Sunday, March 15, 2015

It's A Good Time For Americans To Travel Abroad

Rather suddenly the dollar has jumped in value.  I hope it stays strong until after my trip this summer!

Three years ago, when I went to Italy, the euro was considered a good buy at $1.33.  Today it's $1.05.

The last time I went to Canada the two currencies were at parity.  Today there is CAD1.28 to the USD.

The last time I went to Mexico there were about 12 pesos to the dollar.  Today it's 15.48.

I haven't been to Britain since 1986 so I don't remember what the pound was, but today it's $1.48.  That's not bad, and it's almost a 10 year low.

Ten years ago the Icelandic krona was hovering around 60 to the dollar.  It spiked during the 2009 economic crisis but soon settled at about 120 to the dollar.  It's now at 140.

On the other hand, commodity prices go down when the dollar is strong.  We like cheap oil, but silver is at a 5 year low at $15.58/oz.  Gold is also at a 5 year low, at $1155/oz.

I'm no financial advisor, but if you think your job is relatively secure then now might be the time to travel and buy precious metals!

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