Just about anyone who’s ever watched Dave Ramsey could have told you what his answer was going to be.
But a woman called in to “The Ramsey Show” recently to ask the popular Christian financial adviser anyway.
A woman identified only as “Rachel from Indianapolis” framed her question carefully.
“Is there ever a time in Baby Step 2 that it would be appropriate to cash-flow, like, a life event or a once-in-a-lifetime experience?”
Her terminology was familiar to longtime Ramsey fans, who know Ramsey’s seven “baby steps” for getting out of debt:
Baby Step One is to save $1,000 for an emergency fund.
Baby Step Two is to pay off all debt (except for a home mortgage). That’s the rough stage, where participants learn to sacrifice and scrimp and stretch, doing everything they can, including taking on extra jobs called “side hustles” to obliterate their debt.
For most, it takes months, or even years, to wipe out their debt load so they can move on to spending, investing, giving, and enjoying financial freedom in Baby Steps Three and beyond.
Saying “no” to vacations and other indulgences is a big part of Baby Step Two. And pausing the process to “cash-flow” an expense is usually reserved for emergencies, like a car repair or medical situation.
Ramsey’s daughter, Rachel Cruze, who was co-hosting with her dad, wanted details.
“What would that [life event] be?” she asked.
“It would be to go see several good childhood friends of mine in Las Vegas named Kevin, Nick, Howie, AJ, and Brian, at the Sphere in August,” Rachel from Indianapolis explained.
Ramsey chimed in. “The Backstreet Boys?”
Cruze, looking stunned, broke out in laughter. “I’m so glad you called on this day, Rachel. If there’s any hope…” she trailed off, glancing at her dad.
“You know Rachel’s been twice,” Ramsey told the caller, referring to his daughter.
Cruze was clearly sympathetic, telling the caller the show by the 1990s-era boy band “is so good!”
The caller said even her husband told her there was no way Dave Ramsey would give her the green light to indulge in the trip.
“I’m, like, watching the videos and my husband yells from the other room, ‘Dave says no!’” she told the podcast hosts.
Ramsey sat at his microphone quietly, smiling, waiting to see what his daughter’s response to the caller was going to be.
“I’m just going to see if Rachel’s a hypocrite, that’s all I’m going to see,” he said as his daughter squirmed and laughed next to him.
Rachel from Indianapolis told Ramsey she and her husband had paid off $78,000 in debt, but still had $96,000 to go. She calculated that by paying $3,500 per month, she and her husband were about 25 months from paying it off.
Ramsey pondered quietly for a moment, and then told the caller, “I went to see the Eagles at the Sphere, which would be my version of Backstreet Boys, because the chance of me seeing the Backstreet Boys is close to zero.”
“But the Eagles at the Sphere was one of the best concert experiences of my life,” he acknowledged. “So… I can get there with you and Rachel [Cruze] on how difficult this is… it’s a real cool experience, and it’s worth every penny… if you had the pennies.”
Then he dropped the bad news.
“You don’t,” he said. “You’re broke. You’re $90,000 in debt.”
“It would be inconsistent with what we teach,” he said. “That’s the bottom line.”
He did offer some words of encouragement, saying, “You’re working so hard, and you’re doing a great job. And here’s the thing: If you live like no one else, I promise you, later, there’s going to be better things than this would have been.”
His words turned out to be prophetic.
In a follow-up episode, Ramsey and Cruze had a surprise for Rachel from Indianapolis. They brought her back on the show and added someone else to the call: Backstreet Boys member Kevin Richardson.
Richardson said a friend had shared a social media clip of the initial call and he reached out to Ramsey’s organization.
“I would like to invite you and a guest to come see us in Las Vegas,” he told Rachel from Indianapolis. “And we’ll pick up the tab.”
Then Ramsey chimed in, saying, “And you can’t go in Baby Step Two if you have to pay for the travel, so Ramsey’s going to pick up the travel for you.”
Rachel was stunned. “Are you serious right now?” she said. “I’m like… I’m going to start crying.”
Ramsey and Cruze thanked Richardson for his generosity.
“She’ll never forget it,” Cruze marveled. “Oh my gosh. So great!”
Ramsey posted a clip of the surprise on social media.
This was fun!
Rachel called into the Ramsey Show a week ago with a tough decision to make: She wants to see the @backstreetboys at the Sphere in Las Vegas, but she’s working on paying off debt. @kevinrichardson from the Backstreet Boys saw the clip, and here’s what happened… pic.twitter.com/R1uv7HNSUd
— Dave Ramsey (@DaveRamsey) April 9, 2026
“Very fun!” he commented on the surprise ending for Rachel from Indianapolis. “You don’t get to do that very often.”
His daughter chimed in, “It’s like a Make-a-Wish!”
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