new goals and a new dress

Hello lovelies!

The other day I told you that concerning my move to Australia everything seems to be falling into place finally. Now some things are up to me too, for example the visa, the flight, the budget for my first weeks without a job there.

On Monday I applied for my visa and as the money for it was taken from my account today I'm pretty sure I'll hear back from the agency soon.

The next step will be my apartment. As soon as I receive the confirmation for my visa I will give my landlord a notification and cancel my contract. From that time onwards I will have to get rid of everything I don't want to put into storage (luckily I'll be able to put all my stuff into my dad's basement). Also and most importantly I need to book a flight soon (the sooner the cheaper).

And last but not least and actually the biggest goal hovering above everything else: the budget. I will work a lot and try to save up as much as possible in the course of the next three months.

These are the things I'm determined to achieve until October.

Hand in hand with these goals above will go a shopping ban. I have bought some last important things last week that I wanted and needed but from now on I won't spend any more money on clothing, accessories and such. I will only allow myself to swap because it's a good way of compensating the shopping lust and I can still get rid of pieces I don't wear anymore, so actually swapping is always a win-win situation.

The only exception, something I really HAVE to buy, is a big suitcase!

So I've set my goals, I've written them down (which always helps) and now I have to work for them. And I want to work for them! Australia I'll be coming soon! :)

As for the outfit: the dress is a lovely new piece that I bought second hand via Ebay before my shopping ban. It was an absolute bargain, only 6 € and the adorable tiny dots and the cute collar made me fall in love with it immediately. It's a dress that doesn't need many accessories because it works on its own, that's why I only wore my favourite belt and the golden bracelet with it. Simple basics like denim jacket and black sneakers and I was ready to go.

How do you like it?

Have a lovely day!

plaid, moccasins and financial dependance

Hellooo!

How are you my dear readers?

I am enjoying a really lazy Sunday at home in pyjamas with documentaries on Youtube and yummy delivered Asian food. No make up, undone hair and I don't care because I will not leave the house.

I've been working a lot lately in my two jobs (office and coffee shop) and at the moment I can feel that it sucks the life out of me. I've been tired, unmotivated, cranky and on top of that PMSing over the last days.

I'm not completely unhappy with my life, it just feels like I've been really discontent with my situation lately.

I am 28 now and I'm trying my best to be financially independent but I still need my parents' support to some extent and that annoys me. I am finally able to make a living with these two jobs I have now and it feels good, but it is hardly enough to get through the month. I still need my parents' support for anything extra, that is unexpected things like replacing a broken washing machine and such.

Furthermore I'm still planning to go to Australia in autumn and that also is something I wouldn't be able to do without my parents. I've saved up my own money for the visa already and I will save up for the flight over the next months, but for the first weeks in Australia I will need some money to survive until I get a job and that's where my parents will support me again.

I'm really thankful and I'm lucky to have such supportive parents, but it still bothers that I am not able to really stand on my own two feet yet. I really hope I will be able to take this last step away from the parents' money into a completely independent life in the course of the next months. 

Another thing I've been worrying about money-wise is my future home: Perth.

As some of you might know my boyfriend is Australian and went back home to Perth in February after an au pair year in Germany. Now it's my turn to go over and the timing is perfect because now that I've passed my 

Bachelor degree nothing keeps me here anymore. 

However due to mining companies around the city and their employee's pretty decent wages Perth is Australia's most expensive city.

My boyfriend keeps assuring me that I will be fine once I work a normal full time job but there are still enough worries left in my head. When I hear about the rents and prices for groceries over there I can just shake my head. I always thought living in Düsseldorf would be expensive, but in comparison to Perth it's a fucking dollar store here.

Well, eventually all I can do is wait and see, but yes these are things which have kept me thinking lately. I can't help it, I'm a worrier.

What about you guys? What do you think about receiving financial support from the parents at the end of your 20s? Or maybe you are already financially independent and enjoy it?

Oh and has anyone of you been to Perth before and would like to share their opinions about the prices there? Or just leave me recommendations about places to visit? :)

By the way, as for the outfit: based on my last post about thrift shopping, this outfit here mainly consists of second hand pieces (except for the necklace and bag). The jacket and dress are from my last flea market visit and the moccasins are bought second hand from a swapping and reselling website.

Happy Sunday!

the moral issue: high street or second hand?

Hello loves!

The other day a friend's comment on Facebook called my attention and I've been thinking about it lately. Her comment went something along the lines of

"Since the opening everyone's running around with Primark bags, I'm so disgusted! Where does the clothing come from? Please read up on it!"

It is really hard to find out the truth about the circumstances under which c think ertan brands produce their items, but we're all clever enough to conclude that t-shirts for 3 € are most likely not fairtrade products that are produced under employee-friendly conditions. Instead they're probably from sweatshops in Bangladesh (or other poor countries) where people struggle to make a living with their really low wages - at least that's the worst case (and most often true) scenario.

I don't want to support this industry but I also don't want to be forced to spend 60 € on a t-shirt. Of course it's awesome to buy products that are 100% eco-friendly, fairtrade and were produced by sewers who get a decent wage but only if I can afford it.

At the moment my monthly income allows me to spend 50-100 € on clothing (or electronics or books or music or whatever luxury good I prefer). Yes of course I could buy cheaper groceries (but we have the same problem here: fairtrade and/or organic food is pricey), I could move to a cheaper flat and cut down on a million other things to save up for these fairtrade sweatshop-free brands which offer 60 € t-shirts - but hey no one can expect this from me, let's be realistic here! You might say I'm an egoistic bitch but I say there is a limit when it comes to sacrifices. 99% of the people in the world would never lower their life standards to improve the life of a sewer in Bangladesh because 99% of the people in the world are not Mother Teresa (that's my personal opinion, no official statistics by the way).

I'm not an egoistic bitch but I'm also not Mother Teresa, I just think there are other things we can do to indirectly boycot certain brands that exploit workers in poor countries: thrift shopping, upcycling and swapping.

It is only a small change but it's at least something to buy second hand clothes or upcycle or swap items.

I know it's ironic to post an outfit which includes Primark and H&M with such a post and I have to admit I bought this dress directly from Primark, but the cardigan, belt, shoes and bag are second hand. Sometimes I can't help but shop at the high street shops, however I try to mainly buy my clothing and accessories second hand on flea markets, in thrift shops or via Ebay. I've also swapped a lot in the last two years.

I think it's a really good thing that vintage clothing has become trendy again over the past years and that many people have developed an awareness of the fact that second hand does not mean shabby and worn-out.

Flea markets are so popular again now, they have been made more hip by adding live music, good food and organic lemonade stands. People are celebrating the reselling and buying of second hand stuff, the reuse, refurbishing and upcycling of old things. And the positive effect behind this new movement: we don't buy (as much) from high street shops and popular brands anymore.

Same thing with Etsy, DaWanda and similar websites: if you buy an item there it is handmade or second hand, you support small independent brands and self-employed designers and the money goes straight into their pockets.

Last but not least swapping: If you aks me it's the most genius concept ever. You can get rid of what you don't need anymore and get new things without even spending money. I once had the chance to talk to one of the founders of the very successful German swapping website Kleiderkreisel and she told me this idea for the website emerged out of the thought that it is wasteful and irresponsible to throw away clothes and spend money on new ones when you can swap instead.

I am interested in your opinions. Do you think about where the clothes come from when you buy them? Do you care or ignore the sweatshop problems in the fashion industry? Do you support fair brands and the higher prices for an overall better product and production quality?

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Happy Thursday! :)