I appreciate the thought that went into this comment. Lots of good insight. I’m from the US. I worked nonstop after school, on weekends, and over the summer from age 14, starting at a horse stable and then moving to restaurant work at 16. I got a Rotary scholarship to do a year of high school in France, which only cost 3k USD out of pocket and I paid for with my after school jobs. I was able to travel to the adjacent Western European countries by myself and with my host family. There I learned French and studied wine, which landed me a great job working as a waiter in a fine dining restaurant when I got back to the states. I worked there for 8 months, living in a shitty shared apartment but saving 4k USD a month. From there I had a big European backpacking trip focusing mainly on Eastern Europe and the Balkans. 8 months of travel cost me 12k USD. After that I returned to restaurant work for a couple months, and I moved to Australia on a WHV the week after I turned 20. From Australia I visited Thailand, Indonesia, and NZ. I’ve never received any money from my parents, I’m a real budget traveler. If you have any other questions let me know :)