{"id":9540,"date":"2026-07-18T12:08:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9540"},"modified":"2026-07-18T12:08:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:08:00","slug":"i-always-try-to-look-poor-bengaluru-man-sells-iphone-and-macbook-drives-10-year-old-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=9540","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I always try to look poor\u2019: Bengaluru man sells iPhone and MacBook, drives 10-year-old car"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"storyParagraphFigure\">\n<p class=\"content\">A <a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/topic\/bengaluru\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\">Bengaluru<\/a> professional&#8217;s unconventional wealth strategy is going viral after he revealed his secret to winning negotiations: deliberately \u201clooking poor\u201d. Trading his Apple ecosystem for a Vivo and an ASUS, he claims that shedding a wealthy appearance prevents people from artificially inflating prices.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"artImage leadImage\">\n<div class=\" \"><picture class=\"leadImageClass\"><source media=\"(min-width:768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/ht-img\/img\/2026\/07\/18\/550x309\/Screenshot_2026-07-18_073102_1784340542010_1784340571860_5ecd2e52-f03d-4259-8894-136d1affc081.png\" alt=\"The Bengaluru man whose post is now viral. (LinkedIn\/Meenank Minnu)\"\/><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/ht-img\/img\/2026\/07\/18\/400x225\/Screenshot_2026-07-18_073102_1784340542010_1784340571860_5ecd2e52-f03d-4259-8894-136d1affc081.png\" alt=\"The Bengaluru man whose post is now viral. (LinkedIn\/Meenank Minnu)\" title=\"The Bengaluru man whose post is now viral. (LinkedIn\/Meenank Minnu)\" width=\"360\" height=\"202\" loading=\"eager\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"\">The Bengaluru man whose post is now viral. (LinkedIn\/Meenank Minnu)<span\/><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cI always try to look poor. It makes me negotiate harder,\u201d Bengaluru man Meenank Minnu wrote on LinkedIn.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \"><strong>Also Read: <\/strong><a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/trending\/city-feels-like-a-retirement-destination-man-says-bengaluru-weather-leaves-him-unproductive-101784279719874.html\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\"><strong>\u2018City feels like a retirement destination\u2019: Man says Bengaluru weather leaves him unproductive<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">He shared that he sold his <a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/topic\/apple\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\">Apple<\/a> products and that he drives a decade-old car. \u201cI sold my iPhone. Bought a Vivo. Sold my MacBook. Bought an ASUS. I still drive a 10-year-old hatchback barely surviving e20 fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">In the following lines, he added, \u201cCan I afford a new car? Absolutely. But most people don&#8217;t realize: The moment you look rich, everything gets more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">He claimed that, from the price of products to traffic fines, everything increases when people perceive someone as rich.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201c <span class=\"webrupee\">\u20b9<\/span>20\/kg potatoes become  <span class=\"webrupee\">\u20b9<\/span>28. A  <span class=\"webrupee\">\u20b9<\/span>500 traffic fine somehow becomes  <span class=\"webrupee\">\u20b9<\/span>1,500.  <span class=\"webrupee\">\u20b9<\/span>200 back cover comes for  <span class=\"webrupee\">\u20b9<\/span>700 cos it&#8217;s an iPhone. No one asks you to lend money which they&#8217;ll never repay,\u201d Minnu continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">He claimed, \u201cPeople don&#8217;t just judge you. They price you.\u201d Interestingly, he added, the items he purchased to \u201clook poor\u201d were actually pricier than the ones he gave up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cNow for the funny part. My Vivo costs more than the iPhone. My ASUS costs more than the MacBook. The goal was never to look rich. The goal was to stop paying the \u2018looks rich\u2019 tax.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">As the post continued, Minnu expressed \u201cThis is how business is done in India,\u201d adding, \u201cThe real wealthy of India isn&#8217;t hanging out in starbucks, but old school cafes negotiating million dollar deals. Anonymity is underrated. Mind your own business. Flash less. Live peacefully . Let someone else pay the attention tax.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"content \">\n<h2>How did social media users react?<\/h2>\n<p>An individual commented, \u201cWe often end up paying for perception as much as the product itself. It reminded me of the antique watches I wear; most people assume they&#8217;re old and inexpensive when in reality they&#8217;re often rarer and more expensive than modern ones. Perception doesn&#8217;t always match reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"content \">Another expressed, \u201cThis is a refreshing take on value over vanity. In my experience, the most effective negotiators never show their hand or their bank account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \"><strong>Also Read: <\/strong><a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/trending\/bengaluru-man-regrets-moving-away-from-city-centre-my-kids-aren-t-experiencing-the-bangalore-i-knew-101782800364947.html\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\" data-vars-anchor-text=\"Bengaluru man regrets moving away from city centre: \u2018My kids aren\u2019t experiencing the Bangalore I knew\u2019\"><strong>Bengaluru man regrets moving away from city centre: \u2018My kids aren\u2019t experiencing the Bangalore I knew\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">A third posted, \u201cI prefer to buy things for my actual work and use cases based on what&#8217;s the best value and efficiency for me. Idga* about whether the world things I&#8217;m rich or poor, I&#8217;ve learnt to say no and accept that some things will happen to you irrespective of how you look or present yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">A fourth wrote, \u201cSo true! The reality of getting an SUV hits you hard when the fine hits a new high!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Bengaluru professional&#8217;s unconventional wealth strategy is going viral after he revealed his secret to winning negotiations: deliberately \u201clooking poor\u201d. Trading his Apple ecosystem for a Vivo and an ASUS, he claims that shedding a wealthy appearance prevents people from artificially inflating prices. The Bengaluru man whose post is now viral. (LinkedIn\/Meenank Minnu) \u201cI always&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/ht-img\/img\/2026\/07\/18\/550x309\/Screenshot_2026-07-18_073102_1784340542010_1784340571860_5ecd2e52-f03d-4259-8894-136d1affc081.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}