Few tips about traveling light:
- Only take what you absolutely need. Clothes, laptop, cell, toiletries.. That's about it. If it would be convenient to have but you don't need it, don't take it. I pack clothes for no more than a week. If I'm going longer then I stop at a laundromat.
- Roll your clothes. You can pack your stuff much tighter in a bag like this than just leaving it folded. Don't worry about rolling or packing too tightly.. they're just clothes. They'll be fine.
- Bring clothes you were planning on getting rid of anyway. After you wear them you can just throw them out or donate them to have more room for souvenirs or whatever.
Usually, the airlines allow you to bring a carry on and a personal item for free. Some airlines, like Spirit in the US and RyanAir in Europe, will charge for the carry on but the personal item is free. A personal item is considered anything that will fit under the seat in front of you. The carry on is what goes in the overhead bin. If you are flying Spirit and you have two small bags you should only need to pay for one of them, although, I just flew from Chicago to Denver last weekend and brought a carry on without paying for it. I checked in and printed my pass before getting to the airport (they will charge you to do both at the airport) and just walked on. Granted, the flight was not full so your mileage may vary. It's been my experience that the gate employees don't care as long as it will fit in the overhead.
The super cheap airlines will nickel and dime you if you don't know how to play the game. Travel light and you should be fine.
Also, you could just ship your bags. Depending on how big they are it may be cheaper to go this route. Generally mail doesn't get lost as often as luggage either.
I travel a LOT. I'll have flown over 20 times in 2012 by the end of the year.. I do it on the cheap and rarely carry many possessions. I get annoyed when I sit still for too long.