Holiday Preparation: When to Exchange Your Currency

The best time of the year has finally arrived. Your holiday is just around the corner. Before leaving it to the last minute, you decide that you want to get all your holiday preparation finalised. Among these preparations, you will have to make the decision about when you are going to exchange your currency. Some would argue that this may be the most important thing to think about. Because what is a holiday without money? 

Depending on where you are traveling to, it will be a good idea to compare US currency rates, for example, in plenty of time before exchanging your currency to ensure that you get the best value for your money. 

But when is the best time to exchange your currency? Well, we’re about to find out. 

Exchange Rates

Before learning more about when you should exchange your currency, it won’t do us any harm to go into greater detail about what exchange rates are. In short, it is how much your pounds or dollars will be worth in a foreign currency. It is no surprise that different parts of the world will have different currencies, so it will be in your best interest to know which currency you will be exchanging your money into before doing so. 

To give yourself a brief estimate about how much your money could be worth, using currency exchange sites like XE and being pointed in the right direction by other recommended places like Best Exchange Rates, are great ways to compare and save on your foreign exchange in plenty of time before your holiday. You will also find that if a currency is strong, it will be worth a lot more than others, and will produce a higher value when you do get around to exchanging it for foreign currency.

The Best Time to Exchange Currency

So, when is the best time to think about exchanging your money into foreign currency? Well, there is never a right time to do this. Ultimately, it falls to the financial situation of an individual. If you don’t have the necessary funds in your bank to be able to exchange your money at least one month before, some people decide to do it several weeks before. However, even if you know that you won’t be able to complete this transaction until your holiday is drawing closer, there is never any harm in checking out comparison sites and live updates several months in advance. 

If anything, this will be able to give you a rough idea about what the currency rates are looking like, and whether there will be any reason for them to spike or fall at the time when you are expected to exchange yours for your holiday. If the currency is falling, you may want to exchange your money before it has a chance to spike again. On the other hand, if it is rising, you might want to wait a bit longer until it is at an acceptable price again. 

Is There a Bad Time to Exchange Currency?

Yes. You’d be surprised to know that there is a bad time to exchange currency. And this is when you are at the airport waiting to board your flight. Because they know that you will have no other choice but to get your currency at the airport if you leave it until the last minute, they tend to increase their rates, thus leaving you in a financial situation that is anything less than ideal. In fact, you run the risk of losing out on money, which is why it is recommended that you exchange your money before you travel to the airport. 

If you are left worrying that you might need to exchange your currency at the airport because you don’t know where you can do it, then worry not. Today, there are many places online that allow you to exchange your currency, so that you don’t have to do it at the airport. XE and Best Exchange Rates, that have been previously mentioned, along with MoneySavingExpert have great comparison rates that you can use to see which site may be the best one for you. The great thing about this is that it’s not time consuming either, so you can do it while waiting for your tea to be cooked or when you are looking for holiday clothing online. 

We hope this article has given you a brief idea about when the best and worst times are to exchange currency. Of course, the only person that matters in this situation is you, so you need to do what is in your best interest, especially when money is concerned.