Us $..uggh

[TammyLynn33]

I just went to the bank to get $20 US for a friends kids bday and it was $25..UGGGH crazy

I have to pay my trip off by mar 1 the cash is in my haha sock drawer....+

 

[photomama]

I hear ya We have to pay off our balance on the 29th, I have it but was praying the dollar would go up before..

Even though $5.00 is bad on $20 - I am dreading doing the math for $3000

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I feel your pain. I went to the bank to cash in the kids family allowance into USD for their spending money for the trip. I paid 1.265 exchange rate. Apparently yesterday was alot worse, figures that's when I bought the hopper passes for the trip . All we can do is pray to the Powers that be that the CDN dollar goes up very soon. Hopefully within the next week or two so that we can have more money to spend stateside.

 

[Albertan mom]

It is getting better,
The last few days at Closing:

Jan 20--0.7889
Jan 21--0.7963
Jan 22--0.7976
Jan 23--0.8122

So we had a big jump today!

Keep going up, we leave in 11 days!

 

[dancin Disney style]

The closing exchange rate today was 1.25 which is better than it's been in over a week.

 

[hockeymom3]

We have to pay in March too, and I'm hoping the dollar goes up by then....they say though that with interest rates dropping that the dollar is going to drop, and I'm in real estate so I'm pretty confident that rates aren't going up....so that stinks for our trip!!

 

[Canadamom]

Just bought attraction tickets at my AMA today. $634 USD = $816 CDN. Ouch!

 

[redrosesix]

I have a masters in economics and I have no idea when to lock in. I know what the US should do ie let their dollar fall, but I just don't know if they will do it.

I'm waiting as long as possible.

 

[Honeystar120608]

If they did let their dollar fall, what does that really mean for us? I know very little about economics, slowly learning though!! Im wondering now that there is a new president and all, that things might just change some. We are going end nov/dec. Im giving them until August

I have a masters in economics and I have no idea when to lock in. I know what the US should do ie let their dollar fall, but I just don't know if they will do it.

I'm waiting as long as possible.

 

[redrosesix]

If they did let their dollar fall, what does that really mean for us? I know very little about economics, slowly learning though!! Im wondering now that there is a new president and all, that things might just change some. We are going end nov/dec. Im giving them until August

The central banks have many ways to keep the value of their dollar higher, from increasing interest rates to actually buying up the currency in the currency market. The US tends to try to keep the value of their dollar high, but that means that their trade deficit increases (because their goods are relatively higher than those purchased from other countries) -- not good for employment in the US. Lately, their fear has been that if they reduce controls on their currency, other countries will be less confident of its value and will sell off their US dollars leading to a downward spiral. Plus, they're not going to let the US dollar slide in the first few weeks of a new presidency (unless this is publicly announced as part of their recovery plan). This is oversimplifying things a lot.

If the Canadian dollar is at or close to par with the US dollar any time before your trip, lock in at that rate ie. pay off your hotel bill, dining plan (if you are going that route), pay for rental car etc. It is unlikely that the exchange rate would get much better than that.

 

[TammyLynn33]

So..Red if you were in mys hoes and had to pay by mar 5 what rate would you lock at..i was hoping for 85....

 

[redrosesix]

So..Red if you were in mys hoes and had to pay by mar 5 what rate would you lock at..i was hoping for 85....

I am in your shoes, but worse -- we leave for WDW Feb 7th. I'm waiting until Wed. at the latest. It will probably get better while we're there.

I'm hoping it will get to 85 for you too, but in the meantime, I would recommend checking out BNN.com -- they often have discussions and forecasts about the exchange rate, since it has such a huge impact on the prices of oil and gold.

I'm going to check them out over the weekend, do my homework, and make my decision from there.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Thanks red...
Good Luck hoping for a sudden turn..I thought the whole Obama thing might have worked..ughhh

 

[Albertan mom]

It is getting better,
The last few days at Closing:

Jan 20--0.7889
Jan 21--0.7963
Jan 22--0.7976
Jan 23--0.8122

So we had a big jump today!

Keep going up, we leave in 11 days!

Jan 26--.8193
Jan 27--.8155
Jan 28--.8229
Jan 29--.8175
Jan 30--.8153

so it is all over the place! Was the best on Jan 28th, but not by much.
Hopefully next week when I am there it will jump up!

 

[tricia]

I agree, it looks bad, but I checked out what the rate was for some of my previous Disney Vacations and It is not so bad right now.

April 1996 .73768
Sept 2000 .67926
May 2003 .70322
Mar 2004 .74499
Mar 2006 .88329
Mar 2007 .85088

So, I now realize that we have been spoiled lately. I still really liked the at par type rates, but guess for those of us that are already booked this is what we have to live with.

 

[naosam]

Me im hopping for .85

 

[hockeymom3]

I agree - anything over 85 cents and I should probably pay for my trip. Oh how I wish it was par!!

 

[puppyears]

Before everybody jumps on this bandwagon....

When our dollar is lower than the US, our manufacturing sector benefits because we produce at a cheaper rate. When our dollar is high, we are not as competative an loose jobs in this country. Manufacturing in Canada is dying, but as long as our dollar is low, hundreds of thousands still have a job. (and I am one of them, that's how I know!!!)
So, before you rant about paying more $ for your US money (which we historically have been doing all along) think about those people who still have a job because of our low dollar, not worrying about a vacation they might not ever get to have.
CALL ME CRAZY, BUT I LIKE WHEN THE DOLLAR IS LOW!!! Thanks to the USA!!!

 

[redrosesix]

Before everybody jumps on this bandwagon....

When our dollar is lower than the US, our manufacturing sector benefits because we produce at a cheaper rate. When our dollar is high, we are not as competative an loose jobs in this country. Manufacturing in Canada is dying, but as long as our dollar is low, hundreds of thousands still have a job. (and I am one of them, that's how I know!!!)
So, before you rant about paying more $ for your US money (which we historically have been doing all along) think about those people who still have a job because of our low dollar, not worrying about a vacation they might not ever get to have.
CALL ME CRAZY, BUT I LIKE WHEN THE DOLLAR IS LOW!!! Thanks to the USA!!!

So True!

I would just prefer the exchange rate to be more predictable. I'm locking in my rates tomorrow and buying my US dollars -- which I know will likely be cheaper the day after.

 

[puppyears]

Gee, I did not know you could lock in a rate when buying US $