Budget Travel

I've been trying to figure out if I will take a trip this summer. I already did a California trip to visit family, but the last 4 years, I've managed to go to Europe for about a week each summer. (3 trips to France and 1 to Portugal, all done with frequent flyer award tickets to London, and then cheap flights on EasyJet or RyanAir from there-- fortunately I have friends to stay with in London. If you have to pay for a hotel there, it's not as much of a bargain.)
I used to subscribe to Budget Travel magazine, but after a couple of years I let it go. Some of the info was good, but I got tired of reading tips like "my wife and I saved tons of money by packing our own beanie weenies and avoiding restaurants!" That is not my idea of experiencing a foreign country! If you don't eat the local foods, you're missing half the fun! You can still have a very cheap picnic with fruits, cheeses, sausages, sardines, breads, etc. from markets if you don't want to eat in restaurants. Grocery shopping in a foreign language is great practice, too.