teambwr47

I've been reading with interest some of the posts here about cost of living etc and wondered what the reality actually is in terms of prices.

Prices go up in every country around the world for general cost of living items but is it the exchange rates that mean so many here feel its getting more expensive.

Many in this part of the forum and the NZ part only think a move is good to this side of the world if you're able to convert £'s at a decent rate.

An awful lot of the cost of living threads always seem to reference the exchange rate and AUS$ rate and i wonder if people are comparing prices now to when the £ rate was better rather than just what it cost in time gone by in AUS$.

If you're able to earn good money in Aus is there an appreciable rise in the cost of living over the past few years when compared to rises in other countries i wonder?

We're very lucky in that we're looking at a move from NZ to OZ and our earnings will be sizeable but still wonder what the reality really is in all the scaremongering type threads on here.

To my mind the more we earn in OZ the better the rate against the Euro and £ can get please as it means we can travel further for longer.....

teambwr47

Not got the figures but i'm sure someone will chip in.....

I wonder in % terms how much have the following snap shots of some items we all use, risen in price in 3 years in UK/AUS

1 litre of petrol

1 Litre of Milk

Standard loaf of white bread

electricity

gas

1 kg of potatoes

1kg of apples

eddie007

Litre of milk... I buy 4 for $3.99 at the spud shed
Apples anywhere between $1.99 and $6.99 depending on variety and where you buy them from
Potatoes... $1.99 for a 5kg bag
Petrol mon-thurs $1.29 a litre this week... $1.38 at the weekends... Minus 8ct discount voucher from coles...
Standard white sliced from spud shed 99cts can pay 4-5$ at fancy places...

Cant remember what they were when we arrived, but when we got here bananas weree $15 a kilo and now they are 99 cts

ABCDiamond

Electricity price changes:
Year Ave $/kWh from my personal electricity bills
2004 $0.11687
2005 $0.12028
2006 $0.12496
2007 $0.13232
2008 $0.14516
2009 $0.15966
2010 $0.17552 (Up 32.6% in the last 3 years)

Average wages, in comparison, in the last 3 years have risen by 15.4% (This is based on average adult full time total earnings from the ABS)

Apples vary by month

Standard loaf of white bread 3 years ago was 99 cents, it is now $1.09.
Another shop was $1.20 but is now $1.40.

Milk
Well, that one hasn't changed much. Now paying $1.99 for 2 litres, but I am sure it was a bit over $2 about 3 years ago.

Petrol
Definitely up. QLD removed the 8 cents subsidy, which caused an almost immediate 12 jump in price. (That was over a year ago now)
In the last three months I have bought 519 litres, which cost me $643 (or $1.24 per litre ave). My last purchase was at $1.29 p/l on Jan 13th.
In Jan 2010 my average cost was $1.20 p/l.

ABCDiamond

I have a potato problem now.... $1.59 a kg !!

Better eat bananas instead, still 99 cents kg

IvanM

UK is now having inflation as bad as it gets due to a very low pound. This has made imports such as oil and gas much more expensive.

Australia is about to get a dose of inflation due to the floods having a four effects.

First is the price of food produce will go up due to a sudden drop in production. Second is the loss of key exports reducing demand for AUD. Third is the loss in GDP due to cutting of all sorts of economic activity eg project work on mines, Brisbane being out of action, farms not working, mines shut. The final part is that the Australian government will have reduced tax receipts due to the loss in GDP but will also have massive reconstruction costs. The government will either have to borrow more fand reduce the value of the dollar or have to increase taxes which will impact on all of our costs of living. The lower the dollar goes the more the price of imports will go up, especially the price of fuel.

The magnitude of the impact of the floods is unknown but the affect on food prices will be know very soon. Time will tell on the rest.

The other main causes of worldwide inflation are the expansionist policies of the US and China. China is experiencing an inflation surge and Australian import prices will soon be seen in the shops as they are globally.

ABCDiamond

Queensland floods could cost economy more than $6 billion

eddie007

We eat whatever is cheap... Seasonal...

After the hailstones we didnt have lettuce for WEEKS

Beoz

Currently living in Sydney on pounds and it's expensive compared to London. When I receive my first pay check in Aussie dollars I'm sure that cost factor will go away.

freebo

I've been getting Aus pay checks since arriving last may, the cost factor hasn't entirely disappeared just yet...

IvanM

Those are the figures I saw referring to the Rockhampton floods. I have read other estimates of over 10 billion and some at 1 to 2% of GDP. Time will tell.