All Star Cheer Costs a Fortune, but I Pay for It Anyway. Here’s Why

Trying to make the most of all star cheer costs? You are in the right place. Below we break it down in plain English, with practical tips you can actually use.

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• All Star Cheer Costs a Fortune, but I Pay for It Anyway.
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For the past seven years, my daughter has been a competitive cheerleader. But even though all star cheer takes up a significant part of my monthly budget, when I sit down and think about it, it’s worth it.

Written by Jana Lynch Last Updated: April 1, 2025 Reviewed by Megan Robinson, CMC®

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I’m a pretty frugal person by nature.

I use coupons when I remember them, mostly keep to a budget, occasionally participate in no-spend challenges, and have an overall handle on what I’m doing with my money.

Plus, there’s not a whole lot I like to spend money on. Food allergies keep me eating at home, the library has all the books I need, and I’m not interested in fashion.

However, there are a few exceptions: pens, notebooks, lip balm, and all star cheerleading.

For the past seven years, my daughter has been a competitive cheerleader. I don’t want to add up all the money I’ve spent on it because, well, it’s a lot. But even though all star cheer takes up a significant part of my monthly budget, when I sit down and think about it, it’s worth it.

Why Does It Cost So Much?

Jana Lynch | DollarSprout

There’s no one answer to why cheerleading is so expensive, but there are some explanations. You have to pay for uniforms, bows, shoes, travel, tuition, competition fees, practice gear…the list goes on. And that’s just what you’re paying the gym.

Don’t forget about personal expenses, like hair ties, bobby pins, hairspray, makeup, and gas driving to all the places.

There’s also optional stuff like cheer camp, tumbling classes, private lessons, and more. It’s not much taken separately, but it’s a lot when you put it all together. Over the years, I’ve spent anywhere from $5,000-$10,000 in a single full-year season. And there are plenty of parents who spend significantly more than that (although there are some who spend less).

Another reason, and one that’s been talked about at length in the cheer community, is that one company essentially has a monopoly on all star cheer. If you watched Cheer on Netflix, you saw the parents and friends of the Navarro athletes complaining that they couldn’t watch the Daytona competition without paying for it. And that’s completely true.

Thanks to Varsity’s stranglehold on the competitive cheer world, you can’t do anything without paying a fortune. Almost nothing is free, including watching your athlete perform. Because there’s no competition to force them to lower their prices, they can effectively do whatever they want. And they do.

The gyms have to pay, which means the families have to pay.

Related: How to Make a Budget in 7 Simple Steps

There Are Ways to Make Cheer More Affordable

Until some things change, I’ve accepted that this is an expensive sport. Complaining about the cost isn’t going to make the cost go down, but there are ways I mitigate it.

Jana Lynch | DollarSprout

Budget. Knowing how much I have to pay each month and putting it as a line item in my budget means I have the money available when I need it. I break it down into tuition, fees, clothes, tumbling, extras, one-day competitions, and two-day competitions. I also make sure to account for end-of-season competitions and start saving for those as soon as each new season begins.

Participate in fundraisers. This isn’t something I take advantage of as much as I should, but the fundraisers do help offset some of the costs.

Be creative. I look for all the possible ways you can save money. For instance, we carpool for practice. I’ve bought used uniforms, paid competition fees in full early to take advantage of pre-payment discounts, used coupons and sales to purchase things like socks or hairspray. I’ve shared rooms when I travel and pack snacks and water for inside the venues. There are fees I can’t do anything about, but with a little creativity, I can control some of the costs.

Know my limits. Because I set such a strict budget, I know what extras I can and can’t afford, and I stick to that. I also know that if cheer does become a financial burden, I can do things like move her to a less-costly rec program, stop extra tumbling lessons, or talk to our gym owner about scholarships and sponsorships.

And, of course, there’s always the hope that she gets a paid bid to whatever end-of-season competition we attend. That’s a huge money-saver!

Related: Why a Zero-Based Budget Could Be Your Tool to Financial Freedom

Five Reasons I Pay for All Star Cheer Anyway

Even with the money-saving strategies I employ, it’s still costly. But as long as I can afford it, I’m going to continue to pay for all star cheerleading.

My daughter loves it

Jana Lynch | DollarSprout

To say my child is obsessed with cheerleading is an understatement. She follows cheer the way football or baseball players follow their sport. She knows the rules, the teams (especially the Worlds-level teams), and the cheerlebrities. She’s learning the history of it. She and her best friend even have Cheerleading Worlds pools the way other people have Super Bowl pools.

Not only does she love the sport, but she loves participating in it. Her entire face and demeanor change when she gets to the gym, when she’s talking about competing or her dream of cheering in college, and the excitement when she learns a new stunt or tumbling skill. As a parent, it’s hard to ask for more than that.

The gym is her happy place, her teammates are some of her closest friends, she’s free to be herself, and all of that alone is worth the cost.

Soft skills

Jana Lynch | DollarSprout

Developing skills like responsibility, time management, self-confidence, and problem-solving isn’t unique to cheerleading. I think most sports teach them. But with cheerleading, athletes need to learn how to balance homework with practice and conditioning with chores, and how to stand up for themselves when people make fun of you for being a cheerleader.

Those comments teach her patience, tolerance, and self-control. Detention is not an option because someone doesn’t think cheerleading is a sport.

But what they’re really learning is all the skills it takes to function at work, at home, and in society. And they truly do transcend the mat. “I think cheer lets you me with group projects in school,” my daughter said. “You have to trust people to do their jobs and you have to learn to work with people you might not get along with.”

It keeps her busy

My daughter is in the gym for roughly six hours each week, more when she’s doing her tumbling program. When the weather is nice, she has to run a mile every week. She also needs to condition. Between what’s required of her from cheer and school (and music lessons), there’s not a whole lot of downtime.

Don’t get me wrong. She still has plenty of time to see her friends, scroll mindlessly through Instagram, and get all of her homework done, but boredom and my daughter don’t mix. Cheer is a way to keep her physically active, off of her phone, and out of trouble.

Relationships

Jana Lynch | DollarSprout

There’s a stereotype that cheerleaders are mean, catty, rude, and overall awful. It makes me furious when I hear that. Mean g

Final Thoughts

Before you check out, double-check all star cheer costs against current offers and any coupons you can stack. Small habits like this add up to real savings over a year.

Originally published at dollarsprout.com.