If you travel by airplane at all for a trip that lasts more than a carry-on's worth of clothes, you know the worry. Will my suitcase weigh more than 50 pounds and I'll have to pay extra? Airline luggage allowances are a pittance these days. The airlines giveth -- blankets, pillows, peanuts, room for luggage -- and the airlines taketh away. Unless you pay, of course.

First, let me say that I realize that, to the inexperienced, 50 pounds may sound like a ridiculous weight for a suitcase. How could anyone pack that much stuff for a trip? Let me tell you, it adds up quick. And now that more of us have to add those heavy toiletry bags to the check-in mix to avoid the potential of having our shampoo tossed out at the security checkpoint, it's worse. And, if you've got a kid to pack stuff for in your luggage, well, it's a challenge to keep that weight under control.

There's really no way to take all the stress out of air travel, but we've found an easier way to determine if we've put on too many travel pounds without struggling to see the scale over the suitcase we're holding.We've been using this handy suitcase scale for our past several trips to via Southwest Airlines to California to see our families. So worth the $10 I spent. There's also a digital version of the same thing. Or, if you're in the market for a new suitcase, some have built-in scales. Pretty cool.