Live in UK paid in Euros?

[peders99]

Hello all, is anyone else living in the UK and gettinig paid in Euros? What's the best way to get money into Pounds?

Ta, Peders

[dynamite dean]

I was earning Euros living in UK. But unless your earning vast amount of money I dont always see what saving one can make. For example you see a rate of 1.10 to the pound remember thats a Interbanking rate ie what banks lend to each other and as we both know we never get that. I used to have a 0.04 digit adjustment to that rate eg 1.10 = 1.14 and unless your exchanging £5million the burglars (banks) wont give you that and then its on a sliding scale up to that rate . Open a foreign currency account if you wish and exchange only what you need. To be honest my view is that the euro being what it is against the pound (1.11) even with the Greece politics I just dont see it going much lower than that. That is to say its never been a better time to exchange to pounds despite your valid question.

just my view not nescessarily the right answer!

[hollingworthp]

I live in the UK and get paid in Euros.

Our company gives us two options.

Each month they allows us to pick whether to be paid in Euros or in Pounds. If you select pounds then they apply the average (mean average i think) exchange rate for the month and use this to convert. They tell us each month what exchange rate they will use and depending on whether the pound is going up or down dictates my choice.

If I go for euros then I take the lazy option and my bank converts it for me presumably using some over the odds interbank rate.

Our per-diems are always paid in euros and again I let my bank deal with it.

Most banks - as far as I know - have the option for foreign currency accounts which I guess you could use, but at some point you need that money in stirling to pay your bills etc.

[FlyboyUK]

Google a company called Transfermate, used them for several months now, good service and better rates than the banks.:ok:

[er340790]

Well, you're laughing at the moment if you can transfer @ 1.10 to the pound.

Used to get paid in Euros when it was 1.40-1.50. Had £ and Euro accounts with a major UK bank. If the trn was £10k+ you'd get their best forex rate, which was as good as anything elsewhere.

[buzzc152]

I also get paid in Euros though have the option to take sterling at a rate published each month by my company.

I opened up a euro account alongside my existing Barclays account. I can transfer between them at will free of charge (of course the bank makes something in the FX rate).

Right now euro vs pound is fairly agttractive. If it comes back to the levels we had a few years ago I would really have to look at moving abroad (no bad thing) or changing jobs.

Hung parliament ? I hope so (though I may be the only one :eek:).

Fly safe

[FlyboyUK]

The rate I got yesterday with the above mentioned organisation was 1.11 which is pretty competitive and no other fees due. Money in my account today.:ok:

[stansdead]

I sold a year's salary of Euros through Schneider FX at a set rate and bought Pounds.

Last year's rate was 1.125.

This year's is better at 1.113.

[Love_joy]

have a look at HIFX.co.uk, reputable business - good rates.

Shop around though, and remember you can play one broker off another. I'll always remember the image of my friend who had two different ones on the phone at the same time...

[320seriesTRE]

My wife and I trade currencies. The £ is on it's way up, as is the $.

Keep that in mind when you exchange money with long positions:ok:

[hugel]

Some things to think about:

a) in what currency do you get paid (EUR) ?
b) in what currency are your bills or outgoings (GBP or EUR) ?
c) where do you ultimately want to retire (or spend all your hard earned cash)
d) what time horizon can you look at ?
e) What banking facilities do you have ?

Every time you change money, it will cost you. Not just commission, but the spread between buy and sell price which is typically 6%. In addition you are likely to incur higher bank charges.

Currency rates move and this is likely to have a significant effect on the amount you earn when viewed in your home currency.

You can hedge any currency changes using derivatives, but this can be quite complex. A simpler solution would be to change a regular amount each month which will mitigate the risk somewhat in the long term. If you change a fixed amount of EUR each time you will also benefit from pound-cost-averaging.

In terms of investments remember diversity can be achieved by having investments both in EUR and GBP juristictions.

I am not an investment advisor , so seek specialist advice and raise some of these points.

hugel