Our ever fluctuating dollar....

[Littleprincess2010]

Sometimes its high, sometimes its low.... reminds of that commercial with the Worry Dolls

We aren't going until November and Im wondering what people think of the dollars value now. Is it worth it to buy a bunch of american money while the dollar is still near parity or do you think that it will get stronger and overtake the american dollar again??

 

[Ted in Halifax]

I learned my lesson in March 2009 .... when it dipped to around .77 .... me with no US$ ....

Ted's Lesson:
Buy a little currency every pay ... when it is .95 or better. Put it away ... if you can get $50 a pay it still adds up over a year.

The Canadian dollar is an Oil currency ... when the price goes up .... so does our dollar and when it goes down .... well ... you know.

 

[Littleprincess2010]

Thank you Ted, Im going to go get $500 american tomorrow. Now to find the best place to get it.

Are banks better for currency or those little currency shops?

 

[Alderbrook]

We just put a $1000 down on our September trip with Disney when it was at par & I bought our flights too. You can just pay it in little increments before you go. A few cents fluctuation doesn't really matter that much. We also have all our cash right now we'll need.

They keep saying that our dollar will be worth more over the summer, but honestly they can't predict. As soon as something major happens (Trade Towers being taken down by airplanes is a good example) that they can't predict, it screws with the stock market so to say they can predict how the economy will do is completely beyond my comprehension.

 

[Ted in Halifax]

Little currency shops are not the best place to buy ... check with your bank .. or if there is a casino that sells it ....

 

[Ted in Halifax]

CDN is over the US today ... see how long that lasts.

 

[Littleprincess2010]

Well, it didnt last too long, lol. at TD $500 american cost me $512 CAD. But Im very happy with that and its another $500 put away for the trip!!!

 

[squirrel]

Well, it didnt last too long, lol. at TD $500 american cost me $512 CAD. But Im very happy with that and its another $500 put away for the trip!!!

The banks always charge a bit more than the actual rate. Our dollar is still worth more.

 

[Littleprincess2010]

The banks always charge a bit more than the actual rate. Our dollar is still worth more.

That makes sense

But boy would it be nice to get what our dollar is worth Do you think prices here will come down at all now that the dollar is at par again?

 

[ChristinaMouse]

Like many, we have been slowly accumulating US$ in our US$ account when the dollar has been good. I have looked into getting a US$ credit card but I'm not interested in paying an annual fee so I haven't applied for one yet.

My question is this... We usually book our Disney trip with CAA because we have really been enjoying the CAA/AAA Storytime. Does anyone know if I can pay off my trip at CAA with US cash? I don't want to keep accumulating US cash if I can't pay for my trip with it and we only need so much spending money. Anyone have any experience with this situation?

Thanks.

 

[Littleprincess2010]

Like many, we have been slowly accumulating US$ in our US$ account when the dollar has been good. I have looked into getting a US$ credit card but I'm not interested in paying an annual fee so I haven't applied for one yet.

My question is this... We usually book our Disney trip with CAA because we have really been enjoying the CAA/AAA Storytime. Does anyone know if I can pay off my trip at CAA with US cash? I don't want to keep accumulating US cash if I can't pay for my trip with it and we only need so much spending money. Anyone have any experience with this situation?

Thanks.

I dont know about the CAA/AAA using US cash but I wanted to inquire about setting up a US$ account. For someone just going to the States once a year is this worth it for us? Would it help us on our trip to Disneyland? Or is it just easier to use CAD Credit Cards, US cash and travellers cheques?

 

[squirrel]

What I have is two accounts at RBC. One is a US savings account and the other is a chequing account. I keep money in the Canadian one and when the dollar is good I will transfer money into the US account. I can do it all online. Both accounts are free and don't cost me anything. I'm allowed to withdraw once a month from the US savings account without any fees.

For my trip this year, if the dollar is still good then I will just charge the trip to my Canadian Tire Mastercard. There is a small fee for charging US money, but I also get CT money for doing that. I would still be loosing a small amount getting a US money order in order to pay off the trip so as far as I'm concerned it's better just to charge it to my CC. If however our dollar were to go down a lot then I would use the money from the US account.

 

[Littleprincess2010]

Im going to have to see if TD has something like that....... I dont know that I would switch banks just for a free US account

 

[CanadianPaco]

I have a US account at TD and every week I transfer $25 US into it. No matter what the exchange. It's a mindless way to save and not worry about rates.

 

[treehugnmama]

christinamouse

yes you can paa off caa with us cash...I did last time. They courier it so you can't leave it till the last week of you have to pay an overnight courier fee of $35.00

 

[ChristinaMouse]

Thank you treehugnmama. I knew someone here would know the answer! Now I can keep accumulating money in our US$ account and know that I will actually be able to use it to pay for the trip. Thanks again! Like all, I will continue to watch the US$.

 

[Copper Queen]

What I have is two accounts at RBC. One is a US savings account and the other is a chequing account. I keep money in the Canadian one and when the dollar is good I will transfer money into the US account. I can do it all online. Both accounts are free and don't cost me anything. I'm allowed to withdraw once a month from the US savings account without any fees.

I do this as well. I opened a BMO US savings account and have a US credit card. We travel at least once a year to the US, and when the dollar is good, I'll just stash a bit away. I'm neurotic - I follow all the CAD dollar news hourly (I really need a life).

 

[son3disfan]

I do this as well. I opened a BMO US savings account and have a US credit card. We travel at least once a year to the US, and when the dollar is good, I'll just stash a bit away. I'm neurotic - I follow all the CAD dollar news hourly (I really need a life).

Last time we checked BMO charged a monthly fee to have a regular or US account. Is that still the case? Or I think it was a fee to have a regular account, and the US account was free....something like that.
We have a BMO uS credit card that we NOW have to pay a $35.oo annual fee (it was free....just added the fee this year).
I would love to get a US account at BMO, but again, we didn't because they charged a fee for both accounts. We have PC accounts and do don't have accounts with BMO. They wanted us to set both accounts in order to have a US account. Is that still the case?

 

[squirrel]

Im going to have to see if TD has something like that....... I dont know that I would switch banks just for a free US account

I bank at TD also. They didn't have a fee free US account at the time (they still might not). I think I set up the accounts about 2 -3 years ago.

I just put money into the RBC canadian account when it gets low or I have extra money. Then I tranfer it into the US account when the dollar is doing better.

 

[noelk]

OK, here first is my fearless guess of where the Canadian dollar is headed (all based on my own analysis - I'm not a banker or currency trader, so take that for what its worth):

mid April - mid June 2010
C$ 1 = between US$1.03 - $0.94
Canadian fundamentals are good, but traders have already factored in an increase in Bank of Canada (BoC) interest rates in early June...if the BoC delays this increase to July, the dollar could (temporarily) drop to around 94 cents

mid June - early Sept
C$ 1 = between US$1.12 - $0.98
Dollar usually rises as summer hits, Americans hit the roads and increase demands for oil...maybe even more this year, as more people opt for driving vacations due to economy. Could hit over $1.10 if BoC raises rates in both June and July and the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) continues to insist they'll keep their rate rock-bottom.

early Sept - mid Nov
C$ 1 = between US$1.20 - $0.90
This is where my speculation is kinda wild...but I really think it will be one way or another. IMHO, the most likely outcome is that oil demand will drop a bit in the fall and the Fed will start to hint at a rate increase towards the end of 2010, leading to the dollar dropping back to around 95 cents. Alternatives would be (a) hiccups in the Canadian economy combined with inflation and actual rate increases by the Fed (which would drop the dollar to 90 cents), or (b) continued, sustained increases by the BoC totally 100 basis points or more by year end, combined with the Fed extending their rock-bottom interest policy into 2011 could push the dollar up towards $1.20.