A Must-Read: The Millionaire Next Door

As a mortgage consultant, there are several books that I give my clients as gifts when they close their transactions with me. 'The Millionaire Next Door' is is one of them.

Growing up, my family instilled the value of frugality in me. My mother taught me to never buy clothing simply because it had a shi-shi-foo-foo designer label on it, and which items to stock up on when they went on sale. My grandmother had a bowl in the wash basin to catch the soapy water, and she'd make us pour it into a pail nearby. When the pail was full, she'd use it for flushing the toilet. My grandfather dug composting holes in the garden so we could fertilize the garden with what we normally threw out.

As an adult, frugality is tantamount to financial savvy in my book. Being frugal means being debt-free. Being debt-free means being able to work to live, instead of having to live to work. It also means being able to retire early because you don't spend most of your life paying off debt when you could be enjoying early retirement- which should be everybody's goal in life.

'The Millionaire Next Door' shows how we can all join the ranks of America's wealthy (defined as people whose net worth is over one million dollars) by following seven simple rules. The first rule is, always live well below your means. The authors mercilessly show how wealth takes sacrifice, discipline, and hard work, qualities that are positively discouraged by our high-consumption society. "You aren't what you drive," admonish the authors.

Definitely a must-read for everyone who intends to pursue the Cheap Chic lifestyle!

-Dezzi Rae