We have already established that CBE is a nightmare (the queues, the broken ATMs, the teller who clicks keys like he is defusing a bomb, the inexplicable page-ripping they do to poor notebooks). But here is the thing: you still need a bank account. You cannot avoid it entirely. The question is how to keep your exposure to a minimum.
The strategy: use the bank for exactly what you must, and nothing else.
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Keep just enough in your local account. Enough to pay bills, receive your salary, handle daily crap. Nothing more. The rest is just sitting there getting eaten by inflation.
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Everything else goes to real value. Foreign currency, gold, land, physical shit that exists. The bank does not need to know what you actually have.
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If you can open a foreign bank account, do it. Some Ethiopian diaspora banks offer USD or EUR accounts. Even if you are not diaspora, there are ways. A foreign account is outside the local government’s reach. This matters more than you think.
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Cash is not dead. In a country where banks are unreliable, cash is freedom. Keep enough at home to survive anything. Not under your mattress (mice, fire, thieves). In a locked box somewhere hidden.(don’t get a safe, that shi attracts)
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Separate business from personal. If the government freezes business accounts during a dispute (they do this), you do not want your personal savings trapped in there too.
The golden rule: The bank is a utility, not a savings vehicle. Use it like water and electricity. Pay bills. Get paid. Then move everything else somewhere the bank and the government cannot fucking touch it.
Coming soon: Side Hustles That Make Sense