Work Abroad but earn in USD

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

The Almighty Argentine Peso

Some of you may find the title to this blog amusing, but every currency has its importance, especially the currencies where you keep your money and spend your money. My company, Anuva Vinos, charges its clients in US dollars and our counterparts in Argentina have to do a lot of spending in Pesos. One would think that this would be a very favorable situation. Since I have been living in Argentina (November of 2004), the dollar has gone from being worth about 2.9 to about 3.2 pesos. But in the last month alone that rate dropped to 3.07. Why? Typical cultural practices in Argentine. I was both surprised and not at all surprised when my fiancée came home one night and said, "I have news for you." Imagining various horrific scenarios, too graphic and personal to describe here, when she said that there might be a run on the banks and that her Mom had heard this from a very trustworthy source, I was actually a bit relieved. But then I had to sit there and analyze what I was going to do about the situation. Do we take all of our money out of the bank, in cash, and sit on it at home? Do I not believe the hype and do nothing? Is there an in between solution? More on this to come...

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9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Simple: savings offshore
daily money, cashflow onshore.

6/04/2008 03:10:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this is actually off topic, but i've been looking into moving to argentina myself and have been reading your archives.

i was looking for a way to contact you, but i couldn't figure out how to do that, and thus i am writing in your comment.

i am a 21 year old soon to be graduated college student. i am currently doing a study abroad in tokyo, japan, but being abroad has got me hooked on living somewhere outside the states.

i've been googling hard for the past month and came across your blog today as argentina is on the top list of where i would like to move to.

anyway, would you give someone in their twenties some advice on expatriating to argentina?

i'll probably do the actual permanent move to somewhere in south or central america in the next five years.

i'm hoping to save some money, start some basic investments, and hoping to create some revenue by starting a website or website business.

thank you for all the hardwork you have put into this blog. its a great resource!

6/08/2008 01:01:00 PM  
Blogger Don Gonzalito said...

Actually, VesperJunkie, your question is much to the point.
Argentina falls apart approximately every 7-10 years. We can't help it.
Right now we are nearing the end of one of those 7-10 year periods, and we are in the process of falling apart.
If you are independently wealthy, by all means come, we are extravagantly friendly towards foreigners.
If not, if might soon become hard to go by in a collapsed economy.
Hold on to your dollars, Daniel.
40% inflation IN DOLLARS during the last period can't be sustained much longer.

6/08/2008 11:11:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't think there is much reason to have many pesos in a bank in Argentina if you can have it in another currency in another country. Remember the reason us expats can live so comfortably in ARG is because our currency is strong against the peso. Makes sense to me to play your stronger hand.

6/14/2008 11:04:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1 Peso ley = 1 Neuvo Peso = $ 0.35 USD.The Old Peso ley are equivalent to the new Argentine Peso at an ratio of 1:1.The banknotes or currencies are denominated from 1 peso upto 1 million pesos.All the old pesos and new pesos are legal tenders and valid for use and exchange wordwide.
Sorce : Central Bank of Argentina.

6/23/2008 09:07:00 PM  
Blogger Kang Boim said...

hi..blog hopping here...from indonesia, you have nice blog...:D :D

6/29/2008 02:56:00 PM  
Blogger oscar said...

AS YOU SAID ,THE FATE OF THE COUNTRY IS DOOMsome day, AS MUCH AS HISTORY TELLS US...YOU'RE LIVING CHEAP NOW,AND IT'S FADEING AWAY FAST ,''BEWARE'' IT CAN CHANGE AS SOON AS YOU GET UP TOMORROW , POLITICS IN THE RAW...FAT POCKETS FOR ONLY SOME, THE REST ARE AT THEIR MERCY...
SO BE CAREFUL, AND PLEASE DON'T BE SAYING YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE YOUR MONEY OUT OF THE BANK IN PUBLIC,,,DANGEROUS MOVE, THERE ARE A LOT OF VOLTURES ALWAYS FLYING NEAR...NO LO RECOMIENDO
GOOD WORK,GOOD LUCK,GOD BLESS...

6/30/2008 12:30:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I keep my money in a US Bank account, use my Visa debit card when possible, and when not, I just go to the ATM. If I need to pay something that is more than my withdrawal limit, I simply plan ahead and go to the ATM on consecutive days. I'm VERY careful about doing all of this in public, as I have learned my lesson after several years living in both Brazil and Argentina.

I can't think of a reason why I would ever want a bank account in Argentina. I'd feel safer keeping my money under my mattress.

That's just me.

7/12/2008 02:50:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hi everyone,

i was just reading your comments and would have a question.
my company is sending me for a 2 years assignment from prague to buenos aires. so i will be receiving my salary from czech republic. when i read your treats it seems to be risky to transfer the whole salary to an argentinian bank.

any suggestions on how to solve it?
which bank has the lowest charges for international transfers and cashwithdrawels?
should i keep my czech bank account and transfer the money from there to an argentinian account partly or should my company send me the whole salary to an account. as I am not going to spent all my salary i do not want to risk that after two years having my money on a pesos account the money might loose value do to changed exchange rate or economic development.

thanks for feedback
cheers
marc

7/26/2008 06:47:00 AM  

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