For years, she tried to run that same rigor on her own household by night, and it failed often. Almost a decade of trying, failing, and correcting course, she realized what she was learning about simplifying household money management could help others too. The problem was not a lack of information, and it was not a lack of effort. Every plan she built still depended on discipline, and discipline runs out. What finally worked was smaller, duller, and automatic: systems over willpower. $359,242 of debt gone in six years, the house paid off in three and a half, debt-free at 30.