I endorse a lot of the kinds of advice I see advocated in those links, but I think that to a degree they are too extreme if you adopt everything.
The real lesson is that everything is a trade-off. Everything. Other ways of saying this are that everything has a cost, or there is no such thing as a free lunch.
The things I like about what I read in sites like those is the focus on PAYING ATTENTION to what the trade-offs are. Once you do that, the rest of the advice is redundant.
What I find extreme is focusing on particular ways of dealing with finances, advocating kind of a minimalist ideal. For some people (especially Enneagram 5s who eat this stuff up like candy and can often do the spartan lifestyle very well) this is great advice. For the rest of us who don't enjoy all of that, we need to CHOOSE how we pay for things in a conscious way, but not necessarily adopt every single practice.
For instance, I heartily agree with living close to work, with paying for your car in cash (if that means you spend $5k or less on a used car, so be it), not paying for cable TV, the overall sense of anticonsumerism and just not spending money on shit that you don't need. Those things are doable by most people even in the poorest of circumstances.
However, I'm perfectly happy to accept certain costs that don't seem to be OK with people writing that advice (hence the "extreme" part). I have a mortgage, BUT I found a house that fit my specifications for a reasonable price, I paid 20% down (not something ridiculous), and 10 years later I refinanced it to a 15 year mortgage, saving me $60k in the long run. So far all my cars have been leased or had loans, but my next one won't be, and only my first care (a very cheap one) had a sucky loan that made it cost almost twice its retail price, since I had no credit but needed the car for driving to work. I will PAY for plumbers and electricians to install hardware and gas appliances, because I want the job done right by an expert, not by my own half-assed guesswork. I have a NICE internet connection because that is what I want. While I see the potential for going into real estate investment and/or rental income, there is a reason why not everyone does that, and certain things about the economy wouldn't work if everyone did (or you get a housing bubble ... hmmm ...).
It's all a trade-off. Calculate how much things will cost you in REAL terms, and then make the call. Sometimes the correct action IS to go into debt. Businesses wouldn't be able to function very well without incurring debt, as income can be sporadic over the year even as the bills are constant. Debt is a measure of risk. If you are borrowing a lot of money or you are only offered a high rate of interest, you are taking a HUGE risk, which is bad. If it's a small amount of money, and/or the interest is low, it is usually a small risk.
So MY advice to you would be to set your own priorities. If the idea of DIY appeals to you (in ways that it doesn't to me), go for it: it's a strength you can take advantage of. But on the other hand if the shows on cable TV help to make your life more fulfilling, go ahead and pay for it. Figure out what works for you, with an eye to the trade-offs. If you keep track of the trade-offs, of what things REALLY cost you in the long run, you'll be fine.