Fall of loonie affecting Windsorites’ financial planning

By Felicia Patterson

Many Windsorites are being affected by the drop in value of the Canadian dollar—some are benefiting, while others are not.

As the value of the loonie remains low, people living in Canada who work in the U.S are able to convert their earnings and gain a few extra dollars. The Canadian dollar is currently 72 cents US. If a person earned an income of US$400 bi-weekly, with the exchange rate their earnings would amount to C$688. That is an extra C$288.

One Windsor man who works in Detroit said he finds the low value of the loonie beneficial.

“I go to the U.S. for work Monday through Friday. The Canadian dollar being worth 73 cents US actually benefits me by me working in the States,” said auditor David Cox who is an American citizen with a permanent residence in Canada. “The exchange rate is great with U.S. currency.”

According to a Windsor travel agent, travel has not come to a halt since the plummet of the Canadian dollar, but some people are seeking more affordable vacation spots.

“There’s still people travelling, they’re just not going to the United States. They’re going down to Cuba, Dominican or Mexico, where they don’t have to worry about the US dollar,” said Scott Anderson,  general manager of Ticket Wicket Travel. “To go to all inclusives down in the Caribbean where you’re paying in Canadian dollars before you go, it’s not that bad.”

When it comes to investing money, one financial planner advises those who had investments before the Canadian dollar plummeted to hold out, as the market has its ups and downs.

“The low value of the Canadian dollar will affect the way people invest their money because people who were already in the market have lost money. If you have a really good advisor, they’ll tell you to stay put because the markets have gone down, but the markets will go back up,” said Jeff Castaneda, a financial planner at IG Investors Group. “People right now are panicking.”

Castaneda said it is best to invest and buy company shares now while the market is down.

“When you go to the grocery store and things are on sale, you’re going to buy twice as much as usual, so why wouldn’t you do that in the market,” said Castaneda. “At a time like this, it’s the best time to buy. Right now markets are on sale.”

Some Windsorites say the low value of the loonie influences how and where they shop.

“It does affect my shopping  but I would say in a good way because I shop more here in Canada for some particular things that I would usually get in the States due to the exchange rate,” said Cox. “My budgeting has changed for the good thanks to the exchange rate from US to Canadian currency.”

The exchange from Canadian to American dollars has been on a steady decrease since 2014, but Castaneda says not to worry because markets always fluctuate.

“Markets go down and they go up. It’s always been that way, history proves it,” said Castaneda.