Twins and University

[Decoratingdilema]

First thing to say is yes I am being totally unreasonable to be worrying about this now.

I have twin girls who are 6. I saw a Martin Lewis article the other day where he talked about maintenance loans for universities. The basic jist of it was that if you had a joint household imcome of £25k then you’d get the full loan.

our joint income is about £85k so I’m not sure how much, if any they’d be entitled to. We’d have to cover rent, food, books etc. It’s got me on a spiral of worrying about how we’d afford this if both of them decided that university was the path that they’d want to take.

Should we be saving now just in case his happens?

honestly this is not a stealth boast, I’m genuinely fearful of planning and being able to afford this should they both want to go.

Then there’s the driving lessons at the same time

I know this is on AIBU but if there is any other twin parents who could share their experience that would be great

so

YANBU - it’s never too early to plan

YABU - they’re 6 get a grip 😂

Thanks for sharing this! Looking at some posters replies it feels like you need to be in a position to put hundreds away each month 😳

I don't have twins but do have a small age gap and now late teenage times are here (driving lessons, uni etc etc) I am very grateful for the money we started saving when the kids were born.
Many people aren't in a position to save, but many people are and a lot don't which I have never understood. If you are in a position to, then save as much as you can as cleverly as you can, would be my advice.

Yes, start saving now. It's a good idea to do so.

I also have 6yr old twins, OP, and often worry about the same. It's true that 12yrs is a long old time away, so I try not to fret too much.

We have started ISAs for them (only just) and have £2600 each in them, kindly given by grandparents, and we just hope to top up as often as we can. The problem with an ISA, though it yields the greatest growth, is that upon 18 the money will belong to them. Though I plan to tell them that if they want to go to university, then it's use this money or don't go! They will, of course, have to work too. They could also take a gap year/defer for a year and save for 12 months while working.

We're on £185k combined so they won't get any additional help.

Save but don't panic.
We have no idea what the situation will be with loans etc in 12 years or whatever but as someone who is about to spend £10000 per year on Uni for DD I definitely recommend saving if you can.

Ours are not twins, but covid meant they went the same year... We saved all we could as we knew they might want to go to uni from about Y8. Our income meant they got just over minimum loan, so about £4800 each. We paid their rent, they used the maintenance loan for everything else. They lived in different cities with very different rental costs, so it was fairest way. They have both just graduated and we have money ... every month... we feel rich!

They don't take it into account that you have more than one child at university. I remember when we had DC1 the midwife saying "I'd wait 3 years before having another one so that they aren't at university at the same time". We did (not for that reason!) but DC1 was ill & went to uni at 19. Between 2015 & 2023 we had them all at university, fortunately it was never 3 at once, but for a lot of the time it was 2. It was tough. They all had jobs.

We had nothing to save when ours were growing up. They both got Saturday jobs at 16 and saved some for uni. We paid for their tuition fees but the rest they had to work and have loans. We gave them 6 driving lessons for 17th birthday and the rest, they had to pay for. No pot for house deposits at all, still trying to pay off our own house. They seem to have turned into 2 very capable adults, both have fabulous homes. One came out of uni with 2 job offers in degree field and still doing similar, the other has never used their degree and within a year of leaving uni was working towards an entirely different qualification alongside a full time job. Save a bit if you can but don't lose sleep over it

@LadyOfACertainAge are you able to link to the calculator please? I've had a look around the website but couldn't find it.

While I note this, there are a number of jobs where a degree is needed but it can be any degree - for example, civil service fast stream, many business graduate recruitment schemes.

The idea of a ‘defined career path’ with a degree leading directly to a job doesn’t necessarily apply these days.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loan-parental-contribution-tool/

I don't tevhnically have twins, but I am a kinship carer for a relative who is two weeks older than DD. I have had full custody of her since age 10, so the girls essentially do see each other as sisters. They are both entering Y12, and I plan to support both of them through uni. I also have DS, who is three years younger to save for.

It is going to be very, very hard. Luckily, we qualify for a good amount in loans, and both girls work. DD has a fair amount saved from her modeling and also sells her artwork through her Instagram. My relative worked full-time at a supermarket over the summer and will continue part-time as she studies for A levels. The girls also share a room so that we were able to take in a lodger, and almost all that money goes in the uni pot. And we try to live frugally: no subscription services, camping holidays, etc.

This, really. It's never going to be a bad thing to have a bit of money in hand to support your girls in whatever path they choose, but also there's always a way if they're determined enough, part-time work, work for a year and save up, hardship fund, go into debt (yes not great but if the outlay is less than the return still worth it). People on MN are obsessed with needing to not allow their kids to start life with an overdraft (of course this is not what anyone would ideally want for their kids) but the reality of life is that people do and still manage fine in the end. We really don't know what the 'system' will be in 12 years time either so no point stressing about it now.

The only extra thing I'd add is move away from the mindset that a degree has to lead to a defined career path, particularly perhaps for your very academic kid. If your kids are academically able to go to uni and have the desire to, I'd encourage that in any event, rather than it needing to be specifically linked to job prospects. There are loads and loads of great jobs out there (however you define great - well paid, interesting, prestigious, fulfilling etc) that need an undergraduate degree (or at least are very much helped by having a degree) but not a specific one. A degree in say biology doesn't have a specific career path outwards, but sets you up for loads of great job options. Even the much maligned humanities or Business Studies have lots of different choices you can make afterwards, not necessarily directly linked but it doesn't mean the degree was a waste of time and money at all. Too many of my DC's bright, academic friends have been pushed into doing Medicine/Law/Engineering type degrees because those 'have a defined career path', when the child has no idea at the age of 18 whether or not they want to be a lawyer or dentist or whatever for the next 50 years of their adult life. Fine if they're sure that is what they want to do of course but if they're unsure far better to do a more generic undergrad and then specialise at postgrad stage, or even just go off and try some different jobs for a few years in their early 20s and come back to study later... the world of work is changing at such a pace now it can be hard for us older ones to get our heads around but really increasingly the idea of a 'defined career path' is obsolete to the younger generations anyway, I expect your girls are more likely to be needing to adapt around technology and change their job lots of times than to pick a 'career' and stick with it forever anyway...

OP is right to be thinking ahead.

It’s worth remembering, too, the following trends:

1. net inward migration in the hundreds of thousands = continued increases in rent costs in university towns and increased competition for jobs for young people
2. current financial difficulties of universities = possible future increases in tuition fees to plug gaps
3. student loans are potential low hanging fruit for governments looking to plug holes in e.g NHS funding. This is because changes to payback arrangements and interest rates can be applied retrospectively. See the U.S for examples.
4. increasing elderly population with voting power, keen to protect their wealth and who have increasing health costs and expectations due to advances in medicine = younger people a low priority for government spending
5. student loan amounts have not kept pace with inflation and the government’s spending commitments and priorities do not indicate this trend will change any time soon. This means the gap between what students can receive and the actual costs of attending uni will continue to increase

Even if parents’ savings and income aren’t used to support young people at uni, then whatever is set aside can be used for rent/house deposit, for example.

My own children are young adults and we are having to subsidise rent. It is not OK to assume that working while at uni will make up the difference. IT DOESN’T. Forget nursery fees or school uniform costs - this is a whole other level of pain.

I’d urge all parents of young children to be as forward thinking as the OP.

Just pretend 1 of your children is 2 years older and put the expenses aside then for 2 years time

Well I also have twins and am also a single parent

They'll need to take the full loans. I won't be able to afford to contribute financially at all. But what I will offer is that they continue to live at home as there are probably half a dozen or more very good universities they cold attend within an hour max train ride of our house and therefore save on living costs

They'll also be expected to work around their studies

I think the general advice is to save what you can for university nowadays? I think the days of loans and a part time job being adequate is over for most families, unfortunately. I'm putting a little away for my 3 and 1 year old now so it's not a mad rush to save when they are older.

Obviously they might not decide to go, in that case you have a nice chunk saved to help them in other ways.

They do get a loan which they will have to take
They should get Saturday jobs and help save up and carry on working if they go
You can save a little to help if it worries you (starting now)
When they go, all you are doung is paying for the food tgey would eat at home, in a different location
They might not go at the same time or at all

I don't think it is actually. According to a parent I spoke to whose TRIPLETS were all heading to uni at same time.

I also said I understand it's beyond the reach of many people. I know we're very fortunate to have this, but other MN threads have people saving £700 per month. We can afford nothing like that. I'd imagine there are plenty of couples in their 30s or 40s who have held down professional jobs for the past decade or two and hold savings of £5k each.

This is the right thing to do. The world is ever more competitive and our children will have to fight harder for a standard of living that we currently take for granted.

Maybe encourage them to try and find a degree apprenticeship. If they are scarce then go straight into work and see if they will help fund a degree. If that fails they can always do an online one part time.

I wouldn't like to be a student now. I think most people won't ever pay their loan back. I know it gets cancelled but it's like a permanent graduate tax.

Our 21 year old went to our local uni and lived at home for 2 of the 3 years of his course, rent free but paid utilities and contributed food shops. He worked part time in hospitality from 18 and saved. We gave him driving lessons last Christmas and birthday and he has recently passed his test and bought his car/insurance from savings. He also took out the maintenance loan. It’s perfectly do-able.

Definitely. I don't have twins but saved the child allowance for mine. They now have nearly 15 k each and are 16/18. They can use it for a flat deposit. Or Higher education
Or Setting up a business

I won't let them just have it for a car or travel tho. That amount of money takes years to accrue. They can save themselves for those things

Great post by @HFJ