Money Moral Dilemma: Should I offer my kids a better exchange rate?

MSE_Sarah

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

My young daughters have been given £10 each by their grandmother to buy a treat on holiday in Greece. I've 'banked' the £10 and said they have €10 each to spend. It's not the best exchange rate - though probably better than they'd get at the airport - but I thought I'd keep it simple. Am I being unreasonable?

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thriftylass

MSE_Sarah wrote: »

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

My young daughters have been given £10 each by their grandmother to buy a treat on holiday in Greece. I've 'banked' the £10 and said they have €10 each to spend. It's not the best exchange rate - though probably better than they'd get at the airport - but I thought I'd keep it simple. Am I being unreasonable?

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I take it you changed money for yourself before the holiday and didn't wait till the airport? So, why can't you just give them the "13,65" euros out of that money so they get the same rate you did?

DigForVictory

Admirably - you're saving them a bundle on fees etc.

Any child cheeking you on this should go away & figure How Much they would have to change to still have a euro per pound after fees.

As for Grandma, if she wanted the little dears to have more than 10 euro she could have bought a few (post office for a start) and paid the fees herself. She didn't, hence she wants your little dears to learn.

Such would be my story & I'd be sticking to it.

Should a child fall with a resounding thud for something memorable & appropriate costing 11 or 12 Euro, I might come over all benevolent & top up their funds. (I would then expect their Full Cooperation with photos, writing a nice thank-you note Etc. As I'm a mean and heartless mother who knows how much the senior womenfolk of my family appreciate a letter.)

seven-day-weekend

Depending upon how old they are, it might be a good idea for a maths lesson on exchange rates

Middlestitch

For ten quid, who cares? Get a life.

svain

Middlestitch wrote: »

For ten quid, who cares? Get a life.

This about sums it up! :rotfl:

REJP

Are you in financial difficulty and unable to get to a Post Office to buy each child £10 worth of Euros? At current rates you are stealing from them. Think about it.

mallymal

Surely if you’re on this forum, you’re someone who likes to know the ins and outs of money, so you should encourage your kids to do the same.

So give them the true rate (round it a little if you like for simplicity) and you sneak a maths lesson for your kids into an exercise that feels like holiday fun.

charlieboy_80

I read this “dilemma” out loud to my partner, and before I finished he shouted “that b***ch!”

Although at today’s real exchange rates, it’s pretty much spot on. Ask me a month ago or before this Brexit nonsense, and I’d agree with him!

glider3560

Depending how old they are, it might be nice for them to visit the bureau de change themselves and see how it works.

I remember the first few times going abroad around the age of 10-12. Walked up the high street with my mum, compared rates in a few shop windows (good maths lesson and a lesson in being thrifty) then went into the best one and changed my money myself. It was a really exciting experience.

onwards&upwards

charlieboy_80 wrote: »

Ask me a month ago or before this Brexit nonsense, and I’d agree with him!

Has it only been a month? God it’s been so mind numbingly awful it feels like it’s dragged on for more than three years!