I’ve never shared this story before. In 2010, I moved from India to Canada with
By Kamaljit Singh · April 16, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I’ve never shared this story before.
In 2010, I moved from India to Canada with $1,400.
That was it.
My parents used their entire life savings to pay for my first semester fees, flight, first month accommodation, and everything needed to get me there.
The $1,400 they gave me was whatever was left.
And they were left with $0.
I knew they had stretched everything.
I could feel it.
I landed in Canada and went to college on day one.
Everyone had laptops.
I had a notebook and a few pens.
No laptop.
No textbooks.
Nothing.
I still remember how weird that felt.
Even the teachers looked surprised.
The next day, I went to Staples to buy the cheapest laptop I could find.
I think it was an Acer for around $400.
At least that’s what I thought.
The salesperson kept adding things, and because my English wasn’t strong at the time, I just nervously kept saying yes.
By the time I got to checkout, the bill was around $600.
Then tax got added on top.
I still remember that feeling.
In one moment, almost half the money I had left was gone.
Then I needed a phone.
I went to Rogers.
No credit history.
No options.
They told me the only way was to sign a 3-year contract.
I said yes.
Again, I didn’t fully understand how it worked.
I used the phone like I normally would.
At the end of the month, my bill was $468.
I was in shock.
I called them and found out incoming calls weren’t free unless it was evenings and weekends.
I couldn’t believe it.
Between the laptop, groceries, food, rent, and phone, that money disappeared fast.
Very fast.
Within days, most of it was gone.
Those first few weeks in Canada changed me.
After about two months, I found a job at a restaurant in Niagara Falls.
And something clicked.
I started understanding the value of money.
The value of opportunity.
The value of not wasting what your family sacrificed for you.
That period shaped my work ethic forever.
Not because someone taught me discipline.
Because life did.
Because when you’ve seen your parents give everything they have so you can have one shot…
you stop taking things lightly.
You work.
You push.
You stay grateful.
And you make sure their sacrifice means something.
A lot of what I do today comes from those days.
The hunger.
The urgency.
The obsession with building something real.
It didn’t come from motivation.
It came from survival.
If you came to a new country with nothing, or had to build from zero, you probably understand this feeling.
It never really leaves you.