u/BananaSpirit-4499

I am looking to purchase my first beginner handpan, and there are limited options in Australia. I want to avoid Amazon.
I’m not sure if anyone is aware of any differences in quality between Raysen and Riza brands - particularly with tuning, or resonance?
I can get a Raysen for about $800aud, or a Riza for appprox $600aud.
Thanks so much for any feedback

I am an early 40’s single female. I have 2 young adult children living with me full-time.
I work full-time and earn $145,000 per year.
My super balance is $170k.

I have had a sort of rough financial start to life, with low financial literacy. Was a single mother for 18 years. Did not receive child support. Worked part time, and up until 2020 was probably earning less than 50/60k per year.

I accumulated heaps of debt through my kids childhood, eg personal loans to buy them laptops for school, or even just to be able to pay bills.

In 2022 I was successful in securing a higher level role, and my income drastically increased (started at $125k, now $145k). However the multiple high interest loans and credit cards, meant I was still barely just financially surviving.

Since 2024 I have managed to pay off most of my debt, some of that under hardship arrangements, I currently have 2.5k left on one card (interest is frozen), and about 2k left on a personal loan.
My HECS thankfully is paid off since last year too.
Currently my take home pay is $3,400 per fortnight - this is due to having pre tax pay taken out for a Novated car lease (3 years remaining)(which thankfully covers fuel and insurance/maintenance costs too).
I pay $1,600 fortnight in rent.
One of my kids pays me $250 fortnight in board. The younger one (18yo) doesn’t pay anything as they haven’t found a job yet.
My utilities/regular bills/subscriptions are about $450 per fortnight.
Medical expenses/appts $120/fortnight (only because I’ve hit the Medicare threshold. For the first 4-5 months of the year it’s more like $550/fortnight)
Debt repayments $120/fortnight.
Groceries approx $400/fortnight.
Although I am not desperately struggling, I am also not able to get ahead.
As soon as a larger purchase is needed, it wipes my ability to save anything for the fortnight/month.
I definitely could cut back on spending on things like clothes and shoes (though I’m pretty thrifty and usually only buy Kmart or clearance items).
My 18yo costs me at least $200 fortnight, and I’m really trying to reduce this, but until they find employment, I will still be paying for their food/transport/essential items etc (they are not eligible for Centrelink with my income).

I guess I feel like I’m either at some sort of crossroads, or stuck.
I feel like the sheer amount needed to save for a deposit for a house, will take me many many many years, and I’m approaching an age where I wonder if banks will be reluctant to look at me for certain mortgages.

I’m wondering if I should try to get a second job/income for an extra few hundred per week. Although I barely cope with full-time work as it is.

I feel very very lucky to have my current income, I never dreamed I would ever be earning so much, and my job is luckily a very safe/secure one.

I feel so frustrated that if only I had been a few years earlier with this job, i literally may have been able to service a $500k loan for a house back in 2020.
Unfortunately, now those $500k houses are 1.3million where I live.

I know I’m not alone in the frustration.
I just wonder, because my financial experience and literacy hasn’t been (and still isn’t) that great, if there is something I can or should be doing that would help me get into the property market.
Or, if I should abandon that dream and be grateful that I actually have a rental, and can afford to live.
And if I didn’t aspire to own a house, financially what else should I/could I be doing to help myself for the future?