They Want To Spend Their Emergency Fund On A 10-Year-Old's Dance Competition Trips. Dave Ramsey Says, 'You're Broke. That's So Screwed Up'

A couple in Wisconsin wrote recently to “The Ramsey Show” asking for advice on how to pay for their daughter's upcoming dance competition travel expenses. Their question sparked a fiery response from personal finance experts Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze.

Ramsey Shuts Down The Idea

Tucker, the husband, explained that he and his wife earn a combined $150,000 and believed they had reached Baby Step Three. Their daughter, age 10, is in dance lessons, and upcoming competitions would involve travel costs. The wife wanted to dip into their emergency fund to cover the added expenses, while Tucker preferred cash-flowing it and making minimum payments on their remaining debt.

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The hosts weren't buying it. “Well, Tucker, you’re not in Baby Step Three if you’re still paying minimum payments on your debt,” Cruze said. “You’re not on a Baby Step Three while you still have a credit card. You need to cut it up right now,” Ramsey added.

Cruze said that travel competitions are not emergencies. “You guys know that if you’re doing a competitive sport, when the season starts and when things are due. You know when that’s coming,” she said. “You may not know the exact price tag, but you should know the range.”

Ramsey pulled no punches when criticizing the decision to spend beyond their means. “Broke people don’t travel with 10-year-old dance competitions. And you’re broke people,” he said. “It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking.”

He continued, “You’re prioritizing a 10-year-old dance competition over your family’s financial health. That’s so screwed up it’s not even addressable.”

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‘That’s Just Not Smart’

Cruze said many families feel pressure to start their kids in competitive sports early, fearing they won't make the middle or high school teams otherwise. Ramsey, however, dismissed those fears as part of a broader denial.

“You don’t need to go on vacation and you don’t need to be spending huge amounts of money on children’s sports or dance competitions when you’re in debt and you’re broke,” he said. “That’s just not smart.”

Ramsey also addressed the unrealistic hopes some parents have about youth sports leading to scholarships or professional careers. “The number of girls that go to college on a dance scholarship is precisely close to almost zero,” he said. “What she’ll have is a little trophy and a memory of a Three Dog Night song when she’s 30.”

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Ramsey said they made intentional choices not to put his children into expensive travel sports. “We had the money. Daniel’s playing ice hockey and we figured out pretty quick he’s not going to be in the NHL,” Ramsey said. “I’m not paying 25,000 bucks so you can have a vacation with your 10-year-old buddies.”

Their advice to Tucker was to get serious about their finances. “You’re not really doing this stuff yet,” Ramsey said. “You’re going to have to get serious about it like your freaking life depends on it.”

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