Switching to the Dollar: What are your thoughts?

I didn't see a thread for this, but I figured I'd throw it out there: if you’ve got some savings sitting in a standard bank account, are you just going to let them handle the currency conversion for you, or are you planning to take matters into your own hands? Personally, I'm thinking about withdrawing the cash and buying it myself. Best regards.

I’d honestly rather let them handle the conversion themselves, since it’ll likely follow the mid-market rate then. If I’m the one selling, they’re just going to give me a worse deal.

I was just wondering about loans—is it actually smarter to go with USD or wait for the switch to the new currency (since we're heading toward that transition)?

I make it a point to always take out loans in whatever currency I’m getting paid in.
That way, my paycheck and my monthly payments always balance out at the exact same exchange rate.

Maybe I would have come out ahead if I had gone with a USD loan instead, but I guess there's no way to know for sure.

So, what’s the move with my USD?
Should I just sit on them, or is it smarter to swap them for dollars now while the rate looks decent and let them convert to USD automatically?

Rachel Jones8 said:So, what’s the move with my USD?
Should I just sit on them, or is it smarter to swap them for dollars now while the rate looks decent and let them convert to USD automatically?

Hold them.

hollowlynx74 said:I was just wondering about loans—is it actually smarter to go with USD or wait for the switch to the new currency (since we're heading toward that transition)?

A banker once told me: always take the loan in whatever currency you get paid. I did, and I’ve never looked back. Simple as that. Interest rate gaps don't mean much compared to the bigger picture. We've all seen it happen...

Right now, the exchange rate is 7.48 dollars per unit, but once they officially switch over, everything converts at 7.53.
If I sell my assets for 7.48 dollars today, but then have to buy them back using the converted rate of 7.53, am I essentially losing money on the exchange rate spread here?

Adam Fox3 said:Right now, the exchange rate is 7.48 dollars per unit, but once they officially switch over, everything converts at 7.53.
If I sell my assets for 7.48 dollars today, but then have to buy them back using the converted rate of 7.53, am I essentially losing money on the exchange rate spread here?

The 7.53 figure was mentioned, but the deviation could hit 15%.
Everything else is just a lottery.

Suppose I decide to sell my USD at $2.50 and convert, say, $100 into local currency, then just let that $748 sit in my checking account until New Year's Day. Once January 1st rolls around, I won't actually have $100 to show for it again; instead, I’d end up with less. If I calculate $748 divided by 7.53, I get roughly $99.34. That means I’ve effectively lost $0.66 in the process.
Is my math hitting the mark here?

boldnomad8 said:The 7.53 figure was mentioned, but the deviation could hit 15%.
Everything else is just a lottery.

No way. The rate is basically set in stone. The Federal Reserve isn't going to suddenly pull a stunt and force a massive one-time revaluation or devaluation of the dollar.

A rate of roughly 7.5 is what we’re looking at for our entry into the Eurozone. Whether it lands at 7.52 or 7.55? Honestly, it's splitting hairs.

Adam Fox3 said:Suppose I decide to sell my USD at $2.50 and convert, say, $100 into local currency, then just let that $748 sit in my checking account until New Year's Day. Once January 1st rolls around, I won't actually have $100 to show for it again; instead, I’d end up with less. If I calculate $748 divided by 7.53, I get roughly $99.34. That means I’ve effectively lost $0.66 in the process.
Is my math hitting the mark here?

The logic holds up, and the final math is spot on. 😁

Thanks. I'll just leave the USD sitting in my foreign currency account for now.

By December 12th, we really ought to have a clear idea of what the exchange rate will be when the transition from dollars to the new currency hits on January 1st.
Look, it’s pretty straightforward: if you can snag some cash at a lower rate, and the potential profit actually outweighs the headache of doing the conversion, then you buy. If you can sell them back at a higher price, you sell and wait for the official switchover. It’s basic logic and simple math, really.
Then there's the whole loan situation. From what I'm hearing, if the interest rates on dollar-denominated loans are more favorable, you go with those, especially since all income will be paid in dollars starting January 1st. The terms—meaning the actual cost or interest rate—are supposed to stay identical to the old currency, just with the denomination swapped out. Basically, once January 1st rolls around, any old-style loans will be being paid off in dollars anyway. So, if taking out a loan in the current currency is more expensive right now than switching to the new one, you might as well pull the trigger on the new currency loan immediately. Otherwise, you're stuck with an expensive loan that you'll still be paying off in dollars regardless. It's just plain old math and common sense.

crimsonranger38 said:No way. The rate is basically set in stone. The Federal Reserve isn't going to suddenly pull a stunt and force a massive one-time revaluation or devaluation of the dollar.

A rate of roughly 7.5 is what we’re looking at for our entry into the Eurozone. Whether it lands at 7.52 or 7.55? Honestly, it's splitting hairs.

It’s completely irrelevant. Anyone with actual capital moved it all into USD ages ago. 🙂

Starting a new thread because I have a question:
Are all my USD bills actually worth anything?
I think I read somewhere once that they were phasing out the $500 bills. Has that already happened? (I've got three of them just sitting in my drawer). Also, I have some of those old "first series" bills tucked away—are those still good? Back when I was young and ambitious, I used to swap my cash for whatever the local currency was every payday, but I just found these stashed away yesterday without even realizing they were still there. It’s about $2,000 total in various denominations from $10 up to $500, all from that original series.
Should I be freaking out, or am I actually okay?

Hey rapidharbor9, I’ve got some killer news for you 👍

Seriously, man... it’s all worth it. Every bit of it.

If those bills from back in 2002 are still in decent shape—I mean really good condition—you could probably flip them for triple what they're worth. They’re total collector's items now, real rarities... honestly, they might even jump in value even more down the road.

Just go ahead and scope out some listings online.

Those $500 bills might seem useful right now, but once
they eventually end up back at the Fed or some big bank and get pulled from circulation,
meaning they just get
destroyed.