Opening a domestic bank account in Euros (aka debt crisis hedge)

Jonathan, It may be a bit of a "gamble" to open a Euro account (presuming you can find a Bank that has such an account). When you deposit currency to the account, you'll pay exchange at whatever rate is applicable at the time. There are a lot of variables to consider: - The U.S. dollar may increase in value against the Euro over the next few months, or it may not. I suppose we'll have some indication when we see what happens next Tuesday. - Keep in mind that the Euro is also experiencing problems at the moment, so it's value may increase or decrease against the U.S. dollar over the next few months. There are lots of possibly combinations on how this is going to work out, and I don't have enough information to even make a guess. For travel in September, I assume most of your other arrangements are now in place? Happy travels!

I'll post here what I didn't bother posting on another similar thread - there's Bad Things, Very Bad Things going on in the rest of the world. If our government did something stupid - I know; NEVER! - we'd just join the others...China would be in trouble if we're in trouble, and I won't start in on Europe - that's a line of dominos waiting for a good strong gust of wind (and it's coming); hopefully, the gust will be a short one. So it's not like the Euro would be this Great Bright Light shining in the dark for all to run towards. Hardly. If the USA has a debt crisis (worse than now), you'll need to worry alot more about your credit card interest rates, your mortgages, car loans, etc. And hunker down for a long, bad spell. Surely, Our Beloved Leaders will get it together before anything worse happens. Surely. Now, if only I knew the currency used on Mars...THAT might be a good hedge ;-) Those little green guys look smart...

It's not that I want to invest. I plan on spending the money on the trip. I figure i'll get hit with an exchange rate. But if i were to pick a stronger currency like pounds then I will end up paying fees/exchange twice.

Hi Jonathan, EverBank offers foreign currency deposit accounts. I'm not sure of the details. If you are worried about the rate going down then find an exchange bureau close to home and just hold on to the Euros until you need them. But like the others said there's no guarantee that the dollar or euro will rise or fall. Good luck.

Some financial reports are predicting the within 12-15 months the Euro and Dollar will be equal again.

I highly doubt there's going to be enough of a swing before September that would cancel out your overhead costs.

Just to chime in. Europe has a pretty major debt crisis of their own. Currently, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and (next) Italy are knee deep in debt and trying to find the most painless path to recovery. The dollar and the euro are sort of racing to the bottom. Maybe you should buy Canadian dollars, just in case. :) Like one old guy told me, "When your outflow exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall."

There's also a question on your tax return: Did you have a foreign bank account worth over $10,000? If yes, you have to fill out a separate form and send it in. No tax consequence: they just want to know. And the penalties for not complying just went up. Big time.