Brutal decline of the US dollar
 

It really is fast and alarming! I'll go back to Argentina where my money goes much farther for similar or better quality of experience.
I read in the Bloomberg report that there is just bad sentiment about the dollar in general. Excuse my French but this SUCKS.

BYE.

Have a nice trip. One less whiner to listen to. Same alarmist who brings this topic up every couple of months.

Up to a point, it's not a big deal and from an economic viewpoint, one can almost understand the idea that a cheaper US dollar is beneficial.

But note I said up to a point. One has to wonder if the current administration's deficit management of the US economy is undermining the USD and allow it to fall far too low and whether it is healthy overall if this continues.

Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. Millions and millions of people are very eager to take your place.

Yes, the dollar is weak and long-term, it isn't position you want to remain in. However, do you see inflation as a problem in our society? Sure, oil prices are rising but that isn't being caused by the fall of the dollar. Apart from oil, do we have inflation in apparel, food, etc? It is the risk of inflation that is the biggest risk of a weak currency.

The low dollar is the price we paid for having historically low interest rates. Said another way, if you had a $300,000 mortgage, and you refinanced for 30 years at a rate 5%, versus the 7% you might have had, you saved about $4600 a year.

Not to turn this into an economics debate, but of all the problems facing our economy, the weak dollar is the least problematic. Low wage job creation, sure we've got something to worry about.

I wouldn't go to a country simply because it has a better exchange rate
"unless" it's a destination you have wanted to go to anyway.

Bon Voyage.

Hi

For me this is great. I buy stuff from the net all the time and now 1 dollar is 6.5 kroner. A few years ago when my wife and I went to Florida 1 dollar was 8.4 kroner. So I get a lot more for my money these days. I guess I have to start my Christmas present shopping on amazon.com :-)

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com

I don't want to knock Argentina, but if someone offered me a totally free trip for three weeks to either Europe or Argentina guess which one I'd choose. If it's all about saving money, then stay home and you'll save even more!

If the dollar continues to weaken, it will reduce my trips to Europe. I already have one planned for next summer, but after that if the the dollar drops again as far as it has so far, I probably will not be going there again.

At £1.45 or €.95 to $1, I could afford to do things that don't make sense at £2.25 or €1.60.

Keith

For the first summer in a number of years, we will not be going to Europe next summer. But it isn't because of the money. Europe would be cheaper. Instead we've decided to rent an apartment in New York City for a month -- that month will easily cost us 50% more than what we normally spend for a month in Europe -- even with the dropping dollar!

Did you notice the original poster uses the name "maletas"?

Spanish for "suitcases".

I hope he uses his soon.

Well he did say "go back to." You don't like spanish speakers?

Keith

Or is that Portugese?

Keith

>At £1.45 or €.95 to $1, I could afford to do things that don't make sense at £2.25 or €1.60.<

Of course you could afford it. Those are historical lows.

There are winners and losers for any currency fluctuations. I suggest that it is more useful to focus on ways to maximize one's income, through work or investment or saving, rather than worrying about currency ups and downs.

The following was in my e-mailbox this morning from an international banker friend of mine. No agenda here; both he and I are voting for Bush.

"I spent the past three weeks in Britain, primarily with my friend who is a retired University of Edinburgh political science professor. He is vastly more negative on the US economy than I am and argues aggressively that investments should be 100% in cash and that this will be doubly true if Bush is re-elected. It was kind of nice to be in the position of pointing out the positive aspects of our economic future. But his comments did seem to be reflective of a growing percentage of at least the British market analysts. This could suggest that investment inflows may be in for a harder time as we go forward and that would not be a good thing for the dollar."

I wouldn't let your friend invest lunch money let alone real money.Remember he is an "academic". Those who can do,those who can't teach.

Isn't that backwards. Isn't 1.60 euro to the dollar better than .95 euro to the dollar? Same with the Brit money.

Or maybe I shouldn't have had that second double Old Fashioned at lunch.

Yea, I think Ira said it wrong. He meant 95 cents to the euro and 1.25 to the pound, etc., not the other way around. Maybe he's the one who had the second drink at lunch.

HI--it seems to me that most on here were a little overly harsh w/maletas. I too am dismayed at the exchange rate. I did not read his post as a slam against Europe, just a lament (as opposed to the more negative term whine) about the current state of affairs regarding the exchange rate.

I think it's FANTASTIC. I'm about to send a large amount in pounds to the US, and I usually get the worst rates when I end up sending money. It's payback time. I'm also hoping it's low next summer when I'm selling my house in the UK to move back to the US!

well, it would be nice if it didn't get worse -- not just because of European vacations, but as a reflection of a lot of things. However, I don't worry about these things or let them run my life or affect my plans. It doesn't affect my plans at all, but perhaps that's because I don't spend a lot of money on my trips, anyway, so a 10 pct increase in the amount wouldn't make that much difference. Of course it would be nice to have that money for other things, but in my yearly budget, it wouldn't change my plans in any way.

Really, how much money are we talking about here -- I only spend a couple thousand dollars total on my vacation for hotel and food and everything (not counting the air fare, which is a separate topic), so the difference is a couple hundred dollars if it dropped by 10 pct.

Ira was only quoting Keith, who is the one who stated things wrongly. Ira didn't seem to get it, though, but I think Keith meant when a euro cost $.95, which wasn't a historical low, either.

I always find it rather distasteful when Americans whine about the cost of their expensive European vacations re the drop of the dollar, and how they can't afford to rent villas as much, go to 3* restaurants, etc. when there are so many people in the world in such poverty-stricken conditions and dying. Anyone who spends so much money on European vacations that a 10-25 pct change in the value of the dollar makes radical dents in their assets is spending too much for me to feel sorry for.

i agree with christina that it is distasteful to complain about this. i don't really mean here on this board and this is not a direct response to meletas just a general comment about behaviour when visiting a foreign country.

i see far too many americans who are far too vocal about what a "rip-off" something is or how much cheaper something is in the US. It's borderline rude but certainly makes people come off looking like ugly americans.

the reason i find this offensive are:

-you are basically boasting about how rich the US is (defined by the amount of "stuff" you can afford to buy there as compared to here). everybody already knows that the travelling classes of americans live like kings compared to the rest of the world. it's rude to remind people of this.

-there's probably a local right next to you buying the same thing and chances are the item is much more expensive for him as related to his salary than it is for you (even with today's exchange rates).

-it's offensive to the shop owners who have nothing to do with the exchange rate. the shop probably makes much less profit than the store in your hometown.

-it's offensive to the priorities set by the country you are visiting. The shopkeeper in denmark has a good pension, healthcare and a living wage. sure that pair of socks costs half as much at walmart but at what social cost. europeans know that things are cheaper in the US but they have chosen a different set of priorities.

Thank you, walkinaround, you got it just right. Americans in general and well-to-do Americans in particular seem to forget how much more disposable income we have than in many other places in the world. Add to that the fact that many of us still have the Post-WWII notion that goods purchased overseas must be a "deal", and you get a really unattractive picture.

Travel is a luxury. For many of us it may also be a necessity, but we should never forget that we are privileged to be able to afford to do it, high-end or low.

I don't know why Americans would complain about the conversion rate of overseas currencies. In the past, we in Australia, have been living, with a low dollar rate compared to most overseas currencies, however, now the value of our little Aussie dollar has crept up, with our strong economy, and we are enjoying a slightly stronger Aussie dollar, not that strong, but a bit stronger, Australians are travelling more. On every trip that I do overseas, I always come back, realising that my country is the best in the world, and I wonder why I went overseas in the first place.
I have seen Americans in the past, really preoccupied with the currency conversion of their dollar, however, I have seen a "lot" of Americans, who weren't, and they just get on with their holiday.
TIP 1: Just save as much money as possible, for those trips.
TIP 2: We think of 1 English pound being equal to 1 Australian dollar, if you don't, and you start converting, you may go crazy. A friend of mine visited the UK this year, and upon arrival start converting the value of food, beer, shopping items, etc, to the point, where they ate "cheap food" wherever possible, and I don't think they visited an British Pub, to enjoy a pint of bitters or ale. For lunch, they wandered around until they found a really cheap sandwich shop. What a pity, not to enjoy Britain to its fullest.
Your there for a great holiday, not to whinge, and worry over the conversion of currency values.

Regretably, times have changed. On my last trip to Paris, my usual ploy with chocolate and nylons got me no where with the sweet young things of Pigalle.

LOL Degas. Perhaps you should consider trying again in the off-season.

Well said walkinarond, christina. I'm tired of all these people whining about the exchange rate. Just be glad you are able to travel. Millions of people on this planet live below the poverty line struggling to get through another day and you're worried about a decline in the dollar? If you are so upset by this stay home and let those of us who love Europe go.

As for basing your investments on who is in the White House - if you think like that you're better off in a savings account at the bank,

Argentina is amazing and while in Buenos Aires you could feel as if you were in Rome, Paris,or Madrid. The restaurants and cafes are superb. I would have to spend more than 3 times as much $$$ for a simialr experience in Europe. I do love the cities mentioned above but its a shocker with the exchange rate and its decline seems to be spiraling out of control.
Now as for you Mgmargate and hansikay, this is a forum where people should be able to express themselves yet in a civil manner. You two a lesson in civility!

>Ira didn't seem to get it, though, but I think Keith meant when a euro cost $.95, which wasn't a historical low, either.<

Ummmmm. I did get it, but thought that it would be immense hair-splitting to correct Keith. As far as "historical low", it's close enough for government work.

>Those who can do,those who can't teach.

On behalf of teachers around the world, I am sticking pins in a wax image of your computer.

I didn't invent the quote.It sure is a widely held belief.

It would be whining (or worse) to complain about the weaker dollar while in UK shops & restaurants. Or while shopping at our local Good Will.

I don't think it is inappropriate in this travel forum.

Keith

If you know the correct punctuation for this bogus old chestnut, thank a teacher:

&gt;&gt;<i>Those who can do,those who can't teach</i>

Should be

&quot;Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.&quot;

Otherwise, it makes absolutely no sense.

You can't spend punctuation, and you know what I meant.

&gt;You can't spend punctuation, and you know what I meant.&lt;

That is a run on sentence.

It is also a non sequitor.

Furthermore, we cannot possibly know what you meant, only what you wrote.

Thank you for providing us a chance to be pedantic. It's been a while. :)

Non sequitUr...

Pedantically yours,

Rex

It seems I might have hit a sore spot with some teachers.Old chestnut. Yea right.

I ain't no teacher. . .