How to squeeze a nickel

Here's hoping you find new ideas among these staff and reader tips

This article is the archived version of a report that appeared in June 2009 Consumer Reports magazine.

Travel

• When you travel, take your own sandwich on the plane and fill up your water bottle after you go through security.
• I've gotten half off weekend rentals from Hertz and Avis on their Web sites.
• I put a fare alert on a travel site and it e-mailed me about two incredible deals: a $350 round-trip ticket from Newark to Rome, including taxes, and a $365 fare from Kennedy to Rome. I probably wouldn't have stumbled across these without the alert.
• Book a breathtaking campsite for as little as $25 a night at www.reserveamerica.com, a gateway for many state and federal park services. You can take your own tent or rent a rustic cabin.
• I asked a hotel if it would price-match a deal I found online. It did, saving me $30 or so a night. The first agent said no. The next day, a different agent agreed. I've also found different prices when I call a hotel directly vs. the central 800 number.
• A calendar on a site like Expedia shows you the fare or room rate within a range of a given date. Altering your trip by a few days can save a bundle.
• Rent an apartment on vacation. You live like a local and it's cheap.