Airfare add-ons

Guess what. That great airfare you just found is probably far less than you'll end up paying.

Why? The default settings are usually for a single passenger without meals, seat preferences or checked luggage (sometimes without even a carry-on). That means you could end up hungry, poorer after paying for last-minute luggage fees, and seated away from your friends or family - likely wedged between two weirdos.

It's easy to complain about this, but look at it from a different perspective. You pay only for what matters to you, and only you know what that is. Check out these screenshots from Google Flights to know where you can change your preferences.

Be sure you've accurately marked, for example, the number of bags:

The number of stops matters, too. Flights with multiple stops may be cheaper than nonstop flights, but they can turn a 7-hour flight into a 36-hour flight, with a few hours in one country and a few hours in another, often through the night. It's probably too little time to explore and too much time to while away comfortably in an airport:

Third, know the timeframe you're considering. The most affordable flights are usually those that leave early in the morning. A 7 a.m. international flight means that you need to be at the airport by 5 a.m. It will likely take 30 minutes to get to the airport; now you're looking at 4:30 a.m. You need to be awake before you head out the door, and a quick snack at lower-than-airport prices is good, which puts your wake-up time at 4 a.m. And if you have children or night owls to rouse and get ready, too, you may as well not even bother going to sleep at all.

Know your settings; set your preferences; and voila! You may still get a great airfare price. The difference is that you know it will be a great workable price.

If particular things are important to you - we often get "extra legroom" on long flights, for example - just know that you'll pay extra for it.

The trick is not just to find a bargain-basement fare. It's to find an affordable fare that you can endure comfortably.