advice on currencies

legepe · 10-17-2009, 05:01 AM

hello all... im new and naive to really all kinds of finance and investment, only just learning the meaning of FOREX, which brings me to my dilemma...!
i am living and working in serbia, and if anyone thinks when reading this, "serbia" ouch..! it really is not a place where the people eat their children or something, i would recommend it to anyone to visit...
anyway, back to my dilemma... i have some euros and serbian dinars (rsd) and was thinking to exchange what i have to GBP...
i am nervous of doing this as i would like to have a better idea of where these two currencies a likely to be in the near future...?
can anyone give me some advice if i should wait to exchange, exchange immediately, or look into some other kind of investments ie stocks and shares...???
any help will be very much appreciated...
thanks
legepe

Philip Brewer · 10-17-2009, 08:13 AM

Trying to make a killing in the currency markets seems as likely to result in your losing a bunch of a money as it is to earning a bunch of money. After all, nobody knows the future. Instead, I'd come at this from the opposite direction: Protect your assets from loss of purchasing power.

Look at the stuff you buy, and try to see how much of it is foreign-based in some way.

Do you have a mortgage in a foreign currency? Have some savings in the same currency your mortgage is in.
Do you buy imported goods? Try to find out which currencies the importers need to pay in, and try to shift your portfolio to match.
Do you buy services sold by overseas companies? Again, shift your portfolio to hold the currencies that you need to make payments in.

The idea is not to get rich by guessing whether the pound or the euro will go up faster, but rather to avoid getting screwed if your own currency turns sharply down against the currencies that things you need to buy things.

The next step after that, of course, is to try to diversity your income--earning some amount of money in foreign currency is the best protection against currency moves.

I wrote a couple of posts on this topic:

The Sinking Dollar

The Sinking Dollar, as Viewed from Overseas

trustno1 · 10-18-2009, 11:46 PM

Here are a couple of resources that may help you…
http://www.ratesfx.com/

http://www.ny.frb.org/education/addpub/monpol/

legepe · 10-19-2009, 10:21 AM

hi
thanks for your replies...

i am pretty lost and find it difficult to feel that im becomming more educated in these matters... many things i read seem only to confuse me... maybe i should listened more in class... :-)
anyway, thanks again for your help...
legepe

PhilBen · 10-28-2009, 06:11 AM

Hi there are 2 different ways to trade currency. 1 Using your own trading platform, it is very high risk and you really need to know your stuff before you even start.
2 Is currency transfers using a FX broker bank to bank. Some people use this method as it is very safe. You don't gamble your funds, you just wait until the rate goes in your favour and the transfer funds

The Wise Buck · 10-29-2009, 03:11 AM

Here is a resource that may help you from an educational standpoint

http://www.blackswantrading.com/

I'd reiterate to be careful and learn before doing any currency investing. A lot of places give the idea that currency investing is easy and a no brainer. That is usually in order to sell something.

Mike

trustno1 · 10-29-2009, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Wise Buck

Here is a resource that may help you from an educational standpoint

http://www.blackswantrading.com/

I'd reiterate to be careful and learn before doing any currency investing. A lot of places give the idea that currency investing is easy and a no brainer. That is usually in order to sell something.

Mike

AMEN to that advice!

Remove the word "currency" from this advice, and you have the basic formula for staying out of "trouble" in the investment world.

Unfortunately, it it the most common thing overlooked. There is a reason all those "infomercials" make so much money for the snake oil peddlers that host them...

Cheap N Legal · 11-04-2009, 06:57 PM

Here's an article to supplement the others above, it's insightful for traveling.

http://www.livecheap.com/travel/vaca...ur-destination

legepe · 11-09-2009, 07:15 AM

Thank you very much for all your replies...

PhilBen · 11-10-2009, 05:03 AM

Be very carful Using your own trading platform

10-17-2009, 05:01 AM	#1
legepe Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	advice on currencies hello all... im new and naive to really all kinds of finance and investment, only just learning the meaning of FOREX, which brings me to my dilemma...! i am living and working in serbia, and if anyone thinks when reading this, "serbia" ouch..! it really is not a place where the people eat their children or something, i would recommend it to anyone to visit... anyway, back to my dilemma... i have some euros and serbian dinars (rsd) and was thinking to exchange what i have to GBP... i am nervous of doing this as i would like to have a better idea of where these two currencies a likely to be in the near future...? can anyone give me some advice if i should wait to exchange, exchange immediately, or look into some other kind of investments ie stocks and shares...??? any help will be very much appreciated... thanks legepe

10-17-2009, 08:13 AM	#2
Philip Brewer Wise Bread Blogger Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 182 Thanks: 1 Thanked 6 Times in 4 Posts Reputation: (27)	Trying to make a killing in the currency markets seems as likely to result in your losing a bunch of a money as it is to earning a bunch of money. After all, nobody knows the future. Instead, I'd come at this from the opposite direction: Protect your assets from loss of purchasing power. Look at the stuff you buy, and try to see how much of it is foreign-based in some way. Do you have a mortgage in a foreign currency? Have some savings in the same currency your mortgage is in. Do you buy imported goods? Try to find out which currencies the importers need to pay in, and try to shift your portfolio to match. Do you buy services sold by overseas companies? Again, shift your portfolio to hold the currencies that you need to make payments in. The idea is not to get rich by guessing whether the pound or the euro will go up faster, but rather to avoid getting screwed if your own currency turns sharply down against the currencies that things you need to buy things. The next step after that, of course, is to try to diversity your income--earning some amount of money in foreign currency is the best protection against currency moves. I wrote a couple of posts on this topic: The Sinking Dollar The Sinking Dollar, as Viewed from Overseas

10-18-2009, 11:46 PM	#3
trustno1 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Rocky Mtns, Colorado, USA, Earth Posts: 266 Thanks: 0 Thanked 11 Times in 9 Posts Reputation: (26)	Here are a couple of resources that may help you… http://www.ratesfx.com/ http://www.ny.frb.org/education/addpub/monpol/ __________________ "Think Less, Act More...Life is Short"

10-19-2009, 10:21 AM	#4
legepe Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	hi hi thanks for your replies... i am pretty lost and find it difficult to feel that im becomming more educated in these matters... many things i read seem only to confuse me... maybe i should listened more in class... :-) anyway, thanks again for your help... legepe

10-28-2009, 06:11 AM	#5
PhilBen Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cornwall UK Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	Ways to trade FX Hi there are 2 different ways to trade currency. 1 Using your own trading platform, it is very high risk and you really need to know your stuff before you even start. 2 Is currency transfers using a FX broker bank to bank. Some people use this method as it is very safe. You don't gamble your funds, you just wait until the rate goes in your favour and the transfer funds __________________ Phil Currency Exchange Service

10-29-2009, 03:11 AM	#6
The Wise Buck Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 62 Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts Reputation: (14)	Here is a resource that may help you from an educational standpoint http://www.blackswantrading.com/ I'd reiterate to be careful and learn before doing any currency investing. A lot of places give the idea that currency investing is easy and a no brainer. That is usually in order to sell something. Mike __________________ www.thewisebuck.com Wise Advice for Your Money and Life

11-04-2009, 06:57 PM	#8
Cheap N Legal Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: NY Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	Here's an article to supplement the others above, it's insightful for traveling. http://www.livecheap.com/travel/vaca...ur-destination

11-09-2009, 07:15 AM	#9
legepe Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	Thank you very much for all your replies...

11-10-2009, 05:03 AM	#10
PhilBen Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cornwall UK Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	Be very carful Using your own trading platform __________________ Phil Currency Exchange Service

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