Job Discussion Forums

tarte tatin · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 247 Location: Istanbul

My husband is convinced I would do better saving in Turkish accounts than UK or offshore accounts run by UK building societies.

He says the interest is higher and the investment is safe.

Any thoughts about this? I am a bit skeptical as most of his information related to matters financial has more to do with wishful thinking than hard cold facts!

yaramaz · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:52 am Post subject:

I keep part of my savings in a Garanti fixed term (1-3 months) lira savings account-- the interest rate is 15.5%, which is a hell of a lot better than the .02% (or whatever) that I'd get in Canada. So far, it has been really good for my savings and unless things go totally kablooie I think it should be safe-- the lira has to seriously devalue before I lose my initial investment. I've been doing this for three years with no problems to speak of, though I did get quite nervous leading up to the elections.

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

There's an interesting discussion about this on mymerhaba in the Money Matters section. I think the huge interest rate lira account thing is okay in the short term, but in the long term, with the steady devaluation of the lira, it evens out or may even end up not in your favor. Someone on mymerhaba even bothered to work out how much you would have in lira at the high interest rate after a year versus what you would have in Sterling at the low interest rate, and with the devaluation of the lira for that year, Sterling was a better bet...

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:53 pm Post subject:

But if Sterling or Euros or US Dollars aren't relevant currencies for you, the conversion isn't worth it. The lira has been steady against the Canadian dollar for quite some time so I've had no problem with devaluation. If I was British it'd be a different matter.

Baba Alex · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 2411

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

Mmmm tranny street cats....

Golightly · Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 8:12 am Post subject:

....selling traffic simit....

Baba Alex · Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 2411

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

... on crack...

Golightly · Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 10:04 am Post subject:

...looking for a light...

tarte tatin · Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 247 Location: Istanbul

I had a look at the mymerhaba discussion Justme, thanks for pointing me in that direction.

Any money I invested would be in the short term due to the instability of the lira.

Will follow the usual policy of not putting all my eggs in one basket, i.e. leave some at home, in different types of account, invest some here and spread the risk.