Going to England in November, when should I buy pounds?
 

I'm going to be buying about 1,000 pounds. Right now the price is sitting just above 2:1 on USD.

Should I buy currency now, or do you think by November it will be a little better?

1,000 pounds? That's like half a webmaster.

quid, pounds etc. :)

It doesn't really change much, its been about 2:1 for ages... Where are you going in England?

if its sitting just above 2:1 your probably fine, if you want I can hit up my friend down in FLA that trades FOREX all the time between the dollar, euro, and pound and see his predictions

1000 pounds would be about 72 stone.

As mentioned, the pound hasn't really fluctuated much. Try investing in Hobo Nickels. Some of those are awesome.

What part of the uk are you going to visit ?

Going to London for 6 days, going to use that as home base. Going to travel up and down the island though. My wife has the itinerary so I sort of forget the spots. ;)

LOL wifey knows best.

Hope you have a fantastic time over here. If you need any info about getting around the UK or anything else hit me up and I will do my best to help you out

Whatever you do, you're bound to lose much more in exchange costs if you buy pounds now than if you just withdraw locally.

I think it's so silly to get cash outside of one's destination country, why the hell do people do that? We're not in the stone age anymore, there are ATMs in every single country in the world, and rates are always better than with a cash exchange.

It just so happens that the pound has plunged enormously between sept 2007 and march 2008, but that's unforeseen for a currency of this weight. It's highly unlikely the pound will appreciate more than the 10% you lose by doing cash spot foreign exchange.

You think that's the best bet? I hadn't even considered this to be honest.

I don't know why since I do this in Canada all the time...

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

You almost made me choke on my cheeseburger, fries and milkshake.

I don't think you get the most competitive rates through ATM's since it's your home bank that sets the rates. I think it will be more competitive to take US currency with you and exchange it there.

At least that's been my experience.

No, because there's a 10-15% difference between buy and sell rates for spot cash exchange that's deemed acceptable. It won't be more than some 1% for giral transactions such as a foreign ATM withdrawal. I never really understand how bureaux de change can still be in business in this age...

You must be speaking about the UK specifically, as I find private exchange places even more competitive than the banks and usually get better rates for the local currency in the country I am visiting overall then my country's bank.

I think you might be confusing your bank's ATM rates and their spot cash currency exchange rates. The latter are often worse than smaller bureaux', but I can't imagine that is true for the former.

Fuck me you make this place sound exotic.


A grand probably won't get you far in London, depends on what you do, what you snort and how long you stay .... :Oh crap

Other than not wanting to bring charge cards or flying into Burma or perhaps a grass airport in Papua New Guinea with no ATMs, there's simply no reason why one would bring cash into a country (having exchanged it before coming into the country) instead of withdrawing locally.

When in London, make sure you get an Oyster card for buses and under/overground. The deposit is 3 pounds, but you can get it back when you return the card at the end of your stay. You simply use the card to check in and out of stations and can load it with cash. It's always at least 50p (lol) cheaper than a respective day travelcard. Whatever you do, never purchase a single on the underground ($8 within central London) or the bus.

Our package includes all of the necessities. The 1k is for blow money.

I think you'll love London if you can see through the constant crowds everywhere and the frenetic pace. On a sunny day don't miss a chance to stroll through and lie down in Regents park, it's really a lovely place, my favourite in London.

It seems like it's just one less thing to worry about on the trip... :2 cents:

I think it's a hassle to withdraw $2000 or more in your country of residence and then exchange it and carry it around all the time. I'd be very worried about $2000 sitting in my pocket.

haha, if they really operated at such margins then everybody in the World would've been running an exchange bureaux

Hedge your bets. Exchange half now, then half closer to (or on) the trip.

I will call ahead and let them know you have a bomb in your shoe.

Do not worry about excange rate just make sure you wife wears her

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/200...11_468x310.jpg

and you have a good chair

Have a safe trip

got no credit card? LOLz

It still wont go far at all man. Trust me.

If you can't afford to go to England, just don't. Problem solved.