With the national debt growing at a frantic pace, a lot of Americans are terrified about what it will mean for our economic futures.

Luckily, you can help. CNNMoney senior writer Jeanne Sahadi reports that under an obscure 1961 law, you can make tax deductible contributions to help pay down the national debt. On average, about five donations are made per week and so in 2009, there have been just over $3 million in donations -- whose impact was quickly reversed by government spending on just 666 clunkers under the Cash For Clunkers program (funny how that math works out, just sayin').

If you want to help, you can send a check to Attn: Dept G, Bureau of the Public Debt, P.O. Box 2188, Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188.

And pretty soon, you'll be able to make contributions through PayPal (which, if you sell on eBay, could make a good marketing pitch: "10% of your purchase will go directly toward paying off the national debt!").

Here's a better idea: Add a line to Form 1040 that allows taxpayers to direct that 10% of their income tax payments go toward the national debt. That makes it easy for anyone who would prefer to see their money used to buy new cars for the neighbors.