I returned from my most recent trip just last week. The flight to Faro, Portugal, came courtesy of Ryanair. For the pleasure of this flight, which took place the last Monday in September out of Frankfurt Hahn, I ended up paying a grand total of 120.18 euros (99.99 euros for airfare, 15.19 euros in taxes, and 5 euros for airport check-in, mandatory for holders of U.S. passports.)

I was foolish to spend that much, because when I started tracking that flight about one month prior to its departure date, the price for the flight only, minus extras and taxes, was somewhere around 29.99 euros. On the other hand, I was actually pretty clever. If I had booked that flight less than a week prior to travel, I could have ended up spending as much as 159.99 euros for the airfare alone.

I’ve also booked a flight to Lyon, France, in early November. Should I act now, a travel companion and I could stay in what ranks as tripadvisor.com’s top-rated pick for the city, the Hotel de la Cite Concord Lyon, at a cost of 87 euros for a Saturday night stay (double room, super saver rate, full prepayment, non-refundable). Should I, on the other hand, decide I want to go to Lyon this upcoming weekend, a Saturday overnight stay in this same place booked two days before the fact would cost me 125 euros. That’s not a huge difference, true, but then again, it amounts to 48 extra euros in my pocket — enough for a few good meals.

Is there ever a time when it’s advantageous to wait until the last minute? This can sometimes be a good thing if you are considering booking a package holiday. Case in point: At the time of this writing, on L’Tur’s Web site, you could book a three day, all-inclusive mini-break to Palma de Mallorca, staying in the Luna Park hotel, with a departure eleven days from now, for just 227 euros per person double occupancy, including flight out of Zweibrücken, hotel and airport transfers. Plan virtually the same trip leaving just six days later than that, and the package would cost you 276 euros per head.

So, fellow budget-minded travelers, what are you waiting for? The dates of federal holidays in 2009 have been put out by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management — in fact, if you’re curious, you can even find out on what day Labor Day falls on in 2020.