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I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Everything I Wish I Never Had to Learn About Money
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A big-hearted, no-bullshit memoir from the TikTok superstar about her journey from living paycheck to paycheck to creating a multi-million-dollar business that offers a compassionate alternative to capitalism • Includes no-nonsense life and money advice, from negotiating pay and building credit to putting home ownership within reach"Madeline's life is unique yet wildly relatable...Readers will be thoroughly engaged, as every hardship comes with a lesson that Madeline skillfully shares with us. A thought-provoking, mind-tingling reading experience."—Mercury Stardust, the Trans Handy Ma’am and author of Safe and Sound
Imagine a job where you work four days a week and earn as much as the CEO. You also get full benefits, a gym membership, free lunch, and unlimited time off, no questions asked. Hard-won profits don’t just end up in the CEO’s pocket—they’re distributed equally among all employees. The company even buys you your very own car. It sounds too good to be true, but this is the reality at Tunnel Vision, the clothing company that Madeline Pendleton built from the ground up. Like so many Americans, Madeline used to struggle to make ends meet. Raised by a punk dad and a goth mom in Fresno, California, she spent her teens intermittently homeless, relying on the kindness and spare couches of the local punk community to get by. By her twenties, she was drowning in student loans and credit card debt, working long hours and sick of her bosses treating her as disposable. Then her boyfriend, struggling with financial stress, died by suicide. Capitalism was literally killing her loved ones—she knew there must be a better way. Madeline decided to study the rules of capitalism, the game everyone is forced to play. She used what she learned to build a new kind of business, one rooted in an ethos of community care. Millennials and Gen Zers like Madeline are facing an unprecedented financial Stagnant wages, skyrocketing housing costs, a student debt crisis. I Survived Capitalism is essential reading for anyone searching for hope and stability in an unjust world.
Madeline: “I never wanted to write a book about money. I wanted to read a book about money, a book that acknowledged the financial reality that our generations were born into. What I found instead were books written by men much older than me about how to survive in a world that didn’t seem to exist anymore.”
Imagine a job where you work four days a week and earn as much as the CEO. You also get full benefits, a gym membership, free lunch, and unlimited time off, no questions asked. Hard-won profits don’t just end up in the CEO’s pocket—they’re distributed equally among all employees. The company even buys you your very own car. It sounds too good to be true, but this is the reality at Tunnel Vision, the clothing company that Madeline Pendleton built from the ground up. Like so many Americans, Madeline used to struggle to make ends meet. Raised by a punk dad and a goth mom in Fresno, California, she spent her teens intermittently homeless, relying on the kindness and spare couches of the local punk community to get by. By her twenties, she was drowning in student loans and credit card debt, working long hours and sick of her bosses treating her as disposable. Then her boyfriend, struggling with financial stress, died by suicide. Capitalism was literally killing her loved ones—she knew there must be a better way. Madeline decided to study the rules of capitalism, the game everyone is forced to play. She used what she learned to build a new kind of business, one rooted in an ethos of community care. Millennials and Gen Zers like Madeline are facing an unprecedented financial Stagnant wages, skyrocketing housing costs, a student debt crisis. I Survived Capitalism is essential reading for anyone searching for hope and stability in an unjust world.
Madeline: “I never wanted to write a book about money. I wanted to read a book about money, a book that acknowledged the financial reality that our generations were born into. What I found instead were books written by men much older than me about how to survive in a world that didn’t seem to exist anymore.”
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 16, 2024
391 people are currently reading
4707 people want to read
About the author
Madeline Pendleton
1 book114 followersMADELINE PENDLETON is the CEO and founder of Tunnel Vision, an L.A.-based clothing company with a progressive, employee-centered approach to business. In addition to her entrepreneurial success, Madeline has garnered a massive following on TikTok, where she shares stories and advice based on her experience growing up in California’s punk scene, escaping poverty, and building a community-minded company.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 826 reviews
January 29, 2024
An incredible mix of memoir and financial advice, I cried multiple times 3 rest in peace Drew
Full length review here!! https://sunnythoughts.binderybooks.co...
Full length review here!! https://sunnythoughts.binderybooks.co...
April 12, 2024
i had high expectations for this book and it still exceeded them 🥲 incredibly emotional read. didn’t expect to cry a dozen times reading a book that’s mostly about money but i think that’s why this is so good. it speaks to how deeply intimate our personal finances are since our current system of capitalism requires that money dictates whether we do or do not access our basic human necessities
i love the idea of a memoir that focuses into a single particularly significant area of an author’s life as opposed to focusing on someone’s life in it’s entirety. it felt very successful here and i enjoyed that we were able to dive as deep as we could go into this one facet of madeline, which was satisfying as a reader because each chapter was connected by the same theme and we got to see how that topic followed them over decades of shifting circumstances
i plan to return to this in the future in order to utilize some of the practical money advice outlined here, as well. grateful to have read this!
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tbr review
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just know this is gonna be life changing, can’t wait to read this <3
i love the idea of a memoir that focuses into a single particularly significant area of an author’s life as opposed to focusing on someone’s life in it’s entirety. it felt very successful here and i enjoyed that we were able to dive as deep as we could go into this one facet of madeline, which was satisfying as a reader because each chapter was connected by the same theme and we got to see how that topic followed them over decades of shifting circumstances
i plan to return to this in the future in order to utilize some of the practical money advice outlined here, as well. grateful to have read this!
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tbr review
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just know this is gonna be life changing, can’t wait to read this <3
January 30, 2024
I am so excited to read this book. Madeline and Kenna host my favorite podcast and it is the absolute best. They give me so much hope for a better future and continue to teach about how everything awful in the world is connected to uplifting capitalism and racism. Live, laugh, love. Thx.
January 13, 2024
I have never been more excited for a finance book and we N E E D this to beat Rich Dad Poor Dad
February 5, 2024
Like a postmodern anti-girlboss girlboss manifesto. I really appreciate Madeline’s opinions and love watching her TikTok, however, I didn’t enjoy this book too much. Maybe this is the fault of the editor or Madeline’s communication style (which is perfect for the TikTok format) not translating well into written literature.
The interconnected narratives often felt like they strayed far away from relevance in every chapter. The autobiography-cum-financial guide-cum-anticapitalist manifesto just did not make for an enjoyable reading experience. I also feel like Madeline would give wayyy too much detail about mundane things then drop a hot take about running a business or capitalism with no follow-up. Like I said, I do agree with her opinions and think she has a solid moral compass, but the tone of this book was weirdly moralizing as well. Like I don’t need to know that Madeline stood six feet apart from her friends during Covid lockdowns or thinks it’s gentrification for a poor white person to buy a house in a predominantly Latino neighborhood (it’s not).
I also wish there was a better connection between the personal anecdotes and the financial advice. The narrative would have flowed better if the financial advice was embedded in each autobiographical portion, not excluded from it. I want to understand exactly how and why being a crust punk makes one so knowledgable about money and “the system.”
But what does my yuppie self know?
The interconnected narratives often felt like they strayed far away from relevance in every chapter. The autobiography-cum-financial guide-cum-anticapitalist manifesto just did not make for an enjoyable reading experience. I also feel like Madeline would give wayyy too much detail about mundane things then drop a hot take about running a business or capitalism with no follow-up. Like I said, I do agree with her opinions and think she has a solid moral compass, but the tone of this book was weirdly moralizing as well. Like I don’t need to know that Madeline stood six feet apart from her friends during Covid lockdowns or thinks it’s gentrification for a poor white person to buy a house in a predominantly Latino neighborhood (it’s not).
I also wish there was a better connection between the personal anecdotes and the financial advice. The narrative would have flowed better if the financial advice was embedded in each autobiographical portion, not excluded from it. I want to understand exactly how and why being a crust punk makes one so knowledgable about money and “the system.”
But what does my yuppie self know?
January 17, 2024
This book is a great introduction to financial literacy through a leftist lens—how to survive capitalism but maybe also how to find happiness amidst the turmoil of living under our current conditions.
I have followed Madeline on TikTok for years now so I wanted to give their book a shot, and as someone who thinks a lot about books for a living, I would describe this book as a great introductory finance book for the young or financially illiterate anti-capitalist and it is absolutely a book I would recommend. I checked this book out from my local library as an audiobook and really enjoyed it. I love when an audiobook is narrated by the author. I may pick up the physical copy and will update my review if I have anything to add based on that.
Madeline teaches through life experience and this approach makes this book both feel both relatable and reliable. If you come from a lower class background, it’s easy to feel like they get you. I feel like financial literacy has often been taught in a lens that is intimidating and feels like the blame is put on the individual but Madeline tackles this well.
This book is both personal and enlightening and has definitely inspired me to gain more control of my situation.
I have followed Madeline on TikTok for years now so I wanted to give their book a shot, and as someone who thinks a lot about books for a living, I would describe this book as a great introductory finance book for the young or financially illiterate anti-capitalist and it is absolutely a book I would recommend. I checked this book out from my local library as an audiobook and really enjoyed it. I love when an audiobook is narrated by the author. I may pick up the physical copy and will update my review if I have anything to add based on that.
Madeline teaches through life experience and this approach makes this book both feel both relatable and reliable. If you come from a lower class background, it’s easy to feel like they get you. I feel like financial literacy has often been taught in a lens that is intimidating and feels like the blame is put on the individual but Madeline tackles this well.
This book is both personal and enlightening and has definitely inspired me to gain more control of my situation.
abandoned
March 12, 2024DNF for no reason other than thinking about money gives me full body hives
February 26, 2024
I’ve been hoping for a book like this since I first found Madeline on TikTok in 2020. I took advantage of Spotify’s 15 hours of audiobooks for premium members because I knew I could listen to it faster than read it, but I also bought a physical copy to support Madeline.
I love when she talks about her business on TikTok because she describes a place I’ve always wanted to work but never knew could exist. I hope to someday run a business using her model as a guide. Her TikToks are great but short, naturally you can’t tell a full story in a small video. So the book was great for filling in the gaps of how she started the company and how she supported herself financially along the way (and included so many more practical tips on getting by than I was even expecting).
While personally I would love to have a book just about the business, Madeline doesn’t really produce that sort of content. The book, like her TikTok channel, shares stories of her life with actionable advice sprinkled in. I suppose if she were the sort of person to write a 300 page book about how to run a business and nothing else, she probably wouldn’t be the sort of person I’d look to emulate anyway!
I loved the book and am grateful I picked up the physical copy so I can go back to the end of chapter step-by-step guides when needed.
I love when she talks about her business on TikTok because she describes a place I’ve always wanted to work but never knew could exist. I hope to someday run a business using her model as a guide. Her TikToks are great but short, naturally you can’t tell a full story in a small video. So the book was great for filling in the gaps of how she started the company and how she supported herself financially along the way (and included so many more practical tips on getting by than I was even expecting).
While personally I would love to have a book just about the business, Madeline doesn’t really produce that sort of content. The book, like her TikTok channel, shares stories of her life with actionable advice sprinkled in. I suppose if she were the sort of person to write a 300 page book about how to run a business and nothing else, she probably wouldn’t be the sort of person I’d look to emulate anyway!
I loved the book and am grateful I picked up the physical copy so I can go back to the end of chapter step-by-step guides when needed.
February 7, 2024
**** 6 stars ****
What can I say, this was so refreshing and raw to read. I’ll be shoving this book down so many people’s throats at any chance I get.
This book did something that a lot of finance books don’t do, discuss emotions and how it is tied to money. Money talk is embarrassing and shameful, if you allow it to be. (80% of Americans are like living paycheck to paycheck, there’s a big chance your friends and coworkers who you think aren’t struggling, are in fact struggling. The average student has $35k of student loans. Please. Please. Let this sink in.)
I’m just in awe of Madeline’s story, I hate calling her a fighter because our systems have failed their own people and force them to sadly fight for what is basic human rights.
I hope the internet does its thing and lets this book be THE finance AND memoir book of the year (please for the love of God, throw Rich Dad Poor Dad out and replace it with this one).
What can I say, this was so refreshing and raw to read. I’ll be shoving this book down so many people’s throats at any chance I get.
This book did something that a lot of finance books don’t do, discuss emotions and how it is tied to money. Money talk is embarrassing and shameful, if you allow it to be. (80% of Americans are like living paycheck to paycheck, there’s a big chance your friends and coworkers who you think aren’t struggling, are in fact struggling. The average student has $35k of student loans. Please. Please. Let this sink in.)
I’m just in awe of Madeline’s story, I hate calling her a fighter because our systems have failed their own people and force them to sadly fight for what is basic human rights.
I hope the internet does its thing and lets this book be THE finance AND memoir book of the year (please for the love of God, throw Rich Dad Poor Dad out and replace it with this one).
June 15, 2024
If you have an inherent fear of money, the system, and everything horrible about the world you gotta read this. It’ll make you cry probably, and rage, but it will fill you with radical hope. And what else could you ask for?
February 10, 2024
Rich dad poor dad can get fucked, this is the only financial memoir you’ll ever need. I loved watching Madeline’s financial related videos on her tiktok, and find comfort in seeing someone else alternative talking money. This book gave so much insight into where she came from, her personal experiences with capitalism/money, with financial tips sprinkled into the end of every chapter! Fun layout, big feelings, only qualm is as a Canadian a decent amount wasn’t exactly transferable as her experience navigates the American system!
February 28, 2024
I have appreciated many of the author’s political videos on TikTok. However, this book feels like a very watered down discussion of the true problems with capitalism. Yes, it’s mostly memoir, and I have no problem with that. But we can’t talk about class inequality without properly acknowledging the ways that white supremacy and ableism play into capitalism’s evils. I believe this is an okay snapshot of life under capitalism, but the perspective is very limited.
January 25, 2024
5/5. I have followed Madeline on Tik Tok since at least 2020. She operates a democratically run business by paying everyone who works for her company equally, herself included. They have four-day work weeks, completely manageable middle class living wages, unlimited time off, top of the line healthcare, and many other amazing perks. She also talks a lot about her life and personal experiences online and in her book. She explains her life story, and why she could never live her life or run her business in any other way.
Her book is touching, challenges the status quo, and she busts the myths surrounding all of the lies we’re told about capitalism and “necessary” exploitation. She offers a snapshot into what a more just and equitable world could look like, if more people fought for it, understood it was possible, and took steps to be a part of that change. She isn’t dismantling any systems, but she is operating in ethical ways that challenge and recreate them.
Her story is touching, life changing, and inspiring. It brought me to tears more than once. Madeline is smart, scrappy, and a true fighter. Everyone should read this to see what’s really possible for them financially on an individual level, and as a collective community. I would recommend it so highly to anyone open to hearing a potentially new perspective. I’m grateful this book was written and that the story and message are being told.
Quotes:
“We are all just doing our best to get by. Sometimes we’re on the giving end and sometimes we’re on the receiving end. Today is my day to be on the giving end.”
“Everything I learned about survival, I learned from the people around me in Fresno. There was beauty in the way that we had struggled together. And I wasn’t sure I would ever find that kind of community anywhere else again. Making it out hadn’t been enough to change anything in my life. I was just broke in a different place.
“He was right. You don’t get anything you want in life by keeping what you want a secret.”
“At a certain point when you accumulate wealth, it becomes novel for someone to tell you ‘no.’”
“Being told a workplace is ‘like a family’ is usually a red flag, unless you truly believe your boss would go above and beyond to help you in an emergency.”
“There was a magnetic chemistry between Drew and me, and eventually, it became so palpable that it was impossible to ignore. If love is to understand someone and be understood by them, as I’ve always suspected, it’s possible there were no two people more in love in the history of the world than Drew and me.”
“There are some moments in adulthood where everything seems to snap sharply into focus for the first time. It’s like walking into your house after being away on a trip—you smell it the way other people smell it, and it feels both foreign and like home all at once.”
“Fighting wasn’t enough. I needed a plan. Just like I’d done so many times before in my youth, I sat down with a notebook and I wrote down my plan for the future: 1. Pay off my debt 2. Save a down payment for a house 3. Plan for my retirement 4. Help everyone I care about do the same.”
“The house represents something to us. It’s an investment in our financial future, but it’s also our version of enough. It’s not excessive, or glamorous, or a status symbol of any kind. It’s something better than that: it’s stability, it’s comfort, it’s peace.”
“Kenna was an anomaly: a hopeful cynic. She saw the world as it was but never stopped thinking we could do better.” How I’m always trying to be.
“She’d been off the day before. A mental health day, I think…we try not to pry when people miss work. We just want everyone to be well. What’s the point of having a business, I often wondered, if it can’t be the kind of business you’d want to work at?”
“I’ve always kind of thought that money just makes people more of what they already are. Like if you give an asshole a bunch of money…are they going to suddenly become a good person—no way! They’re just going to use all of that money to become an even bigger asshole somehow…
…It turns out if you give money to a broke, scrappy, loud mouth punk kid from Fresno, she wants to use that money to take care of her community in whatever way possible, including getting them into stable housing. It shouldn’t be shocking, but for some reason it is. The business isn’t a get rich quick scheme, it’s not even a get rich slow scheme, it’s still just a way to earn a living for me and for my friends.”
“We all know it’s fair deep down in our kindergarten brains where we all learn the difference between right and wrong and all about how sharing works. But that doesn’t stop it from being shocking. People tell themselves quiet lies to normalize the suffering.”
“At a certain point you have to say nobody gets seconds until everyone has had a plate. You HAVE to know when you have enough.”
“How to build a better world. #1 Start with revolutionary optimism. Believe a better world is possible. It’s the first step to getting there.”
Her book is touching, challenges the status quo, and she busts the myths surrounding all of the lies we’re told about capitalism and “necessary” exploitation. She offers a snapshot into what a more just and equitable world could look like, if more people fought for it, understood it was possible, and took steps to be a part of that change. She isn’t dismantling any systems, but she is operating in ethical ways that challenge and recreate them.
Her story is touching, life changing, and inspiring. It brought me to tears more than once. Madeline is smart, scrappy, and a true fighter. Everyone should read this to see what’s really possible for them financially on an individual level, and as a collective community. I would recommend it so highly to anyone open to hearing a potentially new perspective. I’m grateful this book was written and that the story and message are being told.
Quotes:
“We are all just doing our best to get by. Sometimes we’re on the giving end and sometimes we’re on the receiving end. Today is my day to be on the giving end.”
“Everything I learned about survival, I learned from the people around me in Fresno. There was beauty in the way that we had struggled together. And I wasn’t sure I would ever find that kind of community anywhere else again. Making it out hadn’t been enough to change anything in my life. I was just broke in a different place.
“He was right. You don’t get anything you want in life by keeping what you want a secret.”
“At a certain point when you accumulate wealth, it becomes novel for someone to tell you ‘no.’”
“Being told a workplace is ‘like a family’ is usually a red flag, unless you truly believe your boss would go above and beyond to help you in an emergency.”
“There was a magnetic chemistry between Drew and me, and eventually, it became so palpable that it was impossible to ignore. If love is to understand someone and be understood by them, as I’ve always suspected, it’s possible there were no two people more in love in the history of the world than Drew and me.”
“There are some moments in adulthood where everything seems to snap sharply into focus for the first time. It’s like walking into your house after being away on a trip—you smell it the way other people smell it, and it feels both foreign and like home all at once.”
“Fighting wasn’t enough. I needed a plan. Just like I’d done so many times before in my youth, I sat down with a notebook and I wrote down my plan for the future: 1. Pay off my debt 2. Save a down payment for a house 3. Plan for my retirement 4. Help everyone I care about do the same.”
“The house represents something to us. It’s an investment in our financial future, but it’s also our version of enough. It’s not excessive, or glamorous, or a status symbol of any kind. It’s something better than that: it’s stability, it’s comfort, it’s peace.”
“Kenna was an anomaly: a hopeful cynic. She saw the world as it was but never stopped thinking we could do better.” How I’m always trying to be.
“She’d been off the day before. A mental health day, I think…we try not to pry when people miss work. We just want everyone to be well. What’s the point of having a business, I often wondered, if it can’t be the kind of business you’d want to work at?”
“I’ve always kind of thought that money just makes people more of what they already are. Like if you give an asshole a bunch of money…are they going to suddenly become a good person—no way! They’re just going to use all of that money to become an even bigger asshole somehow…
…It turns out if you give money to a broke, scrappy, loud mouth punk kid from Fresno, she wants to use that money to take care of her community in whatever way possible, including getting them into stable housing. It shouldn’t be shocking, but for some reason it is. The business isn’t a get rich quick scheme, it’s not even a get rich slow scheme, it’s still just a way to earn a living for me and for my friends.”
“We all know it’s fair deep down in our kindergarten brains where we all learn the difference between right and wrong and all about how sharing works. But that doesn’t stop it from being shocking. People tell themselves quiet lies to normalize the suffering.”
“At a certain point you have to say nobody gets seconds until everyone has had a plate. You HAVE to know when you have enough.”
“How to build a better world. #1 Start with revolutionary optimism. Believe a better world is possible. It’s the first step to getting there.”
March 17, 2025
I expected more. My review is going to seem harsh. Perhaps I'm not the target market for this, but it delivered no financial advice (yes, I'm going through a budgeting theme in life at the moment). Instead, it came across as a rebellious individual who wanted to live out her passion (which I'm all in favour of), but the world didn't tolerate it, and now she has written a book about how much she doesn't like that the world doesn't tolerate it.
It read like a complaint. According to some reviews, many people find it very valuable; sadly, I'm on the other side of the spectrum.
It read like a complaint. According to some reviews, many people find it very valuable; sadly, I'm on the other side of the spectrum.
March 5, 2024
I finished this book and went out to open a savings account! Thank you Madeline this was lovely and made me cry
February 19, 2024
I loved this! As someone who grew up working class and has experienced financial precarity (saddled with student loan and credit card debt) for most of their adult life, I found connection with Madeline’s personal stories. I really enjoyed the mix of personal stories with lessons learned and I felt comforted to know some of the tips suggested I’ve been doing. And I also love the many new things I’ve learned. Only in the last couple of years have I felt it possible to experience financial stability and the takeaways I have from this book make me feel even more confident.
October 4, 2024
An outstanding book. Pair it with Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond. Capitalism sucks and we can do so much better.
March 15, 2024
I've been trying to get through books to read and then give away because I have too many. Part of the problem is coming from a place where a job can be gone in a snap, worried I'll be left jobless I'll need books to get me through. That's silly I know. Books won't protect me from poverty but there is comfort in having them knowing it won't ever be a concern.
(Un)fortunately this book won't be leaving my shelf. Reflecting on what I read this book represents hope.
Hope that things will get better is his messed up country. Hope that owning a business is possible and to do so helping others. And hope that if anything we're to happen to my livelihood that I've got what it takes to make things work.
This book was exactly what I needed to read.
Madeline writes in a personable way that makes it feel like we're sitting down and talking about her life. It was interesting, it was engaging, at times it was emotional, and it felt real.
Excellent book and I'll be keeping it on my shelf with little tabs for when I need reminder that change is possible even in a corrupted system.
(Un)fortunately this book won't be leaving my shelf. Reflecting on what I read this book represents hope.
Hope that things will get better is his messed up country. Hope that owning a business is possible and to do so helping others. And hope that if anything we're to happen to my livelihood that I've got what it takes to make things work.
This book was exactly what I needed to read.
Madeline writes in a personable way that makes it feel like we're sitting down and talking about her life. It was interesting, it was engaging, at times it was emotional, and it felt real.
Excellent book and I'll be keeping it on my shelf with little tabs for when I need reminder that change is possible even in a corrupted system.
April 11, 2024
My first note is that while reading, I found it was key for me to keep in mind that this book is first and foremost a memoir when there were large criticisms I wanted to make about the more “helpful info to know when x” chapters.
I had a lot of emotions reading this book. Fury at the system for what it is and what it remains to be while we are all just stuck in it. How insignificant it really made me feel in the scope of it all. Hopeful that others will follow in Madeline’s footsteps. Lots of ups and downs. I truly think I’m still working on processing it all and how I can adopt this type of thinking into my own life - i.e. what I can do to be helping others/community and not helping the self-serving.
I had a lot of emotions reading this book. Fury at the system for what it is and what it remains to be while we are all just stuck in it. How insignificant it really made me feel in the scope of it all. Hopeful that others will follow in Madeline’s footsteps. Lots of ups and downs. I truly think I’m still working on processing it all and how I can adopt this type of thinking into my own life - i.e. what I can do to be helping others/community and not helping the self-serving.
March 30, 2024
If you follow Madeline and listen to the advice she gives on tiktok, the advice parts won't be complete news - however, if someone is reading this to get guidance with little to no existing financial knowledge, I think this explains some very important basics. Understandably, the advice is most applicable to people living in the US and their system
However, it also works well as a memoir. Madeline has lived a difficult but interesting life. I think radical optimism is something that really shone through in the last chapters. This makes me feel hopeful that people can create a better world for ourselves through community
However, it also works well as a memoir. Madeline has lived a difficult but interesting life. I think radical optimism is something that really shone through in the last chapters. This makes me feel hopeful that people can create a better world for ourselves through community
May 3, 2024
I follow Madeline on TikTok and really enjoy her politics, so I was curious to read her book! It's really a memoir, with the occasionally money tip thrown in which, while interesting, wasn't really what I would have preferred from the book. But I did really appreciate her honest approach to surviving in a capitalist hellscape, and her advice was practical and people-focused. I didn't necessarily find this book helpful for my situation, but it was engaging and inspiring and I appreciated how it made me think of ways to reimagine what is possible to accomplish within the confines of our current world.
April 26, 2024
Reading this book is the first time I've ever felt hopeful about my odds of surviving this hellscape.
September 27, 2024
This is equal parts self-help, memoir, and dialectical materialism. Great read.
December 31, 2024
This book was a comfort I did not know I needed. Thank you so much.
March 28, 2024
Nicht unbedingt revolutionär, was die Tipps angeht, allerdings sehr ehrlich und authentisch und für Leute, die vielleicht noch nicht viel mit Finanzen am Hut haben, kein schlechter Einstieg. Das Buch ist auf jeden Fall mehr biographisch angesetzt, was ich persönlich sehr interessant fand, da ich Madeline Pendelton unfassbar cool finde. Man lernt auch etwas über ihr eigenes Unternehmen und wie es zum Beispiel dazu kam, dass in ihrer Firma jeder das gleiche Gehalt bekommt, inklusive ihr.
Manchmal ist, was Utopie für die einen ist, schon Realität für andere.
Manchmal ist, was Utopie für die einen ist, schon Realität für andere.
January 30, 2024
I’ve seen Madeline’s tiktoks pop up once in a while so was interested in hearing more about her story. This was pretty good- I think some of her tips were a little too simplified but there’s some stuff people need to hear. Her life story supports the fact that capitalism is set up to fail the vast majority of people in many ways. I enjoyed the last part the most - I liked hearing about how she is currently running her small business and how they got there. I would’ve like to know even more about those details but in short- everyone on her team including her makes the same amount of money, they support each other’s needs (housing, cars, loans) and resolve time off, sick time, and conflict as needed. Definitely a unique situation and it was cool to see how they make that work.
January 25, 2024
I love listening to Madeline, the CA accent makes me feel like I'm listening to one of my cousins tell me a story! This book is such an accomplishment: it's funny and hopeful, while being sharp and practical. Figuring out how to navigate an unethical system while retaining her artistic soul, processing grief and creating community along the way, is inspiring! Loved it!
January 18, 2024
I can't have found my favorite read of the year in January. This was amazing. I listened to the audiobook and you can tell how much love and care and thought was put into the writing of it.
February 16, 2024
I really enjoyed this book! It has pretty good money advice especially for people coming from very poor backgrounds. The only thing I didn’t love is the questionable morals on some things. Like switching tags and selling people what they think is name brand items. I also don’t feel like we should steal from big corporations just because they have a lot of money. I feel very passionate about honesty and doing the right thing. Which was done in many situations. But some gave me the ick. There’s at least a lot of great things to think about and good life advice. Also a lot of compassion for people that are really struggling through life.
April 27, 2024
I loved this book so much more than I was expecting???
Great storytelling plus lots of helpful financial tips for people may age still starting out adulthood and navigating finances!!
To address the elephant in the room, yes there is a lot of Madeline Pendleton’s political views. I align with her on a lot of these views, so it’s not a problem for me and I assume if you’re even interested in reading this book based on the cover and title, you’ve drunk the same cool-aid we have. Even for people who don’t have similar political views, I’d still recommend this book, especially for my friends and family who earnestly want to understand why I have the beliefs I do.
Pendleton calls out towards the end (a choice I think would have been more effective at the beginning to hook new readers who may be hesitant) that her life experiences have led her to her anti-capitalist views. She pulls in a lot of facts and sources to support her anecdotal experience for why she does not believe capitalism is a good economic system. One thing that makes me trust people arguing a point of view even more is a concession to the flaws or the benefits of the side, which was lacking here. It would be really interesting to hear the drawbacks of her socialist ideology.
But this book is first a foremost a memoir, not an economic or political treatise. I’d honestly recommend this book as an approachable, easy to understand navigation to personal finances for young adults or new college graduates. The political stuff is present, but not dominant.
Pendleton is transparent with her finances, but it never feels too personal or attention-seeking. I also love how she goes slack-jawed at her friends who do not understand where they are actually much higher class than they realize.
Another affirming choice Pendleton makes is how sensible she is with her decision making. From her pint of view, this may be a more recent trait, but even her in high school approaches her problems strategically and by googling it first like a responsible product of the internet age. Whenever she reaches the limits of her knowledge, she is good at asking trusted people for advice or researching from a good source (given that with both of these methods she is cognizant of replicating those who’s outcome she wants to achieve.) She is open-minded about who to take advice from also which is refreshing but also protective of her principles.
I’d definitely buy a second book of hers if she writes one! I’d love to hear more about her personal life or even her reflect on her fame from TikTok.
Special shoutout to this quote about being disillusioned about hard work and sacrificing entitling you to some future greater good:
- “The world around me seemed to constantly push a narrative that said sacrifice is all it takes for things to fall into place, and that hard work always paid off. It was biblical in a way, a parable of self-immolation to the gods of commerce and finance. If you just kept the course-slow and steady— you'd come out on top. I tried hard to remember that every time I saw an L.A. nightlife party photo pop up on MySpace.”
Great storytelling plus lots of helpful financial tips for people may age still starting out adulthood and navigating finances!!
To address the elephant in the room, yes there is a lot of Madeline Pendleton’s political views. I align with her on a lot of these views, so it’s not a problem for me and I assume if you’re even interested in reading this book based on the cover and title, you’ve drunk the same cool-aid we have. Even for people who don’t have similar political views, I’d still recommend this book, especially for my friends and family who earnestly want to understand why I have the beliefs I do.
Pendleton calls out towards the end (a choice I think would have been more effective at the beginning to hook new readers who may be hesitant) that her life experiences have led her to her anti-capitalist views. She pulls in a lot of facts and sources to support her anecdotal experience for why she does not believe capitalism is a good economic system. One thing that makes me trust people arguing a point of view even more is a concession to the flaws or the benefits of the side, which was lacking here. It would be really interesting to hear the drawbacks of her socialist ideology.
But this book is first a foremost a memoir, not an economic or political treatise. I’d honestly recommend this book as an approachable, easy to understand navigation to personal finances for young adults or new college graduates. The political stuff is present, but not dominant.
Pendleton is transparent with her finances, but it never feels too personal or attention-seeking. I also love how she goes slack-jawed at her friends who do not understand where they are actually much higher class than they realize.
Another affirming choice Pendleton makes is how sensible she is with her decision making. From her pint of view, this may be a more recent trait, but even her in high school approaches her problems strategically and by googling it first like a responsible product of the internet age. Whenever she reaches the limits of her knowledge, she is good at asking trusted people for advice or researching from a good source (given that with both of these methods she is cognizant of replicating those who’s outcome she wants to achieve.) She is open-minded about who to take advice from also which is refreshing but also protective of her principles.
I’d definitely buy a second book of hers if she writes one! I’d love to hear more about her personal life or even her reflect on her fame from TikTok.
Special shoutout to this quote about being disillusioned about hard work and sacrificing entitling you to some future greater good:
- “The world around me seemed to constantly push a narrative that said sacrifice is all it takes for things to fall into place, and that hard work always paid off. It was biblical in a way, a parable of self-immolation to the gods of commerce and finance. If you just kept the course-slow and steady— you'd come out on top. I tried hard to remember that every time I saw an L.A. nightlife party photo pop up on MySpace.”
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