Consider Vintage Luggage: Quality luggage is important. Ever had a zipper break on an overstuffed bag en route to an airport? It's not pretty. Modern luggage, however, often leaves me uninspired. Sturdier fare can lack personality, while more stylish baggage tends to be flimsy and overpriced - especially if a fashion house has slapped its label on it. Enter vintage luggage, with its debonair design, low prices, and ironically superior craftsmanship. Toting a timeless leather carryon is a practical luggage choice that still lets me feel chic. Check out thrift shops, grandparents' attics or Ebay (type in "vintage luggage) to find quality bags like Hartmann duffels for as little as $20 a pop. By the way, for those of you who aren't luggage-geeks, Hartmann has been making travel goods for the cultured traveler since 1877. Their new tweed duffels regularly retail for $475 (yikes!). I'll stick with the retro option.

Buy Your Airfare Wisely: It sounds obvious, but a little legwork online can go a long way in terms of dollars saved on airfare. My two favorite sites - the places where I find most the specials I feature on jauntsetter - are Kayak and Airfare Watchdog. I love Kayak for a few reasons. First off, you can browse their deals or simply search for a flight - just type in your destination, and Kayak will show you the daily fares in a handy calendar that pops up on the right-hand side. But what makes Kayak most unique is its Buzz section. If your flight plans involve any degree of flexibility or uncertainty - say, you're not sure about the destination, or the dates - this is where to go. Kayak Buzz lets you select various constraints (max price, number of stops, desired month) and then it displays the best fares for your continent of interest. So if you're looking to visit Europe, for instance, but haven't decided on the city, Kayak Buzz will let you know where the bargain airfare is to be had. 

Airfare Watchdog is another resource you can use if you're unsure where to visit - just type in your departure city in the box on the main page, and Airfare Watchdog will show you which destinations currently have the cheapest flights. For instance, here's today's round-up (yes! the lists are updated daily) of airfare from JFK. Once you click on an entry, Airfare Watchdog will show you exactly what days to travel for the best fare, and where to book. And the best part? The deals really are good - I recently found a roundtrip flight to Miami from New York for $139 total - including all taxes and fees. I also recommend signing up for their free fare alerts: let them know your home airport, cities of interest, and they'll email you every time they find a flight deal that meets your criteria. It's that easy!

Skip the Hotel: If I'll be away for more than 5 days, I almost always opt to rent an apartment or villa rather than booking a hotel for my vacation. By doing so, I save on lots of little things, like making coffee at home, preparing my own breakfast, and doing laundry - and all these savings add up. Plus, the cost per night of a vacation rental is almost always cheaper than what you'd pay to stay in a (usually) smaller hotel room. I also think there's no better way to get a feel for a destination than by shopping at markets and grocery stores for authentic local fare! Vacation Rentals By Owner is one of my favorite sites for finding rental properties. 

An even better alternative to renting a vacation house is opting to swap your home, which is becoming increasingly more common amongst budget-concious vacationers. In fact, the entire plot of a recent popular feature film ("The Holiday") was based on the idea. I have plenty of friends who have done this, and they've all had happy endings to their getaways. After all - they paid virtually nothing to do so! If you're interested, check out the reputable site HomeExchange.com, where you pay a small fee to view properties all over the globe - as they say, you can "make yourself at home anywhere in the world." Don't want to pay a fee? Check out Craigslist -  just make sure you do your due diligence (like demanding a scanned photo ID or copy of a lease) when researching exactly whom you're swapping homes with.