Do you have a foreign currency account?

[Miljea]

Am thinking about changing my bank as the account I have is being downgraded.

One new possibility is one with an optional FC account.

Given the uncertainty of the times ahead, would it be an idea to set one up?

We have a Monzo account. It doesn’t charge us to use our money in other currencies, just the base exchange rate.

Thanks.

Can I ask why you have the account? Do you need to 'deal' in different currencies, or is it just to avoid crashes?

Look on money saving expert website

I think if you really understand FX, it is worth it, but if you don't particularly want to spend the time getting to grips with it, you will just end up screwing yourself over.

We've been teetering close to the brink of another global recession for a while, and there's now no slack whatsoever in the system (see what central bankers were saying at Davos) so when it does eventually come, it's likely to be much harder and much more destructive than the most recent one. If you aren't that savvy economically, I would recommend that you don't get involved in FX unless you need a foreign account for some reason.

Thanks. I won't lie, I am thinking about the potential for a crash-out Brexit when sterling will tank.

I am far too old to weather that financially!

I wouldn't be so concerned about that, tbh. The eurozone is already quite far into the precursor for recession, so even if there's a run on sterling, I wouldn't place your hopes on the euro. Especially as no deal could have enormous implications for Germany especially, with its balance of trade: they're already in technical recession also. Dollars possibly, though it depends what goes on with China, and the impact of corinavirus on the Chinese economy. Yen might be better, but their debt ratio is appalling. I actually don't think you need to worry about mitigation for sterling, as there may be no mitigation at all, unfortunately. By which I mean, sterling may tank, but it's highly likely that other hard currencies will have also, or will be in the process of doing so.

I'm surprised that the recession isn't here already, tbh- corinavirus has the potential to be the tipping point, but so, to be fair, do a lot of things. If you feel you are too old to weather this storm, I'd recommend on focusing on eliminating any debt, including mortgage (though you may have already done this of course) and diversifying any investment assets as best as you can (ie across a range of funds/sectors/countries). It's entirely possible that I am wrong, of course, but I think what's knocking at the door is going to make what we went through with Black Monday etc a cakewalk. And it will last longer thanks to the easy popularity of low interest rates and quantative easing . I find it extremely concerning, but tbf, I'm an economist and we're always concerned about something

Thanks Hefzi for the insight and advice.

We're debt free, thankfully. We own our probably £500k house outright, and have I think (I know I should know!) £250,000 in investments, in Old Mutual, which I think are reasonably spread and earning us zero...

Our retained bank account in Oz is earning 3% (on £30,000)! We may or may not ever return there, and of course there are tax implications of sticking cash all over the place.

I guess our worry is that if Sterling tanks upon hard Brexit, as it will, we won't be able to sell up and return to Oz if our house and investments become worth much less.

We have a euro account, but as dh was working in the EZ and we were living there for the past 13 years, we needed it. Once we have disentangled ourselves from the last clinging Brussels tendrils, then we will close the account.

As Hefzi says, reading the runes from the World bank and the ECB it isn't looking good for the EZ, and I am no economist at all.

I looked into this. I'm self-employed and for a while was earning 75% of my money in euros. I was then getting the euros through paypal, paying a conversion fee for changing them into pounds, then into my savings account to be converted back into euros for holiday spending.

I couldn't find a free UK based bank account which would hold my currency in euros and let me do transfers and payments like I can on my sterling bank account. The fees charged for holding the account I worked out were more than what i'd be paying in conversion charges.

I'm also very wary of sites/cards which state they don't take commission for changing currency. That's maybe true but they aren't operating out of the goodness of their own hearts and no commission is usually offset by a poorer exchange rate.