Hi,

We are a family of 4 (kids are 15 and 9). We moved out of Greater London area to KL, Malaysia in early 2006 and as things stand now there is a very high probability that we would be moving back to the UK during this calendar year (2011).

Though we have kept tabs on the upward movement of VAT, Fuel etc. but we do not have complete view of the net change as compared to March 2006 - in monetary terms.

In other words assuming, we had an income of GBP 1200 per annum in 2006 - how much should I ask for from my new employer in order to maintain the same std. of living as we had back in 2006 ?

Any views/perspectives on the above would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
GR

Bloody hell that's a tough one. Also it's not the way it works. Yes it would appear that Britain is a bit more expensive than when you left, and to maintain the same standard of living as you had then, you would probably need to earn a bit more. However the effect of the recession is that people's earning expectations will probably be lower, and there are more people chasing fewer jobs in many sectors.

Most people are probably experiencing the same or slightly lower standard of living, and someone settling back is probably more likely to be hit with the latter than someone established. I even heard that McDonalds in some parts were not recruiting. McDonalds has always marked the absolute bottom of the career ladder, often being the butt of jokes regarding job satisfaction. It's a sign of the times that people are more desperate for work and will choose anything. This is not a conducive situation to higher pay unless of course you're in a high demand niche. A couple friends of mine are, and are experiencing their busiest time, and no they're not repo men or debt collectors.

Also although prices have gone up in certain respects, the recession has probably kept prices in general. Overall, the cost of fuel going up x% will really not be a significant detriment to your standard of living, unless you use excessive amounts of it. VAT at 20% is a relatively small increase and retailers may be subsidising this to an extent. Also VAT does tend to apply to purchases which many could do without.

Just on a CPI basis, which isn't the whole story, I know, the index was 102.3 in 2006 and is 117.6 in the latest 2011 quarter.
So you need to be earning 14.9% more to have the same buying power in 2011 as in 2006.