I checked some major world currencies against the dollar this morning. One US dollar buys the following: 0.498828 (British pound), CN$1.1227 (Canadian dollar), 0.73524 (Euro), AUS$1.19574 (Australian dollar).
These figures are effectively putting a stranglehold on Americans vacationing abroad. They add up the airfare, hotel or vacation rental charges, cost of a rental car and eating out in restaurants, and decide that the budget simply cannot be stretched that far.
But this is where home exchange comes into its own. Plan a home swapping vacation and the only major cost is for the airfare to reach your destination. No hotel, no rental home, probably no rental car, and eating out can be reduced drastically. In short, the very home you live in can be your passport to an exciting and affordable vacation.
No money ever changes hands between home exchange partners. You are in their home while they are in yours. You pay all your home expenses such as mortgage, utilities, etc. as you normally would. Its sometimes agreed that people pay for their own phone calls, if they are likely to be excessive once the exchange is completed and the phone bills...