Korean Job Discussion Forums

steelhead

OK I know this is a bit of a Repeat, but I am coming to this problem now..... Have money do not know what to do with it? Being Canadian I am hating the surging Economy....
secondly, I am hating the US economy being down because I have a fair amount of US currency from other business ventures...

But the advantage I have is that I set up a US currency account b4 I left home. Which allows me to sit on money in either Currency.

Now Can$ is way up, US $ is Way down, and from what I hear Won is Not looking very good at all.............

WHat do I do? I have Loans to pay, but would trying to wait for the currency trend to change, outweigh the intrest accumulating in that time frame...

C'mon all you MBA/Econ degree types....

What you think.....

gmat · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

Seriously, if anyone thinks they can forecast future exchange rates risk-free they are full of ****. Taking a position in currencies is a calculated risk. If someone could forecast rates, they would be richer the Bill Gates.

Two pieces of basic financial advice though:

1. do not fight the current trend, that is, 'do not attempt to catch the falling knife'
2. match your assets with liabilities - if Canadian $ debt keep enough C$ to cover these liabilities.

kprrok · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Location: KC

If you want to seriously make sure your butt is covered, you have two basic options as I see it.

1. You can hedge any currency speculation by buying/selling the opposite way. This is pretty difficult to explain shortly and only really a serious option if you're talking about large amounts of cash.

2. Invest in a non-currency field that is likely to be more stable. Gold is the first one that jumps to mind. Gold is pretty valuable right now compared to the greenback and is likely to continue its appreciation. The other thing is that you can sell gold for any currency you feel is appropriate at the time.

I agree with the above advice though, if you have $x CDN debt, have at least that much in $CDN or perhaps divided 70% currency, 30% gold. This would eliminate some of the risk that you would expose yourself to.

How much money are you talking? $1000? $100.000?

KPRROK

steelhead · Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2004 9:11 pm Post subject: HMMm

I have about 12k US in an account, and about 5 million won.....

Which I am waiting till have at least 8 to send home.....

dont know if that helps any......

kprrok · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Location: KC

If you're only talking about that little money, don't both with my above recommendations. I was thinking you were talking about more money.

The question you should ask yourself is how long will I be here? After I leave, will I be going to the US? or Canada?

If you're going to be going to the US, keep your won and wait until late Q1 2005. Most analysts that I have seen have said the USD will drop to about 950 by February or March of next year. Granted, this isn't a given, but knowing the latest trends makes me believe this. I will be going home to visit in May so I'm saving and I can't wait to get a better rate. I came over at 1200 won per dollar, and go back at 950! That would be great.

If you're going to go back to Canada, I don't know what to do as I don't really follow the Canadian dollar too closely. Also, if you want to buy into Pounds Sterling or the Euro, those currencies are slightly weak against the won right now but are likely to go up. That would allow you to then convert to Canadian dollars (but with two transaction fees) at a better rate in the future.

Study...study...study.

KPRROK