TL;DR

Journalist tries to grow up; succeeds;

Select quotes:

> give up spending on all but the essentials

> As a personal finance journalist people assumed I was good with money but while I wrote a lot about the merits of saving, I wasn’t practising what I preached.

> I hope I have encouraged other people to reconsider their spending patterns too.

My Verdict:

Experience logs that explain things like "de-clutter", "minimalize", "de-tox", "live a frugal life in which a missing tile on a roof (see article) is an unnecessary expense" and recommend the lifestyle, serve more to explain their authors problems with themselves than being useful life advice.

There, now you don't have to read the article. Do something fun in moderation with that time.