deep fryer we returned to Walmart and bought a toaster or something we would actually use (we don’t deep fry anything). Anyhow, the cash was way more useful than most gifts would have been. It was easy to transport (deposit in a bank account we could access at our destination), and gifts just took up space.
That could be the premise of another show, where somebody travels to different countries, and find out exactly how that country saves, spends, and what their retirement is like
23:40 I think part of the reason why businesses are moving away from cash in the US is because (relative to other cash-dominated countries like Germany and Japan) it’s particularly inefficient. The US has lots of small denomination coins and prices aren’t listed including tax, so you have to play reverse-lottery mental math to try to figure out how much something really costs. Countries that list prices inclusive of tax and have fewer, decimalized coin denominations have higher cash utilization because it’s efficient.
This is my favorite episode so far! I love hearing about different cultures around the world and how they handle money. It makes me proud to be a Nigerian American. I enjoy the way we do our weddings
I think one of the big cultural differences regarding finances is many of my European friends that own their house were gifted either land to build on or gifted an older house from their family. I don’t have many American friends in this same situation. The American friends have had to purchase a house on their own. When you go over to Europe, you never see real estate signs on houses, it’s extremely difficult buying a house in many areas. Because real estate is so unavailable it is often astronomically priced. It just seems like many families have land in the family for many generations that keeps getting passed from one generation to the next. This is the other huge cultural difference where Americans move very far away from their family for school, work, lifestyle differences. Americans also often sell their parent’s houses after they pass away. Where it seems many Europeans remain close to where they grew up. Perhaps this is out of necessity as they could not afford to live elsewhere.
I inherited my father’s home, and kept it as a rental. I really had to keep quiet about it, because people just assume you have to sell a parent’s home, and they would have been envious that I’m in a better position than that. I also find it regretful that American society is in general so transient, and there is no legacy.
Live in the Midwest and can say the dollar dance is going strong here lol but usually the bridal party collects money rather than clipping to the dress/ suit of the bride/ groom
I live in the Midwest and our thing for the dollar dance is you hand the attendant an amount (no pinning) and they can use it for the honeymoon or pay off. It’s great to say goodbye/congrats to the bride and groom!
Mexico has something similar to the Savings Club. Tandas, to explain in simple terms, There's 12 people giving $100 a month. Let's say my month is December so during that month I will receive 1,200. Every month before that I had paid $100 but come christmas time I will end up having that money. It's like force savings in a way.
Old West Indian savings vehicle is called partner. So great and helped many uk immigrants save in there communities to buy a home. Interest free borrowing over a short period.
The bread on the hook thing is really neat. I remember seeing something on Pinterest (yes, don't tease me) about a pizza restaurant with a wall of sticky notes-- you pay for an extra slice or side and those who need it take that sticky note off the wall and bring it to the register instead of cash. I've seen it at local coffee shops in large cities.
People use susu to pay their car off, school tuition, down payment on a house, or do work on their home ect. It’s better than using credit cards, specifically with those high interest rates. Most I know are $500 biweekly, and you can double or triple it, so you’ll get 2-3 hands if you do, each at different times. If you don’t have any immediate needs, invest your money instead. Some susu last 6 months to a year, it depends on how many people in it. The one in charge of it gets a small fee. There are some negativities as well. People can collect their money from the beginning, then giving you hard time to pay back. Sometimes I wonder if the one collecting dies, what happens? Because you don’t know everyone who’s in it. That’s why you don’t get involved in any kind of susu that people are offering you. Co-workers do susu a lot.
She is right about the book fair. They are overpriced and manipulatively marketed. My kids had tons of books and I wasn't paying for the Scholastic machine. If they wanted to buy something with their own money they could...and it caused them to REALLY think about the value. Between the three of them they only bought 3 or 4 things ever and they did like them...and were then shocked when they found them other places for cheaper.
The fact that you talked to a perfect stranger like that at the mall to me is crazy to me. I am from the Seattle area and I would never feel safe talking to a stranger in that way unless they were asking a basic question like directions.
Rotating savings club you mentioned works like this: you get together with your friends, you each put equal amounts of money, you play a lottery of the order of the receipt of money, you get your lumpsum when it is your turn to do so (per lottery rotation). The benefit of it is your receipt of a lumpsum. Imagine needing a down-payment for the house? That is how it works.
Still laughing at the Christmas Sixpence accent attempts. Rubbish! LOL. I don't think coins in pud is such a done thing these days (probably just as well) but Christmas pudding (plum pudding) is a festive must! I really enjoy your Happy Hour shows guys, Love and best wishes from Britain Y'all. Xxx
The eWallet for the Book Fair is something that is set up by the parent and is pre-loaded so the kid can't spend more than they are given. HOWEVER, I (as a librarian) haven't set this up for my students. We also do not shop during school hours; they shop with their grown-up during conferences after school. I accept cash at my book fair!
You're in for a treat with this episode of "Smart Money Happy Hour"! Rachel Cruze and her co-host George Kamel take us on a journey around the world to learn about money traditions, and George's perspective as a second-generation Syrian adds a unique flavor to the show that you won't want to miss. Not only is George knowledgeable about personal finance, but his ancestral memory gives him a grounded perspective that's truly admirable. His passion for sharing the financial practices that have been passed down from his family's history is infectious, and you can tell he truly cares about helping others improve their finances. Aside from the invaluable insights that George brings to the table, Rachel and him make a great duo. They are witty, engaging, and really bring the topic of money to life. Plus, the "happy hour special" cocktail recipe is an added bonus to help you unwind after a long day of learning about money! Overall, "Smart Money Happy Hour" is a great resource for anyone who wants to broaden their financial knowledge. George's cultural perspective adds a lot of value to the show, and Rachel's expertise ties it all together beautifully. So grab a Sazerac, sit back, and enjoy the ride!
@@richeyrich2203 Haha, can you blame me for loving George? He's an amazing person! I mean, have you seen the way he conducts himself on the Ramsey show? He's always so calm, collected, and insightful. He has an incredible way of breaking down complex financial concepts and making them easy to understand for the average person. Honestly, I'm not sure what they pay him over at Ramsey, but whatever it is, he's worth that and much more. I'm just grateful for all the valuable information and guidance he provides on the show. He truly is a gem and a valuable asset to the team.
There is a coffee shop in Donelson Tennessee called caliber that does this for coffee drinks they write on a coffee sleeve and display it for someone in need to use
That informal rotating club in east Africa we call chama or Merry go round where each member contribute equal amount of money monthly and give to one member, next month you contribute same amount and give to the next member. It's mostly used for social get together and keeping friends or family members together. Harambee we have it In Kenya, u bring the community to raise funds big projects like building schools, paying medical bills
Had no idea the dollar dance was a Midwest thing only 😅. Every wedding has the dollar dance and then you sell the garter too and that's the point is to help the new couple get on their feet
I was always taught growing up that cash as a gift was 'tacky'. Logically, I always reasoned that a gift vs. cash was more to hide the value of a gift. I know when growing up and money was tight; it felt less shameful to purchase / make a gift where the value was less ascertainable. But, I see the advantages to both sides. All-in-all gifts always reminds me of the Big Bang Theory episode where Sheldon has to purchase an equivalently priced gift lol. I can definitely relate to Sheldon.
Love watching the podcast and your show. I grew up in MN and I had the dollar dance at my wedding. We did not pin dollars to ourselves that's just gross. What happens is usually a bridesmaid or maid of honor and best man stand by the bride and groom and people line up and they take the money and that person goes and dances with the bride/groom and then the best man/bridesmaid decide when it's been long enough and let the next person go and it lasts a few songs usually, depending on the length of the line. My daughter is getting married this year and we will be doing it again!! Great tradition.
Women do that in Türkiye as well. It’s called “altın günü” gold day. Everyone brings a gold coin to the tea party and every month someone else hosts it. So you put 1 and have 4 gold coins invested in you till next month.
In Mexico they use a quiniela, pronounced key-knee-ella. Basically I organize 10 people to pitch in $100 a week for 10 weeks. We all select a week, 1-10, to receive the total sum. I, as the organizer, set up a day of the week to collect the $100 from every person and deliver it to the next person on the list. Due to my parents being Mexican i've heard of this action but have never partaken. The money dance is also performed in Mexico but almost exclusively in lower and middle class marriages.
25:58 one time my school did a book swap, i think id rather do that so kids aren't expected to spend money, maybe the school can buy some books that they're ok with giving away. I loved going to reading night and getting a free book,they would be books i wouldn't have gotten for myself but were great books.
Omg!!! I just lost it. I fell for it too George! Except my guy took me to Parnera Bread instead of Starbucks to discuss AMWAY. I was like brooooo you brought me here for this! I'm ever dumber, this guy got me by complimenting my truck at a gas station
Amway is an incredible opportunity especially if you find the right coach to teach you how to get your time and money back. If you do the research you will find it’s a successful multibillion dollar company but most people just find “someone who did something like that.”
I live in Iowa and some of my cousins did a dollar dance. It was in addition to gifts and a lot of times the kids get money from their parents and go dance with the bride or groom, but anyone can. They just handed the money to them. At my wedding one of my dad’s friends introduced himself and shook my hand and there was money in his hand, it was a nice surprise. I thought a dollar dance would be kind of awkward personally so we didn’t do one.
From Illinois and we've always done the dollar dance. Great money for the honeymoon or whatever. Bride and groom each have a line and people give them a dollar for each turn. You can give more if you want but $1 was the norm
Giving cash is big culture in india for almost every occasion ppl don’t feel shame or shy from giving just money than object .. cuz they believe that cash can be used as need it to person receiving it.. rather than having to deal with 100 gifts which are all gone be flower pot holder 😂 it’s an actual saying
With susu savings club you get money in advance to spend instead of going to the bank to borrow or pay interest. It's for persons who want cash they don't have to spend in advance. The persons who receives their hand or draw in the later part of the plan actually save. You also have to throw an extra hand for the organizer also referred to as the banker who manages everything. I did it for years with over 70 persons in it. You do need to have a lot of trust involved. Not everyone keep their word.
We get a flyer home with books and prices for the book fair (the flyer is limited, but there is more obviously). I look the books up that the kids want. 9 out of 10 times, the price is the same or off by 50 cents.
Explanation of the first one : it's a system, there's a person that acts as a "banker" and sometimes there is a banker's fee but not usually. There is an agreed upon amount for each time unput money in and at your turn u get the total amount and it goes around till each person is paid out
The susu is indeed something quite common in west and central Africa (also called Tontine in french) but I know that some other regions practice that as well. As you pointed out it require tremendous trust because if you have win the hand, you must continu to participate until everybody earned it as well. Most of the time, the participants are people they know intimately (close friends, family members) or people they can vouch for but it works also because the social pressure / tradition is no joke in Africa. So running away with people's money after you have won the hand in the susu could happen but it's not common.
As an English teacher to speakers of other languages, I just LOVED this episode! Bring on the culture! I taught English in Japan for a couple of years and I was actually afraid to be invited to a wedding because of how much money it cost to go as I was accustomed to giving gifts under $50 at that time through my upbringing.
We got married older and didn't need the typical newlywed items. So we skipped a registry and asked for cash. Part of the fun was everyone contributed to 2 jars, one for the bride, one the groom. We secretly tallied up the totals and whomever got the most money in their jar took the cake to the face. It was hilarious and fun (and I took a slice of cake to the face). The photos from this are easily some of my favorites from the wedding.
I am a German citizen and this is so true about using cash. Credit cards ain’t popular here nor is getting credit loans from banks. We all about saving and paying cash. This has taught me so much discipline when it comes to my finances, how blessed I am living in Germany and following Dave Ramsey’s plan😍
It's exactly same here where I live. I don't know anybody who has a credit card here in Czech Republic. When I found Dave Ramsey, I basically started on baby step 4.
Blessings, John 3:16. Jesus loves you.
The same in Slovakia, but unfortunately it's becoming more popular to have credit cards because the banks push it to you a lot, as well as car leasings and buy now pay later or in payments is available everywhere and it amazes me how people making minimal wage which is 550€ here think they can easily afford 900€ TV because its just 44€/month for forever 😂
To be fair, although I haven’t been to Germany for about 8 years, there are a lot of places, where they won’t take credit cards, especially restaurants and small shops. I was told by a colleague that this was mostly because of the fees charged by the card companies to the trader (these being typically higher than for debit cards or handling cash at the bank). In the EU, I believe, it is not permitted to pass this fee onto the consumer. I remember in the early days of credit cards, that many shops and petrol stations charged an extra surcharge for using a credit card.
The us is too blasé about putting houses as collateral for loans. Im also concerned with how many people are only using credit cards because its very common for card machines to be down where i live because the Internet is such crap. I work in pizza delivery and once i had to go home early because the online ordering was down and the call in delivery orders were non-existent.
I've been living in naples, IT for the last 2 yrs. They have something called cafe sospesa (suspended coffee). Coffee is sacred in naples. A person buys 2 cups of ☕️ at a shop and only drinks one, leaving the other cup for someone who comes in and can't afford it.
Tucson AZ USA here
Watch the movie "Pay it Forward"
8:03 Thanks you for discussing the Sou-Sou. It is practiced to this day in Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹. Each person gets the total amount saved, called Hand, at different times. Eg. 4 persons contributing $100 per month, 1 person get $400 every 4 months. So it’s a form of savings and loan in one. You can plan your expenses around the time you get the hand or just spend lavishly when you get it. The first person to get the hand, essentially gets a loan of $300. The last person doesn’t really benefit because it’s the same as saving $100 per month and then spending it. But it is a form of community savings, because each member keeps the others accountable and people learn together to save and finance each other’s plans. Honesty is a must.
It sounds veeery similar to a pyramid scheme😬
@@arh1234 in the sense that you depend on others to pay each time so you are taking a risk ...i guess, but it isn't a pyramid scheme because you get exactly what you put in...like a 0% interest loan or savings (depending on when you receive your hand), if it begins with 8 members, it ends with 8 members, no further recruitment needed...it is NOT an investment but rather a tool used to help low income persons. Like all scenarios that involve money, it should include persons that are trusted
South Africa has the same concept, it is called Stokvel.
I don’t get the point of it. Why not just say it on your own? Now, if everybody was putting in, and it was invested, then it would make sense. That way everybody gets a portion of the investments and the more people that put money in the better the investment as a whole will do.
@@richeyrich2203 not everyone has the discipline to save, this is a form of accountability. And also when you earn small amounts it's difficult to justify investing the amounts AND there's a huge percentage of Africa that don't have bank accounts.
Never mind money traditions - how come George ALWAYS wears cool boots?
I can't be the only one who has noticed this!
There's something special about wedding money. I was so touched and surprised by people's generosity to us when we got married, I never forgot all of my gifts and money.
Hopefully you sent thank you cards
In South Africa it is called "stokvel". 12 people give the same amount every month. One month you then get the pot.
The second one on group contribution is called “chama” in East Africa, and it works well, especially if you have a project you are working on. For example, a monthly $1,000 contribution for a group of 12 people gives the person whose number is up $12,000.
I have always given cash at weddings. Newlyweds, especially young ones, need cash more than they need stuff, and they are better off prioritizing stuff they do need on their own.
To be fair, Scholastic Book Fair is sometimes a large part of the school library budget. As a retired school librarian, I remember becoming a bit of a mercenary at the fair to get books for our library. I also worked hard to find sponsors for kids who couldn’t afford them. It was a win win for all.
Yes it’s a great thing for kids.
Schools have got to stop grifting pennies and dimes from children to make it work. The government/public needs to step it up and pay for education.
As you began talking about the dollar dance, I was like, "we did that at every wedding growing up!" I come from a Polish family and live in Michigan! 😂
I felt at home every indian wedding also has this lol .. but it’s done at different time or different way of showing I guess
I am right there with you, I also grew up with this in the Hispanic culture, I thought everyone did this lol 😂
Same I live in Ohio. We always did that Ukrainian/Serbian
Yeah I come from Mexican culture and our weddings do the dollar dance too
I heard of a pizza place somewhere that had a similar policy to Turkey’s bread thing. People could pay $1 or 2 to get an extra slice, which would be put as a piece of paper on the wall. A homeless person could come in, take a piece of paper off the wall, and turn it in for a free slice of pizza. Likely this was a place that already sold pizza by the slice.
I want Domino's to do something like this, we have the mix and match, but oftentimes people dont realize they could give one of the pizzas to someone they know that needs food, its only happened once where a customer ordered delivery and gave a neighbor the other pizza.
Merry go round / cash rounds are common in Uganda🇺🇬. People and sometimes businesses get together and pool lots of money, contributions can be as low as 1$ and can be as high as 5000$ depending on the group. So if 12 people contribute 5000$ each every month, a member receives 60,000$. These are helpful for people running businesses or saving for something major.
In Ethiopia: We do the group saving as well. You pretty much get your money back and it is a force saving. I'm in the states and still do it with other Ethiopians.
That west African money pool - My mother and all the stay at home ladies used to do it from the "fund" they saved using savings from the grocery budget, or anywhere.
The pool will supply all the money that is pooled in to the person who needs it. Its a loan 0% interest. That is called community living. People help people opposite what US traditionals are.
Talking about the Greeks not giving any empty wallet or purse reminded me of auctions in our area. Auctioneers always put a coin or two in banks before they sell them.
Same here in England - I was told by my elderly neighbour to never give an empty coin purse, handbag or money box because it's bad luck. Money attracts money, so they say
Jamaican do this too. We all put in a certain amount every week and everyone get 1 draw of the same amount you put in. It’s a way to save money if you suck at saving.
Pawdna draw 😅😅
Ya, and everyone knows a group that's done this where somebody f'd off with all the money.
What I was taught growing up with weddings in the middle eastern community was that you get a gift for the bridal shower and bring cash to the wedding
I love your show. I've subbed to all your different channels. I've subbed to Dave Ramsey channels, George Kamels channels, and Rachel Cruzes channels. I LOVE all the content that ALL the different channels offer. Thank you all for being so AWESOME, and HELPFUL!!!
I am the Scholastic Book Fair Chairperson at my school and I approve this message.
I"m a boomer who is still breathing, so I love this show! 😂
Giving cash as a gift for birthdays, anniversaries and weddings is very common custom in Russia and Armenia and all post-Soviet countries. Very useful because on the first night newlyweds really enjoy counting all the cash money they got as gifts for their wedding, very satisfying
No way they went on a whole discussion about Harambe and didn't slip in a meme (or at least a shoutout) to the good Gorilla. : )
The six or seven year old listening pulled on my heart strings a little bit because I started listening to Dave Ramsey in 1992 when my dad will listen to Rush Limbaugh❤ honestly brings back some really good memories
My mom taught us when giving a purse or wallet as a gift to always include money in it! :)
I’ve gone the opposite direction to Rachel. I also was never allowed to buy books at the book fare or bookclub because we didn’t have a lot of money growing up. So now I find myself buying my kids something at every bookclub release and book fare. I have brought the struggle to other areas though, so I get it. But I love how we’re both reactionary to the book fare thing, but went different directions with it lol.
Also, the sixpence thing was huge here in Australia too. Until we moved to the decimal system and the new coins weren’t made of food-safe metals. But typically families would have coins that they set aside purely for the purpose of the Christmas pudding thing, and they’d boil them to sterilise them before baking with them. So it was all clean fun, George lol. The choking hazard was a thing though… 😅
It is really interesting that Rachel talked about the book fair because my daughter had hers today and we always used to send her money and this year my wife didn’t want to and wasn’t on board with the decision but then she asked my daughter to bring me one thing that she bought at the book fair and she didn’t have any lol. 😅
We always used to make lists from the book fair to take to the library!
I grew up in a French Canadian community in southern Maine. When I was growing up it was customary for people to have a prenuptial dance at a hall or club. The intent was for people to buy tickets to get in and then people would pay to dance with the intended bride and groom to help them raise money for their wedding, honeymoon or house hold items. People stopped doing them in the 90's.
For weddings I prefer to give cash over registry items. That way the couple can choose how to prioritize their purchases. Yes, they said they wanted that "thing" but if they have no plates, or skillets- they may want those more.
Same. I understand the Registry but cash is just easier.
On the MLM question - my sister-in-law had a great rule. She would only go to a sales-type party if she had gone to the person's house for something else. If she was randomly handed an invite for something and she didn't know the person well enough to be invited to their home prior to the sales party - she would decline. Good to have a rule in mind in advance.
Middle eastern Catholic. The wedding is payed by the man’s side of the family. And the people that attend the wedding usually give a moneygift, that at the very least pays for their seat. It’s not uncommon for people to make a profit off of their event. We did on our wedding. Now you do keep a list of who gave you what and then when it’s time for their wedding/event you can gift them back the money plus usually a little extra. Like they gave you $100, give them $110
The bread on the hook, I feel, would be more similar to community pantries than drive thru pay it forward. Fun show, lots of interesting things, some I’ve heard, some are new to me. Good job people, good job.
George, my daughter's father's side of the family is Middle Eastern, and between the family, food and smart approaches to money, I love the culture! Thank you for sharing your history.
We had a money dance at our wedding. My maid of honor held a top hat that our venue provided and stood in between us while we had two lines (girls for him and guys for me) of friends and family to dance with us. Some of our favorite pictures are with our family members dancing with us.
Not sure if it’s just a southern LA thing, but pretty much every wedding I’ve been to has had a money dance. The money is typically used for the honeymoon.
The ‘Susu’ is also in East Africa. Here we call it Chama.
Everyone contributes monthly and everyone receives the same amount. Basically you receive all the money you contributes in a whole rotation.
I was born in Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹 and my grandmother used to ran a Susu.
Most if not all communities in Uganda have what we call "Bataka" Groups which are established to help a community member when they lose a person. Each group is comprised of families from the same village and they agree to bring certain things like food, chairs, money and others to use when a family has lost a member and these are to use during the funeral. It is like a harambe for Kenyans.
I’m in Iowa. Is the dollar dance NOT a thing everywhere?! Also, this is in ADDITION to the gifts. 🤪 And tater tot casserole is a staple dish here.
It is not! But it is a great idea!
Iowan here too! I've participated in many a dollar dance... it's not the main gift, just spending cash for honeymoon.
I thought it was a common thing too!
The Dollar Dance is a Texas thing too!🤠
Ohio does it too
Love it guys. It would be a good idea to add snacks as well for happy hour (cheese board, etc.). In Wisconsin it's not a happy hour without food
We call it susu 'partner' in Jamaica. So say there are 10 persons in it. Each person would put $1,000/ month and each month 1 person would get the sum off all the Money ($10,000). It would go on for 10 months which is when the last person would get there draw or hand.
The book fair thing is upsetting to me. As a former elementary school librarian with limited budget to furnish the library, I depended on the book fair money to furnish the library. Yes, the books are overpriced, but, to me, it is a philanthropic thing. There are lots of other things you could do to make your kids feel the struggle. Money for random expensive snacks….beach airbrushed shirts…..video games,etc. just my opinion
Rachel with the "Spot o' tea" beforehand was hilarious!!!!! 😂😂😂
This is definitely my favorite Ramsey podcast and one of my faves overall
Thank you Lindsey! That was awesome!!
When I was married, we were about to move to another state in a small car. We asked for no gifts. We got 3 or 4, and cash. The lamp we used for over a decade until it finally broke. The glasses all broke within a couple years. The deep fryer we returned to Walmart and bought a toaster or something we would actually use (we don’t deep fry anything). Anyhow, the cash was way more useful than most gifts would have been. It was easy to transport (deposit in a bank account we could access at our destination), and gifts just took up space.
That could be the premise of another show, where somebody travels to different countries, and find out exactly how that country saves, spends, and what their retirement is like
Now that's a show.
I second this! That’s a great idea!
23:40 I think part of the reason why businesses are moving away from cash in the US is because (relative to other cash-dominated countries like Germany and Japan) it’s particularly inefficient.
The US has lots of small denomination coins and prices aren’t listed including tax, so you have to play reverse-lottery mental math to try to figure out how much something really costs. Countries that list prices inclusive of tax and have fewer, decimalized coin denominations have higher cash utilization because it’s efficient.
In Argentina 🇦🇷 we eat gnocchi each 29. and put a dollar bill under each plate to always have money 😊
This is my favorite episode so far! I love hearing about different cultures around the world and how they handle money. It makes me proud to be a Nigerian American. I enjoy the way we do our weddings
I did a money dance at my wedding and most of my family did too at theirs. It's the best!
I think one of the big cultural differences regarding finances is many of my European friends that own their house were gifted either land to build on or gifted an older house from their family. I don’t have many American friends in this same situation. The American friends have had to purchase a house on their own. When you go over to Europe, you never see real estate signs on houses, it’s extremely difficult buying a house in many areas. Because real estate is so unavailable it is often astronomically priced. It just seems like many families have land in the family for many generations that keeps getting passed from one generation to the next. This is the other huge cultural difference where Americans move very far away from their family for school, work, lifestyle differences. Americans also often sell their parent’s houses after they pass away. Where it seems many Europeans remain close to where they grew up. Perhaps this is out of necessity as they could not afford to live elsewhere.
I inherited my father’s home, and kept it as a rental. I really had to keep quiet about it, because people just assume you have to sell a parent’s home, and they would have been envious that I’m in a better position than that. I also find it regretful that American society is in general so transient, and there is no legacy.
Live in the Midwest and can say the dollar dance is going strong here lol but usually the bridal party collects money rather than clipping to the dress/ suit of the bride/ groom
I live in the Midwest and our thing for the dollar dance is you hand the attendant an amount (no pinning) and they can use it for the honeymoon or pay off.
It’s great to say goodbye/congrats to the bride and groom!
Mexico has something similar to the Savings Club. Tandas, to explain in simple terms, There's 12 people giving $100 a month. Let's say my month is December so during that month I will receive 1,200. Every month before that I had paid $100 but come christmas time I will end up having that money. It's like force savings in a way.
We have done the dollar dance here in Minnesota for years❤ Also we raffle off the garter. The guests put money in for a ticket
We throw the garter. Who gets the money from the raffle
I really liked this episode, learned a lot of different things I had no idea about. Keep covering these type of topics!
Old West Indian savings vehicle is called partner. So great and helped many uk immigrants save in there communities to buy a home. Interest free borrowing over a short period.
I agree George. I’m not eating that pudding that had a dirty coin in it.
You do realize that you put the pudding in a 350 degree oven for about an hour. Any germs are long dead.
We only got cash for our wedding. Registry stuff, most people end up not using what you bought. They just added it to the registry cause it was fun.
In the Midwest we do the money and something like a towels, or sheets not a huge present, and we do no more then 20$ for the dollar dance
The bread on the hook thing is really neat. I remember seeing something on Pinterest (yes, don't tease me) about a pizza restaurant with a wall of sticky notes-- you pay for an extra slice or side and those who need it take that sticky note off the wall and bring it to the register instead of cash. I've seen it at local coffee shops in large cities.
People use susu to pay their car off, school tuition, down payment on a house, or do work on their home ect. It’s better than using credit cards, specifically with those high interest rates. Most I know are $500 biweekly, and you can double or triple it, so you’ll get 2-3 hands if you do, each at different times. If you don’t have any immediate needs, invest your money instead. Some susu last 6 months to a year, it depends on how many people in it. The one in charge of it gets a small fee. There are some negativities as well. People can collect their money from the beginning, then giving you hard time to pay back. Sometimes I wonder if the one collecting dies, what happens? Because you don’t know everyone who’s in it. That’s why you don’t get involved in any kind of susu that people are offering you. Co-workers do susu a lot.
She is right about the book fair. They are overpriced and manipulatively marketed. My kids had tons of books and I wasn't paying for the Scholastic machine. If they wanted to buy something with their own money they could...and it caused them to REALLY think about the value. Between the three of them they only bought 3 or 4 things ever and they did like them...and were then shocked when they found them other places for cheaper.
The fact that you talked to a perfect stranger like that at the mall to me is crazy to me. I am from the Seattle area and I would never feel safe talking to a stranger in that way unless they were asking a basic question like directions.
It’s how you make friends in the real world vs online.
Rotating savings club you mentioned works like this: you get together with your friends, you each put equal amounts of money, you play a lottery of the order of the receipt of money, you get your lumpsum when it is your turn to do so (per lottery rotation). The benefit of it is your receipt of a lumpsum. Imagine needing a down-payment for the house? That is how it works.
We call it a merry-go-round
Still laughing at the Christmas Sixpence accent attempts. Rubbish! LOL. I don't think coins in pud is such a done thing these days (probably just as well) but Christmas pudding (plum pudding) is a festive must! I really enjoy your Happy Hour shows guys, Love and best wishes from Britain Y'all. Xxx
The eWallet for the Book Fair is something that is set up by the parent and is pre-loaded so the kid can't spend more than they are given. HOWEVER, I (as a librarian) haven't set this up for my students. We also do not shop during school hours; they shop with their grown-up during conferences after school. I accept cash at my book fair!
OMGSH George, that happened to me in college, and I ended up meeting with the lady. After her pitch, I thanked her and told her I'm not interested!
You're in for a treat with this episode of "Smart Money Happy Hour"! Rachel Cruze and her co-host George Kamel take us on a journey around the world to learn about money traditions, and George's perspective as a second-generation Syrian adds a unique flavor to the show that you won't want to miss.
Not only is George knowledgeable about personal finance, but his ancestral memory gives him a grounded perspective that's truly admirable. His passion for sharing the financial practices that have been passed down from his family's history is infectious, and you can tell he truly cares about helping others improve their finances.
Aside from the invaluable insights that George brings to the table, Rachel and him make a great duo. They are witty, engaging, and really bring the topic of money to life. Plus, the "happy hour special" cocktail recipe is an added bonus to help you unwind after a long day of learning about money!
Overall, "Smart Money Happy Hour" is a great resource for anyone who wants to broaden their financial knowledge. George's cultural perspective adds a lot of value to the show, and Rachel's expertise ties it all together beautifully. So grab a Sazerac, sit back, and enjoy the ride!
You love George huh
@@richeyrich2203 Haha, can you blame me for loving George? He's an amazing person! I mean, have you seen the way he conducts himself on the Ramsey show? He's always so calm, collected, and insightful. He has an incredible way of breaking down complex financial concepts and making them easy to understand for the average person. Honestly, I'm not sure what they pay him over at Ramsey, but whatever it is, he's worth that and much more. I'm just grateful for all the valuable information and guidance he provides on the show. He truly is a gem and a valuable asset to the team.
Are you his wife or his burner account?
Try a Paloma! It's considered the national drink of Mexico. Tequila + grapefruit. It's my fave Friday night cocktail.
The group savings in my country (The Bahamas) is called an Asue.
Purchase books from the library, thrift store and online used books stores. LOVE ❤️ that I can touch and recycle via donations.
My dad used to be a wedding photographer on the west coast. I saw videos of people doing the "money dance" in the 90s.
There is a coffee shop in Donelson Tennessee called caliber that does this for coffee drinks they write on a coffee sleeve and display it for someone in need to use
Loved laughing and learning with y’all!
Love the hair extensions here!!!! Great look!
Huge fan of money for wedding gifts as well. 🎁
I love this show. You guys should do it twice a week, maybe live? 45 minutes....natural...with the script...wil be awesome...
That informal rotating club in east Africa we call chama or Merry go round where each member contribute equal amount of money monthly and give to one member, next month you contribute same amount and give to the next member. It's mostly used for social get together and keeping friends or family members together.
Harambee we have it In Kenya, u bring the community to raise funds big projects like building schools, paying medical bills
Had no idea the dollar dance was a Midwest thing only 😅. Every wedding has the dollar dance and then you sell the garter too and that's the point is to help the new couple get on their feet
We do the Dollar Dance in Texas! 🤠
I look forward to Thursdays just to listen to this podcast👍 great chemistry and fun conversations 🤙 Aloha from Hawai'i.
You guys are hilarious and informative. Thank you!
I was always taught growing up that cash as a gift was 'tacky'.
Logically, I always reasoned that a gift vs. cash was more to hide the value of a gift.
I know when growing up and money was tight; it felt less shameful to purchase / make a gift where the value was less ascertainable.
But, I see the advantages to both sides.
All-in-all gifts always reminds me of the Big Bang Theory episode where Sheldon has to purchase an equivalently priced gift lol.
I can definitely relate to Sheldon.
That’s why they told you cash was tacky because they didn’t have it to give.
Agree
“Target demo? Alive” 😂
Love watching the podcast and your show. I grew up in MN and I had the dollar dance at my wedding. We did not pin dollars to ourselves that's just gross. What happens is usually a bridesmaid or maid of honor and best man stand by the bride and groom and people line up and they take the money and that person goes and dances with the bride/groom and then the best man/bridesmaid decide when it's been long enough and let the next person go and it lasts a few songs usually, depending on the length of the line. My daughter is getting married this year and we will be doing it again!! Great tradition.
Women do that in Türkiye as well. It’s called “altın günü” gold day. Everyone brings a gold coin to the tea party and every month someone else hosts it. So you put 1 and have 4 gold coins invested in you till next month.
I’m from northeast Pa and we do the dollar dance ! Everyone pays the MOH to dance with the bride! You can make like $1000!!
In Mexico they use a quiniela, pronounced key-knee-ella. Basically I organize 10 people to pitch in $100 a week for 10 weeks. We all select a week, 1-10, to receive the total sum. I, as the organizer, set up a day of the week to collect the $100 from every person and deliver it to the next person on the list. Due to my parents being Mexican i've heard of this action but have never partaken.
The money dance is also performed in Mexico but almost exclusively in lower and middle class marriages.
25:58 one time my school did a book swap, i think id rather do that so kids aren't expected to spend money, maybe the school can buy some books that they're ok with giving away. I loved going to reading night and getting a free book,they would be books i wouldn't have gotten for myself but were great books.
Ohhh my goodness I wasn't expecting Sazerac. I work for their barrel factory in Kentucky lol
Omg!!! I just lost it. I fell for it too George! Except my guy took me to Parnera Bread instead of Starbucks to discuss AMWAY. I was like brooooo you brought me here for this! I'm ever dumber, this guy got me by complimenting my truck at a gas station
Amway is an incredible opportunity especially if you find the right coach to teach you how to get your time and money back. If you do the research you will find it’s a successful multibillion dollar company but most people just find “someone who did something like that.”
I live in Iowa and some of my cousins did a dollar dance. It was in addition to gifts and a lot of times the kids get money from their parents and go dance with the bride or groom, but anyone can. They just handed the money to them. At my wedding one of my dad’s friends introduced himself and shook my hand and there was money in his hand, it was a nice surprise. I thought a dollar dance would be kind of awkward personally so we didn’t do one.
From Illinois and we've always done the dollar dance. Great money for the honeymoon or whatever. Bride and groom each have a line and people give them a dollar for each turn. You can give more if you want but $1 was the norm
Giving cash is big culture in india for almost every occasion ppl don’t feel shame or shy from giving just money than object .. cuz they believe that cash can be used as need it to person receiving it.. rather than having to deal with 100 gifts which are all gone be flower pot holder 😂 it’s an actual saying
With susu savings club you get money in advance to spend instead of going to the bank to borrow or pay interest. It's for persons who want cash they don't have to spend in advance.
The persons who receives their hand or draw in the later part of the plan actually save.
You also have to throw an extra hand for the organizer also referred to as the banker who manages everything. I did it for years with over 70 persons in it. You do need to have a lot of trust involved. Not everyone keep their word.
We get a flyer home with books and prices for the book fair (the flyer is limited, but there is more obviously). I look the books up that the kids want. 9 out of 10 times, the price is the same or off by 50 cents.
Explanation of the first one : it's a system, there's a person that acts as a "banker" and sometimes there is a banker's fee but not usually. There is an agreed upon amount for each time unput money in and at your turn u get the total amount and it goes around till each person is paid out
Thank you for the parenting info
I grew up in Wisconsin and I'm totally familiar with the dollar dance! I never knew this was a Midwest thing! 😅
Nice boots George, rugged and classy
The susu is indeed something quite common in west and central Africa (also called Tontine in french) but I know that some other regions practice that as well. As you pointed out it require tremendous trust because if you have win the hand, you must continu to participate until everybody earned it as well.
Most of the time, the participants are people they know intimately (close friends, family members) or people they can vouch for but it works also because the social pressure / tradition is no joke in Africa. So running away with people's money after you have won the hand in the susu could happen but it's not common.
My kiddo wanted a $11 book @ the book fair he picked up 11 piles of dog poop for it ! We also do the book fairs. $20 per kid
As an English teacher to speakers of other languages, I just LOVED this episode! Bring on the culture! I taught English in Japan for a couple of years and I was actually afraid to be invited to a wedding because of how much money it cost to go as I was accustomed to giving gifts under $50 at that time through my upbringing.
Under 50 that barely pays for the meal at a wedding