The New York Times ran an interesting story earlier this week about how Americans who were tired of easy credit and soaring debt were turning to a cash-only system.

Reading it reminded me of an interview I had a couple of years back with Deb Rosser, a Vashon Island woman, who went to an all-cash system after she and her husband got tired of living beyond their means. They made a plan, budgeted, got rid of $20,000 in debt, cut up 23 credit cards and went to cash only.

She told me:

We wanted to be financially free to be able to give to charities and not feel like we're strapping ourselves. (We wanted) to have a retirement so our kids aren't taking care of us.
...
It's so easy to use their credit cards. It's easy to get into debt, easy to live month-to-month. I can relate to it, that's how I was before too. If you got the money, you spent it until it's gone. If you don't got it, you use your credit card.

It wasn't easy. Rosser and her husband remembered reading a book by Dave Ramsey, host of the nationally syndicated radio program "The Dave Ramsey Show," and thinking the plan seemed simple enough that they could follow it. They later brought the idea to their church.

Rosser told me:

For me it was the hardest, if I wanted something I would just get it. My husband didn't have a problem. He's not a spender like me. It's hard for me not to go out above and beyond, like groceries and clothes. I have kids and grandchildren that I love to give things to.
...
I had to give up the spending. Before you do anything else, put $1,000 in the bank for the emergency fund. Seeing it on paper makes all the difference. If something comes up, you know it's there. It's easy to spend money when you don't have a plan. Knowing that we had that money in the bank when something happens. Just doing the baby steps. We paid the smallest debt off first. It's a good feeling, so you can go on to the next one.

Writes The New York Times:

The shift under way feels to some analysts like a cultural inflection point, one with huge implications for an economy driven overwhelmingly by consumer spending.

While some experts question whether most Americans, particularly baby boomers, will ever give up their buy-now/pay-later way of life, the unraveling of the real estate market appears to have left millions of families with little choice, yanking fresh credit from their grasp.

What do you think? How are you getting out of debt or saving?