When I stopped watching TV and stopped listening to commercial radio my spending fell by more than half. All the sudden I had money in the bank and no real urge to buy stuff other than the necessities. Without the constant bombardment of BUY BUY BUY I get a moment to really think about if I need or want something. Steam sales fuel my entertainment needs and my Amazon credit card builds up spending cash to blow on frivolous stuff that i would not otherwise purchase. I use my rewards card for every purchase I make and pay it in full at the end of the billing cycle; Amazon is almost paying me to use the card. Having an expensive hobby (Astronomy and Astrophotography) also helps in building spending discipline.

I don't want to come off on one of those "OMG TV BAD!" people; television has its purpose. But cutting out half of your advertising exposure does wonderful things. I rarely impulse buy anything anymore. The last thing that I bought on impulse was a filter for my outreach telescope ($100 shipped) back in January. Seeing two digits to the left of that comma on the bank statement, and realizing that you have an incredible amount of security because of that further fuels my miserly ways. And if my car dies, I can buy a new one or fix the current 10 year old car and not worry about making the mortgage payment this month.

In articles like this one, you never see them mention to reduce your exposure to advertizing. I think it will be interesting to watch what happens when more under 30's ditch cable for Netflix, Amazon Prime and other commercial free or commercial reduced media. I wonder if they will spend less, or just spend it differently?

I wish there was an easy answer out there to help people in a spend-spend-spend spiral, but really, financial discipline is just like any other exercise: the more you do it the better you get at it and the stronger you become.