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The average American often feels overwhelmed by debt and doesn't know where to start or how to go about getting out of debt. It's a misconception that the more money you earn the easier it is to save. My husband and I paid off $20,000 of credit card debt and medical bills in 5 years on an average income of $22,000 a year. Here is how you can save over $7,000 in just one year cutting a few things from your grocery bill. They are painless, simple and add up over time. If you don't think that cutting out one bag of potato chips or one soda will add up, look at the numbers at the end of a year. If you're trying to save so you can be a stay at home mom or dad or for a down payment on a house, pay off some credit card debt or just have some emergency money, here are 13 ways to do it without depriving yourself.

By eliminating one $2 bag of potato chips (not all just 1 bag) from your grocery bill each week you can save $104 per year. Cutting out one six-pack of soda will save another $104. A weekly $4 box of granola cereal adds up to $208 a year. If you eat out one less time each week at $30 a meal, you can save $1,560 and ordering one less delivered pizza at $20, can save you $1040 per year. Similar annual savings can be realized by cutting out weekly purchases of fruit rolls ($130), daily gourmet coffee at $2.50 per cup ($910), a daily liter of soda ($365), snack cakes ($455), one less bottled water ($455), one cup less juice per person in a family of four ($546), 3 lbs. less red meat a week ($390), and by eliminating a $4 lunch five days a week ($1040).

By themselves, these efforts may seem small--but they add up to over $7,000 a year you could save.

Tawra Kellam is the author of Not Just Beans: Fifty Years of Frugal Family avorites. For free tips and recipes visit www.notjustbeans.com

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