Since moving to Sweden, I have learned that my moods are often dependent on two things: the amount of sunlight and the current exchange rate. It has been a surprising self-discovery! Thankfully, it's June, so sunlight is no problem (there is almost too much of it!)
And thanks to Greece and the other PIGS (oh, and Hungary) the US dollar is doing gangbusters! I personally think that it has nothing to do with the health of the US economy, and is really just a result of the EU economy's current illness. But regardless, it has been about 8 kronor to 1 dollar, compared to a low of about 6.8:- in the fall. This tiny change effectively lowers our rent by nearly $200 each month. Seriously. It's like free money. Or it just helps us not spend so much of our savings. Whatever you want to call it.
It also makes traveling cheaper for us, since we have plans to go to Edinburgh soon, and Germany and Paris later in the summer. The Euro is about $1.19 right now!
Of course, we head back to the States next week (NEXT WEEK!) for vacation, and there, I don't have to think about exchange rates at all.
I have to say, I find the whole thing about money's changing value very confusing. But it is nice to translate things into dollar amounts and have it be less. Just seems imaginary.
ReplyDeleteHave a fun trip to the US!