Mental gymnastics

One interesting thing about all of this European travel is that we always have to switch mental gears when it comes to currency. The foundation of our finances is still the dollar. I'm paid in U.S. dollars in a U.S. bank, and the 401(k) that I had until the bubble burst is in U.S. dollars, so everything still comes down to dollars for me.

Most of Europe, of course, uses the Euro as its currency. We had to deal with that during our recent trip to France. As I've mentioned before, in Switzerland, where the national motto is "We Aren't At All Like the Rest of Europe and We're Going to Prove It to You at Every Opportunity," they use the Swiss franc. This means that we have one drawer in our house that contains Euros, Swiss francs, and dollars so that we can be prepared for any situation (although I suppose it's unlikely that I'll suddenly find myself in the United States on only an hour's notice).

Here's how they stack up: today, one Euro will get you $1.25 or so. One dollar will get you CHF 1.17. ("CHF," obviously, stands for "Swiss franc.") Do the math, and one Euro will get you CHF 1.48. So, when I'm driving down a freeway in France and I see gas for 1.30 a liter, my mental calculations go something like this: "One Euro thirty a liter is about CHF 1.90 a liter, which is maybe about $1.55 a liter. A liter is roughly equivalent to a quart, so this gas is only costing me about $6.20 per gallon. Woo-hoo!!!"

I've mentioned that life is pretty expensive here. The dollar and the Swiss franc are close enough that you can look at something priced in Swiss francs and see it as dollars, but it is true that it's actually close to a fifth less than the actual price on the label. So a bottle of soda that costs CHF 3.50 from the vending machine at the train station really only costs me $3, quite a bargain. My CHF 38 haircut only really runs me $32.