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Written by Felix Wong - View Profile
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Sunday, 02 September 2007 |
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Ah, the good ol' days.
It's kind of funny to think about 1999-2000 in that way, but after coming back to the U.S. from British Columbia, that is how I felt -- at least in regards to my wallet and purchasing power.
I'm not even talking about how gasoline in, say, Tennessee was under $1.00/gallon. Instead, I was thinking about the exchange rates with other countries back then, when the dollar was relatively strong, and Americans were rich.
Many friends were advising me to purchase rock climbing gear from countries such as Canada because "it's super cheap there!"
Back then, one Canadian dollar equaled 65 U.S. cents. One Euro was worth 90 U.S. cents and was so weak that Great Britain didn't even want to adopt it as its official currency.
Now, one Euro equals $1.35, and a Canadian dollar is worth almost as much as a U.S. dollar. What does this mean? Compared to eight years ago, services and material goods are 50% more expensive for Americans in Canada and Europe.
Basically, the dollar now is crap!
The flip-side is that after spending a week with our eh?-speaking neighbors to the north, I now think that (almost) everything in the U.S. is really inexpensive. Good thing, because the way the exchange rates are trending, I may have to stay here for a while. | |
I guess we had it good
Written by felix on 2007-09-20 09:10:08
9/20/07: After the Fed lowered interest rates by 0.5%, the dollar is even lower. Now $1CAN = $1US (vs. $0.95US one month ago) -- the first time the Canadian and U.S. dollars have reached parity since November 1976. I guess I had it good during my recent road trip... |
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A Breath of Fresh Air (60)
writen by: felix
Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. |
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
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We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
| | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
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