How They Get You: Sneaky Everyday Economics and Smart Ways to Hold on to Your Money

by Chris Kohler (Author/Narrator)

Listening Length 6 hours and 27 minutes

Have you ever felt like your wallet has a slow leak you can’t find?

In this sharp, funny and empowering guide, journalist Chris Kohler takes you through the rigged carnival of modern life, where the games are broken, the prizes are fake and somehow you’re paying $28 to park near the entrance.

From loyalty schemes to late fees, gift cards to sneaky supermarkets, How They Get You pulls back the curtain on how the systems work and how to outsmart them. Written for anyone who has ever looked at their bank account and thought, I swear I didn’t buy anything, this is the ultimate handbook to understanding how the game is played – and how you don’t have to lose every single time.

You’ll laugh, you’ll groan and you’ll probably cancel a few subscriptions. But most of all, you’ll walk away with the clarity and confidence to make better choices about how to spend and save your hard-earned money.

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Audiobook, Finance, Business, Money, Australia

7 pages, Audible Audio

Published November 11, 2025

About the author

Chris Kohler is Finance Editor across the 9News network (Australia). You'll see Chris nightly in all states and territories covering financial markets, interest rates, property markets and household finance issues. Before joining Nine, Chris was a reporter and presenter for Sky News Business and Your Money, and has extensive experience as a property and financial markets journalist with The Australian, and with The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers via Domain. He also has a large following on social media @chriskohlernews.

Reviews

[Lucy Dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this in public felt like a performance of sorts because I was actively shaking my head, grimacing, and occasionally looking up to ponder at the other suckers around me stuck in the same economic cycle I was learning about.

I consider this required reading for any Australian, regardless of tax bracket. But especially us plebs. It’s always shitty to learn all the ways the system is rigged against you, but I promise you’ll have fun doing it.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy's instagram is clever, informative and funny and his book is well worth the read.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title says it all. This was a quick listen. I was familiar and in the know of most issues discussed, given I've been following the author on social media.

This kind of book, at least where I'm concerned, triggers me into action: to make the call, unsubscribe from memberships, reassess if I need certain things etc.

The more people know how they get us, the more they can avoid being got. :-) Infuriatingly, in many cases, there are no options, Australia is lacking real competition in many areas and our regulators and the government are not on top of things as they should be. But we don't complain, don't take action, nothing will change.

[Gnaeus Agricola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, which truely highlights the status quo (rightly) of the industries in Australia that we have become slaves to. The chapters on the various ways cars eat into most people’s finances all to be stuck in traffic really made me laugh because, while Chris offers good financial advice for the reality of most Australians’ lives (many of us are forced to drive to get anywhere), Australians voted to be slaves to the auto-industry. Just know that there are others ways to avoid these traps like public transport, which Chris mentions, or riding a bike, which Chris mentions only once and in passing. I know people might say that I cannot ride a bike because it is unsafe, know that there are people fighting to make it less uncomfortable and dangerous with proper infrastructure. If you do not what to be a slave to the petrol prices, toll roads, car loans, insurance costs maybe think about voting to install that bike lane or approving of new public transportation when it is proposed near you. All of these things are not mentioned by Chris, but they will help to improve your financial situation in the above categories: viable alternatives to driving.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great entry point into everyday economics and how they can affect your money habits over time. Very entertaining and I would definitely recommend the audiobook narrated by the author 😊 I wish all my friends and family members would read this book to be a little more aware of how they are influenced, and sometimes mislead, by companies everyday 🙈

[Keli'ikoa Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

and i never got getted again

[Cory E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid overview of a parade of scammy (but legal) practices that companies use to make your life a little bit more expensive and miserable. It's balanced and not anti-capitalist, and he tries to include some small actions individual consumers can take to ease the burden, but it's clear that so many of these issues require regulation and systems-level changes to truly lift the cost of living crisis.

[Jane Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Girls we are locking into our finances in 2026 !

My fav bit was the insight into the normalisation of subscription based services, like truth be told why is everything a monthly subscription fee.

Biggest take away pour moi is the importance of being brand agnostic.

[Ryan Bartok · Rating 5 out of 5]

The game is rigged and Chris Kohler is here to show you exactly how.

In How They Get You, Kohler pulls back the curtain on the systems we interact with every day, exposing how the “rules” are often hidden, constantly shifting, or designed to work against us.

Just like his online skits, Kohler’s humour keeps the pages turning, and his clear, engaging explanations make complex ideas feel accessible without ever dumbing them down. It’s the kind of book you devour in a sitting and then spend days thinking about.

[Aaron Stoltzfus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve long enjoyed Chris’s sketches for a longtime on YouTube, so I was excited to read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. There’s something refreshing about pointing out the absurdities with which some companies operate without demonizing them. Since after all, they are still in existence for a reason—sometimes it’s just our unwillingness to push back.

[Tyler Mauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Kohler: We have a problem. I'm not making as much money from my short videos anymore.
The Devil on his Shoulder: Have you tried releasing the same content on additional platforms?
CK: Yes, I'm already on every platform imaginable, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram.. you name it.
Devil: How about.. as a book?

Nothing in this book should come as a surprise, but given how prolific a number of these issues are they clearly still need rehashing. I found it interesting to read about some of these policies from an Australian lens. The author was a little over the top about trying to make this a "fun" read, but the book worked well overall.

[Vasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fala de várias coisas, algumas delas são coisas específicas da Austrália, a maior parte são gerais. É interessante, mas nada por aí além. Põe em claro maneiras que os negócios se aproveitam do consumidor.

Lição chave que tirei, não ficar peso a uma marca/operadora/o que for, dá mais trabalho ter de comparar as várias hipóteses, mas se uma pessoa se deixar ficar acaba por ficar pior (exemplo concreto, as operadoras dão ofertas muito melhores a novos clientes do que aos que já têm, por isso compensa mudar alguma regularidade). Esta não é a lição chave do livro, simplesmente a que me ficou mais.

[Mike Jorgensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and really entertaining. He doesn't try to sell anything. He doesn't offer you simple life hacks with the promise of wealth. He observes lots of gritty truths with occasional tips and suggestions but no judgement about your personal financial choices. I really enjoy how blunt he is about the world without drifting into cynicism.

[Anna Loder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to pick up and read a chapter of, I was hoping it was going to save me millions, but actually I was already on to the ridiculousness of the lottery and gambling hahah it was great reading!!! Made me feel like a consumer psychologist 😎

[Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Kohler could teach a blind person to crochet


From just seeing his name on the shelf I knew I had to read this.

Anyone who can get me to read a book about finance, and thoroughly enjoy it, must be the GOAT

[Tyler Shellenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone needs to hear what is in this book. Only took me two days to read it through - I was so hooked!

Chris tells you how you’re getting ripped off and robbed blind and keeps it funny and light in spite of the pretty dark and depressing reality. I hope these ideas take hold and consumers and companies make positive changes. This is a good foundation for people to start taking notice.

[Sam Still Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always out for a bargain and not having to spend more than I have to. But like everyone, I can get lazy. Being a fan of economics across the board, I decided to check out Chris Kohler’s How They Get You. I don’t like it when ‘they’ get me, so I went into this book to learn the sneaky tricks to save more and not to fall into traps.

This is a very funny read, which you might not expect for a book about economics (but truly, it can be very humorous when you include how irrationally humans act). Every topic on a chapter (from mortgages to Black Friday sales) starts with an amusing vignette of how to rip off the average customer through fees, confusing and complex rules and sneaky changes (shrinkflation anyone?). The topic is then explained clearly in layman’s terms and demonstrates how they get you. The chapter then ends with advice on what you can do as a consumer who needs insurance, gift cards or superannuation to avoid or minimise extra costs.

Some of the information is common sense (e.g. set reminders to stop subscriptions) but it’s still good to hear it because it invites you to look critically at exactly what you do with your money. It also gives you the confidence to call around the insurance companies or banks and ask for a better deal – as mentioned repeatedly, loyalty is worth nothing. (I do disagree on one point though – when my bank still had a physical location, I did get a free pen once but I lost it). I was really surprised to see how many additional fees there are for mortgages and how silly most of them are. Same with flight ‘add ons’. I thought including tariffs was really smart given the Trump administration’s fascination with them as well as more modern gotchas like in game transactions and gift cards. It’s a very enjoyable read – clear, concise and truthful.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

[Leith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in two sittings, but found it so hard to put down. The entire book feels like Chris has shouted me a jug of beer so he can warn me about all the ways we are ‘gotten’ as consumers. Even for the few chapters that made me go “I knew that already”, it serves as an important reminder to stop and acknowledge it, speak up about it being wrong, and to find an alternative rather than being complacent. Even better, it’s funny, friendly and a really easy read.

[Nathaniel Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do they get you exactly? The answer is not great for your mental health: everywhere, everyday and every way. What can you do to avoid it? Keep the buggers honest and ask yourself, how are they getting me here? If you ask yourself that question, you’re more likely to shop around, look around or avoid. Either way, you’ll probably be ahead as long as you stop and think. Worth a read but prepare to be depressed.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris is awesome. He and I share the same sense of humour, so I think his YouTube channel some of the best internet anywhere. You may know most of what’s in this book already, but even if you do, it’s a great read. Sometimes you need to have a laugh about how fucked everything is, and Chris is world class at that.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

honestly not much new info, like i was very familiar w all the topics but it was a quick and easy read and chris kohler has a great audiobook voice, and also the attempts at humour were actually genuinely fun and not cringe, so big win

[Mike Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read, nicely broken into chapters by topic so it was easy to pick up again and again.
Even though I try to stay wise to how they get you I learnt heaps and also recommend his YT clips as good entertainment

[Jacob B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, easy read which gives you a good overview of where your money is disappearing too. It's not a self help book telling you what to do, rather encourages you to think for yourself.

[Nic Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

They won't get me now. Checkmate Coles.

[Liam Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big ups. Bit boring in the middle but overall message it great, mostly fuck big corporations

[Robyn Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the stats and examples to reinforce better money habits.

[Alex Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been getting got. So... thanks for letting me know, Chris.

[Katische Haberfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up in a whim- found it interesting and very worthwhile reading.

[Argon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - Easy to read and well written

[Kath Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finance, humour and Chris Kohler’s voice. It’s basically indecent and I love it!