Young Man Discovers His Older Brother Has Secretly Been Stashing His Rent Money For Years

Aug 15, 2021 by apost team

In an ideal world, your family is made up of the people who you can rely on during the good times and the bad. When life becomes a struggle, or when you have accomplishments you want to share, they are the folks who are there for you. For some people, that might not always be the case. This is why it is essential to never take your family for granted. However, some people are fortunate enough to have families that truly care and look out for them. 

Now and then, there's a story that reminds us just how powerful it can be to have family around that loves us. The story of Todd and Alex Burkemper of O’Fallon, Missouri, from May of 2020 is one of those tales. Todd, the older brother, surprised his younger brother Alex with a bank account full of money. Alex thought he'd been paying rent, when in fact Todd had been saving the money for Alex.

The whole moment was caught on video by Alex and Todd's mother, Barbara Brownell Burkemper. She and her husband both remarked on how they are proud that their children are not only brothers, but also best friends who continuously help each other out. 

Read on to learn more about the Burkemper family's heartwarming story, and how Alex reacted to finding out the secret.

This story of these two brothers starts with the journey of Todd Burkemper. Growing up, Todd always looked out for his little brother, Alex. Over the years, they developed a great bond. Todd, the oldest sibling, faced many struggles as he made his way through life. The challenges didn't discourage him.

They gave him the will to work hard and achieve his goals. Despite all of the obstacles in his way, Todd's determination eventually placed him on the path to success. Immediately after his college graduation in 2011, Todd began establishing himself in his career, as Good News Network reported. Eventually, he became a senior software developer at Buildium. All of these accomplishments gave Todd the ability to build his own home.

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Throughout all his struggles and success, Todd never forgot Alex. The bond between the two brothers stayed tight. Alex, who is six years younger than Todd, needed a place to stay after graduating college in 2017, as Good News Network reported. There was the option of moving back in with his parents, but he wanted to retain the independence he had gained in college. Todd, the doting big brother, told Alex he could stay with him for free while he looked for a job.

After six months, Todd started charging Alex rent. This seemed fair to both brothers since Alex had been given time to get settled and establish himself at the start of his career. This arrangement worked out very well for both brothers for several years. Alex eventually built up enough success where he deemed it time to set out on his own.

Alex began searching for a new home and found one that he loved. He put an offer on the house and it was accepted. The whole Burkemper family, including Todd, decided to celebrate this joyous occasion together. Little did Alex know, Todd had a huge surprise waiting for him that was going to change his life. With the family gathered together, Todd took out his phone and showed Alex a bank account with a lot of money in it. Alex was perplexed, as you'll see in the video.

What could this mean? "That's yours," Todd said to Alex. It was then that Todd revealed that he had been saving the money Alex had been giving him for rent. Not only had Todd saved that money, but he had also been adding money every month to supplement it. In the video, he tells his little brother that he wanted to save him from the struggles that he had gone through. Understandably, Alex was moved by this loving gesture and the two brothers embraced.

This video reminds us of how selfless and unconditional familial love can be and why it is so important in our lives. Todd's love for his little brother was so great that he wanted to give him a big boost as he headed out into the world completely on his own.

Watching the love between these two brothers certainly does warm the heart. Do you have an older sibling who has always watched out for you? Are you the older sibling who watches out for a younger one? Show them this video as a way of reminding them how special they are to you and let us know about the things your siblings have done to help you along life's many journeys.