Even in our current sucky economy, there are cheap ways to fly for the savvy shopper. I'm not talking about the obvious "tips" you see in news articles ("Buy your tickets on the Internet and don't pay a travel agent!"), I mean sneakier stuff. For instance:

I bought a ticket from Phoenix to Arizona on Priceline. The total cost was $263, a good bit more than the $200 I wanted to pay. However, after I bought my ticket, I was offered the opportunity to save 10% by signing up for some service called Great Fun! After carefully reading the fine print, I confirmed a few very important details:

1. Great Fun! comes with a one month free trial.
2. I can cancel Great Fun! anytime I want without being charged.
3. I still get my discount if I cancel during the free trial.

Perfect. After I clicked to sign up, they bumped my discount up to 15%. Even nicer. I imagine Great Fun! is counting on me forgetting to cancel them before my free trial is up or to screw up the terms of my cashback offer, but that's why I have an Excel spreadsheet tracking these things.

$263 - 15% cashback = $227.60.

After signing up for Great Fun!, I was then given the opportunity to receive a $20 American Express gift card from Shoppers Advantage, presumably another scam to collect $11/month from me after I forget to cancel their service. Still, it's another one month free trial, and another keep-the-gift-even-if-you-cancel.

$227.60 - $20 fitcard = $207.60

$207.60 is only $7.60 over budget. I think I can eat that with no problem.

I'll update later to let you know if I actually manage to get the gift card and cash back without any extra fees. Right now, though, I'm going to boast that I have it all under control.