Job Discussion Forums

[yodetta]

greetings,

can folks in Japan help me understand the JPY-USD ratio? When you exchange USD for yen, do you lose buying power or gain some?
I'm wondering how far some of my savings would go in Japan....

Y

[lajzar]

Generally, lose. I don't know the cost of living in the USA, so I can't say. However, monthly expenses in Japan generally run at 100-200 K yen per month, depending on your lifestyle and rent.

[JimDunlop2]

Um.. In any exchange from one currency to another you will almost ALWAYS lose if you compare say to what the newspaper tells you the dollar closed at for the day. The financial institution or exchange counter will always charge you a comission for the transaction.

If you want to know fairly accurately how much you'll get (for instance when ending money home) the best way is to go to a site like www.golloyds.com and then just add in their 2000yen fee, plus whatever fee your bank in Japan and your bank back home charge you.

If your questions is about the buying/selling columns in newspapers, then here's the way it works:

If I'm in Japan and I want to get USD here, they are SELLING me that money. That's the figure I must use. If I arrive from the United States and have USD in my pocket and want yen, they will BUY that money from me.

If your question is about how much your USD savings will buy you in Japan once you convert them... You'll be disappointed. There's a reason why Japan is rated as one of the most expensive countries in the world... If you earn yen in a Japanese job it doesn't seem so bad, but anyone who comes just to visit is amazed at the high prices. So no, your savings will not get you nearly as far here.

Hope that helps.

JD

[Mike L.]

http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Here's a useful site when thinking "about" how much you $ or yen will turn into.

[yodetta]

really JD? When I went to Mexico, my dollars went really far...and that's what I want to know...the stretch of a USD in, say, Thailand or Romania. Are you saying I'll "lose money" on the exchange even against that baht or in Romania? ...hmmm.

you guys are really very helpful, thanks for the links.

Y

[Gordon]

Yodetta,
What do you mean by lose money? Let's say there is a true rate of 109y=$1 US. If you have us dollars and want to buy yen, you might only get 107yen for a us dollar. On the other hand, you have yen to sell and want to buy greenbacks. It may cost you 111yen for every us dollar. For each transaction you are "losing" money.

As far as stretching your money, things are more expensive here than in the US and your money will not go as far. Mexico is cheap, Japan is not. You aren't "losing" money, things will just cost more.

Not sure if I can explain it any simpler for you.

[yodetta]

thanks gordon,

hope y'all pardon my language and naivete on this issue...what i meant by "losing money" may have little basis in reality - it's a conceptual question. What I'm really asking about is equivalent value, and maybe that's a misguided question.

If a happy meal costs 5.00 USD, what is the equivalent in JPY...if i exchanged my 5.00 USD to yen, what would it buy me in Tokyo? in Osaka?

Likewise, if a new Hyundai costs about $16,000 USD...but I took that $16,000 and exchanged it for CZK, what could it buy me in Prague?

that's the sort of benchmarker info i'm looking for.

peace,
Y

[Gordon]

[Glenski]

Here's one way to look at it.

You collect a paycheck, say, with an exchange rate that day of 130 yen/USD. The paycheck is 250,000 yen, and you are fortunate enough to save 100,000 of that. It is worth 100,000/130 = USD769.

Tuck it away in the bank (practically zero interest, so there is essentially no gain that way). Wait until the rate changes to something better. If it goes to 100 (hypothetically), your 100,000 yen is now worth USD1000. Spend USD50 to wire it home, and you have managed to "make" 1000-769-50 = USD181 on that initial paycheck.

(There are other ways to send it home more cheaply, but this should illustrate my point.)

[Li-ka]