Student Makes ‘Sacrifices’ to Save Money on School, but Parents Say Her Twin Will Get What’s Left of the College Fund

A woman turns to the Reddit community for advice following a growing dispute with her twin sister over their shared college fund. With the total balance now at $63,000, she questions whether she’s being selfish or simply fair in wanting to benefit from the sacrifices she’s made.

“My parents set up a brokerage account for me and my twin sister with around $55,000 total, which has grown to about $63,000 now,” she explains in her post. The account, originally meant to help fund both of their college expenses, has now become the center of a family disagreement.

The original plan was to use the money to pay off loans they’re currently taking out, once the investments mature. “We are waiting for them to mature, so we are just pulling out loans until then,” she says, also asking if that strategy might be a mistake.

While both siblings are borrowing money for school, the poster has made several cost-saving choices her sister hasn’t. “I got scholarships and chose to commute from home to save money,” she writes, in contrast to her twin, who opted to live on campus and now faces higher costs.

Thanks to her frugality, she believes her half of the account will be enough to cover all of her college expenses — plus some leftover. “I’ll likely have enough from my ‘half’ of the account to pay off all my college costs and still have money left over,” she notes.

But her father now says the leftovers from her share will instead go to her sister. “My dad is saying that whatever is left over from my portion will go to my sister’s fund,” she shares, expressing frustration that her efforts may not end up benefiting her.

She had planned to use her remaining funds as an emergency cushion after graduation. “I was hoping to use the leftover amount as an emergency fund for when I move out after college,” she says.

Trying to meet her sister halfway, she suggests splitting her leftover portion. “To try to be fair, I offered a compromise,” she explains. “I would use the amount needed from my share to pay for my college, and whatever is left, I would split 50/50 with my sister.”

Her sister seemed open to the idea, but there’s still uncertainty — especially since their parents have made their stance clear. “She’s also leaning toward just taking all of it—mainly because my parents are siding with her and said the money will just go to her unless she speaks up for me,” she writes.

The user is growing frustrated after years of conscious effort to save, only to feel overlooked. “I made those sacrifices—commuting and getting scholarships—specifically to save money,” she says.

If her sister insists on taking it all, she’s considering making a big change. “I’m honestly considering just living on campus and using my half for that,” she reveals. “I might as well benefit from it directly and get the full college experience instead of continuing to make sacrifices that don’t benefit me in the end.”

The Reddit user also reveals she made a major decision early on to switch schools in order to be more financially responsible. “I transferred from a school where I had to pay on-campus housing costs to a closer school for the sake of saving money by commuting,” she writes. “And it is also a better school in general.”

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She estimates that if she continues to be smart about her money, she’ll be able to pay off all her college costs — even if she moves into her own apartment. “I would have about just enough to pay for my whole college with the fund if I decide to get an apartment for the rest of my 3 years left in college,” she says.

While both brokerage accounts are managed by her father, she emphasizes that she and her sister are the official beneficiaries. “Both accounts are managed by my dad but we are the beneficiaries of both accounts,” she explains.

She also points out that part of the account’s current value is from her own work. “$8k of the money is money I contributed while working in HS,” she adds.

One commenter sides with her, saying, “You’re not being selfish, you’re setting boundaries after making smart sacrifices.” Another criticizes the lack of fairness, writing, “Having one blow it on non-essentials and the other one trying to save is ridiculous.”

Still, the poster admits she understands her parents’ intentions but wants to hear outside perspectives. “I 100% understand my parents’ opinion, but I just wanted other opinions,” she writes.