My father is, and has always been, a very frugal person. He was born and raised in Mumbai, a district in Maharashtra, India in a one bedroom apartment for his family of 4, and he knew from the beginning that he had to work extremely hard to make a better life for himself. After working tirelessly for all of grade school, my dad was given the opportunity to go to college, and he knew it was his ticket out of his current situation. In 1984, with nothing but work ethic and a degree from India, my father made his way to America to build himself a better life. However, before leaving, he realized that he only had one pair of shoes, which were for work, so he quickly bought a pair of leather sandals for 40 rupees (~$4/5 at the time) and took off.  With a few clothes and two pairs of shoes, my dad came to America in 1984 and completed his Masters by 1986. After this, he worked for 2 years, all while wearing the same $4 sandals from India. In 1988, my dad returned to India and married my mom, after which they both came to America to start their careers and a family. It wasn’t until my mom was in America that my dad finally got more shoes (she loves to shop, but even this took her some time since she had to break out of her frugal mindset too).

– Jaaee Nadkarni

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant