That's good advice, but it sure as hell would make life boring

/me steps off the high horse for a second.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating a life of monastic asceticism.
I've got a living room full of depreciated home electronics and guitar effects pedals
of questionable utility, and a pricey sushi habit to boot.

/me jumps back on the horse.

I'm just saying that I'd prefer to see the bulk of my disposable income go to
people like you Empeg guys who make cool stuff and make the world a
happier place, than to someone like Providian who really provides no service
to society other than temporarily buffering people from the consequences of
their poor impulse control. (I'm exaggerating slightly to make a point....)
A dollar spent on a finance charge, is a dollar taken away from a creator of
cool stuff. (I know, not quite true; the rich bankers will go out and buy
the cool stuff. But I'd rather it be me!)

It seems like whether someone is the $35 million VP who wants to live like he
actually has $85 million, or the $20K worker trying to make it look like he
makes $30K, it's a similar issue. You can still have a heck of a good time
living within your means.
For me, anyway, I can motivate myself better to "increase my means" by
promising myself a cool new toy as a reward than by just buying the toy
and figuring out how to pay for it. However, I have been told that fear of
impending personal bankruptcy can be a fairly motivating technique as well. It's
just a little too stressful for a laid back guy like myself.