Exchange Rate

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Until my 39th year, I didn't really give a thought to the exchange rate for foreign currencies. I had no reason to care as I really only traveled to places where I could get away with a few pesos or where the US dollar was an accepted form of currency. For the past year, however, I've been paying attention. I thought I would give you a couple of examples of what a difference the exchange rate makes while living abroad.

When we secured our rental, nearly a year ago, the dollar to krona rate was just below 6...that was NOT good news for us, especially considering we needed to pay a three month deposit for our flat. The current exchange rate is 9, which is the highest it's been since we arrived. It makes the price of groceries about the same as what we paid in the states. Since I'm a visual person, and I'd rather someone do the math for me...spell it out.

Monthly rent: 11,925 kroner @ 6 = $1987 USD @ 9 = $1,325 USD a difference of $662! The good news about that is that it feels like our rent has gone down $662 per month! The bad news is that we essentially paid 5 months rent at 6 - so we "lost" $3,310.00, right off the bat. Ouch. What does that mean in milk? Well, a gallon of milk is roughly 12 kroner, at 6 we were paying $2 per 1.5 liter (that's the largest container available), at 9 we're paying $1.33 per 1.5 liter. The Swedes drink a lot less milk than we do...it seems they use it primarily in their coffee. However, we're good Midwestern milk drinkers, and Emma is especially fond of a big glass of milk. Jeff and I have cut our milk consumption dramatically, but we still believe in that clever campaign, "Milk it does a body good" so the kids power through at least a container each day.

Frankly, we knew this year was going to cost us. However, on a sunny day I will tell you that it's been worth every krona/dollar.

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