Currency Gaming
So, I feel like I missed the peak rate this time around in the currency market. I need to make a transfer to my American account for about $1500 USD. That’s not much, and to be honest, I usually don’t give a rip, because the law of averages says that I’m not getting ripped off over time anyway. Still, looking at the table, the graph is taking an upward turn now. Booo! While I live in Japan and receive my salary in Japanese yen, it helps to have a strong yen. Conversely, when headed to Japan, I want to have my dollar afford more yen. Alas, it is rare to have these forces work for me.
Anyway, to give a quick case in point, let’s take my hypothetical number of $1500 USD. At the lowest rate this month, ¥101.8/$1 on March 10th, I’d need to send about ¥152,700. (We’re pretending that banking fees are nonexistent.) The very next day, March 11th, the rate was ¥102.87/$1. So I’d need to send about ¥154,305 to make the same $1500. That’s a ¥1,605 difference! That’s a superb okonomiyaki dinner, or half of a round trip car ticket to Imabari, or nearly 14 and a half Kit Kat bars! Ha ha. Luckily, I don’t really pay attention to the day-to-day shifts. I’m still getting more for my money today than I was when the rate was near ¥123/$1 last June. Whooooo. By the way, I think that the word yen is itself both singular and plural, like the word deer. But that’s me. Anyhoo.