Interviewed on chanel 7 last night!
Her unique story and book can be purchased here.
http://www.seaviewpress.com.au/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=818
Article Source: http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/38440/money/welfare-millionaire
From welfare to millionaire
* Reporter: Rebecca Bergh
* Broadcast Date: March 08, 2007
From welfare to millionaire, Tracy Harvey turned her back on Government support and made a fortune of her own, pulling her family back from the brink of poverty.
Tracy was born into a one-parent family and her mother fought to keep her and her children's heads above water.
"My mother was a single mother and she had four children, me being one of them and we struggled for quite a long time on a single parent's pension," Tracy said.
And when Tracy grew up, she found history repeating itself.
A divorced mother-of-two, she was unskilled, unemployed and living on a pension in a high-crime suburb in southern Brisbane.
"At 35 I found myself a single parent, struggling to survive," she explained. "I'd lost virtually all the assets I did have.
"I ended up with a mattress on the floor and not being able to get through from one day to the next, financially.
"I had deteriorated personally because I'd lost so much self-esteem, and I had no focus. I was failing at everything I did."
Geoff Roberts, from Oz Care, said Tracy's situation was all-too-familiar.
"Most children have a role model and generally-speaking it is the parent, either the mother or the father, and that's all they see, that's all they know is the welfare society."
After 20 years looking after those who are down on their luck, Geoff said people are not able to break the cycle often.
"There are a lot of children who are born into the welfare cycle, and so they would find it harder still to break out," he said.
But Tracy did just that, turning her life around. She said taking the first step was the hardest.
"I woke up one day, and I realised I'd been carrying a huge chip on my shoulder, I'd been blaming everybody, everything: society, the people around me, my family.
"In essence I knew the only person who was going to turn this around was me."
She read everything she could about investing and real estate, and after being rejected over and over again by the big-name banks, finally got a loan for her first property.
"The first place I bought was a very rundown place, it had holes in it, it was totally dilapidated, and it had been on the market for two years.
"I scored that unit for $64,000, in Mooloolaba and I guess that was where it all started," she said.
Tracy went on to put herself through TAFE and university, graduating as a social worker.
And from that one tattered unit, her property empire has expanded: she now owns 10 properties with six in Cairns, two on the Sunshine Coast and two in Brisbane.
"I bought four properties on a $30,000 income so it can be done," she said.
Now she wants to help others break out of the welfare cycle. She has written her own story as a "How To" guide.
Goodbye Welfare teaches others how to go from government handouts to financial independence, just like she did.
Geoff said Tracy's story is a valuable lesson for others.
"I think knowing what she went through in her teens or younger, and then to achieve what she's achieved it is very good, it is remarkable.
"And it shows it can be done, with a lot of drive," he added.
Tracy said the first step should be finding inspiration to make changes.
"It is not hard to find a reason - just look around you - whether it is a partner or a child, that reason is the inspiration to make sure you do the right thing.
"You are a mentor to that person and you can be the one that leads them," she said.
Her unique story and book can be purchased here.
http://www.seaviewpress.com.au/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=818
Article Source: http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/38440/money/welfare-millionaire
From welfare to millionaire
* Reporter: Rebecca Bergh
* Broadcast Date: March 08, 2007
From welfare to millionaire, Tracy Harvey turned her back on Government support and made a fortune of her own, pulling her family back from the brink of poverty.
Tracy was born into a one-parent family and her mother fought to keep her and her children's heads above water.
"My mother was a single mother and she had four children, me being one of them and we struggled for quite a long time on a single parent's pension," Tracy said.
And when Tracy grew up, she found history repeating itself.
A divorced mother-of-two, she was unskilled, unemployed and living on a pension in a high-crime suburb in southern Brisbane.
"At 35 I found myself a single parent, struggling to survive," she explained. "I'd lost virtually all the assets I did have.
"I ended up with a mattress on the floor and not being able to get through from one day to the next, financially.
"I had deteriorated personally because I'd lost so much self-esteem, and I had no focus. I was failing at everything I did."
Geoff Roberts, from Oz Care, said Tracy's situation was all-too-familiar.
"Most children have a role model and generally-speaking it is the parent, either the mother or the father, and that's all they see, that's all they know is the welfare society."
After 20 years looking after those who are down on their luck, Geoff said people are not able to break the cycle often.
"There are a lot of children who are born into the welfare cycle, and so they would find it harder still to break out," he said.
But Tracy did just that, turning her life around. She said taking the first step was the hardest.
"I woke up one day, and I realised I'd been carrying a huge chip on my shoulder, I'd been blaming everybody, everything: society, the people around me, my family.
"In essence I knew the only person who was going to turn this around was me."
She read everything she could about investing and real estate, and after being rejected over and over again by the big-name banks, finally got a loan for her first property.
"The first place I bought was a very rundown place, it had holes in it, it was totally dilapidated, and it had been on the market for two years.
"I scored that unit for $64,000, in Mooloolaba and I guess that was where it all started," she said.
Tracy went on to put herself through TAFE and university, graduating as a social worker.
And from that one tattered unit, her property empire has expanded: she now owns 10 properties with six in Cairns, two on the Sunshine Coast and two in Brisbane.
"I bought four properties on a $30,000 income so it can be done," she said.
Now she wants to help others break out of the welfare cycle. She has written her own story as a "How To" guide.
Goodbye Welfare teaches others how to go from government handouts to financial independence, just like she did.
Geoff said Tracy's story is a valuable lesson for others.
"I think knowing what she went through in her teens or younger, and then to achieve what she's achieved it is very good, it is remarkable.
"And it shows it can be done, with a lot of drive," he added.
Tracy said the first step should be finding inspiration to make changes.
"It is not hard to find a reason - just look around you - whether it is a partner or a child, that reason is the inspiration to make sure you do the right thing.
"You are a mentor to that person and you can be the one that leads them," she said.
