Could You Turn To Begging As A Last Resort? Could You Get Rich Off Begging?

According to invisible People a nonprofit organization assisting the homeless: beggars or panhandlers generally on average make US$ 8.00 to US$ 15.00 an hour. This statistic is for the US market. Others bring in significantly more than this, but in other days it could be nothing.

Begging or Panhandling is not an easy thing to do. There is a social stigma associated to it. For some, the “shame factor is so overwhelming that they would rather starve than beg or ask help from others.

But developing a skill in begging is essential in cases of emergencies like losing your wallet or purse which contains all your money and IDs. Men are especially prone to this because they usually have small pockets in their clothes to hold their most important accessory: their wallet.

But begging is not only about money. You can also beg for help like hitchhiking, asking for water and food, and even shelter. It could be also as simple as begging for someone to tutor you when you are failing in school.

As has been said, there are instances where your skill in begging could be handy. You could lose your wallet or bag or it could be stolen or misplaced. Your thinking can be distracted by the constant thinking of a very pressing problem that you could lose your wallet or bag.

You could also get robbed. It doesn’t happen often but is very financially stressful. At the extreme, you might get robbed as a stranger in a foreign land where they take everything from you including IDs and you have no other recourse but to beg for help.

You could get lost. This is not an issue about money but of other things like asking to be guided and even driven back to a place known to you where you can eventually find your way home. This is especially serious if you’re lost in an isolated area.

You could be homeless in an instant. Your family can throw you out of the family house in an instant without having money for food and shelter. You can get thrown at anytime even in the middle of the night. You have to then beg relatives, friends and strangers for help.

You could lose all your money. Those living hand to mouth experience this always. If they have no money for the day or if their money is insufficient to live off for the day, they usually borrow money. Failing at this, they beg. In the extremes they even steal.

In the US for example, the states have varying regulations against the time, place and manner a person can conduct their begging activities. For the most part, countries have laws that tolerate begging to some degree.

Could you go to jail for begging? Each country has their own law regarding begging activities. For example, in the US, begging is protected by free speech while in the UK begging is considered illegal.

But society as a whole has tolerated people who beg. At most, the laws are lightly implemented and all a beggar gets is a strong warning from the authorities. But there are other countries like India where there are strict laws against begging. You can land in jail in India for begging.

Begging is generally not allowed in commercial establishments especially in the posh ones. There are even warning signs prominently displayed outside these establishments that warn against conducting begging activities.

If you plan to beg inside a commercial establishment or even in the outside areas in which they own, be forewarned that you can get thrown out and even be manhandled by the staff or the security personnel of the establishment. You can even be charged with trespassing.

This activity is mainly done by westerners. They go to developing and even poor countries and then beg or ask the locals to assist them with their food, lodging and other living needs. There are even entire families who do begpacking.

Many of the locals from developing countries who come in contact with these westerners are puzzled because many locals from these countries think westerners are rich in general. For the most part it is actually the locals who do the begging in their own countries.

Why do these westerners do this? There are those who do it intentionally for profit or thrill. It is also because it’s a way to enjoy a nearly free vacation or just to experience what’s it like to beg in a poor or developing country. It could also be a stunt intended for social media.

Some westerners even go as far to use their own children and babies as props. There are those who really play the part as beggars complete with ragged clothes and barefooted. This is to elicit pity or interest from the locals.

Here is a good article from adventure.com titled: Is ‘begpacking’ the worst travel trend of them all? As the title of the article suggested, there is a negative view towards this activity especially considering that most of the westerners who actually do this are not really poor.

Here is a good article on just how rich beggars can be. The article is from Telugu Times Now and is titled: Top 5 Richest Beggars in the world who became rich just by begging. As you can see, some beggars are not what they seem to be.

Some of the beggars in the list have more than one real estate property which they were able to buy by begging alone. They also earn considerably more than a regular person who works for a living.

To many of these beggars, begging is like a normal job. Many of these beggars realize that they can make more money begging than doing a real job especially against someone who’s just earning minimum wage.

Some of these beggars target the rich or those who are high earners. For example, some of these beggars target celebrities who want to be portrayed as good people. In some instances, its even the rich celebrities who approach the beggars to give them handouts.

There are those that beg and at the same time collect government handouts and benefits. They have regular income courtesy of the government which they top up with the income from their begging money activities. It’s like holding two easy jobs at once.

Don’t look filthy and smelly. If you do, chances are that people would run away from you as soon as they see and smell you. They might even refuse to be near your dirty hand to hand you their handout.

Don’t look menacing. Many people don’t want to be near a menacing person. The more friendly you look the more people would likely help you. Trust is a vital part in human interactions and people usually judge you based on your appearance.

Don’t be too aggressive. Your need for money or other needs might be very serious but you can’t force people to help you. Help is freely given. Do however emphasize the gravity of your situation without panicking people.

It’s a Numbers Game. If at first people don’t help you don’t be discouraged. Regular people have problems too which might be similar or even worse like you. They might be deep in debt because of hospital bills. Keep trying until you get help.

Don’t ask stupid requests like large sums of money. I’ve encountered beggars who ask for five dollars outright which could already be bus fare or even breakfast money for many people. Try one dollar increments and collect it from five people to get five dollars.

Tourist Spots: There is a high probability that tourists are more willing to part with their money just to smoothen things with the locals. Being in a strange land can be very intimidating which also includes the locals.

Hangouts Of The Wealthy: Rich people are more than likely to spend a little money than be troubled with unwanted human interaction. They give because their solution to many stresses in life is money.

Places Of Worship: Almost all religions instruct people to be good human beings which includes helping other people. Worshippers are more than likely to remember this instruction after worshipping that it is more easy for beggars to persuade them into giving money.

Lots Of Foot Traffic: As has been said begging is a numbers game so the more volume of people concentrated in a narrow area the better. For example in Australia: Charities, Buskers and Beggars congregate in train stations because it has consistent high volume foot traffic.

Where Customers Have Spare Change After A Transaction: Despite the increasing popularity of digital payment to pay everyday transactions, cash is still used predominantly. Cash transactions usually end up with unwanted coins which are more of a bother to customers.

These customers would more than likely hand out their unwanted coins to beggars than keep it in their pockets. In fact, there are many people with jars of unwanted coins lying around for years in their homes.

Not many people have Begging or Panhandling skills. This is because this activity carries with it a certain social stigma. There are even people who would rather starve or steal than beg from others.

But begging is very useful in emergencies especially if it is a financial emergency. Lastly, begging is not only for soliciting money. It is a general cry for help for just about anything, from asking help for food and shelter to something more simple like asking to be tutored.

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