The Best Ryanair Carry-On Luggage 2024 Guide

I recently noticed more and more posts appearing on social media about airlines (mainly budget ones) checking carry on luggage size and charging travellers extra if their luggage does not fit in airline's bag sizer. Since the fee for oversized bag and luggage is outrageous and can be as high as £70, I never risk and always make sure I abide to airline baggage size rules. I usually travel with Ryanair that allows you to have a small bag measuring 40x20x25cm for free and you can have a second bag with priority ticket measuring 55x40x20cm.

Since baggage rules have become so strictly observed, I decided to do some window shopping for the best cabin luggage for Ryanair. I scoured Amazon and many other online shops and settled on ten luggages. They all fit Ryanair cabin luggage measures, they weigh no more than 2kg, have 4 wheels for easy maneuvering and have manufacturers warranties. These suitcases have very basic interiors, consisting of packing straps and one standard inner pocket. Some of them have outter pockets, but it means they are slighly heavier than the others.

I would love to say that the best cabin luggage out of ten in the list is Samsonite Lite-Shock, because it is the one I have owned for more than five years, but I am afraid I cannot say that. Before purchasing Samsonite Lite-Shock I had spent hours and hours doing my research, reading and watching reviews, and it seemed at the time that this luggage was my best option, but I cannot say it endured all my trips and journeys. After one of my trips to Italy I noticed that one of the hinges was broken and I had to send it for repairs. Repairs were free of charge, but I had to use my old cabin luggage for my next trip until I got my Samsonite back. I am not questioning Samsonite quality and expertise, broken hinge could have been my own fault because of overpacking, but let's be honest, there was no chance it could have weighed more than ten kilos.

If I had to buy a cabin luggage today, I would probably go either for Aerolite or Rock, just because I have not heard much about these brands. I would probably go for wide handles for easier packing and more space inside the luggage. What I would not compromise on is colour - my luggage has to be bold and outstanding.

Tip!

If you decide to go for Rock luggage, do not miss a chance to get cashback from TopCashback. All you have to do is make your purchase through their app and you will get 2-5% cashback.

Disclaimer.

Some links in this post are referral links. This means that at no extra cost to you I will get a small commission if you purchase through the link in the post.

Budgeting And Saving With Kakeibo

Navigating your budget solo when you have only one stream of income can be tricky and hard. You most likely have same financial commitments and goals like families of two or more working adults, so you have to be sensible, resourceful and sometimes frugal. Sometimes you need extra tools that would help you be on top and ahead of your money related goals, and one of those tools can be a simple notebook, where you would record your income and expenses. This is something I used to do back in the day, when I was struggling to keep track of my money flow (a.k.a. too much shopping). On payday I would write down how much I got paid, I would make a list of fixed expenses (that's monthly bills), subtract them from my salary and I would know exactly how much money I had left to play with on that month. Every time I had expenses or extra income, I would either subtract it or add it on. I would never check my bank account, as what was in my bank account was not a reflection of my spending budget - I had direct debit payments spread all over the month. This kind of journaling does not work if you want to save money on your goal, but it will help you keep track of your finances.

If you want a more structured notebook, try kakeibo method. This is something I am using at the moment. Kakeibo is a Japanese art of budgeting and saving money. This budgeting method was introduced by the first Japanese female journalist Hani Motoko in 1904 and this concept is very popular in Japan even now. Kakeibo can be devided into three stages: planning, tracking and reviewing. In planning stage, you have to do a simple equation:

Total Income (salary, benefits, etc.) - Fixed Expenses (bills, subscriptions, payment installments, etc.) - Savings (how much you would like to save) = Spending budget (how much you can spend).

Now that you have your monthly spending budget, you spread it over 4-5 weeks (depending how long the month is) and you have week's total budget. If you are serious about saving, my advice is to stick to your weekly budget and even push your limits to spend less. Every time you have expenses, do not forget to record it on expenses pages of the planner - whether you spend 50 pence or 50 pounds, every penny needs to be recorded. If you are paying cash, do not forget to keep a receipt for later. I draw a line after every week and circle the running total after each week, so I know whether I am in the green or in the red, and whether I need to rethink my spending habits for the following week. Kakeibo also advises to categorise your expenses into four categories: needs, wants, culture and other. If at the end of the month you go over your spending budget and you do not manage to save the amount you planned, wants, culture and other are the categories you may want to review.

The last section of kakeibo planner is dedicated to reflection. Here you calculate how much money you spent for each category, you calculate your total income, expenses and savings, and you make improvement plan for the next month.

Get Kakeibo Planner I Am Currently Using HERE!

Saving is never easy, but it is very important to be prepared financially for unexpected life events. If you do not have savings and you have not started working on it yet, start doing it right this moment - there is no better time than now.

Different Ways Of Travelling

You may be thinking cars, trains, planes, coaches, etc., but in this article I want to talk about inspirational or inspired ways of travel. How do you travel, if you do not have an opportunity to leave your home, town or country? TV programs? Youtube? Social media? Blogs? All of that is great, but one of my favourite ways of travelling is Postcrossing. Yep, by receiving postcards from strangers from all over the world. If you have never heard about Postcrossing, it is a postcard exchange project that allows everyone and anyone to send and receive postcards from random places in the world. Rules are very simple: 1. Create an account on their website; 2. Request an address and a postcard ID; 3. Mail a postcard to that address; 4. Receive a postcard from another postcrosser; 5. Register the postcard ID you have received; 6. Repeat steps 2-5. You can let other postcrossers know what kind of postcards you prefer or collect and members of this beautiful community will do their best to fulfil your wish. As I mentioned above, postcards is my way of travelling, so I always request tourist postcards. My all time favourite one is with suspension railway in Wuppertal in Germany, and it's always a nice surprise to receive postcards from my homeland too. If you never heard of or never tried doing postcrossing, you should definitely try it.

HERE ARE JUST SOME OF MY FAVOURITE POSTCARDS:

My other way of travelling is by watching history documentaries. It's like travelling in time. I love watching videos of New York, taken in the beginning of the 20th century. You can see how much the city have changed, even if you have never been to New York. Another reason why I like watching these videos is because you can see what architecture was like back then and what breathtaking buildings were sadly demolished and replaced by skyscrapers, all looking the same, just like the ones next to it. Today I watched slightly different documentary. It was about funiculars in Kaunas, Lithuania. They were built in the early 1930's and they are still going! It was so interesting to see the footage from a hundred years ago. It is not just the buildings, means of transport, it is also the people, the fashion and much more that fascinated me. I have been to Kaunas many times, but I have never used funicular. So next time I am visiting my family in Lithuania, I am definitely trying it out.

Opening Ceremony of Žaliakalnis Funicular Railway, 1931

When thinking about travelling, we always think about countries and places thousands of miles away. But why not become a tourist in your own country or even town or city? Visit your local tourist information centre if you are not sure what's on in your area, ask about museums, events, new attractions, etc. in remote villages or areas, jump on public transport and go on a little adventure. Life in my home town is quite passive, there is not much going on even in summer, so last time I was visiting my family, I found on social media a cheese company with shop and little restaurant only 20 minutes away from my town. I jumped on a bus and had the best day out: I enjoyed beautiful cheese salad, bought lots of cheeses for myself and friends, and since the cheese company was situated in a beautiful and cosy village, I had a lovely walk around, and spent half an hour sitting on a bench in the shade reading a book.

How do you kill your travel bug when you are stuck at home?