If you’re going to be traveling overseas anytime soon, you’re in for a rude awakening. At one time, the U.S. dollar was the preferred “hard currency” in just about any financial transaction anywhere in the world. It didn’t matter where you were - if you had some greenbacks in your wallet, your money was good.

Not so much anymore.

With the dollar’s continued slide to historic lows against many foreign currencies, it’s getting harder and harder just to exchange U.S. dollars for local currency:

The U.S. dollar’s value is dropping so fast against the euro that small currency outlets in Amsterdam are turning away tourists seeking to sell their dollars for local money while on vacation in the Netherlands.

“Our dollar is worth maybe zero over here,” said Mary Kelly, an American tourist from Indianapolis, Indiana, in front of the Anne Frank house. “It’s hard to find a place to exchange. We have to go downtown, to the central station or post office.” …

Now, if you never leave America, you might not think that this is such a big deal. But it’s part of the reason that you’re paying much more (or going to be, shortly) for any consumer goods that are manufactured offshore. The U.S. dollar simply doesn’t go nearly as far as it used to, and it’s even worse when buying raw materials outside of the U.S.

There was a time that I enjoyed my frequent trips to Canada, because my buck would buy me so much more than Canukistan dollars. Not any more. It’s pretty much a 1:1 exchange.

Here’s a link to a good exchange site that graphs the value of the U.S. dollar against various currencies around the world. It ain’t a pretty picture. And yes, a vast majority of the blame can be laid directly at the feet of the economic policies of the Bush administration.

…More from the Washington Post (h/t jesse lee…)