[ssorrrento]

I was left GBP 10,000 last year by an uncle. With the exchange rate as it is, it would be worth less than AUD 15,000.

Because I'm comparing to 5-6 years ago when we brought our funds over and got 2.5 times the amount of GBP, it seemed to make sense to leave the 10k in the UK until the exchange rate is more favourable.

But will it ever be anywhere near that again?

If I brought the money over, I would use it to bolster our savings over here, as we've used the bulk of them in some recent home improvements. So essentially, it would sit in savings over here, rather than in the UK.

What would be the best course of action? Leave it in the UK in the hope that the exchange rate picks up, or bite the bullet and bring it over now?

[PrincessPeach]

Unless you desperatly need the money, i'd leave it there - so long as it was earning a bit of interest (just don't forget to declare that interest on your aussie tax return)

At the moment, i can't see the exchange rates going back to those levels for another few years. My friend who is an economist is even more doom & gloom, she thinks exchange rates will get worse & in the next 5 years europe will become as affordable as the USA is.

[geishagirl]

Interest rates are not very good in the UK at the moment whilst Aussie interest rates are pretty good, so that is something to consider as well.

If you can find a decent deal in the UK with a high interest rate (much easier if you are happy to lock the money away for around 3-5 years), then worth leaving it there. If not, then I would transfer it over and earn better interest here, again maybe in longer-term no-access account.

ETA: The UK is heading for another recession and it is unlikely that exchange rates will improve much any time soon.

This post has been edited by geishagirl: 11/04/2012, 01:17 PM

[opethmum]

Another one for leave it and see what becomes of it. If you absolutely need the money then do what is necessary for you to access the funds. As long as the money is in your name then I would make myself forget and see if it builds a nice little nest egg.
And of course declare that on your tax return, do not want to get in trouble with those guys.

[*LucyE*]

Unless you really need the money, leave it over there. Do you see yourself traveling over there in the next few years? Having some funds there and not having to pay currency conversion fees may save you more than any potential interest earned here.

[countrymel]

If you really need it then bite the bullet and transfer.

But if you can wait it out then that is the track I'd be taking - especially if you do travel to the UK or need to buy anything in the UK.

My Mum was English and always maintained a bank account in 'old blighty' that she used for when she was visiting or for when she needed to contribute to family things (when her parents were alive stuff would come up quite frequently or gifts/flowers etc. needed for birthdays funerals et. al)

As a child I used to play the exchange rate with my birthday money sent from there - the bank staff in our little local branch would comment "We thought we would be seeing you today!" when I would scuttle in clasping my 5 pound notes on the morning after the dollar had slipped dramatically against the pound!

[ssorrrento]

Thanks for the comments.
It's reiterating what I thought.

I do keep money in the UK for when we go back, but I didn't want to fritter this money away on sundries. To me, it's a substantial amount that I wanted to put to good use by offsetting against the mortgage.

However, if I'm not going to get much for it by bringing it over, I really won't bother.

[Bluenomi]

I'd leave it if you could. My MIL got some money after her mum died and left it there for her next UK holiday, got some interest in the mean time and no conversion fees when she used it