Dollar has more value vs Colombian Peso

[mudd]

to bad venezuela wasnt so f***ed up, thats the place to get the best " bang for the buck"


anybody been there recently?

[Elexpatriado]

I assume you are asking for academic  intellectual purposes only, and in no way are interested in going there. I can´t imagine you would have any interest in being there now.You have to play he Marcado Negro there and know Venezuelans you can really trust.


Talk to Alberto and see what his experiences were.He was there 6 months ago and survived. You know who I am talking about.


If you wanna play the Black Market, Argentina is safer place.


Ecuador and Peru are cheaper than Colombia, and if you can tolerate [snip] holes, theres always Paraguay

to bad venezuela wasnt so f***ed up, thats the place to get the best " bang for the buck"


anybody been there recently?

[fathertime]

Over the weekend the US Dollar hit over 2200 to the Colombian peso...a new high watermark for this go around. 


Fathertime!

Just a couple days ago it was 2200....now it hit fresh high-water of 2299!.   Very interesting.


Fathertime!   

[fathertime]

The dollar continues to rise vs the peso.  As of today it's new high water mark is 2399.  It has gone up 300 in less than 45 days.  Looking at the chart, I noticed the last rise was during the financial crises.

Fathertime!

[utopiacowboy]

The dollar continues to rise vs the peso.  As of today it's new high water mark is 2399.  It has gone up 300 in less than 45 days.  Looking at the chart, I noticed the last rise was during the financial crises.

Fathertime!

My wife continues to pay a monthly installment to the Colombian government pension system and she had been complaining about the exchange rate and how every month was worse than the month before. The last couple of months I haven't heard her complaining!

[V_Man]

I assume you are asking for academic  intellectual purposes only, and in no way are interested in going there. I can´t imagine you would have any interest in being there now.You have to play he Marcado Negro there and know Venezuelans you can really trust.


Talk to Alberto and see what his experiences were.He was there 6 months ago and survived. You know who I am talking about.


If you wanna play the Black Market, Argentina is safer place.


Ecuador and Peru are cheaper than Colombia, and if you can tolerate [snip] holes, theres always Paraguay

The big problem in Venezuela is that oil is propping up an otherwise failed system. This means that the bubble keeps growing rather than correcting itself in time. It's hard to see anything other than a collapse on the horizon - although I am no expert in Venezuela so perhaps I don't know enough about it to understand it.

[benjio]

The big problem in Venezuela is that oil is propping up an otherwise failed system. This means that the bubble keeps growing rather than correcting itself in time. It's hard to see anything other than a collapse on the horizon - although I am no expert in Venezuela so perhaps I don't know enough about it to understand it.

Mmmmmmmm...that situation sounds familiar for some reason. 

[Fuzzyone]

Yeah, some of the charlatans here just crack me up.  You have to wonder if they've ever even set foot in Colombia.  Well, at least one has been exposed.

   Yea those dawn Charlatans always around... so who has been exposed anyway?

[fathertime]

New high watermark in recent days with the Colombian peso to the dollar at around 2550-1. 


Fathertime! 

[robert angel]

New high watermark in recent days with the Colombian peso to the dollar at around 2550-1. 


Fathertime!

That's great for US travelers to Colombia. The US dollar is hard to peg though. In the Philippines it's stayed about the same for years now--around 43 to 44 pesos to the dollar generally. But when we went to Canada last summer, it was about a $1.10 Canadian for each US dollar but bank exchange fees about wiped it out that advantage. However a year or so before that, a US dollar was worth LESS than a Canadian and this week a US dollar is worth about $1.25 US. (again before the exchange costs)

The dollar is pretty strong against the Euro and Japanese yen, but it's miserable against the Korean won currency for a while now. Hard to make rhyme or reason out of it all.

[benjio]

Hard to make rhyme or reason out of it all.

Indeed. A few years ago I asked my financial advisor about trading currencies as an investment option and his exact words were, "Why not just fly to Vegas and gamble? You'll have around the same chance of actually making money and it's a better time."

[WaineShay]

Today's dollar buys about what 15 to 20 cents did when I was a kid. If a twenty cent paper note didn't make sense in the 1970s, then how much sense does today's paper dollar make?

Canada was a great value in 2002 when 66 cents bought a Canuck buck though. Spent 3 weeks there while between jobs, and would have stayed longer if the plates on my car weren't expiring.

[buencamino]

Happy times are here again!

[robert angel]

Today's dollar buys about what 15 to 20 cents did when I was a kid. If a twenty cent paper note didn't make sense in the 1970s, then how much sense does today's paper dollar make?

Canada was a great value in 2002 when 66 cents bought a Canuck buck though. Spent 3 weeks there while between jobs, and would have stayed longer if the plates on my car weren't expiring.

I remember often going from Michigan to Windsor, Ontario when the exchange rate was very favorable and drinking the excellent Canadian beer was inexpensive. Plus the clubs there were packed with pretty girls that seemed a bit nicer and than the 'same old, same old' back home. Although the bar bands typically played more 'pop' than rock, it was almost always a good time and on the cheap too.

I once attended school in Ontario for a while and think that overall, Canada is just very nice. Cleaner too. Last summer we went to Toronto and coming back we visited Whitey and Nazly. Great time, but that mean Whitey refused to let us spend any of our money! Those Canadians, I tell you...

Coming back, I stopped at a gas station and had a pocketful of Canadian coins--one dollar, two dollar coins etc.,  and had them all on the clerk's counter, trying to see how much gas I could get. A lovely Canadian woman thought I was short and sweetly asked the clerk "How much more does he need to fill up?--as she reached into her purse to help. I explained we just needed to spend the money we had, but thanked her.

I've never had that happen in the USA!

[fathertime]

Happy times are here again!

even happier times today....up to 2583-1 now....


Have prices changed appreciably for staples/hotels or is all this just bonus money now for American travelers?


Fathertime!   

[JamesDonut]

even happier times today....up to 2583-1 now....


Have prices changed appreciably for staples/hotels or is all this just bonus money now for American travelers?


Fathertime!

Not that I've noticed.  Although I think its important to point out that a lot of consumer goods are 10-20% more expensive to start out in Colombia.  TVs and electronics especially.  You won't find a good deal on a 4k TV down here.  But if you are traveling, great time to do it.

[Fuzzyone]

Just a couple days ago it was 2200....now it hit fresh high-water of 2299!.   Very interesting.


Fathertime!

  Wow thats sweet I remember when it used to be that high when I was down there visiting my wife...

[fathertime]

Not that I've noticed.  Although I think its important to point out that a lot of consumer goods are 10-20% more expensive to start out in Colombia.  TVs and electronics especially.  You won't find a good deal on a 4k TV down here.  But if you are traveling, great time to do it.

Hey James,  yeah the consumer goods like electronics are expensive.....Have the food prices changed much since the dollar runup?   Or taxi fares?   Restaurant prices?   


Fathertime!   

[fathertime]

  Wow thats sweet I remember when it used to be that high when I was down there visiting my wife...

I don't recall visiting during the times it was around 2600...I might have not even noticed as much back then....but I have sent money back a couple times when I only got around 1800 and I did notice that bad rate....although Western Union is a rip off like that.


Fathertime!   

[Elexpatriado]

I noticed some places restaurant prices have increased 10% un the last year-No run up in Taxi Prices at least in Manizales. Remember-cheaper oil

[buencamino]

There is news coverage in El Pais about high food prices in Valle de Cauca but for the most part the cause is momentary scarcity in part caused by a truckers strike currently in effect. Imported foods like cereals are of course affected by the value of the dollar.

 http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/economia/noticias/todo-esta-caro-dicen-calenos-sobre-alimentos

[robert angel]

In January 2015, an already strong U.S. dollar hit an 11-year high against other major currencies.

Back in 2003, a US dollar got about 3000 cop. Looks like it'll push up to 2600, maybe higher--who knows? Unfortunately, I've heard that the costs of a number of things there have increased. The Canadian dollar isn't faring nearly as well as the US buck there.

In the Philippines over the last decade or so, the rate has fluctuated from 41 pesos for a US dollar, up to north of 56 pesos per dollar--now it's about 44 (before exchange fees) but almost everything from food (rice!) to clothing is also more expensive for natives and visitors alike.

The dollars at an eleven year high to the Euro--good time to see Europe.

Don't know if there's ever a good time I'd like to visit the Ukraine, but the US dollar is huge there! Russia's a bargain too, but I'd rather go to Wally World...

[fathertime]

There is news coverage in El Pais about high food prices in Valle de Cauca but for the most part the cause is momentary scarcity in part caused by a truckers strike currently in effect. Imported foods like cereals are of course affected by the value of the dollar.

 http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/economia/noticias/todo-esta-caro-dicen-calenos-sobre-alimentos

Thanks, those are some pretty significant increases, although hopefully temporary.  BC, in all your years there, what foods aside from cereal would you say are the most impacted by the dollar rising?  If I'm ever a resident, I'd like to have an idea of which foods are susceptible to the dollar's rise or fall. 


Fathertime!   

[buencamino]

FT I suppose locally grown food costs could be affected by costs of imported fertilizers etc. but imported foods would be most affected. If you want a lot of stuff from back home you can go to Pricesmart. Never been myself but supposed to have good prices on imported North American food products. Anyway I thought you were a gardener. As I said elsewhere you should come on down and if to the Cali area buy yourself a nice finca one hectaria or so at between 1400 and 1900 meters where you'll be able to grow fruits and vegetables to your heart's content.  Cali, Medellin and Pereira would be good choices. I don't think Barranquilla where I believe your wife is from has much to offer in the way of fincas and anyway you'd have to like really hot weather. Time to start wrapping things up up there.

[JamesDonut]

Hey James,  yeah the consumer goods like electronics are expensive.....Have the food prices changed much since the dollar runup?   Or taxi fares?   Restaurant prices?   


Fathertime!

Taxi fares seem reasonable here.  However restaurant prices are sky high.  I walked into Subway in Bogota a couple of months back.  There is no such thing as a $5 sub there I'll tell you that.  The cheapest combo is around $10.  To top it off the sandwiches are smaller.  That's just one example. 

There are dirt cheap places I found in Neiva.  They serve "almuerzos corrientes" starting at 4000 pesos.   However the food is really bad.  Chef Ramsay would go nuclear if he ate at one of those places. 

From my observations, overall things are about on par with prices in the US.   So how do people survive?  They live in dirt cheap housing.  In the US it is definitely considered sub par living conditions.  The weird thing is you'll go into someones house, and its crap for the most part.  Except for the nice android or windows phone and their flat screen TV.