As you're making your travel plans, don't forget to check out the individual budget airlines after you look at travel aggregator websites like Kayak and Bing Travel. Many booking sites leave out certain budget airlines, so it's a good idea to see if you can find cheaper tickets by flying on the airlines that aren't listed. Be sure to Google which budget airlines fly the route by checking out the Read more

You may want to reconsider calling Southwest a discount airline, a Wall Street Journal article says, because some of its nonrefundable fares are even higher than its competitors. The Department of Transportation says that in the last five years, ticket prices for Southwest have jumped 39 percent. The rise in ticket prices can't be helped, as Southwest says it's due to the increase of fuel costs. Read more

How much are you supposed to tip, anyway? — The Jane Dough The best time to buy airline tickets for every occasion — LearnVest How to be more confident — Real Simple Insurance you need and don't need — Free Money Finance The doctors to see in your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s — HuffPost Women 4 ridiculously cheap ways to stay in touch internationally — Tecca 14 ways to save on your Read more

If you're planning a trip this Summer, be aware that prices are estimated to skyrocket this season because of high gas prices and less flights due to airline mergers. Hotels will also be slightly more expensive since a higher demand is expected. This means that you may have to think twice about your travel destination — flexibility is key when it comes to affordable trips. We've given you some Read more

With Spring break around the corner and Summer on its heels, frequent jet-setters and seldom fliers alike should know why they're spending bigger bucks on airfare this vacation season. It's not just because the airlines want to capitalize on Summer travelers; airlines need to offset rising oil prices, which account for 40 percent of their costs. Even though there have been several airfare hikes Read more

I recently took a last-minute flight to Los Angeles — which meant my usual plans of grabbing a cheap seat went out the window, since many airlines require an advanced purchase for the bottom of the barrel prices. Even so, sites like Sidestep, Kayak, and Bing can grab the best last-minute deals, but this time I decided to pay full fare on my favorite discount airliner, Southwest. For my trip, Read more

Protect yourself by learning what identity thieves are up to with this helpful Business Insider story. Food costs everywhere are soaring and even so-called budget foods are eating our wallet. Today, the US Department of Agriculture brought more bad news to consumers with its annual analysis of food cost increases. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the USDA sees prices going up on, Read more

The holidays are coming up, and traveling is definitely in the plans for a lot of people. A handy travel tip is to "hold" the airplane seat once you find a good buy. Many airlines provide you the option of reserving the seat for a full 24 hours before canceling it with no fees incurred. For example, if you buy Continental tickets from continental.com or by calling reservations, you will qualify Read more

One of the hardest thing to budget in the past year was eating habits, according to SavvySugar readers. Of course, there is always the simple solution of just eating at home more often, but you can still cut your food bill here and there when you're eating out. We've given you plenty of tips in the past on how to save when eating out so we're rehashing some of the best ones as well as throwing Read more

We're thrilled to present this smart Kiplinger story here on Savvy! Every year, the IRS dutifully reports the most common blunders that taxpayers make on their returns. And every year, at or near the top of the “oops” list is forgetting to enter their Social Security number at the top of the tax form — or making a mistake when entering those nine digits. But think about it for a minute: Do Read more