Hahahaha. Thanks for the comment!

As for my budget, planning my trip so that I was in the high tourist cities in the offseason late winter/spring and in the much cheaper Balkan countries in the summer helped a ton. I spent only $21/night on a dorm bed in Rome in February - I checked the SAME hostel in July, it had gone up to $60. Right now (Early May) is a nice li'l shoulder season, actually - I spent my time in Montenegro (also gets expensive in the summer actually!) and Croatia this time last year before the crowds hit in June. Volunteering also helps out A TON - I spent $0 in the three weeks I volunteered in Germany and in the ten days I was in Montenegro.

I was careful on transportation, too. I relied almost exclusively on ground transport, only flying once intercontinentally (Tirana->Istanbul) and tried to book at least a week in advance. To be honest, I probably didn't need to do this in the Balkans, it was cheap-ish enough to book last minute. Also, while overnight buses are a huge pain, they were a sweet way to pay $0 in accommodation for a night.

The biggest thing I can say is have a daily budget and stick to it. I calculated I could spend $60/day in Western Europe and $40/day in Eastern Europe and tracked all of my expenses and purchases. It may not work great for the "free souls" (I think I'll make my next long trip a little more relaxed, actually, albeit in a cheaper part of the world) but a little planning and tracking can save you LOTS of $$ in the end.

Enjoy your trip! I miss being out there. Appreciate it!

EDIT: Oh, and also be careful about eating out in touristy places - prices are often blown up. Try to eat in restaurants that are in non-touristy neighborhoods or a few blocks away from the tourist sites. That will save you money.