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If you can't compose for toffee and your subject matter is incredibly boring try to rescue your shots by making them monochrome, blurring them in post-pro or using a lens baby or other gimmick to try and artificially inject some interest.
Use one of those small (toy!) carabiners through the zips of your rucksack to stop the twin zips parting ways and opening your bag....
Keep lens cloths etc in a film pot to stop them picking up dirt when not in use.
Bin liners in your bag...keep you clean if you have to get down low and can be used as emergency waterproofs!
Keep a small Swiss Army knife and a couple of jewellers screwdrivers handy, you never know when something will work loose. A small roll of gaffer or insulating tape can be useful too.
When changing lenses, make sure you tip the camera forward so as not to allow dust etc to fall or get blown inside. Turn the camera off, as the static charge of the sensor, when turned on, attracts dust like nobody's business.
There are thousands more tips that I won't bore you with, but there is just one more, relevant to this and most other photo forums.....
Look at ways not to spend money...DIY camera gear (scrap plastic or card reflectors, flash diffusers made from cut up milk bottles or tissues, studio lights from B&Q, beanbag camera supports, etc etc). Think twice before listening to people who advise, "you need the latest and expensive new....
Canon/Nikon/Pentax/Sony/Olympus/whatever camera body
f/1.4 pro lens
Macro lens
Wide angle
Super telephoto
Studio lighting set up
Software
.....because it will improve your photography."
Because it won't! Learning how to use what you already have effectively will make you a better photographer.
Nick 
My tips are more about budget than anything
1 - Dont upgrade your camera just because the latest model is out. Upgrade when you have outgrown it or realistically your current body doesnt offer the options you require
2 - If you are looking at upgrading, look at your lenses first. A new body wont really mean better pics if your lenses dont add up. I know far too many folk who pay a fortune on a new body but still hold on to kit lenses. If you spend more on a body than you do on the rest of your kit, you will never see much of a difference
3 - Spend money on what you need, but shop within budget. Spending a fortune on something that you dont need will only see you resent it or doubt yourself
But really, even with a basic kit (and even with a compact) if you have the eye for photography, you will produce great stuff. The only limit is our talent imagination and ambition
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