Money shouldn't be this heavy
But it is. It keeps you awake at night. It turns into arguments at the kitchen table. It sits between you and the people you love.
Most people don't have a money problem. They have a "nobody taught me this" problem.
So you wait. You'll start when the salary is bigger, when the debt is cleared, when things finally settle down.
Things never quite settle down.
Waiting is the most expensive thing you can do with money.
You don't need to earn more to begin. You need a calm way through.
Building Wealth Calmly
Starting Exactly Where You Are
A practical personal finance guide for ordinary people earning ordinary income, with real Malaysian numbers.
Written by a Chartered Accountant and former Chief Financial Officer, from more than three decades in finance leadership across Malaysia and Singapore.
RM69 · A5 paperback · 184 pages
Why I Wrote This Book
A Guide From Experience
I was six when I fell in love with numbers. I asked my teacher what I should become, and she said: an accountant. From that moment I knew. I also knew I wanted to write a book.
I didn't get into university — I didn't qualify, and my family couldn't afford to send me overseas. A schoolmate showed me another road: work in audit by day, study ACCA at night. A senior warned me it would be very difficult. Most of my classmates quit. I stayed. Four and a half years later I qualified, and years after that I became a CFO.
For three decades I looked after corporate money. Corporations have teams of advisers. Wealthy individuals have banks competing for them. But everyone else? Every time money came up in conversation, something shifted — eyes dropped, voices lowered. I'm just not good with money. I wouldn't even know where to start. These were capable, intelligent people. Nobody had ever explained it to them simply.
Managing money isn't complicated. It doesn't need a finance degree. It needs someone to sit with you, honestly and patiently, and show you how — without jargon, without judgement.
So I wrote the book I wish more people had when they first started earning.
I don't want these lessons to stay only with me.
What's Inside
One path. Three steps. Eleven chapters.
CLARITY — understand your money
1 · Income: maximise what comes in
Most people only ever look at one source. We start with what you actually earn, where it comes from, and the ways it can grow that don't depend on a promotion.
2 · Expenses: know where it goes
Not a budget you'll abandon in three weeks. A clear picture of where your money actually goes — and most people find something they didn't expect.
CONTROL — manage your money
3 · Kill your debt
Which debts to clear first, which to leave alone, and why the order matters more than the amount. Not all debt is the same, and treating it that way is expensive.
4 · Protect what you build
Insurance, emergency funds and wills. What actually needs protecting before you invest a single ringgit — and what you're probably over-paying for.
5 · Keep more of what you earn
Tax reliefs most Malaysians never claim. Legal, straightforward, and money you're currently handing over for no reason.
COMPOUND — grow your money
6 · The magic of compounding
The difference isn't luck or cleverness. It's time — and how much of it you have left. This is the chapter people wish they'd read at twenty.
7 · Build wealth through investing
Where to start when every explanation assumes you already know. Automate it, stay invested, and stop trying to time anything.
8 · Renting vs buying: the real maths
The biggest financial decision most of us make, worked through honestly — without the assumption that owning is always right.
9 · The hidden behaviours
Ten habits that quietly cost us, starting with the one nobody notices: lifestyle inflation. Recognising them is how you escape them.
10 · Know your enough
Financial freedom isn't a number someone else chose for you. This chapter helps you work out your own.
11 · Retire well
Retirement is not an age. It's a financial position — and this is how you reach it on your terms.
In every chapter:
★ Quick Wins you can act on
★ Key Takeaways for the chapter
★ Real stories and simple frameworks
★ A page for your own notes
Plus the Calm Money Blueprint and a plain-English glossary at the back.
Written for Malaysia. EPF, PRS, SSPN, tax reliefs, RPGT — with the principles in dollars, so the maths works anywhere.
One path. Three steps. Eleven chapters.
CLARITY — understand your money
1 · Income: maximise what comes in
Most people only ever look at one source. We start with what you actually earn, where it comes from, and the ways it can grow that don't depend on a promotion.
2 · Expenses: know where it goes
Not a budget you'll abandon in three weeks. A clear picture of where your money actually goes — and most people find something they didn't expect.
CONTROL — manage your money
3 · Kill your debt
Which debts to clear first, which to leave alone, and why the order matters more than the amount. Not all debt is the same, and treating it that way is expensive.
4 · Protect what you build
Insurance, emergency funds and wills. What actually needs protecting before you invest a single ringgit — and what you're probably over-paying for.
5 · Keep more of what you earn
Tax reliefs most Malaysians never claim. Legal, straightforward, and money you're currently handing over for no reason.
COMPOUND — grow your money
6 · The magic of compounding
The difference isn't luck or cleverness. It's time — and how much of it you have left. This is the chapter people wish they'd read at twenty.
7 · Build wealth through investing
Where to start when every explanation assumes you already know. Automate it, stay invested, and stop trying to time anything.
8 · Renting vs buying: the real maths
The biggest financial decision most of us make, worked through honestly — without the assumption that owning is always right.
9 · The hidden behaviours
Ten habits that quietly cost us, starting with the one nobody notices: lifestyle inflation. Recognising them is how you escape them.
10 · Know your enough
Financial freedom isn't a number someone else chose for you. This chapter helps you work out your own.
11 · Retire well
Retirement is not an age. It's a financial position — and this is how you reach it on your terms.
In every chapter:
★ Quick Wins you can act on
★ Key Takeaways for the chapter
★ Real stories and simple frameworks
★ A page for your own notes
Plus the Calm Money Blueprint and a plain-English glossary at the back.
Written for Malaysia. EPF, PRS, SSPN, tax reliefs, RPGT — with the principles in dollars, so the maths works anywhere.
About the Author
Koh Saw Leng is a Chartered Accountant and former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with more than three decades in finance leadership in Malaysia and Singapore.
She began her career at nineteen, without a university degree — working in audit by day and attending ACCA classes at night — and rose, step by step, from accounts assistant to CFO.
In March 2025, she left corporate life to write and speak. She founded Sawleng.Speaks, a platform dedicated to making money feel calm and clear. She helps everyday people build confidence and long-term resilience with money — starting exactly where they are. She wrote this book because she did not want these lessons to stay only with her.
She is an HRD Corp Certified Trainer, the proud mother of two sons, and lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
This Book Is For You If ...
✓ You earn an income but still don't feel fully in control of your money.
✓ You want to start investing but don't know where to begin.
✓ You feel overwhelmed by financial advice.
✓ You believe it's never too late to start building a stronger financial future.
Wherever you're starting from, you can take the next step.
The launch, 12 September 2026
Thank you to everyone who graced the launch of my very first book. It meant more than I can say.
READER EXPERIENCES
What Readers Say
What finance leaders and first-time readers are saying
In a world of confusing financial advice, this book cuts through the noise. Practical, clear, and action-driven - this is the personal finance guide I wish I had 20 years ago.
A. Marzuki Abdul Aziz
Chief Financial Officer, Malaysian PLC
There is a lot of clarity and essential guidance, packed with practical experience. I particularly like the four-buckets framework and the summary recaps, making it easy for busy readers.
Yeap Kok Leong
Founder, 3G Famico Sdn Bhd
Written by someone whose professional financial wisdom I deeply admire, this precise guide generously shares a blueprint for lasting wealth. It is very easy to understand and focuses on building lifetime habits.
Susan Liew
Finance Director, LVMH P&C Malaysia
Building Wealth Calmly is an accessible and refreshing primer on personal finance for beginners. In a culture fixated on stock picking and instant returns, this book steps back to establish many overlooked fundamentals.
Chai Eu Herng
Graduate of NTU 2026
Order Your Copy
Complete your details below. Signed and personalised, posted within 3 working days — tracking emailed the day it goes out.
West Malaysia: RM8 flat rate. Free delivery on 2 copies or more.
East Malaysia: RM16 flat rate. Free delivery on 3 copies or more.
Singapore: RM25 flat rate, however many copies you order.
Gather your friends, order together, and save on shipping.
Buying for your team?
Financial Wellness for Everyday Employees
Financial stress doesn't stay at home. It follows people into work — into their focus, their decisions, their sense of the future.
I run financial wellness programmes for companies built on the same framework as the book:
Clarity — understand your money.
Control — manage your money.
Compound — grow your money.
Practical, jargon-free, and pitched at everyday employees, not investors.
Every participant goes home with a copy of Building Wealth Calmly.
Half-day or full-day formats, tailored to your team.
Workshops · Talks & keynotes · Corporate programmes
Koh Saw Leng
Chartered Accountant, former CFO, HRD Corp Certified Trainer
You don't need to earn more to begin. You need a calm way through.
Or email [email protected]
Questions
How long does delivery take?
Posted within 3 working days, then 2-5 days depending on where you are.
Can I send it as a gift?
Yes. Put the recipient's name in the personalisation field and their address as the delivery address.
Why does free delivery to Sabah and Sarawak start at three copies?
Courier rates there are considerably higher, so I charge them close to cost rather than building it into the book price for everyone.
Where and when is the workshop?
Saturday, 31 October 2026 · 10am–2pm · Kings Hall Café, Section 13, PJ
A small-group, four-hour workshop where we work through your own numbers and turn the ideas in Building Wealth Calmly into practical action. Your numbers, not a case study.
Just 10 seats. Your seat is reserved when you order. I'll confirm by email once the group is set.
How do I pay by DuitNow QR?
Submit your order, then scan the QR code on the next page and WhatsApp/email me the payment slip. I'll confirm within 24 hours and post your copy.
Is there an ebook?
Not yet - it's in the works.
I'm in Singapore, can I order?
Yes. Delivery to Singapore is a flat RM25, however many copies you order.
Thank You! 🌼
Paid by card, FPX or GrabPay?
You're all set. Your receipt is on its way to your email.
Paying by DuitNow QR?
Your order is reserved. Follow the steps below to complete it.
1. Scan the code below with any Malaysian banking app or e-wallet.
2. Check that the payee name shows SAWLENG SPEAKS HUB. If it shows anything else, don't pay, and email me.
3. Pay the total on your order summary, with your order number in the reference field.
4. Reply to your order confirmation email with your payment slip attached, or email it to [email protected].
I'll confirm your order within 24 hours.
Your copy will be signed and posted within 3 working days of payment, and I'll send tracking details once it's dispatched.
If you added the workshop, your seat is reserved for Saturday, 31 October 2026. I'll confirm the details by email nearer the date.
I hope Building Wealth Calmly reminds you that you don't need to have everything figured out before you begin. You simply start exactly where you are.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
With gratitude,
Saw Leng
Sawleng Speaks
Empowering everyday people to build wealth calmly through practical money lessons.
Building Wealth Calmly · Koh Saw Leng
Published by Sawleng Speaks Hub
Co. Reg. 202603200069 (JM1047560-D)
ISBN 978-629-92891-0-4
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
sawlengspeaks.com · [email protected]
© 2026 Sawleng Speaks. All rights reserved.