The exchange rate today in Marks and Spencer which is usually quite a good rate
was below 1 euro to the pound 0.998, the pound seems to be getting weaker by
the day, this is the first time I have seen it this low in M and S and the Post Office
was also below parity

Maisie

H i friend, this doesnt suprise me at all , marks and spencer have always given a crap rate not much better if at all than the post office, this has probably been the currency markets reaction to the news of our failing motor industry. lets hope GB pulls his finger out of his Arxx and does something proactive soon.....

We have always found M and S to give a much better rate than the Banks and
always a lot better than the Post Office, where else would we get a better rate
with no commision? any advice appreciated.

Maisie

I used to think the same but I have a villa in CV and use my Millenium bcp Bank account for all my costs, i transfer my payments through HSBC currency broker services I also have a current account with nationwide who do not charge for euro transactions and cash withdrawals and also give an excellent rate, it might be worth opening a flex account with the nationwide and take your card to portugal with you, as i say no charges for using it, a good exchange rate and you dont have to piddle around getting cash before you go...

I can concur with the Nationwide advice. We have a Nationwide Flexaccount and last September we got a much better rate when withdrawing cash from ATM's than was available at the exchanges.

Remember though that you must use the Nationwide DEBIT card for this. Use the credit card and you will be charged a fee for each withdrawal.

We are there again at beginning of May and are bracing ourselves for shock of the current exchange rates. It will be almost pound per euro and the only advantage is that we will not have to bother working out what the prices are in sterling because they will be the same almost!

Tom

Yes it will be easier to work out put I hope the pound strengthens - can't see it happening for a while.

The reason the pound has dropped recently is because the BOE Gordon Brown et al have begun printing money out of fresh air they quaintly call it quantative easing. They have now turned on the printing press and produce 2 billion a day (its actually done electronically) and the first tranche will be for 75 billion probably going to 150 billion. This is what is devaluing the pound the Americans started Wednesday but they want to churn out about 1 trillion plus there currency also took a hit about 5% in one day. If you look back in history this has always ended in tears (INFLATION) but the politicians say we should worry about deflation they are most probably wrong. Oil has started to move up and also food as most people already know. All defecit goverments would love to see a splurge of inflation it makes paying off your debts a lot easier. The trouble with very low interest rates ie 0.5 % is it has only to move to say 2 % which does not sound a great deal but in real terms is a great leap. Now if you then have to defend your currency because nobody wants to buy up your debt it will have to increase by an even greater amount say 10 - 15% imagine those consequences. This has now turned into a game of Russian roulette we have 5 bullets in our gun and the Americans 1 as they have the cushion of being the reserve currency and a big army to back them up if it turns pear shaped. The Europeans may also have to start the same exercise if the Euro becomes to strong but the Germans will fight this tooth and nail so its a race to the bottom. If you want buy any currency then maybe consider the Norwegian krona they have a large surplus and a bucket full of oil which they used wisely unlike ourselves.

The good news is POMPEY won and Southamton are still in the relegation zone

See I can be a happy chappy

We had a mortgage when the interest rate was 15% so I think it's only fair that we should take advantage of the same rate as savers.

What we need is a Sinking Fund.

I have an account with Millennium bcp where I've transferred largish sums from time to time to do works on the villa, make regular payments from etc via a currency broker at decent rates.In the past this has been the source of spending money when we're in Portugal.

However when I went out to the Algrave last week for a few days last week, I decided that instead of depleting my reserves for everyday expenses, I'd take the pain of current exchange rates at about 1.04 . Probably not very logical but it means all the remaining work on the villa will hopefully be carried out using money transferred at about rates of about 1.29. Eating and drinking at almost parity isn't quite so painful.

Just a thought ! your views would be appreciated. If UK had changed over to the euro at some stage well before now would it have been beneficial for our villa owners still living in UK or the UK holiday maker in general.

Travelex have the best rate by far or at least the best rate I have found.

I might be completly wrong here but I thought you got a good rate if you just used your bank card at an ATM well it seems ok for me when I get my pounds in the UK.

Gary

As I indicated earlier in this thread, in recent times we have taken just 10 Euros away with us for immediate expenses when visiting the Algarve and then we get the bulk of our cash from ATM's over there using the Nationwide DEBIT card.

We have friends in Florida, and when we visit (usually once a year) this method also gives more dollars to our pound. We used to also use Traveller's Cheques at one time, but using ATM's is hassle free and beneficial as regards the improved rate.

As regards USA - Nationwide now intend to pass on to us the charge that the Visa company levies on them for each transaction when we use our cards abroad. So from 1st July, anything you buy in most non-European countries will incur a 1% surcharge - whether you use your Credit or Debit card. This will also apply to cash withdrawals from ATM's, but at least the DEBIT card will still not incur a cash withdrawal fee.

Fortunately, this 1% surcharge will not apply to most of Europe so we're ok in Portugal, Spain, France, etc., etc.!

Gary/Ganor. Your missing a tit. It's quantatitive

Should have typed 'printing money' it's easier!