The soaring loonie

Squeaking in... last minutes... that is me.

Our soaring loonie is a bit unreal. From my banking friends, I know that this isn't exactly the best thing for Canada's economy... but I love seeing our dollar's strength. The buying power, and cheaper holidays in warmer climes. I don't understand why for some items there is such a price discrepancy... I know that down south they have a larger population which equals more buying power... but since when does a pair of baby's Stride Right shoes go for $20 and here go for $60? Why does a tire cost $98 bucks down there, and the same one is $200 here??? I don't mind the couple of bucks difference on books and magazines (and that gap is closing now or retailers are going with the southern price)... or even on items that were bought when the dollar was at a lower rate but those kind of differences blow my mind. It makes shopping excursions down south really make sense. You can save a lot of money!

I think back 5 years when we headed to San Diego for a dear friend's wedding... A dollar got us about 62 cents down south... over the summer... a buck netted us about 90 cents... right now... we get close to $1.09!!!!!!! Wow. It makes me somewhat giddy in a way because we are heading down south for the weekend and are getting tires. It is 1/2 the price it would be here, for better tires. On the other hand, I am proud of how Canada's economy is rolling to have such a strong dollar but filled with mixed feelings when I think of the American economy and how much things have changed in 5 short years for the dollar to do that kind of swing, or when you hear about what is happening in escrow and the sub-prime market - that is some scary stuff!