Job Discussion Forums

nelliesue · Joined: 16 Jun 2009 Posts: 7 Location: USA

Hello all,

I work for a language school in Istanbul and I'm payed CASH! Woo! Well, woo, except our apartment just got burgled and now I'm nervous about stashing all that cash. What's the best bank in which to open an account? Ideally I'd like a bank that would make it simple (as simple as things can be in Istanbul) to do money transfers to my US bank. I have a friend who set up an account with ING and was able to transfer to his UK account, but I've heard they have no such agreement with US banks.

I make a decent enough salary and I'm hoping to save up a little bit and transfer it to dollars at the end of my contract.

Am I wasting my energy? Should I just Western Union it and absorb the fees? Should I just go to a bank and exchange for dollars and tape it to my body when I go home like a common smuggler? Advice?

Laughing

fishmb · Joined: 08 Jul 2009 Posts: 184 Location: Istanbul

I have a safe and would be more than happy to hold onto that extra cash for you... Twisted Evil

eclectic · Joined: 09 Nov 2006 Posts: 1122

with a Masters in International Finance, I can tell you this: don't count on the value of the US dollar anymore, and most likely it will be totally ditched/dumped/nixed/zilched/thrown down the cesspool within 12 months by EVERY INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL BANK, THE IMF/WORLD BANK, and most definitely by OPEC.

Therefore, try to imagine your wealth in a different form, meaning NOT in United States dollars. Choose another currency, or a commodity, or even a precious metal. Those hard earned lira may not be able to buy ANY dollars in a year or 2, due to the fact that dollars will not be recognized/hold any value any more, atleast in an international sense.

keitepai · Joined: 23 Feb 2008 Posts: 143 Location: Istanbul

Really?? I get paid in US $, what's your advice? Shocked

Ask for a payrise obviously!

eclectic · Joined: 09 Nov 2006 Posts: 1122

Depending on when/where you're planning to live..........

Always convert atleast some of your US dollars into something else, meaning some other currency not directly tied to the US dollar. Some currencies are more independent of the health of others, while if one currency collapses, one closely-tied to it would collapse the following afternoon Sad

e.g. the US and Canadian dollar, or the US dollar and the Mexican peso.

RMB, reais, even Korean won are better currency positions to be in when the Greenback bites the dust.

When I got to Korea last year, 1 dollar got me 1,585 won. Now, that same dollar only yields 1,150 won. And the same is true for almost every other dollar conversion into foreign currencies.

coffeespoonman · Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Posts: 512 Location: At my computer...

If you need to transfer money to the states for any reason, I recommend Citibank. If you have an account here and you have an account in the states (or get someone to open one for you), you can transfer money between your accounts very cheaply.

keitepai · Joined: 23 Feb 2008 Posts: 143 Location: Istanbul

This is obviously common knowledge!
Thanks for the info....I only have accounts in NZ and Australia never even been to the USA so not likely I'll open an account there. The Australian dollar is stronger than NZ but I might put a little in both to be safe Laughing

When do you predict the US$ will take a dive? (It is still 1.46 to the Turkish Lira.)

eclectic · Joined: 09 Nov 2006 Posts: 1122

the dollar is pegged to certain currencies, ie.e. there will be no fluctuation in the exchange rate. But countries are divesting out of dollar-denominated investments/holdings BIG TIME lately. The US dollar has already taken quite a hit since March 2009, to the tune of about a 30% depreciation against most major currencies.

The US dollar will finally bite the dust next year about Summer 2010. Why? Because all the central baks of the US's biggest lenders--China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Germany--are no longer buying US treasuries or dollar-denominated instruments. IN fact they are dumping the dollar like hot potatoes, as fast as they can.

OPEC has already decided---and so has the Russia/China/India/Iran colaition formed this year---to trade oil ONLY in either Euros or a basket of currencies known as SDR (Special Drawing Rights), of which the american dollar is NOT a part.

Not to mention the 23 TRILLION dollars the Federal Reserve PRINTED OUT OF THIN AIR, BACKED BY NOTHING to bail out all the "too big to fails".
The market is so flooded with dollars, hyperinflation will soon follow= the utter death of the dollar.

Summer 2010.

teacherdude · Joined: 13 Sep 2004 Posts: 260

Winston Bear · Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 14

I have a Garanti account & send money home to Canada monthly.

Chris_Crossley · Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:30 am Post subject: Wire ME the cash...

Chris_Crossley · Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:35 am Post subject: Am still getting a salary in USD

eclectic · Joined: 09 Nov 2006 Posts: 1122

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

So what is happening next summer to cause the collapse of the US$ ? I heard that the End of the World was not scheduled until 2012.

eclectic · Joined: 09 Nov 2006 Posts: 1122

end of world and collapse of $ are not the same thing.

next summer SDRs will utterly and totally replace $s in every single important international clearinghouse transaction. i.e. barrels of oil, tons of steel, natural gas futures, soybeans, wheat, etc. Get it?

US dollars are worthless paper notes backed by NOTHING. Now they have printed OUT OF THIN AIR an additional $13 TRILLION to bail out the "too big to fails". What does that spell.........?