Happy surprise of the day: going to check the expiration date on my passport and discovering $50 in Canadian currency stuck inside it. I need to go and exchange those suckers, now that they're actually worth something!
Yeah, It's basically 1=1 right now. I guess that money was from the Alaska cruise. Hopefully you have plenty of time of the passport for the Australia trip. If anybody needs one that's going they better do it now.
I think the Canadian dollar is actually worth a smidge more than ours now, which is just wrong.
And, yeah, apparently it was left over from the time I spent in Vancouver before the cruise. I have no idea why I thought I needed that much cash, though.
My passport is good until 2009. I knew it was, really, but figured I ought to double-check. Hey, I'm glad I did. Free bonus money! :)
Here is the current rate on XE 1 CAD = 1.01298 USD However, since a you go to buy say a book and on the cover it says $5.00 US/ $5.75 Canada. This is where the massive suckage comes in. So 1 to 1 exchange rate means the dollar is worth a lot us because stuff costs more Canadian right? I can't remember which one of the fellow bloggers is Canadian:Fred, Andrew etc. maybe they have some insight. My trip Vancouver Island for my next vacation is going to cost me a lot more.
Several of them are Canadians, but neither of those people. :)
I know that a lot of Canadians are complaining, actually, because they get American paychecks or because suddenly Canada is a lot less attractive to Americans who might want to say, take vacations or make movies there.
Books might get new prices on the covers, I guess, I dunno.
Books won't go down in price until retailers have cleared the current stock off their shelves - because current stock was bought at the old exchange rate. Canadian business loves mark-up and you will not find the same amount of competition between businesses here that you do down there. Linens, to give you an outrageous example, are apparently marked up 400% here. The claim made by retailers is that we are a bunch of small markets and can't compete, but I'll bet we can find better competition in American cities of equivalent size. My Dad worked for Maytag in the 80's and up to the mid 90's. At least on five different occasions he was the number one sales manager in North America in terms of numbers - he was doing more business than big regions on the Eastern Sea Board, Florida (big market) or California. And Maytag wasn't the cheap piece of crap that it is become today - it was pricey. Obviously, we can compete but our retialers are greedy and just don't want to. The down side to cross-border shopping is that it takes money out of our economy and infrastructures at all levels. There was brief moment, btw, where our dollar was actually sitting at $1.20 US.
Yeah, books don't exactly follow the exchange rate too closely. This is actually something we discussed here at the office (I'm in publishing) when one of our higher-ups from the UK visited. On the one hand, it can pose a problem, setting a price that the market and rates will allow. But, on the other, you can't have prices that fluctuate throughout the day or week or month. You wouldn't want a bookstore where, in the morning, you had a price based on a 1.6 exchange rate, but, in the evening, it was set based on 1.8.
Thanks! Fred I guess I was thinking that since it's 1=1 exchange but doesn't mean that the U.S $ will buy as much in Canada as it does in the U.S. because of the prices. like if a hamburger is $1.00 in the U.s. might be $1.20 in Canada. I was wondering if this is the case? Because I don't know :)
The Jungle Book: Platinum Edition at Amazon.com: US$14.99.
The Jungle Book: Platinum Edition at Amazon.ca: CDN$25.89.
And remember, the Canadian dollar is worth a tad more than the American dollar these days.
Add to this the fact that many DVDs in Canada have ugly bilingual packaging, and suddenly importing videos from the United States is a whoooooole lot more appealing than it used to be. Even after you factor in the price of shipping and the possibility that you might get dinged by Customs, you're probably still saving money.
(FWIW, I bought my copy of The Jungle Book: The Platinum Edition at Future Shop and paid $19.99 for it, plus tax. But now that I think of it, even that is high enough that I probably should have imported the disc instead.)
That said, I still miss the days -- only a few years ago, now -- when a $300 cheque from the States would get me over $450 in Canadian money. Sigh.
Back in the 60s, I remember buying gasoline in New Brunswick, Canada. I about died when I saw the price. About 75 cents, when in the U S it was 30 cents. Thats when I found out Canada was still using the "Imperial Gallon", which was much more than an "American Gallon"
They switched to liters now, Canadians help out here was it in the 70's? Old Pop is showing his age. However, I think comparatively it's comparatively expensive.
Oh, one comment although gas was horribly expensive in the UK the car we had(manual transmission) was a very fuel efficient vehicle and had great gas mileage so it didn't make it too bad. The specs on it said it could get like almost 50 mpg.
Dad: Gasoline was never 30 cents a gallon. I refuse to believe it. :)
Kathy: Yeah, gas (er, petrol) is hideously expensive in the UK. I noticed that when I was in Ireland, too. I was very glad I wasn't driving! They tax the living hell out of it there, apparently.
Canada switched to the Metric system in the 70's. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau sat over the switch. I am one of those people caught in the middle, because my parents still used the Imperial system for almost everything. I use Celcius, kilometers and litres. However I do use miles still and feet and inches and pounds.
Yeah,
ReplyDeleteIt's basically 1=1 right now.
I guess that money was from the Alaska cruise. Hopefully you have plenty of time of the passport for the Australia trip. If anybody needs one that's going they better do it now.
I think the Canadian dollar is actually worth a smidge more than ours now, which is just wrong.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, apparently it was left over from the time I spent in Vancouver before the cruise. I have no idea why I thought I needed that much cash, though.
My passport is good until 2009. I knew it was, really, but figured I ought to double-check. Hey, I'm glad I did. Free bonus money! :)
Here is the current rate on XE
ReplyDelete1 CAD = 1.01298 USD
However, since a you go to buy say a book and on the cover it says $5.00 US/ $5.75 Canada. This is where the massive suckage comes in. So 1 to 1 exchange rate means the dollar is worth a lot us because stuff costs more Canadian right? I can't remember which one of the fellow bloggers is Canadian:Fred, Andrew etc. maybe they have some insight. My trip Vancouver Island for my next vacation is going to cost me a lot more.
Several of them are Canadians, but neither of those people. :)
ReplyDeleteI know that a lot of Canadians are complaining, actually, because they get American paychecks or because suddenly Canada is a lot less attractive to Americans who might want to say, take vacations or make movies there.
Books might get new prices on the covers, I guess, I dunno.
Books won't go down in price until retailers have cleared the current stock off their shelves - because current stock was bought at the old exchange rate.
ReplyDeleteCanadian business loves mark-up and you will not find the same amount of competition between businesses here that you do down there. Linens, to give you an outrageous example, are apparently marked up 400% here.
The claim made by retailers is that we are a bunch of small markets and can't compete, but I'll bet we can find better competition in American cities of equivalent size. My Dad worked for Maytag in the 80's and up to the mid 90's. At least on five different occasions he was the number one sales manager in North America in terms of numbers - he was doing more business than big regions on the Eastern Sea Board, Florida (big market) or California. And Maytag wasn't the cheap piece of crap that it is become today - it was pricey. Obviously, we can compete but our retialers are greedy and just don't want to.
The down side to cross-border shopping is that it takes money out of our economy and infrastructures at all levels.
There was brief moment, btw, where our dollar was actually sitting at $1.20 US.
Betty:
ReplyDeleteYes I think you mentioned Peter who is often paid in U.S. dollars was feeling the pinch.
Magnus:
Thank you for your insight
Everybody:
Where do you all live :) I'm in Oregon.
Yeah, books don't exactly follow the exchange rate too closely. This is actually something we discussed here at the office (I'm in publishing) when one of our higher-ups from the UK visited. On the one hand, it can pose a problem, setting a price that the market and rates will allow. But, on the other, you can't have prices that fluctuate throughout the day or week or month. You wouldn't want a bookstore where, in the morning, you had a price based on a 1.6 exchange rate, but, in the evening, it was set based on 1.8.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Fred
ReplyDeleteI guess I was thinking that since it's 1=1 exchange but doesn't mean that the U.S $ will buy as much in Canada as it does in the U.S. because of the prices. like if a hamburger is $1.00 in the U.s. might be $1.20 in Canada. I was wondering if this is the case? Because I don't know :)
Sorry guys,
ReplyDeleteI guess a nice Doctor Who/science fiction discussion is more interesting the finance.
The Jungle Book: Platinum Edition at Amazon.com: US$14.99.
ReplyDeleteThe Jungle Book: Platinum Edition at Amazon.ca: CDN$25.89.
And remember, the Canadian dollar is worth a tad more than the American dollar these days.
Add to this the fact that many DVDs in Canada have ugly bilingual packaging, and suddenly importing videos from the United States is a whoooooole lot more appealing than it used to be. Even after you factor in the price of shipping and the possibility that you might get dinged by Customs, you're probably still saving money.
(FWIW, I bought my copy of The Jungle Book: The Platinum Edition at Future Shop and paid $19.99 for it, plus tax. But now that I think of it, even that is high enough that I probably should have imported the disc instead.)
That said, I still miss the days -- only a few years ago, now -- when a $300 cheque from the States would get me over $450 in Canadian money. Sigh.
Kathy:
ReplyDeleteI guess a nice Doctor Who/science fiction discussion is more interesting the finance.
We could combine the two! Anybody up for a nice discussion of "The Sunmakers"? :)
Fer Kathy's benefit: I'm in Ohio [grin]...
ReplyDeleteThanks Andrew! :)
ReplyDeleteBack in the 60s, I remember buying gasoline in New Brunswick, Canada. I about died when I saw the price. About 75 cents, when in the U S it was 30 cents. Thats when I found out Canada was still using the "Imperial Gallon", which was much more than an "American Gallon"
ReplyDeleteFlorida
They switched to liters now, Canadians help out here was it in the 70's? Old Pop is showing his age. However, I think comparatively it's comparatively expensive.
ReplyDeleteOh, one comment although gas was horribly expensive in the UK the car we had(manual transmission) was a very fuel efficient vehicle and had great gas mileage so it didn't make it too bad. The specs on it said it could get like almost 50 mpg.
ReplyDeleteDad: Gasoline was never 30 cents a gallon. I refuse to believe it. :)
ReplyDeleteKathy: Yeah, gas (er, petrol) is hideously expensive in the UK. I noticed that when I was in Ireland, too. I was very glad I wasn't driving! They tax the living hell out of it there, apparently.
Canada switched to the Metric system in the 70's. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau sat over the switch. I am one of those people caught in the middle, because my parents still used the Imperial system for almost everything. I use Celcius, kilometers and litres. However I do use miles still and feet and inches and pounds.
ReplyDeleteAlso for Kathy's benefit, I am here:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranleigh
I knew one of you was an Englishman!
ReplyDelete