[kwlug-disc] consulting fees

[Kyle Spaans]

On Fri, Feb 23, 2018 at 11:47 AM Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com> wrote:

> On Fri, Feb 23, 2018 at 11:41 AM, Dave Cramer <davecramer at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On 23 February 2018 at 11:34, Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com> wrote:
>>
>>> The majority of my clients are outside Canada, so I get wire transfers
>>> often.
>>>
>>> Incoming wire fees will be around $37.50 or less. Some countries are
>>> higher.
>>>
>>> Also, the USD is higher than the CAD for the time being. But if it
>>> shifts the other way (and it did for many years) you eat up the difference.
>>>
>>> Banks offer different US chequing accounts. Some give you lower fees or
>>> flat per-transaction fee, others have preferred transfer rates. You can get
>>> your bank to open a US chequing account, and change the type when you want
>>> to transfer funds, then change it back. This works only if you have a
>>> buffer of CAD to weather the USD/CAD fluctuations. I strongly advise that
>>> though, since you can make up 5% more in currency difference if you wait
>>> for 8 or 10 months rather than do it monthly at whatever rate is in effect.
>>>
>>
>> I use a currency exchange that will sell futures on the dollar.  This
>> means you can lock in a rate. There of course is a downside. If you sell
>> 50k of futures you have to use it. FWIW, all the currency traders I talk to
>> expect the USD to be stronger for the foreseeable future. If you are
>> interested in the currency exchange contact me off list. Either way they
>> have significantly better rates than the banks.
>>
>
> When it comes to money, I am a conservative (not much in other spheres).
>
> That means I don't do options or futures or any of that.
>
> In good years when I had an excess in USD, I bought (through my bank)
> mutual funds that are in USD. If the market is down when you need the
> money, the difference in currency can make up for the bear market when you
> sell the mutual funds and sell the USD in CAD.
>

Another thing you can do to save on conversion rates if you’re converting
large amounts (around $10k or so at a time) is called Norbert’s Gambit.
Basically you use a brokerage to buy a special fund that trades in both USD
and CAD: buy with one and sell with the other. The spread between the two
funds will be kept close to the live exchange rate by traders. You need to
ask for a special account with the brokerage though.

http://www.moneysense.ca/magazine-archive/norberts-gambit-a-better-way-to-buy-u-s-dollars/

>
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