Money Mindset
The writer, Saqlain Rizwan Rattansi, is a prominent Tanzanian finance expert and the Group Chief Financial Officer at CATS Tanzania and Cats-Net. A Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA-T), he holds a Master’s degree from the University of London and a Bachelor’s from Oxford Brookes University. His professional background includes serving as a Managing Audit Partner at Bronco Associates and an Audit Senior at Crowe Tanzania. Beyond his corporate success, Saqlain is a dedicated public speaker and advocate for financial literacy, notably delivering a TEDxKivukoni talk on building “freedom” through disciplined investment. He is also a deeply engaged community leader, serving as an active member of the Dar es Salaam Jamaat in various capacities.
If you think wealth is flashy cars, big houses, or the number on your bank statement, you’re already losing. Real wealth is freedom, the power to live life on your terms, to say no to a boss, yes to family, yes to life, and yes to yourself.
But freedom has a price. The choices you make, how you navigate the underlying currents of life, will determine whether you sail to the island of freedom or crash onto the rocks of servitude.
Consider the scenarios below, a reflection of how the decisions you make today will impact your tomorrow.
Imagine entering a time machine and coming out as your 35-year-old self.
Scenario 1: An Empty Pink Suitcase
You’ve got an incredible partner, an 8-year-old daughter, and a 6-year-old son. After months of planning, you’ve finally booked a family vacation to Zanzibar. The night before, the whole family had gathered in a room, and you’re all busy packing bags. Your daughter is packing her pink suitcase, with the biggest smile on her face, vibrating with excitement.
Then, the phone rings. Your smile turns into a frown as you see that it’s your boss calling at this late hour.
You pick up the phone, and, in a very blunt voice, he gets straight to the point: “Something really urgent has come up. We need you. See you at 8.”
In that instant, the excitement drains out of you. You look at your packed bags, at your family’s faces, and you already know, this isn’t a request. You don’t have a choice. The trip, the memories, the time together… gone before it even began.
Feel that sting?
Hold on to it and feel its burn. That’s not just a missed vacation. That’s a moment stolen from your family, because your choices left you with no leverage.
Scenario 2: The Breath of Freedom
Cut. Let’s run that movie again, but this time, you’re in control.
Picture yourself in Zanzibar. You and your partner are looking over the beach. Your son’s watching cartoons, your daughter’s napping.
You hold in your hands the most amazing cup of coffee as you glance at your partner gazing over the horizon, and you breathe in the most delicious sip of salty sea air. A smile creeps up on your face as you realise that you’ve made it.
This isn’t a fantasy; it’s freedom, earned through decisions you start making today.
The Fork in the Road
We’re all standing at a fork in the road right now.
One path leads to cancelled dreams, to moments you can’t get back. The other? To a life where you call the shots, lived on your terms.
Do you choose the life where you grind away forever in a shiny office, with unlimited coffee, air-conditioning, and a fancy corner desk?
Or are you bold enough to take the path of choice, courageous enough to choose freedom, brave enough to build a life that’s yours?
Freedom Isn’t free; it’s Built
However, it’s not enough to simply choose freedom. Freedom is not free. It’s not given, not gifted, not handed down. Freedom is built, brick by brick, with blood, sweat, and tears.
The real question: Are you ready to do what’s necessary to build your House of Freedom?
Building Your House of Freedom
Materials for Your House of Freedom
Every house needs materials, and the best material for your House of Freedom is Discipline.
Discipline means consistently choosing actions that align with your goals, against all odds. Eliud Kipchoge, the greatest marathoner of all time, the only human to finish a marathon in under two hours and a master of self-discipline, said: “Only the disciplined are free. The undisciplined are slaves to moods and passions.”
Discipline is freedom, but a very weird flavour of it. Because if your disciplined you’re still a slave. But you’re still a slave to your own standards, a slave to your goals, and a slave to your future self. Thankfully, you are the best person to be a slave to.
Because without discipline, you’ll be a slave to an economy, a slave to a job, a slave boss, a slave to money. You would be a slave to all things you can’t control.
Architecture Plan for Your House of Freedom
Your Freedom Number
Next, we plan. Your House of Freedom is the life you want.
How big does your house need to be to satisfy your needs?
Step 1- Estimate the annual expense of your dream life.
Step 2- Build an investment portfolio that generates income to sustain it.
The shilling value of this portfolio is your freedom number.
To illustrate: A dream middle-class life costs 2 million shillings per month. At a 15% portfolio return, which is very achievable in Tanzania, aim for a 160-million-shilling portfolio.
Finally- Decide your timeline. How long do you give yourself to build this portfolio? Divide your portfolio value by the number of years, and you will get your yearly contribution. From here, commit every ounce of your being to ensuring you make this yearly contribution.
The Foundation for Your House of Freedom
Save Every Penny
The prep work is done; now we build. Start with the foundation: savings. It’s not glamorous, super boring, and the results take ages. But you can’t build without it. No house can stand without a foundation!
Saving means vetting every expense, reviewing every payment, and only incurring them if they align with your long-term plan, be it Netflix or rent.
Live below your means to rise above your worries.
Start small but save consistently. Slowly but surely, your foundation is ready, the platform for your House of Freedom.
The Great Walls of Your House of Freedom
Investments and Compound Interest
With the foundation set, erect the walls with investments. Saving is great, but you can only save what you’ve earned, and you can only earn so many hours a day. But your money? It works 24/7 without asking for days off.
Your money makes more money, which makes even more money, this self-feeding cycle is the engine of wealth: compound interest, the single most powerful tool in building your House of Freedom.
A Quick Illustration (Using USD for Scale)
- Late Linda invests $500 monthly from age 40 to 70. Total invested: $186,000. Final portfolio: $3 million (16x growth).
- Early Ethan invests the same $500 monthly but starts at 25. Total invested: $276,000. Final portfolio: $24.7 million (90x growth).
Compound interest turns modest savings into towering walls, and the earlier you start, the more the impact. But even starting late is better than starting never.
Where to Invest? Building Your Walls Smart
Here are the primary “Walls” you can build:
- Government Bonds: This is your strongest, most reliable wall. You are lending money to the government, which is considered very safe with minimal risk. In Tanzania, long-term bonds can offer stable, predictable returns (for example, ~13% on 25-year bonds), providing a solid support structure for your entire house.
- Shares (Equities): This is your “growth” material. When you buy shares, you own a small piece of a company. As the company grows and makes a profit, the value of your share can increase, and you may earn dividends. This wall can be built very high, very fast, but it also carries more risk of “cracks” or “falls” in value.
- Mutual Funds (or Unit Trusts): This is the “professionally built” wall. Instead of trying to pick individual shares or bonds yourself, you pool your money with other investors. A professional manager then builds a diversified portfolio for you. These are often more liquid (easier to sell) and are an excellent way for most people to get started.
The Real Key: Diversification
Think of your investments as the different walls of your house. You wouldn’t build your entire home from just one material, and you shouldn’t build your portfolio from just one asset. The key is diversification, which means spreading your money across different types of investments to manage risk. If one wall develops a crack (a bad investment), the rest of your house remains standing strong.
The Roof of Your House of Freedom
Consistency
Discipline, savings, and investments are nothing without consistency. Temptations to impulse-spend or YOLO will arise. But consistency is key, it’s the roof that protects everything inside and seals your freedom.
The most important thing is to remain consistent in saving and investing. This consistency will ensure that you will protect everything that’s inside, hence setting your roof.
Once this is done, congratulations: You’ve chosen the life you deserve.
Your War Plan
Let’s bring it all together, the war plan for your House of Freedom:
- Start with discipline; every choice counts.
- Calculate your freedom number to fund your dream life.
- Save consistently, living below your means.
- Invest early to harness compound interest.
- Stay consistent.
Brick by brick, choice by choice, you’re channelling yourself toward a life where you call the shots.
Go and Build Your House of Freedom, Your Future Self is Waiting
This is your rebellion against a life dictated by others. Freedom isn’t given; it’s forged in the fire of your choices and built brick by brick with relentless discipline. So cast off the chains of bosses, bills, and doubts. Rise up, seize your future, and build your House of Freedom.
Your future depends on your decisions. Make the right ones.
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