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

A woman took to Reddit for advice after clashing with her twin sister over a shared college fund, now valued at $63,000. She’s questioning whether she’s being unfair—or simply standing up for the financial discipline she’s shown over the years.

“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 wrote. The account, intended to support both sisters through college, has since become the center of a growing family conflict.

The plan was to use the fund to pay off student loans after the investments mature. “We are waiting for them to mature, so we are just pulling out loans until then,” she explained, also wondering if that approach might be unwise.

Although both sisters are taking out loans, the Reddit user has made more budget-conscious decisions. “I got scholarships and chose to commute from home to save money,” she said. In contrast, her twin chose to live on campus, racking up higher expenses.

Thanks to her frugality, she anticipates that her portion of the fund will more than cover her college expenses. “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 wrote.

However, her father has other plans for the surplus. “My dad is saying that whatever is left over from my portion will go to my sister’s fund,” she shared, expressing frustration that her sacrifices might not benefit her in the end.

She had hoped to use the leftover 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 said.

Trying to find middle ground, she proposed a compromise. “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,” she explained.

Her sister seemed somewhat receptive, but the situation remains tense—especially with their parents backing her twin. “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,” the woman wrote.

After years of making deliberate financial sacrifices, she’s feeling increasingly sidelined. “I made those sacrifices—commuting and getting scholarships—specifically to save money,” she said.

If things don’t shift, she’s contemplating a drastic change. “I’m honestly considering just living on campus and using my half for that,” she wrote. “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.”

She also revealed she transferred schools early on 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 noted. “And it is also a better school in general.”

She believes that even if she gets her own apartment, her fund will still cover her full college expenses. “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 said.

Though the brokerage accounts are under her father’s management, she emphasized 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 stated.

She also highlighted that a portion of the money is from her own contributions. “$8k of the money is money I contributed while working in HS,” she added.

Supportive comments rolled in, including one user who told her, “You’re not being selfish, you’re setting boundaries after making smart sacrifices.” Another called out the imbalance: “Having one blow it on non-essentials and the other one trying to save is ridiculous.”

Despite the tension, she said she understands her parents’ perspective but wanted to gather external opinions. “I 100% understand my parents’ opinion, but I just wanted other opinions,” she wrote.