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You can save $500 next month by making a series of small changes in your life. You don't have to give up a car or wash and reuse sandwich bags. It doesn't have to be painful.

If yours is a typical U.S. household, you have at least one credit card and carry around $9,200 in credit card debt, according to cardweb.com. Let's face it, we're a nation of folks who love to spend. If you overspent on the December holidays, you have a financial hangover now. And you really need to save $500 next month.

Why do most families flunk attempts to stay on a budget? Because they follow one of two approaches to budgeting. The first depends on writing down every single penny your family spends for a period of up to six months. The other requires you to generate a written budget and stick to it, no matter what.

Whether or not these are good approaches is beside the point. The problem with both of them is they're too severe for most American families.

My family achieved success by making a series of small changes. We made daily, weekly, then monthly cutbacks that were relatively painless. After a few months, we moved on to a formal budget.

Although most budgets are based on a yearly schedule of 52-weeks, to keep our calculations simple, consider a month as having an even 4 weeks. Note that the cost represented in each category following will vary a bit according to where you live. The amounts suggested are on the low end for the Washington, DC suburbs. They deliberately omit fixed recurring expenses like rent or mortgage payments and utilities.

Groceries: Next to housing, this category is a whopper in any family as far as discretionary spending. By taking 10 minutes each week to make a list before you hit the supermarket, you can slash your weekly grocery outlay by $20. Your savings: $20 for 4 weeks adds up to $80. You still have $420 to go to reach $500.

Coupons: It's unnecessary to use coupons for items you know you're family won't like or even use. Your most prolific source of grocery coupons is your Sunday newspaper. However, don't overlook those that the cash register spits out with your receipt. If you use just $5 in coupons a week, you'll save $20. This leaves you with $400 to cut.

Fast food: If you're like most American families, you go through the drive-thru so often that you recognize most of the employees. Eliminating just a single $15.00 meal a week nets you $60. Your balance: $340.

Meal coupons: Don't completely axe dining at family restaurants. However, make sure to take

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