When it came to air travel , I used to be the kind of person who would do anything to save a buck. I'd spend months searching for the cheapest flight, booking with dodgy discount airlines, and adding multiple stops that tacked on hours of travel time. This worked for me — until it didn't. Once I started traveling with kids , every extra minute in transit felt unbearable. And I began to realize I wasn't actually saving money. Tight connections led to missed flights. Delays meant losing precious