At a time when the average American household carries nearly $10,000 in credit-card debt alone, Barbara Brockaway’s debt-free household doesn’t seem so typical.

When Brockaway and her husband first married, they had student loans, some credit-card debt and a mortgage. But through some careful planning and a little bit of luck (for one, their Atlanta, Ga. home almost doubled in value over an eight-year period), the couple managed to pay all of it off and hasn’t owed a dime since 2003.

She believes that anyone is capable of doing the same.

“We’re not day-to-day, nickel-and-dime budgeters,” said Brockaway, a stay-at-home mother of two. “I just think it’s just about paying yourself first, saving right off the top and living within your means. I think anybody can do it.”

Brockaway isn’t alone in her thinking. With lenders tightening their grip on credit and economic worries mounting, some say it may be more important now than ever to get out of the hole for good.

“We’ve been living this life of overextending ourselves and we need to get realistic now,” said Debbra Dillon, founder of Dillon Financial Planning in Eagle, Idaho.

Dillon, a certified financial planner who works mostly with middle-income clients, said the biggest drains on her clients’ books tend to be credit-card debt and automobile loans -- the latter of which has been made worse by the shifting auto market.

“Trucks and SUVs aren’t selling and people are stuck with these payments,” she said. “It’s a real mess.”

Dillon said she doesn’t feel auto loans are “worth” going into debt for, advising people to put aside the equivalent of a vehicle payment every month and pay for their cars in cash. While that sort of practice may have been balked at when credit flowed freely, it’s exactly the kind of practice that could catch on as people try to economize.

“I think people are realizing the picnic’s over – it’s never going to be that easy again,” said Gerri Detweiler, a credit advisor at Credit.com, who believes “fear and necessity” will drive a huge increase in the number of people aiming to live debt-free.

So do they do it? There’s no magical formula, but those aiming to live debt-free need simply to quit spending and start saving.

For Trent Hamm, a self-proclaimed “spending maniac” who worked his way out of debt and now runs personal-finance Web site The Simple Dollar, it was all about baby steps -- literally. His infant son served as the catalyst for his debt overhaul in the first place.

“I kept spending more than I was making over and over and over again, and I realized [my son] wasn’t going to have a very good future,” Hamm said.

Hamm and his wife began cutting back on their spending, making all of their meals at home and going out less frequently. Hamm also sold off his DVD and baseball card collections -- moves that might seem minor, but have big impact.

“If you do 10 or 12 small things that don’t seem like that big of a deal and just start putting those savings towards your debt, your debt just starts disappearing,” he said.

And, while it may seem wise to dive headfirst into paying all your debt off at once, experts suggest getting a grip on one payment first.

“Tackle the highest-cost debt first,” Detweiler of Credit.com said. “It becomes very difficult when you’re trying to spread your money across all your debt.”

Still, paying off your debt now shouldn’t come at the expense of saving for your future. Experts stress the importance of creating an emergency fund in the event of an unforeseen health issue or job loss. Dillon of Dillon Financial Planning recommends married couples set aside enough money to cover six months of expenses, and singles set aside enough to cover nine months of expenses.

She also reminds people not to forget about their retirement savings.

“Start paying down the debt, but don’t ignore the contribution to the 401(k), especially when you get a match from your employer,” she said.