What Does It Feel Like To Be Poor

9/5/2014
(48) Amit Banerjee's answer to Poverty: What does it feel like to be poor? - Quora
Amit Banerjee's answer to:
Poverty: What does it feel like to be poor?
Follow Question
This is a follow-up question to What does it feel like to be financially rich?.

View All 127 Answers
Promote Answer to 100 People
Amit Banerjee, Writer

Votes by Prateek Maheshwari, Abhishek Naik, Gwen Sawchuk, Anusha Reddy,
and 11305 more.
It feels suffocating.
I belong to a middle class family and had never seen "real" poverty during childhood.
Yes, I had a Hercules bicycle. Yes I was given good education. Yes, I would go to
Disney world once a year. Yes, my parents would take me to holidays. I had a TV
video game and a huge collection of cartridges my mom bought for me, when I
scored good marks.
Then I entered college. My sister's marriage was planned, dad bought an apartment
and had to pay my fees for engineering. All three events happened in quick
succession and we were suddenly in debt.
Somehow, we got scammed and got ourselves chained in bank loans and poverty
crept in. It was in such a rush that suddenly, I felt jumping from an airplane without
any preparation and now you have to learn to fly as you fall. Or you're dead.
There was this time range of 2 years (2008-2010) I had to fight poverty on my own.
Here is what happened
- No money to pay college fees. Figure out a way to earn that thing yourself
- No money to pay for daily transport. Walk.
- No money for entertainment, movies or parties. Ask your friends for a smoke
- No money for anything except basic food.
- Worst, manage all the heckle of bank. They would send "bouncers" to my house
to recover the EMI amount and I had to guard my mom. I was once beaten in my
neighborhood in front of everyone for not being able to pay the EMI amount for
http://www.quora.com/Poverty/What-does-it-feel-like-to-be-poor/answer/Amit-Banerjee
500 Credits to Promote
Answer Author
Amit Banerjee
Follow
Writer
More from Amit Banerjee

Mahabharata: What elements of
'Mahabharata' make it timeless & what
are the basic lessons we can learn from
it?
1.4k Thanks for such an interesting
question.
... (continue)
Personal Finance: I earn 52000 INR per
month. What are the best best ways to
increase my assets and decrease my
liabilities?
1.7k
I usually follow this principle.

... (continue)
What are some ways through which I can
constantly keep myself motivated and
determined so that I can achieve my
goal?
1/20
9/5/2014
couple of months. I had to sell furnitures, gold, what not.

I told my father its not worth pursuing my education, given the crisis condition. I
should take up a job and raise money for the family. My father said - "Son, you can
make money whenever you want but you won't be able to learn later. This is a
difficult time, don't worry. I myself could not study further and had to take up a job at
18, so I can feed a family of 10 people, my brothers, sister, parents. I won't let it
happen with you. We will somehow manage it, just do your thing"
The year was 2008. My monthly expenses were 900-1500 Rs (this includes food) .
My engineering fees was 7000 a month and my family is fighting debt. In Lakhs.
Each month, the debt would increase because of that education fee. Imagine the
condition of a 22 year old guy who has never seen poverty in his life, sitting with
friends who would spend thousands on beer parties and live on their mercy.
227
You can never achieve your Goal.

... (continue)
Share Answer
Twitter
Facebook
Answer Stats
Latest activity 5h ago
Amit has written 447 answers.
147,952 views on this answer.
I was literally beaten and broken because I had no idea how to generate money,
while I am still a student.
I gave interviews in a BPO. Rejected.
I gave interviews in part time jobs. Rejected.
Applied for a teaching job. Rejected.
Every door I knocked, I was rejected.
Every relative/friend I asked for money, slammed the door.
There was a time in my life when I had just 10Rs in my pocket, just in case some
emergency comes in and I have to make phone calls from a local telephone booth. I
would walk in the streets for days because I didnt have enough money to afford a
rickshaw. I would eat water when I am hungry and try to save as much as possible.
I would work for hours in a data entry job and get paid Rs 1 for filling up forms, that
way I earned Rs 80-100 a day. I saw my father giving up his scooter to save fuel
costs. I saw my mom giving up family occasions. I saw my sister selling her
jewelry. I would cry in the bathroom. Alone. For months.
When disaster comes, it comes with a battalion from all directions, all at
once.
My girlfriend left me when I needed her the most. She said - " You're yourself in
trouble, without a job, how will I present you infront of my family? "
2/20
9/5/2014
I lost her. I loved her, she was the only thing that made me smile but I lost her. For
money.
I have died many deaths in those two years but this was the hardest blow. Losing
the love of your life because you dont have enough money. I remember our last
meeting. It was raining and we were standing below an asbestos shed, enjoying an
alpenliebe as that was the only thing I could buy for her.
This shit was so painful that I almost gave up on everything. Weird thoughts started
hitting my mind.
Meanwhile, I got a Govt job which I did not like. I walked away. I was broke, beaten
and pushed to the corner but I walked away. Somewhere in my heart I had hope. I
knew that this is a bad phase which is not permanent. This too shall pass but I
could not allow mediocrity to creep in. I had a dream and a temporary crisis is no
excuse on giving up on your dreams and settle for mediocrity.
Here is the resignation letter (some portions have been blurred for privacy)
3/20
9/5/2014
So what are my options now?

4/20
9/5/2014
Mission statement: Raise money as rapidly as possible and cover up the debt.
Government sector - This is full of horse shit. I mean, you know the kind of shit I
am talking about.
Private sector - No degree. No experience. No skills. Shitty resume. Bad idea.
Part time jobs - Possible but not scalable as they are low paying. Won't be able
to scale rapidly.
Business - Scalable but read mission statement again. No money in the first
place. How do I start a business without money? Are you kidding me
They say when you have hit your lowest point, you're subject to making the greatest
change. That is the point when you realize that you've nothing more to lose and then
the animal inside you comes out.
Solution: Start a business which does not require initial investment. But this model
should be able to scale itself rapidly. In short, the rate of its scaling should be
higher than the rate at which the loan scales. Also, their should be some kind of
virality associated with it, so that it spreads itself, without me having to spread it.
Weapon: Internet and Time. Let's get some shit done.
I made up a website with 700 INR. Fuck, I did not have 700Rs to buy the domain
name. I bought it again on debt. Here is a bill which is very close to my heart.....(it
says Rs 275 in debt)
5/20
9/5/2014
I didn't succeed in the first go. I had ZERO technical knowledge on how to build a
website. But that was not going to stop me because I don't have any other option.
My survival depends on this and I have to do it, come what may.
My first website didn't pick up, Failed.
I made up a second one. It didn't work either.
I made up a third website. Failed.
Devastated, I gave it a fourth try. Countless hours spent in Googling, coding, writing
and building it. I remember those days. I locked myself in a balcony and Googled all
day long. Nights, days, weeks, toiled like a madman. I suffered from Jaundice and
lost 14-20 Kgs. That was the time I realized what hard work means.
First month, I made $1.29. Second month, I made $8. Third month I made $21.
And then some more. And then some more. And then some more.........
6/20
9/5/2014
When a wolf starts smelling blood and flesh around, he becomes a dangerous
beast. I had smelled my flesh and now I jumped on my prey with all I've got.
Generated $40,000 in two years. (For those curious and who doubt my story in
comments - I didn't raise it from a single website, there were some small sites as
well. Also, I did a good amount of freelancing. This is to ensure I have multiple ways
of generating money, should the main site crashes. The site did suffer a major blow
but by that time I had solidified my basement.)
Here is a picture of my balcony, where I used to work on my website and other
things (yes a CRT monitor and a broken laptop which college authorities had gifted
me)
I did not wanted to share stats, but after some people requested it, here goes the
7/20
9/5/2014
journey of the website.
Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records.

Paid off the whole debt. Saved a bit.
Today, I work at LinkedIn. Its like a dream come true for me.
(No I am not an MBA. No I am not an IITan. No I did not go to US to get a degree
from an Ivy league university. No I did not get it through campus placement. No I did
not make it through employee referral. I am just another average graduate from just
another average engineering college. I just did one thing and did it well. Put my
heart and soul into what I really wanted to do.)
8/20
9/5/2014
(I am at the extreme left, red k urta and dhoti. Colleagues are overjoyed on cultural
day. More pics here Cultural Day @ Slideshare/Link edIn Delhi )
But the lessons I have learned in those two years has helped me shape up my
character and be a better person. Those were the longest and hardest 2 years I will
never be able to forget. Also the most worthwhile time of my life so far.
I don't waste money now. No show off. Yearly vacations - Yes. Weekend parties No. No costly gadgets. Don't buy shit you don't need. Don't buy "branded" stuff just
because every other clueless idiot is doing it. No. Don't.
Lesson learned the hard way - Be grateful for what you have.
These days, my parents are looking a bride for me. When the girl's father asks for
my salary, I smile and say "I hope your daughter gets a wealthy guy. Because I
know money matters. Every single rupee counts."
When I return home in flight, a part of me cries. Not because I am spending money
on traveling which can be done in train. I feel bad thinking someone in this planet
needs this money to feed himself. And here I am, traveling in a jet to save time
9/20
9/5/2014
because I am short on leaves.

Lesson: Be kind, for everyone out there is fighting a hard battle.
Edit: Thanks for all the upvotes. Here is sharing the first cheque I received from my
website. This was that day when I have cried the most.
Whenever I am in trouble, I open my archive and see this cheque. This gives me all
the strength I need.
Some tips to graduates, students who are yet to enter "real world"
1. Lead a loan free life. Need a car? Wait, don't jump into an EMI. Save and then
buy the car. Avoid banks as much as possible. No credit cards, I don't need
cashback and other things. Want to study abroad? Don't take huge educational
10/20
9/5/2014
loan. If at all you take loans, have something to fall back on. Money is fire, you
gotta be careful. Save. Every month Pay Yourself First
2. Make mistakes. Fail, fail fast and make it public. Don't drag it on. I wouldn't have
succeeded in this wild venture if I listened to people telling me I write shitty articles.
In fact, all I wrote for the first year was pure garbage. But here is the thing. I didn't
stop. I kept pressing on because I had no time.
3. Do not be ashamed of your situation. I could have written it Anonymously, so that
my Facebook friends never know how miser my life was. But No. I am not ashamed
of the truth. Accept life as it is.
4. Do not compare your life with anyone.
I see a new trend, specially in Quora. People comparing their life with IITans and IIM
graduates. As if, IITans don't have any struggle in life. As if IIM graduates are the
happiest people. Trust me, its a myth. They too have challenges, they too have
problems in their life. Keeping the expectation of society because you're an IITan or
IIM graduate is no easy feat. The moment an interviewer sees the word IITan on a
resume, he himself prepares the toughest questions. If you compare your life with
someone else's, you will not achieve peace.
5. Be very careful when success comes to you easily. Its treacherous path to tread
down. You must see failure before success, otherwise you will not know the value.
Lets say you sit in a campus interview and clear it in one shot, take up the job and
keep doing it for years, chances are high that you will regret - "Why I did not
explore? What for?" Also, do not expect to get lucky everytime. You will be in
trouble somewhere down the road, then what are you going to do?
6. Do something on your own. However small or big, doesn't matter. Do something
completely from scratch and learn how to sell that thing. This will teach you life
lessons you will use for the rest of your life.
This will also give you huge confidence. I don't have any fear in my mind. Fear of
what? The worst that can happen is that I will lose my day job. So what? I have
worked on my own for 3-4 years without any help and have overcomed a huge
financial crisis on my own, without a job. So if I am in trouble again, I know how to
make my way.
11/20
9/5/2014
7. Do not make one disappointment the center of your life.

When some incident shatters all the plans, hopes and aspirations, people start
considering that pain and hurt to be the center of their lives and continue to live their
lives around it.When people start considering one obstacle, challenge or misery to
be the center of their life, and stops the very momentum of life, they cannot become
successful in life. Nor can they achieve happiness and contentment.
8. Help people as much as possible. My friend Soumen Halder was with me during
that tough phase. WE have had many fights. But he was there. When the storm had
settled down at my end, he was going through a tough time. I pulled him out and
secured his position at a startup I was working.
9. Do not be obsessed with "perfection". You don't need a perfect solution. You
need a solution which is "good enough".
People say "passion" is everything. Trust me, its wrong. Passion is not
everything. Noone interviews a passionate musician who played guitar for 20
years, never copied someone else's music and call it his own.
You should have a Goal. Well, wrong again. How do you know where you are going
when you are full of doubts?
I believe, you need a problem. A massive problem. A crisis. Solve that shit and you
will have those answers. Most of this comes from experimentation. And to
experiment, you need systems.
12/20
9/5/2014
Big things will happen from many small things. So lets say if you have 10 small
things in your pocket, one of them will be big. You don't know which one is your
trump card.
Now this calls for a well deserved rant, take it with a grain of salt.
<rant>
10. Failure is acceptable. Every single person fails. You know what's not
acceptable? NOT TRYING. I see most people giving up without even trying
in the first place.
So you hate your job. What are you doing to find something you love? You
dedicate so much for your girlfriend, you spend hours chatting in Facebook,
you go to weekend parties and then on Monday morning, you are ready
13/20
9/5/2014
with your excuses. Stop pretending. Yes You, I am telling this to you. Stop
being a hypocrite to yourself. Yes, I am angry and shouting because I know
you're not giving your 100%.
You keep feeding excuses to your brain everyday. Things like - "I don't find
time to do this. I don't have 60%, I won't be able to sit in some campus
placement interview, I am a loser. She will leave me, my parents, he is
lucky because he has an MBA, I dont have a rich father, recession is
coming, not many companies are hiring electrical engineers, everyone is
shooting for IT companies. I must get some money to pursue MS from US,
otherwise its impossible to succeed.....I am a girl and I cannot survive
outside my home because of rising crime against women, I am this I am
that...." FUCK..!
WTF dude? WTF are you thinking? You need a massive thrashing from life.
Someone must tie you with a rope and beat you up like shit, then you will
do it. You dumbass, stop telling yourself those imaginary lies. Stop cribbing
over your misery. Stop crying over your weaknesses. JUST DO IT. You're not
a kid who cries over a fucking lollypop. Get off your ass...!!!!!
</rant>
11. Time for another analogy. Its what we call - "Filmy bullshit" :)
Hector and Achilles - both are great warriors. Hector is a noble spirit while Achilles
doesn't give any damn on anything.
Hector doesn't "seek" wars. He sits in his comfort zone and waits for the war to
come. His logic - "Yes, I am a warrior but that doesn't mean I should be looking for
a war and invite trouble."
Achilles "seeks" war. He never sits in his comfort zone, he finds where a war is
happening and goes there to fight it. His logic - "I am a warrior, my character is
fighting wars. I will find wars and fight it. If I don't, war is going to come anyway and
then I will be beaten."
14/20
9/5/2014
Now who do you think will win, the person who sat in his comfort zone waiting for
the war or the person who fought wars anyway?
Be like Achilles. Find wars, fight them. If you be like Hector, someday some
Achilles will come and beat the shit out of you, kill you and drag your dead shit in
front of everyone.
As he said - There are no pacts between lions and men.
15/20
9/5/2014
12. Life is hard. Remember that dialogue from Rang de Basanti,

Gate ke is taraf hum life ko nachate hain, to dujji taraf life humko nachati hai
I don't care who you are and how much money you have, life will beat you down to
your knees and keep you there if you let it. Be prepared. Value relationships, you
will need them someday.
There is a poem in Hindi by Harivansh Ray Bachhan which you should remember
16/20
9/5/2014

,
,

,
,

, ,

,

,

,
What has poverty taught me?

I got a few questions in my inbox - "If you succeeded in your website, why did you
choose a job?"
Here is the thing I have learned from poverty, being broke, establishing a small
business from scratch. Money is not everything in life. Neither is your job title. Nor
is your MBA degree. Life is much more greater than these petty things. Life is all
about the experiences you make. I could have sit at home and pursued my website,
earn more money but I would miss out experiences which are far more valuable. 2535 is that time of your life when you can explore and do whatever you want. If you
give up your freedom for money, one day you may have to regret it. You're going to
die anyway, so the amount of money in your bank is useless. Make experiences,
not wealth. Money is important and it matters but far more valuable is gaining
Search
experiences,
inviting challenges, accepting how life unfolds. Live in different cities,
48
Home
Tejas
Add Question
17/20
9/5/2014
11.3k
work on small jobs, you will see the true color of life. You will never be able to
realize this if you sit in your comfort zone. Get out of your comfort zone and do stuff
you're afraid to do, do things you want to do.
P.S: I still cry for her.
Some People you can take inspiration from

When you have empty pockets, you will need inspiration. Let me tell you, I am not
the only guy out there. I am just average, there are people who have exceptional
stories of their own. I know some of them personally, have met a few and have
connected online since 4-5 years.
Here is a small list of entrepreneurs and technology bloggers I know whom you can
refer for inspiration (in no particular order)
Amit Agarwal (the godfather of Indian tech blogging) - Digital Inspiration
Keith D'Souza (this guy is my hero, he was my inspiration and mentor. I am
grateful to him in so many ways beyond explanation, not because of the money
I earned from freelancing. I am grateful because he gave me guidance, he taught
me the tricks of the trade. I was a sophomore, would commit silly mistakes and
he would correct it, show me the way. I wrote close to 400 articles in the site
he started. my articles - Amit Banerjee - Techie Buzz )
Amit Ranjan (SlideShare COO and cofounder, I am under his mentorship now)
Webyantra
Raju PP - Technology Personalized
Sandip Dedhia - BlogsDNA
Abhijeet Mukherjee (I know him. Amazing writer.) http://www.guidingtech.com/
18/20
9/5/2014
Rohit Langde ( I know him personally. Nice fella!) Blogsolute

Rishabh Agarwal (He quit his corporate career and pursued Photography. and he
is a real badass at what he does - Rish Photography )
Pathik Shah - growth hacker at Hike. He quit his IIM dream and went the startup
way. Pathik Shah
Debajyoti Das - We belong to the same hometown, Calcutta. Our stories are
similar. Snaphow.com
Ashish Mohta - http://www.technospot.net/blogs/
Harsh Agarwal - This guy teaches how to raise money online. Good resourceShouters Who Inspire
Unitechy Tech Analysis (this goes to all those girls who think technology is for
men, she will blow your mind)
Rajesh (we call him Pandu). If you break your mobile into a million pieces, he
will still fix it for you. Rajesh (ePandu) on Twitter
Puneet Jain MobiGyaa n
Sathyajith - Sathya Says
(Linux geek ...we call him just Sathya. )
Arpit (one of the first guys whom I met online. Alpha geek.
http://browserfame.com/ )
Mayur - http://webtrickz.com/
Shankar Ganesh - He is just 22 years old and well ahead of his time. Killer Tech
Tips
This list is endless and I can go on and on. More awesome people here
The Best Indian Bloggers
______________________________________________
To the people who think this is a cooked up story to garner popularity, sympathy,
upvotes or whatever:
Dude, I didn't write it for you. Because I know you haven't been through what I have
been. Had you walked in my shoes, you wouldn't have had doubts over my crying
words. I have written this for that soul who is in trouble and needs inspiration. I know
that soul is reading it and I know that soul will one day thank me for this. That is all.
Upvote 194+ Comments Share (162) Thank Report Updated 7 Mar
19/20
9/5/2014
Top Stories from Your Feed

Prateek Maheshwari voted up this
answer.
Photographs: What are some of the

most epic photos ever taken?
Ronak Parmar, The Daydreamer
1.4k
Top content on Quora.
Prateek Maheshwari voted up this

answer.
Arranged Marriages: What is the

craziest experience you've had
when a prospective groom/bride
had come to see you for the first
time (before the wedding)?
My ex-girlfriend is in BITS Pilani on

the verge of completion of her first
year, and she has dumped me. I
don't see any bright chances in the
JEE this year. What should I do?
Amit Banerjee, Writer
Nukul Upadhye, Building

Againn.in- A coalition loyalty
program for ecommerce
companies in India
9.3k
2.6k
Did she take your FIITJEE material

with her?
Read In Feed
The Titanic, 1912
Went to the girl's home. Had tea,

In and
Feed
sweets. The girlRead
came
took her
seat.
Read In Feed
20/20

What Does It Feel Like To Be Poor

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

What Does It Feel Like To Be Poor

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

9/5/2014

Amit Banerjee's answer to:

Poverty: What does it feel like to be poor?

This is a follow-up question to What does it feel like to be financially rich?.

Promote Answer to 100 People

Amit Banerjee, Writer

500 Credits to Promote

More from Amit Banerjee

I usually follow this principle.

couple of months. I had to sell furnitures, gold, what not.

You can never achieve your Goal.

So what are my options now?

journey of the website.

Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records.

because I am short on leaves.

7. Do not make one disappointment the center of your life.

12. Life is hard. Remember that dialogue from Rang de Basanti,

What has poverty taught me?

Some People you can take inspiration from

Rohit Langde ( I know him personally. Nice fella!) Blogsolute

(Linux geek ...we call him just Sathya. )

Top Stories from Your Feed

Photographs: What are some of the

Top content on Quora.

Prateek Maheshwari voted up this

Arranged Marriages: What is the

My ex-girlfriend is in BITS Pilani on

Amit Banerjee, Writer

Nukul Upadhye, Building

Did she take your FIITJEE material

Went to the girl's home. Had tea,

You might also like