Your problem isn't a knowledge problem, its a discipline problem. What you need can't be taught. Or even learned for that matter. It just has to be done.
It's not like you don't know what you need to do, you just lack the will to do it. We can't give it to you. Like losing weight, there's no trick or pill or side door into this: Just do what you need to do.
I'm going to disagree with this, because boy, this makes it sound like a hopeless case, and that really couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is that each and every one of us has personality quirks that keep us from becoming our version of whatever "perfection" is, and so our success or failure depends in large part on our ability to manage our failings. Despite what many say, success is not about developing discipline in the face of constant temptation -- it is about structuring your life in a way to avoid the chronic temptations in the first place!
Toward that end, the specific suggestions above are very very helpful. #1 is tracking what you spend, in whatever way works for you. And then force yourself to pay attention to it, whether that's weekly, monthly, etc. And as yourself hard questions, like do you even remember what you ate at that particular restaurant three weeks ago? If you are at all like me, you will find that a ton of money is just sort of disappearing on stuff you don't even remember. By paying attention, what you are really doing is training yourself to learn what really brings you happiness and what does not. This will also help you identify your spending triggers -- e.g., is it going out with the gang Saturday, is it mindless wandering through Amazon when you're bored, is it coming home exhausted and ordering takeout because you just can't face cooking, etc.
#2, for someone with your predilection, is to pay yourself first -- have your company automatically pull out a bunch of money to put into your 401(k) for starters. Set up automatic transfers to an investment account, etc. If you tend to spend thoughtlessly, the best way to guard against that is to create a little artificial poverty, because if you don't see it, you don't spend it. [This works at every stage, btw; we are FI, and I still manage some of DH's spendy proclivities by sucking so much out of our bank account every month that our account balance actually goes
down until we get the annual bonuses!]
Then I would say read MMM, front to back. What is most important is the attitude: that you are not what you own; that being able to do things for yourself makes you powerful; that needing fancy stuff actually makes you weak, not cool or attractive or whatever. You don't need to go anywhere near to the level he does. But you do need to feel the power in yourself to manage this stuff and do the right thing for yourself and your future. Seriously, even something like fixing your own faucet can make you feel like a badass, and that carries over.
Finally (for starters), figure out some goals and rewards. People respond much better to incentives than punishments. So set a particular goal, and then figure out something that feels like a treat if you achieve it. Note: I am
not talking about financial goals here -- I am talking about
behavioral goals. Because what you are trying to do is to train yourself to build habits to overcome your fears and weaknesses, most particularly those weaknesses you identified above. It's basically like animal training, where you are the dolphin, and you are figuring out what trick you need to do, and what particular version of fish you get when you master it. So for ex., if you are scared of/intimidated to put money aside, set a goal of completing the 401(k) contribution paperwork, and then reward yourself with a hot cocoa or something. If your weakness is boredom-related, carry a book, or a device that is NOT connected to the internet, and then do something special on the weekend if you make it a whole week. If it's going to the mall or Target on the weekends because there's nothing else to do, find a club or something to join, just for the heck of it, because it'll get you out of the house and give you something better to focus your time and attention on. Etc. The key here is to start very small and simple -- you want to make that first goal so easy that you are almost guaranteed to succeed. Once you have that one down, then you can push the bar a little further and a little further. That series of small successes will grow overtime into confidence -- and more importantly, that confidence will be based on real, actual competence.