Here in 🇦🇷 Argentina, they like to mix things up a bit.
Just when you get used to prices doubling every two weeks, the inflation slows down and stabilizes against the dollar. We have been one to one (thousand) for about six months now. It varies from the 900 for a dollar to around 1050 for a dollar, up and down, but it has been near 1000. Of course, we cannot pay for anything with dollars (yet - keep reading) but most people get their money, then convert it to dollars so it does not lose value, so they think, and it is saved up in stacks to buy things later.
I said that we had gone one to 1000 above but, according to my family in The States, prices are now rising pretty fast there. So has Argentina's inflation really evened out or has the dollar just fallen in value ie; inflated? Is the dollar starting to do what the peso starting doing in the year 2000
Strange that when a tire is flat, you can fill it up and it becomes more useful, that is to say - it works, but when a currency inflates it doesn't work like it used to and it becomes useless in the end.
Well, let me get to the burden that has just gotten a bit lighter. I am talking about the size of the suitcase or backpack that I need to take with me when I change out my money.
Last week, I could take a 100 dollar note and change it out for something the size of a really long deck of playing cards. You have to count out 100 of those 'cards' though because each one is only worth one dollar. I think I posted about that in the past, I mean, that our largest bill is worth only a dollar.
Well, if you are paying rent and would like to continue having electricity in your home, you would have to change close to a thousand dollars per month, and there is the rub. That is a million pesos. We are no longer talking about a deck of cards as far as the stack of cash that you have to carry. It is more liked ten stacks of one thousand dollars each or about the size of four pounds of flower, you know, the ones in the paper pack that you cannot really shut after you open them. The cash is just as heavy too.
Well, today they just released a new 10,000 note and as usual, I had to post about it.
Here it is. . .
The paper is much thinner and because it will soon be worth nearly nothing anyway, They did not bother to make it counterfeit proof. They have one really nice Argentina sun that glows differently when you rotate it against the light.
I hope I caught it well enough. And it now has our former biracial president on the face of it.
Changing money will now be ten times easier. That means I can carry a thousand dollars in argie-notes in one pocket. Yes, if I choose to do so, each one of my jeans pockets could be a millionaire! Before now, if I filled each pocket with a stack that equaled 100 dollars, I could only carry one stack in each pocket and they would only total 400,000 (or 400 dollars). Now I can carry 4,000,000 in my jeans, but I would have to leave my phone, wallet, and keys at home.
Dollarization
I heard a rumor that our head politician has been buying up paper notes, the kind with Benjamin on the face in order to convert the country to USA money. Good thing too as that currency will feel right at home here. Then I can carry backpacks full of those around every month as I pay my bills.
You might ask, "Hey Sponge-bob, why are you even using paper money if it is inflating away to kindle?"
I don't. I carry a crypto wallet and I trade my coins for dollars or when I can, I just pay stores in crypto. But even though the purchase of backpacks full of money is paid for in crypto (or dollars recently bought with crypto), I still have the weighty results of a back aching trip home with wads and wads of paper.
"Why don't you just use your debit card?" you ask. I am not a fan of people tracking my every movement as people do with their kids or their dogs. That's a bunch of $hit if you know what kind of movements I am talking about. I was born in a free country where the government could not concern themselves or even look at my private affairs without a warrant. I take the time to use cash so that they know their place in this relationship.
Those are my opinions. What are yours?
Greetings @sponge-bob ,
Thank you for posting about it. ^__^ Interesting the Gold inference on the paper..perhaps a sign of things to come.
So true regarding the use of credit cards or rather the non use of credit cards...if more of us thought that way....we would have privacy.
You reminded bleujay of a Principle....Without privacy, there is no freedom.
Kind Regards,
Bleujay
Ok. Good story that gives a complete picture of our crazy economy and the little or no value of the peso.
Just one detail to highlight, Manuel Belgrano was never president of Argentina nor was MarÃa Remedios del Valle, the mulatto woman who accompanies him in the engraving, both were heroes of Independence, although given how things went for us later, perhaps it would have been convenient to maintain the colony status.
Greetings @sponge-bob
I knew they were not presidents here in the land way down under. I tend to be more off the cuff and government heads are just people to me. Most are people who only know how to steal, especially here. When one actually does something worth talking about, I will learn their names - hehe.
I wish the USA would have stayed in the colony status after they had kicked ass on the Brits too. Thanks for stopping in to see what we are going through here.
It's interesting to hear about the currency dynamics in Argentina, especially with the introduction of the new 10,000 peso note. The comparison of the size and weight of currency notes to everyday items like playing cards and bags of flour provides a vivid picture of the practical challenges people face due to inflation.
The discussion about potential dollarization adds another layer of complexity to the situation. While using cryptocurrency offers some relief from the hassle of carrying physical cash, concerns about privacy and government oversight remain valid considerations for many.
Overall, your perspective sheds light on the tangible impact of economic policies on everyday life, highlighting the need for adaptability and resourcefulness in navigating financial realities.