I have a relative who has always been a very high earner (low-mid six figure salary), but who also has always told tales of whoa about money to anyone who will listen. Said relative has a child who plays an extremely expensive national travel sport . . . and I am also sometimes at the same events since my child also plays.
I don't always go, though, due to financial goals and and also a desire for my child to gain independence. You see, the teams travel without parents, and this is paid for up front when your kid makes a team. But, parents can pay for their own travel separately if they would like to watch. This relative ALWAYS travels to these events, which often require flights and multi-night hotel stays at places like Hiltons and Marriotts. I am absolutely certain he has not missed a single event in the past 5 years. For some of this time he has had a high income, and for other times he has been unemployed.
Anyway, at one of the events, a player mom from his daughter's team approached me. She told me she had been sitting with him watching the event, and that he had told her he was in serious financial trouble. At that point, he had been unemployed for some time (was actually unemployed prior to team tryouts and this was near the end of the season), but his spending had not slowed down one iota. He told her he was close to bankruptcy. She told me his tale of whoa and said she was taking up a collection from all of the parents on his daughters team to help him, and she wanted to know if I also wanted to contribute since I am related. Some of the parents are very well off, so I'm sure she had a good amount of money already at that point. I told her that is kind of her, but I declined to contribute.
She seemed shocked . . . lol, but it wore off I bet! On the last day of the event I saw him an asked how things were going. He told me with great delight that the other parents had given him a cash gift the night before, so he went out to celebrate at Joe's Crab Shack. He got a boil pot, whatever that is. Nothing says "OMG thank you for saving me from bankruptcy!" like buying yourself a $50 crab dinner.
(Just for the record, when I do go to these things, I usually grocery shop and eat in my room at these events. I will sometimes attend one "team meal" to socialize with other parents, but that's it.)