packing restrictions

I was looking over the luggage restrictions imposed by the charter company, 44 pounds, total...checked and carry on combined!  This is not some small plane, its a 737, with a capacity for 124 passengers.  I can say that, so far, I have never had overweight luggage, but I do know that my carry-on bags have probably weighed as much as the checked bag (thank goodness for wheeled laptop bags)!  So today, I am examining every thing I want to take, even if it is for just 3.5 days, the camera, the laptop, the all the electronic accessories, well, it all adds up ounce by ounce.   There is a small, as compared to United Airlines,  penalty for luggage over the limit.  One dollar, per pound, in cash.  I will have a fiver ready to hand over.