Some people scroll through social media to pass the time; I’m looking for cheap flights. Ok, and I also check social media. But finding cheap flights is one of my favorite pastimes, and I can easily get lost in an imaginary, spontaneous flight to somewhere and find myself just one click away from booking it.

Oh, a flight to Denver only costs $58? I mean, at these prices, I can’t afford not go.

Before you start packing your suitcase, let me help you navigate the wonderful world of finding cheap flights. If you are a double platinum member of an airline with a million miles, this article is not for you.

This article is for my budget travelers. Those who are haunted by wanderlust, but their wallet prevents them from taking part in the next adventure. You, my friend, are my people. I support you.

If you’re willing to put in a little time, you’ll be rewarded with a cheap flight to wherever the wind takes you.

How to find cheap flights: flexibility with location and dates

Too often, a friend of mine contacts me with a variation of this question:

I have to go to (city) from (specific dates). Can you find me a cheap flight?

No, no, I can’t. That’s not how it works. If you are limited by location and date range, you are at the mercy of the airlines. If you want to go to New York for Thanksgiving, you’re going to pay a high price. Free yourself from at least one of these variables and a whole new world of possibilities will open up to you.

For example, let’s say you want to take a vacation from November 2 to 12, but you don’t care where you’re going. With a little help from Google Flightsyou can find the cheapest places (in the world!) for these dates. You might be surprised by your search results and end up with a vacation you never imagined!

My home airport is New Orleans. When I plugged these dates into Google Flights, this is what I got:

• Flights to Vegas, Denver, Chicago and Miami each for under $200

If I wanted to expand to include international flights for the same dates:

• Flights to Aruba and Toronto each for under $500.

On the other hand, let’s say your heart is set on the location, but your dates are flexible. You can use Google Flights to see flight prices each day and see when these cheap flights appear.

A calendar will appear and tell you the flight price for each day of that month, which is very useful. The flight can be $50 cheaper on a Thursday than on a Friday; knowing these little tips and tricks puts more money in your pocket.

Understand your airport and use it to book cheap flights

Understanding your airport is truly the key ingredient to finding cheap flights. Not all airports are equal, and even if an airport is an international airport, you may find that it does not serve the places you want to visit. I’m looking at you, MSY.

Take the example of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY). MSY hosts 15 airlines and offers more than 50 direct flights per day.

The more direct flights an airline has to a given destination, the cheaper the plane ticket will be.

There are 7-8 daily flights between New Orleans and Dallas. American Airlines flies this route 7 to 8 times per day and Spirit Airlines offers one flight per day.

Let’s look at a few more:

• New Orleans to Chicago: 4 to 5 per day (American Airlines and United Airlines)
• New Orleans to Boston: 2-3 per day (Delta and JetBlue)
• From New Orleans to Miami: 3 per day (American Airlines) and 4 per week (Spirit)
• From New Orleans to Newark: 3 per day (United) and 6 per week (Spirit)
• New Orleans to Los Angeles: 4 to 5 per day (Delta, Southwest and Spirit)

Why is this important? More flights per day mean flights are generally cheaper, you have more flight choices, and if there is a delay, you won’t have to wait as long for the next flight.

Your final destination likely won’t be a direct flight from your home airport. I like to spend my winters travel to Scandinaviakissing the Arctic weather and chase the Northern Lights. Unfortunately, New Orleans doesn’t serve directly anywhere on this side of the globe, so I have to do some DIY.

I know Play Airlines has a direct flight to Iceland from Boston every evening around 7 p.m. So I just have to get to Boston before 5 p.m. Lucky for me, there are 2-3 flights a day from New Orleans to Boston, so catching that international flight is pretty easy.

Many websites track direct flights. FlightsFrom And Direct Flights are my favorites for crafting.

If you are creating your own flights, it is important that you form a team hand luggage only. If you purchase two separate airline tickets, your checked baggage will not arrive at its final destination unless you collect it during your layover and re-check it. Save yourself the headache and simply travel with a carry-on and a backpack. I promise you don’t need all the extra stuff.

What is the best day to book cheap flights?

You’ve probably heard that Tuesday is the best day to book flights. Historically, it’s true! Airlines published their sales on Tuesdays, hence this.

The truth now is that it depends.

It depends on when airlines put their sales online. Both Expedia and Google have done studies on this topic, and the results showed that there wasn’t much of a difference.

Don’t confuse the best day to book your flight with the best day of the week to fly. Mondays and Fridays are the busiest days of the week for flying, so take this into account when booking your flight. The airport(s) will be busier and flights will be more likely to be full.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays tend to be less busy days to fly.

All of this goes out the window if you’re traveling during the holidays. Thanksgiving will always be one of the busiest times to fly. Same for Christmas, New Year and any other important holiday in the United States.

The key factors for finding cheap flights:

• Do not fly during peak seasons (holidays)
• Be flexible on your date and/or destination
• Understanding your home airport
• Book directly with the airline

Book directly with the airline

There are many websites that will do the job for you. Kiwi, SkyscannerAnd Dollar Flight Club are the most popular. I’ve used Kiwi and Skyscanner to buy cheap flights in the past, and I’ve been lucky and had no issues. Now that I’m a more experienced traveler, I don’t know if I would let a third party book my flights again.

When you use a third party, you are playing. If your flight is delayed or canceled, you will not be able to discuss it directly with the airline: you will have to go through the company with which you booked your flight. It’s not just travel agency websites like Kiwi, GetYourGuide or ViatorHowever. This also applies if you use your credit card’s travel portal to book flights/hotels.

Everything works fine until it doesn’t. If not, the hurdles you’ll have to jump through will quickly outweigh the money you saved in the first place. Since I tend to limit my travel to winter, storms play a bigger role in my trip than I would like. If a flight is delayed because of a storm, I am at the mercy of a third party to fix my itinerary. And they usually don’t offer hotel credits, food vouchers, or anything like you’d get from an airline.

If you’re going for a spontaneous weekend getaway, then I’d say go for it. If it’s a big trip that you’ve spent six months saving and planning for, I wouldn’t risk it.

If possible, book your flight directly with the airline. Once you find a flight on sites like Google Flights, head to the airline’s website to book it.

Once you’ve purchased that cheap flight, you can use the money you saved for adventures during your trip! You can use it to choose your favorite seat on the plane (window, duh) or use the extra money to get a nicer hotel.

Good luck and happy travels, my friends.