call down or push

[mudbuddha]

hero has villian covered.. reads.. villian has been playing decent.. nothing extremely bad.. plays some weaker kickers.. but.. meh..

hero is in bB.. villian is in button..

folded around to villian who raises $3, hero calls. (probably mistake 1)
(~6$)
flop comes AT5r rainbow.. hero check.. bet $5.. hero calls.
(~16$)

here ... i'm thinking about raising.. but i decide to call.. maybe hit my 2 pair..

turn comes 2 .. hero checks.. villian bets $8.. hero calls. (seems weak to me.. or just drawing me in with better kicker..)

~30$
river comes Q.. hero checks. villian pushes for 15$ more.. hero makes crying call.. if he had AQ or something and was beating me before.. so be it.. can't really see him holding a straight here..

would i have saved money if i had raised the flop to see if he had me beat.. or was it ok just call down..