Heres the part about keeping score, all these authors/speakers bring up having a budget. Some people are accustomed to spending their money, not counting it. So, I wont disagree when the gurus preach that spending money is a habit and that your debt is only a reflection of your habit and misguided thinking. Almost everything is a habit. Thought habits are everywhere. We do a lot of things simply because we are used to doing them. Often there is no analysis. There are excuses and rationalizations, but generally nothing relying on logical choices. But at the same time, we dont want to think about every little thing, thats why we have habits, and if habits can harm you, habits can serve you.