For anyone who is not British - the pound is not doing too well against the Euro. Nor has it been for some time.
Today's bank rate is around 1.1€ to the pound.
But exchanging euros for pounds down the high street has been around 97 cents for a pound since the New Year.
The cross border workers are not happy.
Those who live in Spain have seen a sharp drop in the money they take home as soon as they exchange it into euros.
This time last year it was around 1.30€ to the pound, and the year before it was 1.40€ and higher.
Everyone was very gleeful, times were good. Cross border workers were paid a good rate in sterling, and then exchanged it for lots of euros for their Spanish life.
People laughed at us for living in a small poky flat and paying expensive prices in sterling in Gib.
Everything in Spain was - by comparison - so much cheaper.
Not any more. Lots more people are shopping in Gib before they go back home across the border.
Workers are complaining to their bosses that their money doesn't go as far.
Excuse me sweethearts, it is hardly the fault of your bosses that a) the pound has slumped against the euro and b) you happen to live in Spain.
Quite honestly, people who live near enough to travel to Gib are the lucky ones. There are plenty of Brits in Spain who can't get jobs at all. There are plenty of Spaniards too.
Anyway, as far as I am concerned, it costs the same or less now in Gib than it does in Spain for my preferred brand of cava. What an irony. Cheap cava in Gib. Important to get one's priorities right in life.
Apparently, sterling improved slightly against the euro yesterday. I will be waiting to see what happens with interest. Perhaps the pound will climb just enough to hit the right level for entering the eurozone?
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3 comments:
Waiting with interest here as well. After retiring twenty two years ago with interest rates touching 15% and 200 pts to the £, it has been downhill ever since on money matters. 30% drop in pension value over two years, and interest barely worth collecting, except that we need every cent Even so, life is better here in Spain than it would be in the UK. Not that we couldn't do with the heating allowance at the moment, with orange wood at 17¢ a kilo. Enough winging...As Annie said ... the sun'll be out tomorrow.
I like this track - Juanes....very nice indeed.
on the post subject, I will comment a wee bit later because I have a chopping fest (veg chopping to attend to at this very moment) however, I wondered how much you pay for Cava in Gib?
It was £3 a bottle here just before Christmas, about £3.75 now.
I think the UK will soon forgo our beloved £1 and go to the Euro.
Already in Scotland some shops, a great deal of them esp. in Edinburgh, accept the Euro as it is more or less equal pegging.
more later, just wanted to comment on this interesting post. Very relevant at the moment.
Have to look up Cava !!!
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