'I avoided Ryanair's luggage costs with this handy Amazon bag for under £30'

Airlines' hand luggage fees can quickly add up, especially if you're travelling with budget carriers which charge you when you want to bring a second cabin bag onboard.

Ryanair charges an extra fee if you want to bring anything larger than a 'small personal item' onboard.

For a short city break you can get away with just using a backpack on your travels, while cabin bags and hold suitcases come with an additional charge.

On a recent trip away, writer Harriet Morpy-Morris managed to bypass the extra charges and pack a bag full of clothes, toiletries, make-up and a handbag for no extra charge - and check-in staff didn't stop her to check her bag size.

Here we see just how easy it is to travel lightly with the correct bag- and Harriet passed through the travel gates with flying colours.

Harriet's trick? A handy £29 Cabin Max Manhattan travel bag that she could fit under her plane seat - and therefore avoid extra fees.

She wrote: "With each ticket purchase, Ryanair states that passengers can only bring on a small bag for free and for years I have always assumed that this only meant a handbag size until I realised the given measurements are a lot bigger.

"Tickets include a carry-on bag of 40x20x25 which is actually around the size of a large rucksack, any bigger and passengers have to add on a carry-on. Prices for an additional bag range from £6 all the way up to £35 and depend on the flight route and number of passengers, and if it's bought when booking or as an add-on.

"Under-the-seat bags have become popular items on social media, with travellers looking to get away for as cheap as possible. Bags including this £9.99 duffel as well as this Tanness Ryanair 'approved' shoulder bag (£16.99) have caused a lot of stir for money-saving travellers, so I decided to try out another option for myself.

"I opted for the Cabin Max bag as opposed to others I'd seen on social media as it looked (from the Amazon pictures) a lot more sturdy and comfortable to wear. Comfort was a big thing for me as I knew on the days I flew out and came back I'd be carrying it around, so a backpack style would be better than an over-the-shoulder.

"It may look small but I managed to fit in two pairs of trousers (one pair of jeans and one pair of flared trousers), three thin jumpers, two t-shirt style tops, a trench coat, one pair of pyjamas (plus underwear of course), a toiletry bag and my handbag.

"Even small handbags count as one item, so this has to be able to fit in your carry-on bag if your bag is checked at boarding. A couple in front of us with bags were asked to place theirs in the baggage 'bins' but no one batted an eyelid at mine, and I walked straight through.

"To save on space I only took one pair of shoes with me (the ones I wore to the airport) as I knew they were comfy and could be dressed up for the evening if we went anywhere fancy. I also wore my bulkiest puffer gilet on the plane and my biggest pair of trousers to avoid making it overweight.

"In all honesty, the only thing I couldn't fit in were my hair straighteners, which ended up in my boyfriend's bag, along with a bottle of my foundation that I couldn't fit in the clear liquid bag at the airport."

You can find out more about Ryanair's fees on ryanair.com.