Smart Cards

[johnfagan]

250Dinar smart cards. They are worth 250Dinars right, they are going to be purchasing goods that are priced in Dinars right, so depending on the cost of goods over there, the250dinars might be very well o.k.. I mean they aren't going to convert their cards into usdollars & then buy stuff. This makes some sense, yes???????

[krmayo]

Right now 250 dinars is somewhere around 21 US cents. Now, if they had RV'ed at, say $1 or $1.50 that would make sense. JMO

[Brandon2230]

not sure what you can buy over there for 2 cents??

[Doc31]

250Dinar smart cards. They are worth 250Dinars right, they are going to be purchasing goods that are priced in Dinars right, so depending on the cost of goods over there, the250dinars might be very well o.k.. I mean they aren't going to convert their cards into usdollars & then buy stuff. This makes some sense, yes???????

Try this:

A slurpee that cost 1000 dinars today ($.87) would be about ¼ IQD post RI/RV (at $3.5 … no, I'm just making it work mathematically)

or said differently ¼ of a slurpee/smartcard/month pre-RI/RV and post RI/RV you could buy almost 862 slurpees/smartcard/month

A smartcard worth $.22 today would be worth $875 at that rate

Answer: everything gets repriced

Yes, I know my slurpee in Iraq example is ridiculous ... that's why I used it!

[johnfagan]

Gotcha' ! Thank you !!

[Mr. Cool]

I have always wondered what true costs are in Iraq. For example what does a loaf of bread cost.... today..in Iraq???? Anybody have an answer?

[hypr2001]

I have always wondered what true costs are in Iraq. For example what does a loaf of bread cost.... today..in Iraq???? Anybody have an answer?

Iraqis dont buy bread as we do in the states. They use a different kind of bread. An average dinner in an Iraqi restaurant for 2 (MORE than enough food for 2) with drinks, runs about $5. A carton of cigarettes is approx 6000 IQD. A decent ink pen 2000K IQD. A whole frozen chicken (weighs less than an average statesdide one) is approx 4000 IQD. They average car that would cost $30K in the US runs approx 10K IQD. Hope this helps.

[Mr. Cool]

Iraqis dont buy bread as we do in the states. They use a different kind of bread. An average dinner in an Iraqi restaurant for 2 (MORE than enough food for 2) with drinks, runs about $5. A carton of cigarettes is approx 6000 IQD. A decent ink pen 2000K IQD. A whole frozen chicken (weighs less than an average statesdide one) is approx 4000 IQD. They average car that would cost $30K in the US runs approx 10K IQD. Hope this helps.

Thanks Hyper2001!

A $30K car for 10K IQD? or did you mean 100K IQD? Either way I would be down for throwing on a flak jacket if I could find a 60's era Porsche for under a million IQD!! Know any good car lots in Iraq?? lol

Going back to the smart card post...I can now see why a card with only 250 IQD is a slap in the face to the Iraqi people in need!!

Edited December 1, 2010 by Mr. Cool

[SAG]

Thanks Hyper2001!

A $30K car for 10K IQD? or did you mean 100K IQD? Either way I would be down for throwing on a flak jacket if I could find a 60's era Porsche for under a million IQD!! Know any good car lots in Iraq?? lol

Going back to the smart card post...I can now see why a card with only 250 IQD is a slap in the face to the Iraqi people in need!!

Does anyone remember those terribly K cars Ithink they were made by GM in the 80's They lasted a few years then had mexico or someplace make them cheaper and were selling them to Iraq. I remember my dad telling me this (him an ex GM worker) ...LOL seems funny now. Driving around in those ugly K cars.

[behaviorkat]

Seem I read an article that stated the Iraq Government was going to switch the welfare system over to one like Kawait. Are they still going to use these cards or are they just using them for a few days until the new welfare system is issued. I am not sure about this confusion.

[Traconesu02]

Iraqis dont buy bread as we do in the states. They use a different kind of bread. An average dinner in an Iraqi restaurant for 2 (MORE than enough food for 2) with drinks, runs about $5. A carton of cigarettes is approx 6000 IQD. A decent ink pen 2000K IQD. A whole frozen chicken (weighs less than an average statesdide one) is approx 4000 IQD. They average car that would cost $30K in the US runs approx 10K IQD. Hope this helps.

Sorry hypr2001 but it looks like you got some zeros or the k in the wrong place on some of these items. You have a good ink pen at 2000k and a car at 10k.

Something not right here.

Even a chicken at 4k and cigarettes at 6k and a car at 10k .

[Jazzy baby]

The point I think is it was 1650 dinar on the smart cards now it's 250 dinar. I was told by my cousin who severed there, goods are cheap ( food as so forth). Now take in account there has been a lot about inflation in the news coming out of Iraq. If you ask me there is no way the can live off 250 dinar, unless it is based on the RI rate. But heres some food for thought, the government is giving staff toyotas worth 10k dinar. New from japan fully loaded that will cast us little over $29,000 not including freight or import/export tax. With that in mind, 250 dinar on the smart cards seams like a livable amount if the RI is at 3.20.

it would cover the price of the toyota....

[hypr2001]

Thanks Hyper2001!

A $30K car for 10K IQD? or did you mean 100K IQD? Either way I would be down for throwing on a flak jacket if I could find a 60's era Porsche for under a million IQD!! Know any good car lots in Iraq?? lol

Going back to the smart card post...I can now see why a card with only 250 IQD is a slap in the face to the Iraqi people in need!!

YEP, I screwed up, lol. 2000IQD for a pen and $10K for a car. Way to many zeros flowing around. The chicken and the smokes were right though, lol.

[RandyB]

Are you telling me that a brand new car costs $100 or a little less?

RandyB

Or 10,000USD for a new car. It costs much more than that in the Phillipines. Lets go there and buy a new car........

RandyB