Saving money is an important part of everyday life. Being able to pinch a penny there, and put a penny away here can make a big difference in your budget, and your personal finance. Knowing how to save money on bigger ticket items is also going to really help. Travel is often a big ticket item, and your flight is one of the most expensive parts of travel, especially now that fuel prices are so high, security so tight, etc. The following are some suggestions for how to save money on booking flights:

• Book online
• Book early
• Use a club, discount card, flier miles, etc.
• Combine with other things
• Fly on discount airlines
• Fly off season

If you want to save money on booking flights you need to keep abreast of common flight prices. Prices are constantly on the rise, so the best thing you can do to save is know what a good price is so that when you see it you can take advantage of it. Unless you know what too much is, you can't very well save money. One of the best things you can do for yourself is take a couple of minutes to research the price you are going to pay for a ticket on the date you want to fly. Once you have established the price, you can start looking for better deals, or ways to save money on that price. Knowing what the ticket will cost you without any sort of deal can help you recognize when you are getting a savings.

OK, now that you know how to recognize when you are getting a deal, or in other words saving money, so that you can take advantage of it, let's look at practical options to find deals that are going to save you money on booking flights.

There are a lot of ways to buy airline tickets-travel agents, online through a travel broker, directly through an airline, etc. The best way to find cheaper tickets is to do it online. Cheaper tickets means saving on booking your flight. The reason you save money when you book online is because it is easier to compare prices, and therefore choose the easiest. By nature we are somewhat lazy. So, taking the time to call several travel agents, or call several airlines to get prices and compare them seems overwhelming, and we figure our time savings is worth the extra we might pay. When you book online, you have the advantage of the ease of comparison, and doing so quickly. Most discount broker sites are going to show you the best rates for all the major airlines, and they will let you choose.

Another advantage of booking online is that you can often get promotions or discounts that are only offered online. This holds true whether you book directly through an airline website, or book through a travel broker online like Travelocity.

While you can save by booking online, the biggest savings typically come when you book through various discount travel sites, such as: Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, Travelocity, etc. You can look at each of these sites individually, and see what they offer as the best deal, and it is going to take you very little time. In addition to the good deals they offer, you can often find ways to sweeten the deal and save even more by taking advantage of their affiliate programs, or by combining various offers. Signing up for an affiliate program takes 10 minutes or so, but in many cases, you can save 10-15% of your flight cost, a savings well worth 10 minutes of your time.

The other great thing about booking online is that you get to easily see the specials. You can always call an airline and ask what their specials are, but online there is usually a banner or area dedicated to posting the certain destinations that come at a discounted rate during that specific season.

To save more money, you can combine your flight, hotel, and car. This is especially helpful for saving money when you book on a discount broker site. Sometimes you really end up paying only a few dollars more to get a hotel as well as an airline ticket. So, you may not save a lot on your flight directly, but on your travel as a whole the savings can be significant.

The disadvantage to saving on your flight this way is that most are non-refundable, and are subject to change without notification, so you have to really check up on the flight times, etc. to ensure you did not get moved. Lastly, if you book online through a discount broker you are not going to get any frequent flier miles, even if it is an airline you are a member of.

Another way to save when booking flights is to book flights during the less popular times. You will learn quickly that if you try to book a flight during a popular flight time you are going to pay a premium for it. So, save money by flying in the middle of the day, and the middle of the week. You also want to avoid flying near holidays, and consider more stops, or flying red-eye. If you are willing to sacrifice some on the quality of the flight you are going to pay less.

Another way to save money on booking a flight is to book one on a smaller plane, like a commuter plane rather than a big jet. These smaller planes use less fuel, and often come at a smaller price tag. One of the reasons is that these flights are not as popular, not as comfortable, and not as fun.

It is also going to help you save money to fly to popular destinations when it is not a popular tourist season. For example, fly to places known for skiing when there is no snow and you will pay less for your ticket. Fly to New Orleans when it is not Mardi Gras and you will pay less. Fly to anywhere during a less popular time and you will save money on your flight.

You can save money on booking flights if you can take advantage of memberships and discounts you already have or are entitled to. For example, often times you motor club, time share, or some sort of travel membership, you already have can get you savings and discounts on booking flights. Usually you get the kind of deals you would get by booking through a travel agent, except you do not pay a travel agent commission; instead you pay a monthly fee for the membership.

Other ways to save money on booking flights is to use rewards programs like your credit card rewards, frequent flier programs, and other reward programs that are available to you. In many cases it can take several months, or even years to earn enough reward points to get savings on booking a flight, but even if it takes a long time to earn, any money saved is good money saved. Most of the time you are going to save money using these programs by using them long-term, and using them wisely. If you use a credit card just to get rewards, but do not pay your balance off every month, you are going to not save anything because the interest you will be paying for the borrowed money is going to cancel out the discount on airfare. If you use a credit card frequently, and can take advantage of a reward program without abusing the card, the money saved is great.

A fun way to save money on flights is to look for alternative ways to get your flights. For example, people who work for airlines get a certain number of flight vouchers every year. They may not use these, and so you could pay them a discounted rate for them, or trade them for something you have of value. For example, a hair dresser could trade free hair cuts up to a certain dollar value in exchange for two flights. The hair dresser is not actually paying for the cuts, and thus is saving a lot of money in the trade, but the person trading the airfare is getting a deal as well. You can trade some sky miles on one airline with someone for sky miles on another, trade for vouchers, buddy passes, airline credit, etc. Check your local classifieds for people with these to trade, or join websites that offer sky mile exchanges, etc.

One last way to save money when booking a flight is to choose a less expensive airline and forgo some of the comforts or conveniences that come with the more expensive airlines. For example, you can book with a budget, or economy airline like JetBlue or SouthWest. You will pay less because the planes do not have to be as big because they do not fly internationally, the pilots are not paid as well since they require less schooling, etc.

How much you save when booking your flight will depend on your destination, how advance you book, and what airline you choose, the advantages you use, and your luck. Sometimes the savings and discount can be almost nothing, or in some cases fairly substantial. Follow the above tips, and you will find that booking flights does not have to cost your life savings, and you can save money.