What were the personal and financial struggles that Cholkar faced, leading him to make and then delay his vow?

Cholkar's story begins with significant personal and financial hardship. Chapter 15 describes his situation as a "poor household" where everything depended on his job. To make his salary permanent, he was required to pass an examination, a task on which his family's survival, including their "daily bread," depended. This pressure led him to make a vow to Sai Baba. However, even after passing the exam by Baba's grace, his financial struggles continued. The source refers to the difficulty of crossing the "'threshold-ghat' (home expenses)," which was so challenging that he had to keep postponing his promised trip to Shirdi, unable to go "empty-handed."