You don't have to be a foreign exchange expert to have noticed that the dollar has been getting weaker lately. If you're a lesbian in American, chances are you've traveled outside the U.S. recently, and you've probably already noticed the trend. According to the travel industry market analysts, gays and lesbians are about four times more likely than the average American to hold a current passport.

According to a study from a few years ago, over 70% of LGBT Americans travel abroad each year, whereas the national average is 9%. Maybe we travel more because we're less likely to have children, or maybe we travel more because we're more likely to live in big cities. As far as lesbian life goes, I would conjecture that we travel to get away from that bar/club/restaurant that our ex-girlfriend frequents.

The last time you traveled outside the U.S., you probably noticed your dollar not quite getting you the souvenirs it used to. Even the Canadian dollar has bested the greenback recently, rising beyond one-to-one parity.


I'm sure many of you have stories about going to a cheap little cafe or restaurant in a country you had known a few years ago, only to discover it no longer seemed so cheap.

Whether you're planning a trip to Europe or a trip to the department store, the falling exchange rate of the dollar against most currencies will affect your pocket. When the dollar weakens, it impacts not just the exchange rates we pay when we travel abroad, but also the exchange rate applied to imported items. For some industries, like automobiles, the overseas manufacturer takes a lower profit margin, rather than increasing prices stateside. But this is generally a temporary situation and the exception. The bottom line: as the dollar falls, imports get more expensive.

Now, hold on. Is the U.S. dollar getting weaker or are the Canadian dollar and the euro getting stronger? Since exchange values are relative, it's technically the same thing to say "the dollar is weakening against the euro," versus "the euro is strengthening against the dollar." What makes these two statements different is the implied cause of the shift in value. In the case of the dollar, the value of the dollar has weakened over the past few years with respect to the euro, the pound, the Brazilian real, the Indian rupee and a host of other currencies (including, lately, yen). The U.S. dollar is being dragged down by low public and private savings rates and, now, low interest rates. Don't expect to see a reversal on the trend anytime soon.

So, how does an enterprising lesbian respond to this macro data? Do we put away our passports until this is all over? The local bar will get more exciting, anyway, right, with all the European and South American women coming through for a cheap vacation?

The are a few ways to take advantage of the dollar's decline. We can take advantage of the situation, rather than suffering through it.

1) Export. If you have a small (or medium-size) business, now is a great time to go international. This is not just for the high-powered CEOs out there. Whether you design web pages, make music or fix broken iPods, you could reap huge benefits from expanding your sales abroad. For one, your prices will look cheap to clients or consumers in other countries, which means less marketing to build your client base. Secondly, if you hold your revenues in the foreign currency, you benefit from the upside should the dollar keep falling.

2) Barter. We don't always need to rely on money. When traveling abroad, there are lots of online options for swapping apartments. Of course, it helps to live in a place like Manhattan or San Francisco for those exchanges.

3) Leave. Maybe there's a little of the migrant laborer in you. If so, now's a great time to listen to her. Maybe you'll go packing off to Dubai to bartend for a year. Or how about a summer job in Canada? With the dollar headed lower and lower, any savings you keep from foreign earnings will go that much farther when you come back to the States. The trick here, though, is managing to save (otherwise, you'll be a migrant spender, rather than a migrant laborer). If you don't yet have the discipline to save, try it at home first.