Salary expectations: how do you answer? after 8 years as a graphic designer

A recruiter asked for my salary expectations on a first call as I look for work as a graphic designer. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. I also do not want to sell myself short. What did you say?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 6 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.