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Paper Rich

Friends,
Wanna feel rich? Come to Argentina! The discrepancy between the official (i.e., wishful thinking) peso at 350 ARS to the dollar, and gray market (i.e., real) exchange rate of 1,000 ARS per dollar, means cash is king — after all, who wants to pay nearly triple for the convenience of using their foreign credit card? While the largest note is 2,000 pesos, they are as rare as two dollar bills. The workhorse of the economy is the 1,000 peso bill (worth about a buck), so you’re gonna want to walk around with one or more 100K ARS wads in your pocket — unless, as established, getting gypped on the exchange rate is your thing. As a side note, the smallest circulating note is 10 pesos, or as I like to call it the one penny bill. So you walk around the Paris of the Americas spending tens of thousands, all the while you feel like you’re getting a screaming deal on everything — probably because you are.
Tonight as I head back to the states I will bring home a grateful heart, a ton of great memories\ and a few great items I couldn’t resist purchasing. I’m also tempted to bring home a wad of bills, but as fast as the currency is losing value, I probably won’t.


Happy Friday!

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