I was (I am in recovery?) one of those people who would spend every last dollar that was on hand. For me the biggest problem was shopping and impulse buying. The ideas in this article seem pretty goofy to me. Luckily, years ago I figured out how to "Trick" myself into saving. Here is my take on how to Trick yourself, with slightly less ridiculous tactics:
1. Get a second job in your time off from your Full Time job. When you are working you don't have time to spend money. Ideally, get a job in a bar/restaurant or some other job that provides access to free food and drinks and gives you some social time. Who cares if you suck at it? (I will admit to being the worst cocktail waitress on the east coast for a time).
2. Payroll deductions. 401k and HSA if you have it. If not, Treasury bonds offer scheduled automated transfers from your bank. Or set up scheduled transfers from your bank account to your brokerage accounts on payday, set up automated stock purchase for dollar cost averaging.
3. Put your emergency savings account out of town. I opened a savings account in a small bank 2 towns over. I purposely did NOT get a debit card or set up online banking. I set up my direct deposit paycheck so that a portion of my paycheck went there each payday. If it was a REAL emergency I could take the time to drive 2 towns over to get at my money. But it was basically inaccessible for impulse buys.
4. Freeze your credit cards. Literally. If you really feel the need to have an "emergency" credit card, but can't trust yourself to not use it for morning lattes or those really cute shoes, put your card in a bowl of water, and put the bowl in the freezer. If you REALLY need the card, you can defrost it.
5. Fill your shopping need by filling your cart. But don't check out! If you find yourself bored, and doing some recreational online shopping, go ahead and put what you want in your cart, but DONT check out. You are not allowed to check out for a week. By the time a week goes by, you wont really want that stuff anymore.