Money, money, money. Money!

“Money is good for nothing unless you know the value of it by experience”.

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…whichever #culture we come from - there are a lot of taboos and norms, do’s and don’ts when it comes to #money. Personally, the time I find myself thinking about money more (and its value in particular) is when I travel. 🌍 My most used app is often XE Currency Converter. And of course, we tend to convert back to ‘our’ currency or frame of #reference.

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Having started 2023 in Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 , I had a lot of practise trying to comprehend hyper #inflation. How, despite goods being 4x more expensive in Sri Lankan rupees (SLR), their value in euros hadn’t changed significantly. Whenever I overheard tourists debating leaving a 50 or 100 rupee tip my blood began to boil. 0-100 SLR is €0.12 - 0.25 cents!

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A bit of perspective - an egg now costs around 55 rupees but, despite being the only source of affordable protein for their one meal a day, many households can no longer afford to eat eggs On a handful of occasions I just couldn’t help butting in (the look on peoples faces when I responded in Dutch was priceless).

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I gently explained to them the conversion rate, and what 100 rupees could buy you these days. My intention was to try and share a different #perspective - not get them to tip more or less. I’ve made my share of cultural faux pas when it comes to money - with millions of dong in Vietnam or feeling obligated to tip for a ☕️ to-go in the US.

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