When to convert usd to cad

[DennyTang]

when is it a good time to transfer my balance from usd to cad? Im waiting for it to go to 1.25. Is it a good idea to not transfer it unless necessary? I have a feeling thebusd will comtinue to drop.

[dirkpitt]

Knowing when to exchange currencies is a lot like owning stock... you just gotta guess what direction the wind is gonna blow...

The people at Dynexcorp.com trade currencies to make their money. I think. Here's a link that I would use when I was being paid is USD, but paying CDN student loans:

http://www.dynexcorp.com/charts/c$1h.shtml

There is a great deal of information in the one page:
-Vertical purple lines represent the range of exchanges for the exact hour, with a small tick on each side to represent where the hour started and ended
-Blue line represents 10-period rolling average
-Red is 50-period rolling average
-Light blue lines are the Bollinger bands, which, when they get narrower are supposed to indicate a change in direction...

As a general rule, the more you exchange the better rate you get. I know that one of the first thresholds is about $1000. Prior to that, you're paying 2 cents on every dollar just to exchange.

From the dynexcorp site you can see the Daily, Weekly and long term historical exchange rates, so you'll see that the CDN dollar is about as strong as it's been for this generation--so I'd recommend just hanging on to the USD until you go down there for a visit, or start doing some online shopping... ;)

[jerryhung]

What kind of USD are you talking about?

USD in PayPal, < $1000?
or "large" amount?

For PayPal, I either use it to
1. buy eBay stuff listed in USD
2. Help RFD'ers out by exchanging with them (some are cheap, some are generous)

[DennyTang]

dirkpitt: I'm also trying to pay off my cdn loans with my US dollars.

jerryhung: I get paid in USD and I want to transfer as much of the money in my USD account as I can to pay off my student loans quicker. I also have about $1000 in PayPal funds but that's for buying stuff on ebay.

I've never heard of exchanging money through PayPal. Can you tell m emore about it?

[ngjo]

Get a friend or relative who work at a bank to exchange the money for you. They get much better rate than other customer.

[B40]

Since you're using it to pay off loans, your interest is probably more than what you'll get by waiting for the exchange rate to get better, which may not even happen...

[dirkpitt]

It used to sell USD to my parents (who are snowbirds) for the exact exchange rate (no 2 cent delta)--this way it was mutually beneficial, and the banks didn't gain from it....