Some people like learning things the hard way, but its definitely not worth when it costs you lots of money as well, especially when you're travelling. So here's a few ways and things I've learnt throughout my travels. Hope it helps !
1. Always double-triple check your baggage allowance
Never assume your baggage allowance. Some airlines only give you 15kg and some upto 25kg or 30kg. They might not even give you any baggage allowance, especially budget airlines ! My experience with RyanAir was pretty harsh only to have realised that I was not given a baggage allowance to check in at all so I had to pay at the counter. And it was definitely costly.
2. Taking the 'Day Pass' for Public Transports
Travelers would usually take the 'Hop-On Hop-Off' bus which is usually very expensive ! Instead, opt for the public transports that might save you lots of money to get around by. Most metro or bus stops near tourists areas anyways. Also, try not to take the cabs from the airports but opt for the shuttle buses instead to where your accommodation is. Cab drivers usually overcharge tourists
3. Read the 'Terms & Conditions'
As boring as it sounds, you really just gotta read through some of the 'TnC's. Me and my sister had our experience with our purchase of the Eurail tickets. We jumped on the first train from Rome to Pompeii not knowing that we had to get a 'stamp' on our ticket. But we were lucky that the instructor just gave us a warning to get our tickets stamped or it would cost us $50 on our next train ride. Phew. So, read the Terms & Conditions or Requirements !
4. Not asking for the 'Student' Discount
Or even not bringing your student ID around. You might save a lot more than you think with the student discount. Just try not to forget to bring it around, no matter where you go. And annoyingly, ask around if there are any student discounts. Haha
5. Double check the schedules !
Some public transports and opening times are not updated online. Thus, its always better to double check online by calling the agency regarding their opening times and ticket prices before purchasing them online.
6. Paying unnecessarily for tours
You'd probably have gotten tricked once or twice by paying for tours unnecessarily. For those who haven't, do check online first if the place you wish to visit has an 'audio tour' inside that is wayyy cheaper than the 'Agent Tours'. Beyond that, people will always try to make business by waiting around tourists places and offering you tours unnecessarily. Some would even say you would not be able to enter without a tour guide (which is a huge lie). Sometimes, they would even convince you to pay for the VIP price but you're still going for a package that everyone else pays a normal tour for. So, try not to get tricked !
7. Picking the 'right' or 'wrong' accommodations
Sometimes, picking an accommodation very near can be quite unnecessary. Public transports are quite at vast nowadays so you'd probably save a lot of money staying a little bit further. In our case, we booked the cheapest accommodation we could find in Monte-Carlo, Monaco which was still expensive ($80!) when we could have stayed in Nice, France and travel with a train to Monaco for a day visit. Lesson learnt, doesn't mean you stay in another country, it would be difficult to travel to the other. But double check if there will be problems with immigration as some countries have hours of immigration borders.
8. Choosing the overnight trains
Some overnight trains require you to transit for a couple hours at the train station. And some doesn't. You would assume that taking overnight trains would save you loads of money but if they require you to transit for a couple of hours, it might be more costly than you think ! Its cause some train stations would not allow people to stay or sleep in the station, even just for a couple of hours. Which might eventually lead you to finding a place to stay, which would cost you a lot especially finding a place to crash last minute !
9. Finding for food
You'd be surprised how much money you would save by cooking and packing your food rather than buying it at restaurants. So try to book accommodations that will allow you to cook and always bring a water bottle around rather than buying them every time you get thirsty. Beyond that, even when you try to find for places to eat, try to walk the extra mile to find cheap places to eat ! Or better yet, try check on wikitravel on where they recommend to eat as they usually provide info on the cheap places you can eat. Or maybe even ask the people at your accommodation possibly ?
10. Doing your own laundry
Bring a laundry detergent from home. Buying it from convenient stores might cost you money and space in your luggage unnecessarily as they usually sell them in huge packages ! And to prevent from having to wash a huge amount of clothes, try to wash your clothes and dry them gradually (like day to day sort of thing) so the clothes wouldn't pile up that you would have to wash them all in a machine.
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