How has the rising Canadian dollar affected your purchasing habits?

Loonie shoots for parity with the US Dollar http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/18092007/2/biz-finance-loonie-shoots-parity-u-s-fed-rate-cut.html What's the loonie worth right now?...

Loonie shoots for parity with the US Dollar
http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/18092007/2/biz-finance-loonie-shoots-parity-u-s-fed-rate-cut.html

What's the loonie worth right now?
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CADUSD=X

rachelle_ld30	The Canadian dollar has about as much purchasing power as the US Dollar. Bah! The Federal Reserve Note (US dollar) has lost 96% of its purchasing power since 1913.

jaming_eye	I actually buy less because the prices on magazines, books and clothes are still showing old rates. To get my money's worth, I have to go to the States to buy books or I get completely sr@wed over!

Kevante	Its a bit of a joke really, my spending habits have been affected greatly due to the fact that Canadian corporations refuse to match pricing to those of our US counter parts. For example Car prices. There are very large gaps in the pricing of many common and high end vehicles. I am noticing more and more of personal friends going south of the US boarder to purchase their dream cars and pocketing a large savings. Even after all the boarder duties and fee. Take for example a US priced HONDA S2000, a lovely sports car, in the USA it would run you 34,000 dollars to start, plus the usual fees but just to keep this example simple, we will take this gross 34,000 figure as a base. If you look to the Canadian Honda website then you will notice the same car with the same basic features and trim will start at 50,000 dollars. 16,000 dollars difference? Surely there must be something wrong here, maybe it comes with something extra. Unfortunately not, your paying for an inflated price. And as the Canadian dollar rises above the US dollar due to our resource rich roots pegged to the price oil. It would not surprise me in the least if the Canadian Government was lobbied heavily by affected Canadian interests to raise import duties. As opposed to becoming more aggressive with their pricing. What can i say its the easier option. What are you thoughts on this? Have you gone shopping south of the boarder lately? Cheers Kevanté

wood b	I work for a company that exports, so chances are I'm going to lose my job.........my car............my house, etc!

dns1962	The healthy Loonie has not actually affected me. I am on a strict budget for the next 2 years. However, watching the Loonie's habits helps me analyze my spending and savings habits. If I was not on my strict budget, I feel that I would invest a bit more in the market to shore up retirement options.

surepick	Went on ebay.ca to purchase already great prices.

nobs	Why go on and on. It's just a mask. We Canadians still get it in the butt at the end of the day.

spencer l	Of course, most of the imported consumer products's cost goes lowest, therefore, it is quite benefit for us to buy more.

angel f	buying American dollar, is cheap and in a near future will be up againg, and I can travel next year, with a lot of money,jejejejejeje save save save !!! American dollar

Liz Straight	Yippee Yahoo!!!! that's what we all think about our $ = the USA $.... It's about time.... With Bush at the helm down there and the economy, crooked financiers... KARMA... We deserve to be at par if not higher.. It's about time. Liz Straight Proud to be a Canadian and have paid for it....

Deryck H	I plan on purchasing a few electronic items in the coming weeks from stores in Buffalo. The stronger dollar will make the trip there worth the effort. As well, domestic air fares in the U.S. are more of a great bargain now. I can travel to New York city from Buffalo for $140 USD which is pratically $140 Canadian dollars!!!!.

hotstackboy	buy on the internet to stop the greedy canadian ripoff artists.

rufus-p-	The Canadian Auto dealerships had better shape up their price listings on new Cars because they won't sell another car to anyone looking to buy within 200miles from the border!!

pastrbuzz	Consumer Prices are generally not affected by the dollar strength- we still have a market economy and the price will be what the market will bear. We still pay high prices because we can and we will. If we alter our consuming practices, the market will react. Retailers will have to reduce prices in order to generate sales if sales in Canada decrease. The best way to make that happen is to stop consuming so much- or buy in the US or online until such time as the market adjusts to where it should be. Why is the Canadian economy still going strong despite US slowdown? Because our retailers profits have risen 30% in 3-4 years -- if you really want to take advantage of the $$-- become a retailer or importer!!

bobby_cormier20032003	I will be buying my next vehicle in the USA. No one can seem to answer why vehicles in Canada are so expensive compared to the USA. Example: Honda Pilot LX in Canada is $40,000 CDN(plus tax), however in the USA it is $31500 US(plus tax). This SUV is actually built in, you guessed it Canada. Until the Canadian auto industry stops stiffing Canadians on the prices of vehicles and actually lowering them to american values, I believe that we as canadian consumers should purchase our vehicles south of the border. In the end, if we all send that message as customers, then maybe they will stop ripping us off. We need to send the Canadian Auto Industry a very important message, because in the end we as consumers decide their fate. Just ask GM and Ford just how consumers have an impact on their business.

Robert H	It has postponed my return to Canada from Taiwan, as the exchange is too unfavourable. Does that mean I will be an economic refugee down the road? However, that said, I am glad it is on par with the us dollar - I hope the us dollar drops to .60 Cdn - maybe all the yank corporations in Canada will sell off their cdn holdings and run for the Tennessee Hills (that would be a good thing).

Sue G	It just makes it a little more attractive to know that our Dollar is where it is! I try to control what I spend anyway's ...I'm not going to run off to the U.S. and purchase like crazy . It's like the Department store sale commercial when the guy comes home with loads of bags, and say's "Look honey how much I've saved!!" I'm thinking to myself... no...look how much you spent! Sue

it d	With the rise in the dollar and Canadian Retailers dragging the feet when it come to adjusting the prices to reflect this change, i find myself going over the boader to pick up items that cost double in Canada.

Michael	I work cross border and this bites! I started working at 60% and now it's par? I'm losing my livelihood because their is no Canadian market in my area to absorb the jobs due to current downsizing and such, so I get burned either way. That being said though - I love that our dollar is gaining in strength - hopefully Canadians will wake up and see that the US is dependent on us for more than they think, and that Canada is poised to take over as a dominant trading partner and source on the world stage. We need to start refining our own oil, and now more than ever use our strong dollars to bulk purchase American based goods for stockpiling and redistribution to foreign economies that are as yet untapped and underserviced

J	Travelling to the states has become more affordable compared to when the dollar was worth 30 cents less in 2002. I have definitely considered travelling to the US more often. I don't believe our dollar has risen in value relative to other countries besides the states, so travelling elsewhere wont save us much as Canadians. The high dollar hasn't affected my spending within Canada.

gigglesswt4	It hasn't. The prices are all still the same. So if someone wasn't keeping up with current events, they wouldn't even know the Canadian dollar had gone up.

lmusatro	I have yet to see the consequences of this loonie growth. I don't think it is visible in the shelf prices right now. Also, I don't believe the difference will be mind-blowing. It's not like things will cost half their present price. Am I wrong?

SteveYYC	It hasn't. Imported goods seem to be just as expensive as ever. The only advantage is when you order something directly from the States (like Ebay). BTW, I work for a retailer, and I can tell you the goods we import from the US are still being marked up 50% for 'exchange'. As usual, Canadians seem happy to be taken advantage of!

irish1	I buy more books from US online bookstores.

Bill H	I think the CDN dollar should be on parity with US dollar. Has it effected my purchasing. Yes. I will no longer be buying books or Magazines until they change their amounts. There should be no difference in the US / CDN pricing for the same book.

Maximillian	It hasn't. I do not wish to travel far from home for regular purchases. My area is well stocked with any things I have need of and all at affordable prices. We are not well informed though mail or advertising by US companies regarding non taxable items for importation. I am 60 miles from the border.

dalecalder2003	I don't travel in the U.S. very much or do much buying there but there is an angle to this story that isn't getting as much publicity . The Canadian Dollar is also improving against the Euro. Two or three years ago it took $1.76 to buy a Euro and right now it is trading in the $1.30 range. I do a lot of travel in Europe and that is really great news.

laurelanne31	When our dollar was getting up to the .89 cent area, I did buy a bit more than usual from the US. When it went to .93 cents, I bought more from a US based store. NOW, it is almost at par with the US dollar, and I'd like to buy more, BUT, I overspent the last time and have to pay that first! I think it will go down again and will feel like I "missed out" on better deals. At least if it isn't a book.

ewart_k	My purchasing habits haven't been affected by the rising US Dollar. I may be more likely to make shopping trips across the border, but that's about it. Unitl it affects the prices of items in stores, I'll be spending the same as always.

garyducas	i shop more in the states only live 4 miles from the border

Molly B	The rising Canadian dollar hasn't affected my purchasing habits one bit. For one thing, I don't do any shopping in the U.S. It's such a pain going over the border from Sarnia to Port Huron, with customs officers having a hay-day with prolonging the procedure. There is usually a long wait to get across the bridge.