I'm unclear, at the end of the article, whether she's learned anything or made any changes. However, I can relate to several parts of the story. We moved constantly when I was a kid, and went through a couple years of great instability when I was about 8-10. Learned some bad spending habits during college, and after a bad roommate experience that culminated with a falling-out with my best friend, I left the state for graduate school vowing not to have roommates ever again. Then, shortly after landing in New Mexico all by myself, found out that my mother was terminally ill, but knew the best thing for her peace of mind would be for me to finish school and find a good job, so I pressed on, but I was probably filling an emotional void through spending - not necessarily on the same stuff as the OP article, but CD's, music, excessive groceries and other random stuff that a college student doesn't really need, so I also took out student loans when I should have been able to live on my stipend. The pattern continued after I started work and my mother died, and I'd say it took a solid five years from there to get to where I am now, which is not perfect, but less hung up on outfitting myself for the life I want, and instead living in the life I have (which is pretty great, BTW). I could say I regret it, but OTOH, I may have dealt with the situation by dropping out of school (my MS has payed dividends in my career trajectory) or the usual self-destructive stuff that would have been worse over the long-term.
It sounds to me like the author of the article had her safe, privileged world shattered by a crime that happened very close to her, and she didn't fully realize the effect, or didn't have the emotional resiliency to deal with it, and compensated by spending money on dumb stuff instead. I do hope that she learns, and maybe sells off some of that crap to help with the debt, but from the way the article is written, I don't think she's quite there yet.