A Good Time to be Paid in Yen?

Well, I just signed onto CNN.com and found myself confronted with a screaming headline "Bailout Rejected, Dow Has Record Plunge."

After reading for a bit longer, I checked the exchange rate for today and the dollar/yen ratio was at 103 meaning it dropped three yen in the last 24 hours. That's pretty extreme considering I expect it to drop further.

I get paid a fixed salary, but I am not going to be living in Japan forever and am literally making more or less money depending on what the rate is so it's definitely something to watch.

To give you an example of the difference it can make, I transfered some money home in January (trying to take advantage of the low rate), but was about 2 minutes late on the first day I went and the bank closed before I could exchange. Being late those two minutes and missing that initial exchange rate (which only went up about a yen or two the next day) cost me about $35 (ie I would have gotten $35 more had I exchanged with the better rate).
When you start to add up all those little differences and consider the opportunity cost of what you could do with the money you could be getting by taking advantage of the more favorable rates (or the money you could save)... it becomes a bigger deal.

When I arrived, the exchange was 120 yen to the US dollar. In January 2008, it dropped to the lowest it's been at since I've been here (at about 98 yen per US$), but in recent months, it has been back up and hovering around 104 or 106 yen. For my sake, it's a good thing if the dollar gets weaker (I suppose it's not the worst time to be paid in yen), but this financial news is obviously not good for my country.

Let' s just hope they come up with something better with the Bailout Plan B. And I am definitely looking forward to hearing the discussion about the current economic status at this week's Vice Presidential debate!