How Airports and Airlines Take Your Spending Money and How to Stop It.

So, Airport travel sucks.  You have to stand in line and check in.  You have to stand in line to go through security.  You have to stand in line to get on the plane.  You even have to stand in line to get off the plane.  Then, if you checked luggage, you get to stand around and wait for your bags to come out.  If you rented a car, and it's busy, guess what, now you're standing in line at rental car company.  Talk about frustrating.

That's not fun stuff, and it is no surprise that people hate flying.  If you're on a travel budget, airports and airlines can make it hard to budget correctly.  Even if you do budget for all the extra airport costs, that money could have been better spent actually enjoying your vacation.  Here are some tips to help you avoid spending extra money at the airport that you should be spending on your vacation.

Avoid Checked Bag Fees if you Can:

There are very few airlines that don't charge for checking luggage.  Allegiant even charges for a carry on bag.  Southwest Airlines and Virgin America don't charge for your first check bagged, and Southwest actually doesn't charge for the first two. If flying with checked baggage, use these airlines to avoid those fees.  If you're on an airline that does charge for a checked bag, try to avoid it.  A carry on bag plus a personal item carry a lot of stuff.  One can easily get 7 days worth of outifts into a carry on and one drawstring bag.  It is much cheaper to do some laundry at a destination, then paying for a bag.  Not spending 50$ on checked bags means you could eat at a pretty nice restaurant.  There are tons of things you can do for 50$.  So save that money next time and don't check a bag!

Airport Food is Expensive:

Flying is stressful, takes a long time, and one is going to be pretty hungry after hours of flying.  Airport businesses know this, and if you have a long layover, its nearly impossible not to eat.  Not to mention if you're thirsty and need some water, which can set you back three plus dollars a bottle.  There are ways to avoid this.  I recomend food that will fill you up.  My two favorite things to take with are beef jerkey and nuts.  Both are high in protein and will keep you fuller longer.  They also aren't as bad for you as most food you'd decide to get at the airport.  Water is trickier because you can't take liquids through security over three ounces.  However, it is possibe to take an empty nalgene bottle with you.  Once you're through security,  you can fill it up.  Lots of airports are even installing water bottle filling stations. Now you didn't spend  twenty dollars for your airline meal, and you saved another five dollars on drinks.  That adds up to anther fifty dollars to add to your vacation budget. All you did was bring some food with you and an empty water bottle.

Find a Ride:
One of the worst feelings I get when leaving the airport after getting back is paying for parking.  A week long vacation leads to at least a fifty dollar parking bill when I get back.  So, take the bus, find a friend, or even take a cab, they're all cheaper options then paying for parking.  Wow, another fifty dollars added to the vacation budget.  If you can manage to fly and listen to these tips, you could get at least one hundred dollars more to add to your vaction.  That's a good amount of money that is better spent enjoying your vacation.  Don't waste it at the airport.