Smallest RTW budget

How much you need to spend really depends on who you are. I travel happily on an average of £200/week. But thats a pretty tight budget.

I left for a year away with a RTW plane ticket, a visa card, a working holiday visa and about £2000... and survived! Like your friend, i worked for 6 months of that year away.

For our first RTW 10 years ago, my (now) husband and I spend £1000 each on a RTW ticket and had £1000 to take with us. We had Aussie working holiday visas and worked in NZ cash in hand too (no NZ whv in those days and casual reliable labour very much needed). It's all possible!!

We landed in Auckland with $500 NZD to our name, cash in hand work kept us going until we were able to apply for work permits (not WHV).

so much depends upon your itinerary. the most expensive thing is the ticket to get there. one hundred US dollars can last you a week in many places (SE Asia or Africa) and you can spend less on accommodation under a longer contract (one week or month long). there's always a way...

I took off to Australia with a free ticket I won from an airline contest, and US$50 in my pocket. Three years later I came home having seen much of Asia and Africa, and about $20K in the bank. Depends on the breaks you get, whether you can find work along the way, and so on.