With the summer heat at its full intensity, its essential to keep hydrated. The best way to keep your thirst at bay is to of course, drink water! There is nothing like an iced cold bottle of water after a nice stroll in Central Park. I thought about how expensive it could be to buy a bottle of water every day. My favorite bottled water is Smart Water, which averages $1.75. For an entire month, that is $52 that could go to my cell phone bill, some groceries or a new haircut. There are some simple ways to keep yourself cool and your wallet light this summer.

1. Refilling a Plastic Container: These are often sold in Sports stores or even in local pharmacies. Invest in an 18-24 fluid ounce bottle and keep track of your daily intake. You can refill your bottle at work or my secret: At places with water fountains. I've found free water fountains in hospitals, pharmacies and even Best Buy.
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Unfortunately, I do not get to travel as often as I would like. Upon accompanying my best friend's mother at JFK International Airport, I watched the familiar check in process. I'm familiar with the new baggage rules where if your bag weighs too much, expect to pay some out of pocket cash. Her check-in bag was 18 pounds over and would cost a whopping $150 extra to make its way to Russia.

As a traveler, Don't I have enough to worry about? I'm about to go (Well, not me, but for the sake of the article, I'll put myself in her shoes) on a 10 hour direct flight to Moscow to visit family, now do I have time to worry about a sudden ridiculous fee for over packing? Her daughter brought up a great argument. It makes no sense that the plane can accommodate extra weight, for a price. Is the plane going to tip over if everyone pays for extra baggage on the plane? It does not seem safe to me, but for a cost, It's okay! To her, its just a way for the airline to make money!

In the end, the mother distributed her belongings to her pretty empty carry on bag and was able to rebound the extra fee.

Take a look at the various airline charges for extra weight and size for a checked in bag.
Chart Source

Airline	First checked bag	Second checked bag	Additional bags	Overweight bags	Oversized bags
Airtran	$0 $15	$10 paid online, $20 at airport $25	$50	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): $29 $39 71 to 99 lbs: $69 $79	62-70 total linear inches: $29 $39; 71-80 inches $69 $79
Alaska	$0 ($15 eff. 7/1/2009)	$0 $25	3rd-6th bags: $100; 7th or more: $150	51-100 lbs: $50	63-80 inches: $50; 81-115 inches: $75
American	$20	$30	Bags 3-5: $100; 6th or more: $200	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): $50; 71-100 lbs: $100. These fees may be higher on international routes	63 inches and over: $150
Continental	$15 ($5 more if not paid online)	$25 ($5 more if not paid online)	$75 nonstop/$100 connecting	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): $50 Over 70 lbs not accepted.	63 inches and over: $100
Delta	$15 ($5 more if not paid online)	$25 ($5 more if not paid online) $50 for European travel	Third bag: $125; Bags 4 to 10 $200 each (For travel outside US, no fee for 2nd bag, $200 for 3rd bag,  $350 for 4th and 5th, $600 for bags 6-10).	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): $90 ($150 for travel outside US) 71 to 100 lbs: $175 ($300 each outside US)	63-80 total linear inches: $150 $175
Frontier	$0 $15	$25	$50	51-100 lbs:    $75	63-80 inches: $75
JetBlue	$0	$20	$75	51-70 lbs: $50; 71-99 lbs: $100	63-80 inches: $75
Northwest	See Delta	See Delta	See Delta	See Delta	See Delta
Spirit	$19	$25 (online or at airport)	Bags 3-5: $100 (online or at airport)	51-70 lbs: $50 71 to 99 lbs: $100	62-79 inches: $100; 80 inches and over: $150
Southwest	$0	$0	First additional bag: $25; bags 4-9: $50; 10 and more: $110	51-70 lbs: $25; 71-100 lbs: $50	62-80 inches: $50
United	$20 ($5 discount if paid online)	$30 ($5 discount if paid online)	Bags 1-4: $125; 5th or more: $250	$100	63-115 inches: $125
US Airways	$20 at airport, $15 online	$30 at airport, $25 online	Bags 3-9: $100	51-70 lbs (23-32kgs): $70 71 to 99 lbs: $120	62-80 total linear inches: $100

How do you feel about baggage fees? Have you had to pay extra to bring your belongings abroad?

It's always fun to stay over at a friends house. You get to raid their fridge, use their cool stuff and get a free roof over your head. Wouldn't it be interesting to travel like this over a long period of time? Imagine, traveling the world and only staying at peoples houses and not paying a cent for hotel costs. Talk about the best way to be frugal. With a rough economy and the ripples of its effects hitting all corners of the world, is travel more of a luxury rather than a choice?


Ramon Stoppelenbur proves that one can travel without money. His blog, Let Me Stay For A Day recalls his 2 year journey; asking people if he could have free accommodations at their home, and would write about it on his blog. He packed a backpack with a cellular phone, clothes, a laptop and a digital camera and set off to find people who would “Let him stay for a day.” Practically all of the items were from sponsors and internet donations. He gives new meaning to the idea of “Asking people for help”, which is how he came up with this idea. He was a journalism student in The Netherlands who dropped out to complete this journey.

“From May 2001 to July 2003 I traveled the world WITHOUT ANY MONEY, visiting people who invited me over through this website. I crossed distance with my thumb or with help of sponsors and supporters. In return for all support I wrote about this all in my daily reports on this website.”

What makes his story special? He gives new meaning to budget travel and his blog is an excellent example of understanding that sometimes there are nice people out there in the world.

Would you be bold enough to travel the world with no money?