[hibikir]

He's not conflating cause and effect: There's plenty of Psychology and Behavioral Economics research on this. People end up thinking that the money they save will disappear with unexpected expenses, so they spend it, because the stress of not having enough money to eat is 'healed' by wasting money, which later makes sure you won't have any money to eat. It's a feedback loop, as bad choices lead to bad outcomes, which increase the chances of even more bad choices. I've seen it happen in people that you'd originally think that they had a whole lot of self discipline: For instance, a very Ph.D student that constantly stressed about how poor she was. Even after her income moved up, it took months for that mindset to go away, because the fear of something wiping her out just made her decisions completely irrational.

You had the discipline to fight it: That's great. But that does not mean that other people's experiences are like yours. Go read the literature.

[vixin]

Go read the literature? What does that mean. It means anything you choose to select from it.

And apparently other's people's experiences are only significant if presented by you "I've seen it happen in people that you'd originally think that they had a whole lot of self discipline:"