Weigh your options

When you’re headed into a potentially contentious negotiation where tempers might run as high as the financial stakes at hand, you want to enter that battle of wits with as much information as possible. If it’s a real estate transaction, you’ll be armed with local comps. If you’re negotiating a raise, you’ll want salary data from competitors in the industry.

And if you’re headed to the airport, you better be darn sure you know whether or not your bag is overweight before you get there, otherwise you’re going to end up making impossible choices like whether that souvenir you bought for your nephew is worth a $50 luggage surcharge or if you could squeak by under the limit by wearing half of your clothes to board the plane.

These options are both bad. Most are, in that situation.

Instead, try just owning a luggage scale like the savvy traveler you are (or that you aspire to be). These handy handheld scales accurately weigh your bags right in your hand. This one is also lightweight and compact enough that you can just let it live in your suitcase, including while you travel—dumb luggage rules apply to return trips, after all.

If this two-pack doesn’t end up saying you $12 worth of fees someday, it’ll surely save you $12 worth of aggravation over the course of a trip or two.

Travel like a pro and approach that baggage counter with confidence. You’ve earned it.