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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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steelhead
Joined: 28 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul formerly known as Victoria
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 Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 2:41 pm Post subject: Currency Dilema....Once Again! |
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Hey all,
Just want to know what you know/heard/feel about the current currency situation between Korea and your home country.
Currently Im stuck.... Cant figure out what to do. Here is my personal situation.
I have both Korean Won, and US dollars that I have no clue what to do with. On my last visit to Canada, I set up a mid level risk Mutual Fund, just to be able to do something with my money, so it wouldnt sit there idle. However, I have about half my money at home in Canadian, and half in US.
Question 1: SHould I just dump all my US now, who cares, dont worry about it, or should I try to wait till the US econ bounces back(we are talking over 10k in US funds)?
Question 2: Is there some way I can invest my money in the US market while keeping it in US funds? That way I wont feel Im wasting time. Having it collect its 50cents a month.
Next, KoreanWOn...... Whats up with that..... 3 months ago it was doing well vs. the Canadian Dollar, now its being crushed.
Ques 3: Should I Just stock pile it here, until I go home?Approx June 06.... Or just do it, in the long run the difference in potential between gaining value via improved currency, vs improved value via mutual funds is negligible.........
Id like to hear some opinions, speculation, facts, ideas.......maybe some brilliant stock speculation from your sisters, husbands, golf partner who has a brother who works for a company that invests in a trading firm that knows something.
Im clueless, Ive never had money before, so I have no clue what to do with it. My goals are simple: Save, move home June! Buy house. No more rent. |
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BigBlackEquus
Joined: 05 Jul 2005
Location: Lotte controls Asia with bad chocolate!
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Economists are very bullish about the US Economy after next year or so. Just saw several reports about that on a financial channel yesterday. |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| BigBlackEquus wrote: |
| Economists are very bullish about the US Economy after next year or so. Just saw several reports about that on a financial channel yesterday. |
I think they are wrong but I hope they are right. From another thread ..
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Consider these factors present in the US economy:
* negative net savings rate
* housing bubble
* rising inflation - now 4%
* budget deficit
* trade deficit
Together with other issues such as over-valued currency (yes, really), personal debt levels, reduced immigration etc I'd say the outlook is gloomy |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 6:19 pm Post subject: Re: Currency Dilema....Once Again! |
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| steelhead wrote: |
Hey all,
Just want to know what you know/heard/feel about the current currency situation between Korea and your home country.
Currently Im stuck.... Cant figure out what to do. Here is my personal situation.
I have both Korean Won, and US dollars that I have no clue what to do with. On my last visit to Canada, I set up a mid level risk Mutual Fund, just to be able to do something with my money, so it wouldnt sit there idle. However, I have about half my money at home in Canadian, and half in US.
Question 1: SHould I just dump all my US now, who cares, dont worry about it, or should I try to wait till the US econ bounces back(we are talking over 10k in US funds)?
Question 2: Is there some way I can invest my money in the US market while keeping it in US funds? That way I wont feel Im wasting time. Having it collect its 50cents a month.
Next, KoreanWOn...... Whats up with that..... 3 months ago it was doing well vs. the Canadian Dollar, now its being crushed.
Ques 3: Should I Just stock pile it here, until I go home?Approx June 06.... Or just do it, in the long run the difference in potential between gaining value via improved currency, vs improved value via mutual funds is negligible.........
Id like to hear some opinions, speculation, facts, ideas.......maybe some brilliant stock speculation from your sisters, husbands, golf partner who has a brother who works for a company that invests in a trading firm that knows something.
Im clueless, Ive never had money before, so I have no clue what to do with it. My goals are simple: Save, move home June! Buy house. No more rent. |
The basic "rule" is to keep your income in the currency of expenditure: that minimises exchange rate risk. However, when you are from one country, earn the currency of another and spend or save in a third, that rule is hard to follow. So, the "basket" theory applies - and this seems to be what you are doing. Good: a spread between the 3. None of us are clairvoyant and while I might think the USD is overvalued, I could be wrong. But I do not think that enough to sell ALL my USD and but JPY.
As to the mutual fund - long term should be OK. There have been horror stories, but long term with one of the majors - or better, 2 or 3 with different majors - wil be fine. Buy and forget almost.
Now, property. IMHO, there is no hurry to buy (in US, UK or Australia - not sure about Canada, but suspect it's similarly overheated. Plenty of time to pick something up cheaper at a foreclosure auction.
Absolutely the best investment advice is ELIMINATE DEBT. Apart from emergency "rain money" cash, there is no sense in investing for 5% a year when paying 10% in interest.
Einstein is quoted as saying that his most amazing discovery was compound interest.
Tough times ahead.
CASH IS KING. |
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steelhead
Joined: 28 Mar 2004
Location: Seoul formerly known as Victoria
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| Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the tips.
Loans are paid, primarily.I have about 5k left in my student loan which is prime plus 1, practically nothing from what Ive been told, no credit card bills so I should be in good shape
. My US currency is a secondary non taxable income, and thus I hold it in a US currency account in my Canadian Bank account.
Can someone explain the term Bullish?
Has anyone messed around with penny stocks, and trading via net? Im extreemely intregued by this occupation, just have no clue where to start, recommend any books..... I can read... I think.
So Im going to invest my money in my mutuals, should be about 10k, in a Medium risk, and forget it.
Continue to earn here, hold onto it, until I need it elsewhere. |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 12:01 am Post subject: |
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| steelhead wrote: |
Thanks for the tips.
Loans are paid, primarily.I have about 5k left in my student loan which is prime plus 1, practically nothing from what Ive been told, no credit card bills so I should be in good shape
. My US currency is a secondary non taxable income, and thus I hold it in a US currency account in my Canadian Bank account.
Can someone explain the term Bullish?
Has anyone messed around with penny stocks, and trading via net? Im extreemely intregued by this occupation, just have no clue where to start, recommend any books..... I can read... I think.
So Im going to invest my money in my mutuals, should be about 10k, in a Medium risk, and forget it.
Continue to earn here, hold onto it, until I need it elsewhere. |
Bullish = optimist and bearish = pessimist.
Penny stocks can be fun, but thnk of them more like gambling on 2:30 at Newmarket. Yes, you can be lucky, most are not. Skimming is perhaps a better tactic: skimming means playing very few, maybe even only one stock (or currency), and forecasting minor movements. For example, the USD has traded within a 5% range for about 6 months. You could have bought and sold maybe 10 times in that period, making perhaps 1% each trade - 10% in 6 months. Not bad. Not risk free, but close.
There are other techniques too - like high yield/low PE strategies or you could become a full blown chartist and predict future movemts by looking at historical charts. Some say that is BS others swear by it.
Online dealing a/cs from Charles Schwab, iDealing etc etc. ID may be required for money laundering checking - especially in Europe. |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 12:20 am Post subject: |
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| Wangja wrote: |
| BigBlackEquus wrote: |
| Economists are very bullish about the US Economy after next year or so. Just saw several reports about that on a financial channel yesterday. |
I think they are wrong but I hope they are right. From another thread .. |
I think they are wrong, too, Wangja - but who knows, may be the new fed head can do something about it... |
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4 months left
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 4:49 am Post subject: |
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Some economists will always think the economy is bad and some will think it is good. Remember economists study theories and a lot of them have no idea what the stock market is really about. They may be extremely intelligent Phd. educated people but have no idea about the real world. I studied Econ in Univ.
Penny stocks should be an extremely small part of your portfolio unless you are a big player and a big gambler and even then it should be a tiny part.
If you think oil is going to stay high $40 or above I would probably get rid of your U.S. cash. Recentlly the Canadian dollar has become an oil based or weighted currency because of the high exposure to oil and natural gas in Canada. If this continues the Canadian dollar should stay high. It has been around 84 -86 cents recetnly.
Mid level mutual funds - it depends on your risk tolerance. A mid level mutual fund would probably be a balanced fund which invests in bonds and stocks. Your upside potential is probably not that great but your risk is not very high.
Read some books, this is your money, your retirement or children's education money. Don't leave this to someone else to make your decisions for you. After reading books you should decide if you want to invest your time in taking care of your funds yourself or putting in the hands of a professional. But IT IS YOUR MONEY... Even if it is in the hands of a professional you must constantly monitor it and educate yourself.
I would recommend reading books written by Peter Lynch or William O'Neil. That's the only reason I'm in this ##$%# country is for the money and having the time to study to do this professionally.
Don't let someone else take control of your life. Put the effort into at least trying to understand enough to realize what someone is doing with your money.
The old saying is so true: "Most people take more time planning a 2 week vacation than they do planning their retirement." |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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| The old saying is so true: "Most people take more time planning a 2 week vacation than they do planning their retirement." |
I'd not heard that before, but it is so true. Good post 4ML. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 6:06 pm Post subject: Re: Currency Dilema....Once Again! |
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[quote="Wangja"]
| steelhead wrote: |
...Absolutely the best investment advice is ELIMINATE DEBT. Apart from emergency "rain money" cash, there is no sense in investing for 5% a year when paying 10% in interest...
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Depends on the debt and how financially educated you are. If you don't have a lot of experience or education in finances than yes, getting out of debt is probably a good idea. But not for everyone. Properly used, debt can be a wise investment tool. |
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blunder1983
Joined: 12 Apr 2005
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| Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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| If you are looking for a decent tester for stock investment then check out virtual trader (google it) its for England but acts identical to the real stockmarket and u dont need to worry about loosing money. I set it up in school, checked my acct a few months back and I was a millionaire! Invested heavily in Bloomsbury Publishing before the first Harry Potter, cherching. Shame I didnt use real money :'( |
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