The thing I don't get is how the USA can shit their pants as badly as they have since throwing Trump in charge, and yet their dollar somehow still has value. That's fucking wild.

I recommend you check out the Big Mac Index as it makes this stuff easier to understand.

The fact that $1CAD is worth less than $1USD or €1 doesn't mean much. It's just numbers printed on a screen/plastic/paper. What matters is what it buys.

The Big Mac Index was developed by The Economist to make this easier to understand. It calculates what what a Big Mac costs in each country against a common currency. It doesn't matter if $1USD = $1CAD or $1,000CAD. What matters is what that buys.

In 2022 - the year the graphic in the posted link corresponds to, a Big Mac cost $5.35 in the US and $5.17 in Canada when using the same (USD) currency. This implies that the effective difference in purchasing power is a paltry 3.5%.

If a burger is $5USD in the US and $7CAD in Canada, and the exchange rate is $1USD = $1.40CAD then those prices are the same.

I was just in Japan where I was paying 5000¥ for a fancy coffee - which was about $4.5CAD - roughly what I'd pay here in Canada.

1. Strength of the currency doesn't work like that, 1 Kuwaiti buck = 3.2USD, yet the median salary is barely a third of third of US salaries after conversion.

2. Instead of converting, you can:

Get a bank account that doesn't charge for international withdrawals and withdraw money from a foreign ATM (look up other foreigners experiences with the ATM, some, especially in europe are literal scams) your bank almost certainly has a better rate than any retail currency exchange.

Exchange a little currency, then use a CC with no foreign currency fee for anything that isn't cash only.

Wise Card. Idk, I've seen other foreigners use it.

Western Union, Money gram, etc, if you need the equivalent of a wire transfer, but don't have bank account in the receiving country. This is good if you need a big sum of local cash, say to pay rent or to buy a vehicle or something.

I keep a little USD in my shoe just in case, like 150 bucks. Only ever needed it to pay some embassy fees.

Where are you traveling to?

I almost always convert cash before I go, from CAD. VBCE has a decent rate even on low amounts of like 150 CAD. If your local exchange will match "any Canadian currency exchange" then check these rates and ask to match. If I didn't bring enough, then I do a little research for no or low fee ATMs then cough up whatever it is.

If you convert from CAD to USD then EUR, you will pay forex fees twice unless you have some special card or US$ account. If you travel a lot, then a forex fee free credit card should be something you consider, unless your points or cashback program is worth more than 2.5%.

Exchange rates vary. Cost of living varies. Purchasing power parity varies. Travel one year, and it's cheap, and the next it's expensive. Pick destinations accordingly.

(I recommend Chile).

Using MasterCard/VISA are easier for the sake of not getting robbed.

I would exchange for the destination currency at a bank before traveling if I needed cash.

Nobody wants Canadian money outside of Canada. It means nothing to anyone but us. A US dollar on the other hand is instantly recognizable anywhere and the value is understood. A Canadian bill would be a curiosity.