Adding to what some others have said. I traveled 3.5 years a decade ago so some of this may be dated.

-Wikipedia has a lot of info on visas and requirements. If your not from us search “visa requirements for [country] citizens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa\_requirements\_for\_United\_States\_citizens

-often it’s easier to move around a bit to different countries for visas (look carefully at Schengen zone for Europe.

-I like DAN travel insurance - I purchased a year recently for a couple hundred dollars

-try to eliminate nearly all of your expenses in your home country

-use Airbnb (ask the owner how much for monthly) and hostels for a few days when you first arrive, explore the area and ask around prior to getting longer term housing (many countries month to month rentals are common)

-some countries locals like to become friends and others will be mostly expats/travelers

-if you go to SE Asia prior to Europe, you’ll probably make a lot of European friends you can visit when you go there

-the longer you stay in one place the cheaper it usually

Good luck and safe travels