Italy's "Austerity Measures" and the Euro

Anyone who can answer that question would be so wealthy they wouldn't care about the answer. :-) I personally plan for a poorer exchange rate so I am pleasantly surprised when it turns out better. My planning rate this year is $1.48. Today it's $1.425. I think I'll be OK.

The market rate is 1.42 + or - .....but the exchange rate in a San Francisco currency house is 1.49 (as of yesterday). I'm presuming that if there's a crisis, that the euro will fall against the dollar....but if there's a crisis, then that would be terrible for Italy, as well as for tourists.

That is a 5% markup, Not too bad if purchasing in the US. Would, of course, be cheaper in Europe with a debit card at a local ATM. If I knew the answer I would mortgage the house and buy or sell Euro. It is called currency speculation and more than one professional trader has been burned by guessing wrong.

GGBridge, I'll be in Italy at the same time, so will also be affected by currency fluctuations. I tend to take the attitude that as I'm now in the country, "the exchange rate is what it is" so I'm not going to let it distract me from having a wonderful holiday. I make sure I have enough flexibility in my travel budget that I can handle any minor exchange variations. I suspect that if Italy does in fact experience an "economic/social crisis", this may pull down the value of the Euro against other currencies, so you may in fact get better exchange rates. I'm expecting to find "business as usual" in Italy. Happy travels!

yes...i know. thanks everyone....

Unless it drops dramatically, there will not be a big difference in your buying power. Last year when I was in Italy 5/19-6/14 I happened to be there in the biggest drop in five years, it was down towards 1.20. That made a big difference compared to my expected ~1.5. It has been around 1.40-1.48 which isn't a big difference when making everyday purchases. I will be back in Europe, mostly Italy, 8/19-12/28 this year, so I too am interested in what will happen. It has been fluctuating, but not very much. The euro may drop, it may stay steady. Hard to predict. If it does go down, we will enjoy that, if it stays steady - well then it is what it is. I take the same attitude Ken mentions, and tend not to think about it too much once I'm over there. Have a wonderful trip!

They did mention the possibility of general strikes by the unions in todays WSJ, so maybe there won't be much to buy anyway.

I think you will be fine, but a year from now many of us may find Euro travel to be prohibitively expensive and/or the Euro zone so destabilized, that safety concerns will be a legitimate issue. We may have similar issues here at home too. I am not an alarmist and don't buy into media hype, but there are clearly some storm clouds on the horizon unlike that we have seen in most of our lifetimes.

i, sadly, totally agree.....it's becoming a very unstable world. i hope everyone's upcoming trips abroad are filled with wonderous, fun, poignant and stimulating adventures.

I was listening to Talk of the Nation today on NPR and they were talking about Europe's debt crisis. Someone asked why the dollar wasn't rising against the euro because of Europe's debt crisis. The dollar is valued as pretty weak because of the debt crisis in the U.S. It seems like it's no longer a case of just a strong euro, but also a very weak dollar. Like everyone else on this board, I'm watching the American and European economies closely since I hope to go to England next year.

Another, perhaps secretly painful, way to deal with this issue is do what we've done both in the UK and on the Continent. We all spend so much money to get there (especially those of us on the west coast), that the relative cost for food and lodging may benefit somewhat from the "in for a penny, in for a pound" philosophy. We just blot out of our minds the exchange rate and try to think of Euros and Pound Sterling as dollars and pay the proverbial piper when we get home, having had, we always hope, a splendid trip seeing things not remorely visible in our own backyard, things we've only read about in books, things that Rick Steves can make tantalizing and yet approachable in his television series. We also decided, when we were still in our 60s (only one of is now), that we didn't want to end up on our front porch in rocking chairs, beyond the physical point (if we lasted that long, in any event) of being able to undertake European travel, and saying "if we'd only..."

Relax. It's only money. Years from now, when you're on that rocking chair Jim talks about, and you find yourself thinking about your life and your time here on earth, you won't give a damn about what the exchange rate was back in '11 or '12. You might, however, if you're lucky, take great joy in recalling the great times you spent people watching on Il Campo, or how you felt the first time you saw David, or the Sistine Chapel or Venice, or that "best meal of your life" you shared with that Italian friend whom you just met that day, or that evening you and your love held hands and watched the sunset over the Mediterranean from your balcony in the Cinque Terre. It's easy to forget in this business-obsessed culture that is America, that money is just thing. It's meaningless on it's own. We give it meaning by what WE do with IT, not the other way around. Experiencing extrodinary moments, cobbled together, one by one, are what make a life. They're what makes life worth living and the memories of them sustains us in our old age - not having a few more measly bucks in our wallet.

I couldn't agree more with Bob. I don't know where I first heard the saying, but it's always stuck in my mind: when you're lying on your deathbed, you don't regret the things you did - you regret the things you didn't do.

Got back from Italy a few weeks ago the rate was 1.41. Relax I know it is money but my sister was always saying in the USA it would cost this much. After I while I told her that you are in Italy and can't think that way. This is once in a lifetime take your ATM card, credit card and some cash -USA and Euro Yes our money is not worth much there but you will have a wonderful time if you don't think about it and enjoy the sites

yes......i'm quite relaxed. of course it will be what it is......