Off the wall - Currency thoughts

stphnstevey

I know this is not new and I know that speculating on the money makets has been done for years, but our recent holiday got me thinking.

We purchased £500 or Euros for our recent holiday and got a rate of 1.4, so received 700 Euros. During the week we were away, the Irish thing kicked off and the Euro plumetted. Rates went to about 1:1. I thought at the time the 700 euros we have would now be worth £700, a profit of £200 or 40% in a week!

I know that buy back rates are not always that good, but it got be thinking, even at 1.3 rate the 700 Euros would be worth £538, a profit of £38 or ~8%.

Over 6 months to a year I remember the Euro conversion rate varying from 1 to 1.5, but haven't really looked till now.

I then thought, well what if you put the Euros in a Euro bank account during the time you hold onto them and gain some interest.

As said, this was just a thought and the fine details are sketchy. I am leaving myself open for anyone to challenge this, with CONSTRUCTIVE feedback.

Any ideas on where to find out buyback rates (not sure if the MoneyMaximiser one is correct) or cheap Euro Accounts would be appreciated?

purch

Sorry to burst your bubble, but if you are holding 700 EUR, and the EUR plummets, then they are worth less, and therefore you will get less GBP back.

You wouldn't have got a rate of 1.40 if you bought EUR at anytime recently. The strongest GBP has been against the EUR in the last 12 months was just below 1.24 at the end of June.

When the

the Euro plumetted

the rate went higher, not lower.

i.e. the rate was about 1.12 in early October, and when the EUR dropped in value the rate went to 1.20

Jonbvn

OP,

I suggest you google the term "FX trading".

Generally considered a very speculative investment best left to people who know what they are doing (like purch above). You would never consider doing this using tourist rates.

bendix

stphnstevey wrote: »

I know this is not new and I know that speculating on the money makets has been done for years, but our recent holiday got me thinking.

We purchased £500 or Euros for our recent holiday and got a rate of 1.4, so received 700 Euros. During the week we were away, the Irish thing kicked off and the Euro plumetted. Rates went to about 1:1. I thought at the time the 700 euros we have would now be worth £700, a profit of £200 or 40% in a week!

I know that buy back rates are not always that good, but it got be thinking, even at 1.3 rate the 700 Euros would be worth £538, a profit of £38 or ~8%.

Over 6 months to a year I remember the Euro conversion rate varying from 1 to 1.5, but haven't really looked till now.

I then thought, well what if you put the Euros in a Euro bank account during the time you hold onto them and gain some interest.

As said, this was just a thought and the fine details are sketchy. I am leaving myself open for anyone to challenge this, with CONSTRUCTIVE feedback.

Any ideas on where to find out buyback rates (not sure if the MoneyMaximiser one is correct) or cheap Euro Accounts would be appreciated?

Good grief.

For a start there is absolutely no way you bought Euros recently for 1.40 to the pound. It simply didnt happen.

Secondly, if the Euro 'plummets' as you suggested it did because of the Irish thing 'kicking off' it would not have moved to 1.10 to the pound. That would signify a stronger Euro, not one that is plummeting.

Thirdly . . . . oh, i give up. I can't be bothered.

Could I suggest you take a step back, take a sharp intake of breath, and just think through what you've posted.

There's a good chap.

greenface

stphnstevey wrote: »

I know this is not new and I know that speculating on the money makets has been done for years, but our recent holiday got me thinking.

We purchased £500 or Euros for our recent holiday and got a rate of 1.4, so received 700 Euros. During the week we were away, the Irish thing kicked off and the Euro plumetted. Rates went to about 1:1. I thought at the time the 700 euros we have would now be worth £700, a profit of £200 or 40% in a week!

I know that buy back rates are not always that good, but it got be thinking, even at 1.3 rate the 700 Euros would be worth £538, a profit of £38 or ~8%.

Over 6 months to a year I remember the Euro conversion rate varying from 1 to 1.5, but haven't really looked till now.

I then thought, well what if you put the Euros in a Euro bank account during the time you hold onto them and gain some interest.

As said, this was just a thought and the fine details are sketchy. I am leaving myself open for anyone to challenge this, with CONSTRUCTIVE feedback.

Any ideas on where to find out buyback rates (not sure if the MoneyMaximiser one is correct) or cheap Euro Accounts would be appreciated?

Thats not a stupid thought . In fact thats far from stupid.
But if you work hard and study instead of watching Trisha you will eventually reach stupid and beyond. good luck

rdtrdt

To the OP: for holiday money speculation games, I'd recommend "being Japanese", changing a bento-box load of Yen to Sterling for your stereotypical London/Oxford/Edinburgh trip, and then after said trip, not changing what's left back for quite some time. Maybe tricky to put into practice though

pelirocco

Did you work for crown currency exchange lol