We have a book! (What’s the deal with that?)

Introducing: ‘Crash Course on Capitalism & Money: Lessons from the World's Most Expensive City’

So… after five years of running this personal finance page online, we can now call ourselves authors.

Because… we’ve published a book!

At this stage you’d probably have some questions before you fork money over. You work hard, and how you spend every dollar matters. We get it. So let us get to that.

What’s in the book? 

This book is a compilation of our best work over the past five years, with added context to some of them and new bonus content.

What’s so different about the book vs your page? 

If we had to guess, most of you have probably encountered our content in bits and pieces online. As much as we love social media, it also has its drawbacks. Chronological order. Sometimes the algorithm reaches you. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you say “Hey, they completely left out this point.” But actually, we didn’t.

And that’s not good for storytelling. Or understanding.

For this book, we’ve arranged stories in the order we think will be most helpful for a clueless young person to read. We’ve added additional stories to further bridge any gaps we might have had. 

And perhaps most of all, this book will serve as analogue proof that you once read a page called ‘The Woke Salaryman’ in case our digital presence disappears one day. Or the internet implodes. Both are likely scenarios over the next 50 years. 

What’s so special about this book vs other books? 

There’s a lot of personal finance books out there. Some will tell you in great detail how to save. Or how to invest. Or what a REIT is. How to negotiate your salary. Or in short, WHAT to do. 

But as our own experiences have taught us, WHAT is good, but it isn’t enough. Intelligent people aren’t happy with just going through the motions. At some point, they will ask WHY. 

In this book we’ve also tried to provide you with some perspectives. They are hard but necessary truths we need to understand. Why did wages stagnate? Why did housing get so expensive? Why does your boss get paid more than you? Most importantly, why is the world so damn unfair? Who’s at fault? 

So in this book you won’t just get technical information you can find on Investopedia. You will get a mix of essays and comics to arm you with the knowledge and mindset to navigate this capitalistic world we live in. 

Who’s it for? 

We’ve created the book we wished we read during our final year in education. But it’s also for just about anyone ready to accept the realities of the world we currently live in. 

It’s for people who are tired of aimlessly shaking their fist at the world. But it’s also for people who’ve already started the often lonely journey towards financial independence.

Where can I get it? 

If you wanna get this book, it is available at:

*Indicates that the books are sold in store. Do DM the bookstore before heading down to ensure there is stock!

• Singapore

  • Amazon Singapore

  • Kinokuniya Singapore*

  • Booksmart (quote STAYWOKE for 8% off)

  • Popular*

• Malaysia

  • Kinokuniya Malaysia*

  • MPH

  • Booksmart (quote STAYWOKE for 8% off)

  • Popular*

• Indonesia

  • Bookmarked

  • Periplus*

• Thailand

  • Kinokuniya Thailand*

• India

  • Amazon India

• Hong Kong

  • Sup Retail*

  • Eslite*

• Philippines

  • Fully Booked*: Coming soon! DM Fully Booked on IG to check when the book will be stocked :)

• Japan

  • Rakuten

• Korea

  • Kyobo

• UK

  • Amazon UK

  • Foyles

  • WH Smith*

• US

  • Amazon US

  • Barnes & Noble*

ASEAN Book Tour…?

We know many of our readers are outside of Singapore, so we’re looking to organise a book tour in ASEAN too.

If you would be interested in attending a book launch or talk organised by us in your country (Singapore included), please fill in this form:

This will help us get a sense of the size of the venue that we should get in our planning.

Last but not least, we just wanted to say thank you whether you buy the book or not.

The past five years have been unimaginably life-changing for both Wei Choon and myself. We’re incredibly grateful for everyone who has been on this journey with us. 

We’re thankful for our friends who followed us since our side hustle days and this was a small page with less than 10k followers.

We’re thankful for our followers who gave us their time and trust during the pandemic years to DM us about their stories and struggles. We’ve learnt so much from you. Even those we disagreed with. 

Last but not least, we’re thankful for our non-Singaporean followers, especially those in Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Jakarta (plus that one guy in Trinidad & Tobago). You’ve informed our perspectives and shaped our worldview in more ways than you can imagine.

This is your book, as much as it is ours. And there is no way we couldn't have done it without you.

We’ve had a blast. We hope you did, too. 

Stay woke, salaryman. 

Love,
Ruiming and Wei Choon