things i enjoy about nz, part 3

given what i heard on the news it only seems appropriate i discuss this today. one benefit to living in another country, particularly new zealand, is the exchange rates. currently 1 usd can equals 0.73 nzd. while sometimes things can be more expensive as a result, it can also mean savings when your money is based in usd.

exchange rates

one way this is favourable is my student loans. since i am american and thus am using financial aid from america, it means i'm getting a savings. though my exchange rate wasn't determined when the nz dollar was this low (close enough, though), i'm basically getting 25% off tuition.

when you're borrowing as much as i am to go to school internationally, any little bit helps! you'd think with how much my tuition is i'd get on campus accommodation or at least free books, though.

nzd vs. usd

on a similar note, another positive of the new zealand currency over united states currency is how much better it looks. first, i'll assume readers do not know what denominations either country has.

united states

coins: 1¢ (penny), 5¢ (nickel), 10¢ (dime), 25¢ (quarter), $1 (i actually didn't know they still made these, so they're rare)

bills: $1, $2 (awesome, but rare), $5, $10, $20, $50, $100

new zealand

coins: 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1, $2

bills: $5, $10, $20, $50, $100

okay. one pro the us has is that we've always been decimalised, though now that pretty much everyone is it's really a moot point. but i do like that we have a 25¢ piece, i find i need a quarter far more than two dimes. another plus is we have names for our coins. penny rolls off the tongue so much easier than "1 cent coin (or piece)". but it really ends there.

for starters, new zealand has $1 and $2 coins. the us has $1 coins too but please, the fact that i didn't even know they still made them is telling. most vending machines and other machines that takes coins doesn't take $1 coins in the us. another thing is sizes.

see, size does matter. in america, the size from one coin to the other is completely arbitrary. the penny is small, the nickel is bigger than the penny, yet the dime is smaller than than everything else (including the penny), and the quarter's the biggest of them all. including the no longer made 50¢ coin, it's even bigger than the $1 coin. i haven't held a $1 coin in a long time (10 or 11 years) and i can't remember if it's bigger than the quarter or not.

however, in new zealand, it all makes sense. the larger the denomination, the bigger it is. from smallest to largest, 10¢, 20¢, 50¢. the $2 coin is bigger than the $1 coin, and both are gold and far thicker, so there's no confusion. even the bills are like this, as the denomination increases so does the bill's size. it's brilliant. plus the bills are all different colours. while america is slowly adding colour to our rather drab dollar bills, the predominant colour is still green (hence the nickname greenback). another plus is not only does it make it easier for visitors or new immigrants to get used to a new currency, but if you're blind or visually impaired, you can actually tell the difference. i feel bad for any blind americans who hold a garage sale or something.