How much foreign currency do you have?

[sengsational]

I usually have minimal amounts leftover from the last trip...

Same here. I leave it in the easily accessible pouch of my suitcase...if it's gone, I know I left my suitcase unguarded at the wrong place. So far, still have my sandwich bag of coins and paper from 6 or 10 countries. It's only worth about $10 or $20. Like Aeride, I engineer a low departure balance. The ATM at the landing airport has always worked fine.



I can't imagine many currencies doing consistently better at holding value than my portfolio.



I found a 100,000 note in the attic of my world traveler grandfather. My uncle offered me $20 bucks for it. I didn't immediately accept, first finding my dad for advice. But as I walked off, uncle said the deal was off unless I took it now. I didn't, and learned the worn note was worthless. A fantastic lesson learned young (age 10+/-). Thanks uncle!

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Well, like corn18, I collect it. I have a US coin and bill collection, and a separate collection of coins from around the world. Whenever I travel anywhere new, I keep an average amount of pocket change (if possible, one coin of each denomination) to add to it. And I have a mahogany bowl from Tanzania that has a bit more than usual (probably $1 USD worth of change) because I liked the way it looks, and it was relatively cheap.

I also wound up with, IIRC, about $89 EUR after my last trip, and I figured it would be useful again in a few years. Then life happened, but I plan on finding a way to put it to use in the next 2-3 years.

 

[morriss003]

I make this decision based on historical ranges. At the moment I would buy Euros and sell yen. I would not keep any South American currency, as it is too volatile.

 

[HFWR]

About nine € and change.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I usually have minimal amounts leftover from the last trip...

+1. I keep it in a jar in my room. Have sent it to school with the kids when they were studying different cultures or doing money problems.

I try to spend it all before we leave but invariably find a few coins in the pocket of something when we get home. We recycle the euros though...

 

[friar1610]

If you plan a trip to Cuba, having euros or Canadian$ is a good idea. Cuba charges 3% to exchange either of those currencies to CUCs (the currency used by tourists in Cuba's 2-tiered currency system.) But there's a "special deal" for US$. They tack on an extra 10% surcharge, bringing the total cost to 13%! You can avoid this by having euros or Canadian$. (I'm sure this works with other major currencies such as GBP; I just didn't have occasion to use them).

 

[sengsational]

Good data Friar!


I was thinking of making a clear acrylic bar top that displays the leftover coins from my travels. If some asks about the coins, that will be my queue to whip out the slide projector, hehe!

 

[flyingaway]

Last month in Cartagena, Colombia, before we left there the last night, we found that we had some local money left. We had a nice dinner and still did not use all the money. So we went to a casino, and the problem was solved.

 

[brokrken]

I travel frequently for work to the Netherlands, Germany and Argentina. So, I typically have plenty of Euros on hand. However, I have our treasurer in Buenos Aires buy me out of all remaining pesos before I leave Argentina as they have been experiencing very high inflation in the last 4-5 years.

 

[LOL!]

We used to live in Europe well before the Euro was invented. We have a few paper bills worth nothing.

Whenever I go overseas now I just use a credit card. They work in cabs, the train station, the airport, the kiosks, and practically everywhere. I also carry an ATM card which works to get a tiny bit of cash, but only if needed.

I have found that there is practically no reason to ever get the local currency. And that goes for the USA as well.

 

[braumeister]

We used to live in Europe well before the Euro was invented. We have a few paper bills worth nothing.

They are definitely worth a laugh. I make silly bar bets with friends, like "I'll bet you 100 that ..."

I deliberately set the bet so it's obvious that I'm wrong, and they take the bait. Then I pay up with Deutschmarks, Belgian francs, whatever. It always gets a laugh, and costs me nothing.

 

[jollystomper]

I have some bills and coins in a jar from my travels. I usually never planned to keep a lot of foreign currency. Most of the coins are worthless (pre-Euro Europe) or so small denominations that it is not worth converting.

I had the most currency from Canada, since I tend to get back there every other year. I still have $40 in Australian dollars from a visit in the early 2000s. I also have some bills from China from the late 1990s that I gave to my wife to spend when she visited a few years ago. However, when she tried to spend it at a shop, thes owner got excited and told her not to spend it, this was rare currency and might be valuable. I have not yet checked it out to see if it was true - the face value is probably $20 US.

 

[bq1993]

Saw this article suggesting putting the local foreign currency on a Starbucks gift card, rather than giving in to the horrible airport currency exchange rates. Of course, you're subject to Starbucks exchange rates, but it's an idea. In Europe, you'd end of with a card with Euro on it, then when you use it in America, you'd be converting the Euro to dollars.

https://lifehacker.com/put-leftover-foreign-currency-on-a-starbucks-gift-card-1833095163

 

[sengsational]

I have found that there is practically no reason to ever get the local currency. And that goes for the USA as well.

If you're traveling with a group and there's reluctance to split the check, or you're not around when it's being paid, it's nice to have a bit of the local currency to even-up. If you have tech savvy mates, then a simple Venmo transaction would work too, but then you need to [gasp] do currency conversion math.

 

[audreyh1]

We use a great deal of cash when we travel in Europe. Most of our day tours are paid with cash. A few of the B&Bs require cash. Smaller bills at restaurants we pay in cash.

 

[cyber888]

I still have 80 Euros from my summer trip to Lake Como and Cinque Tierre, Italy.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I have found that there is practically no reason to ever get the local currency. And that goes for the USA as well.

I know this but I LOVE seeing the local currency- particularly if I haven't seen it before, and I like doing currency conversion. And my kids like seeing it when we get back.