A la carte pricing is a phrase that has recently encroached upon the travel lexicon – a phrase with serious implications. Loosely, it means that instead of charging you for one complete experience, travel providers are now increasingly charging for each experience piecewise. Your plane ticket to Orlando, for example, may cost $300, but adding bags will cost another $50, and peanuts and soda might run another $10. It’s a tricky way for providers to make a few extra dollars from the uninformed traveler and a major headache for many a tight budget.

Like it or not, a la carte pricing is a part of traveling in today’s volatile economy, so it’s best to be informed about its ramifications before hitting the road. Let’s break it down by the two biggest industries: airlines and hotels.

Airlines

The most frequent complaint from today’s passenger is related to the cost of checking luggage. Not five years ago you could check two bags for free, but now almost every airline has implemented a fee for bringing your belongings on board. This cost can range from $25 for a single bag to hundreds of dollars for multiple heavy bags, so make sure to check your airline’s policy before heading to the airport. If you have to, weigh your bags on a bathroom scale to make sure they aren’t too heavy.

Tip: To get around baggage fees, pack your belongings into a small carry on, earn elite status or simply ship your bags via FedEx to save the hassle.

Change and standby fees are two other irritating ways that airlines make money off of your ticket. If you want to leave earlier or later, for example, it often costs $50 to take an alternate flight on the same day. Alternatively, if an emergency comes up and you have to fly on a different day, there’s a fee for that as well.

Tip: If you’re not sure exactly what flight you want, many airlines let you put a ticket on hold (or have a 24-hour return policy). This will buy you a few hours to figure out your plan.

Getting an in-flight meal used to be common on legacy airlines, but the final airline to provide this amenity, Continental Airlines, stopped offering it this year. For a while, free snacks were the norm, but most airlines now charge for those as well.

Tip: If you know you’ll be on a long flight over meal time, your best bet is to pack something to eat from your home kitchen – just remember that you can’t bring any liquids larger than 100mL through security.

Hotels

In an era of 100% connectivity, one of our biggest hotel pet peeves is billed wireless Internet. Depending on the hotel chain, a $400 hotel room might require an additional $20 per day for the simple service of wireless connectivity, an amenity that many budget chains offer for free. Similarly, breakfast is another oft-bundled perk that many hotel brands gouge weary travelers for.

Tip: Hotels like Homewood Suites include perks like breakfast, dinner and Internet. Research your proper hotel brand before traveling to get an idea of each perk. If you still need to source free Internet, try turning your phone into a mobile hotspot or getting mobile broadband.

At some properties, stepping out of your hotel room to enjoy the facilities can be an expensive endeavor. Spas, tennis courts, workout facilities and even poolside towels can come with a price tag, so if you need your exercise, some in-room calisthenics might be in order.

Another irritating hotel fee is the morning newspaper. Without asking, many hotel brands automatically deliver a paper to your door each morning, a piece of literature that most people won’t even read. To mitigate this fee, make sure to decline any delivery at the time of check-in.

If television is your thing, another fee to be wary of is pay-per-view. These two hour swaths of entertainment are a great time killer but can easily rack up tons of fees. As an alternative, mute the commercials on TNT and get some work done using your free wireless Internet.

Finally, the most obvious (and often most egregious) fee that you may encounter lies in one evil place: the minibar. From $8 bottles of water to $5 plastic razors, the amenities that each hotel provides can lead to costly add-ons, all for things that you could get for 1/4 of the price at a local 7-Eleven.

Tip: Take the extra time to go out and locally source your supplies if you forgot anything. At the very least, you’ll get your workout in as well.